I'd like to contribute!

[RedScarlet]

Heloooooo guys! 

My name's Brandon and I'm currently living in Malaysia! I just recently got exposed to this awesome large community and also received first ever mechanical keyboard! My loving classmates saved up the cash to get me what I have always dreamed of having, and they got one of the best too! They got me a mechanical keyboard which was a Razer BlackWidow Ultimate 2013 edition with the Cherry MX Blues! I mainly use this keyboard strictly for typing as i barely play any games at all. I'm the kind of person who's very intolerable when it comes to people using my keyboard, so I'm planning on upgrading to some blank keycaps in the near future. So, I've come to this forum because I admire the enthusiastic posts and the rich content that you guys put out for the community. I mostly enjoy reading on workstation setups and the showing off of all your unique keyboards! I plan to gradually modify my keyboard as I gain the confidence over time. I plan to contribute to this community very soon, so keep an eye. And happy typing guys!

[rowdy]

Welcome to Geekhack!

You have come to the right place if you want some custom keycaps.  Just try not to spend too much

[hazeluff]

Spending less is not an option.

[Wildcard]

Very awesome, welcome to Geekhack.

Also good choice on the MX Blues

[TheQsanity]

It would be polite to welcome you but I won't.

For your sake. It seems like you send your time well. Don't Spend too much time here.Just a fair warning.

See you around!!

[WhiteFireDragon]

Great to have you onboard. Just a heads up though, Razer keyboards are generally not liked on here. That's why in those picture threads, you never see any black widows.

[tsangan]

Razer keyboards are pretty awesome at the pricepoint they are in

Only downside I would say is the font and the rubbery keycaps that the coating will come off sooner or later but since the OP wants to swap keycaps he basically fixed all the problems already

Welcome to GH, hope you enjoy your stay!

[RedScarlet]

Great to have you onboard. Just a heads up though, Razer keyboards are generally not liked on here. That's why in those picture threads, you never see any black widows.

Haha, I've noticed that a fair lot too! Is it because of its build quality or its consumer popularity? Haha, I'm very curious to know. 

[RedScarlet]

Razer keyboards are pretty awesome at the pricepoint they are in

Only downside I would say is the font and the rubbery keycaps that the coating will come off sooner or later but since the OP wants to swap keycaps he basically fixed all the problems already

Welcome to GH, hope you enjoy your stay!

I'll take that to consideration tsangan! Thanks for the tip! To be honest though, the top surface of the keycaps feels superbly built, but the rest of the four sides feels very cheaply coated as if the paint were to chip off at any second. Really appreciate your advice! 

[WhiteFireDragon]

Great to have you onboard. Just a heads up though, Razer keyboards are generally not liked on here. That's why in those picture threads, you never see any black widows.

Haha, I've noticed that a fair lot too! Is it because of its build quality or its consumer popularity? Haha, I'm very curious to know. 

It's because back a few years ago, there were quality control issues. If you cracked one open, you can see the horrendous soldering job. A short circuit wouldn't be surprising. Also some of the keys were inconsistent, and "sticks". There were a decent amount of them that just died. Although to be fair, recently Razer cleaned up their act on the soldering. The rubberized caps though will inevitably wear out until you can't see the legends anymore, and that won't get fixed any time soon.

Overall, Razer is a marketing and gimmicky brand, targeted at "gamers". If you never run into problems, then that's great, and I hope for that since it's your first keyboard. Don't let me spoil your joy

[demik]

you can hand over you wallet now! no longer belongs to you

[TheQsanity]

you can hand over you wallet now! no longer belongs to you

Haha!

[RedScarlet]

Great to have you onboard. Just a heads up though, Razer keyboards are generally not liked on here. That's why in those picture threads, you never see any black widows.

Haha, I've noticed that a fair lot too! Is it because of its build quality or its consumer popularity? Haha, I'm very curious to know. 

It's because back a few years ago, there were quality control issues. If you cracked one open, you can see the horrendous soldering job. A short circuit wouldn't be surprising. Also some of the keys were inconsistent, and "sticks". There were a decent amount of them that just died. Although to be fair, recently Razer cleaned up their act on the soldering. The rubberized caps though will inevitably wear out until you can't see the legends anymore, and that won't get fixed any time soon.

Overall, Razer is a marketing and gimmicky brand, targeted at "gamers". If you never run into problems, then that's great, and I hope for that since it's your first keyboard. Don't let me spoil your joy

Yeah, I've noticed that too through one of my friends older Black Widows. Kinda seem as if it's really cheaply built, and quite frankly it is. Hopefully they've revamped this new 2013 model and quietly fixed the soldering problem. I haven't quite encountered any inconsistency of the keys so far...that's a good thing.  And yes to the new rubberized keycaps as well. And with this new model, they made everything in a matte finish, including the body. I am aware that the coating will sooner or later chip off and I'm pretty prepared for it, haha.  Yeah, I do agree that Razer is a bit too mainstream and overpriced for what you get. But it's the easiest to find without the need to import keyboards of other brands to smaller countries like Malaysia; that's why my friends got this for my present!  Nah, I greatly appreciate your information bro. It's people like you that made me come to this forum! Honest and unbiased experienced users!  I tried finding flaws on Razer but nothing showed up on this forum. You should open a thread warning the rest of the users beforehand! Thank you so much. 

[Sifo]

Welcome to Geekhack! Regardless of my opinion on Razer, I hope you enjoy your board.

[wetto]

Great to have you onboard. Just a heads up though, Razer keyboards are generally not liked on here. That's why in those picture threads, you never see any black widows.

Haha, I've noticed that a fair lot too! Is it because of its build quality or its consumer popularity? Haha, I'm very curious to know. 

It's because back a few years ago, there were quality control issues. If you cracked one open, you can see the horrendous soldering job. A short circuit wouldn't be surprising. Also some of the keys were inconsistent, and "sticks". There were a decent amount of them that just died. Although to be fair, recently Razer cleaned up their act on the soldering. The rubberized caps though will inevitably wear out until you can't see the legends anymore, and that won't get fixed any time soon.

Overall, Razer is a marketing and gimmicky brand, targeted at "gamers". If you never run into problems, then that's great, and I hope for that since it's your first keyboard. Don't let me spoil your joy

Yeah, I've noticed that too through one of my friends older Black Widows. Kinda seem as if it's really cheaply built, and quite frankly it is. Hopefully they've revamped this new 2013 model and quietly fixed the soldering problem. I haven't quite encountered any inconsistency of the keys so far...that's a good thing.  And yes to the new rubberized keycaps as well. And with this new model, they made everything in a matte finish, including the body. I am aware that the coating will sooner or later chip off and I'm pretty prepared for it, haha.  Yeah, I do agree that Razer is a bit too mainstream and overpriced for what you get. But it's the easiest to find without the need to import keyboards of other brands to smaller countries like Malaysia; that's why my friends got this for my present!  Nah, I greatly appreciate your information bro. It's people like you that made me come to this forum! Honest and unbiased experienced users!  I tried finding flaws on Razer but nothing showed up on this forum. You should open a thread warning the rest of the users beforehand! Thank you so much. 

Well well, don't be surprised when next year Cooler Master releases their keyboards in your country, as is going to happen here in mine (Brazil) now in December.

Razer Keyboards can really just go to hell after this, cuz simply:

Razer Blackwidow Ultimate 2013 with ANSI layout: About US$ 300
Cooler Master Storm Trigger with our native ISO-ABNT (Brazilian Portuguese) layout: About US$ 225

Better overall quality, far better OEM (Costar), more extras (wrist rest and the USB HUB isn't at a retarded position), available on our ISO-ABNT layout and cheaper!


Anyways, welcome to Geekhack!

[RedScarlet]

Great to have you onboard. Just a heads up though, Razer keyboards are generally not liked on here. That's why in those picture threads, you never see any black widows.

Haha, I've noticed that a fair lot too! Is it because of its build quality or its consumer popularity? Haha, I'm very curious to know. 

It's because back a few years ago, there were quality control issues. If you cracked one open, you can see the horrendous soldering job. A short circuit wouldn't be surprising. Also some of the keys were inconsistent, and "sticks". There were a decent amount of them that just died. Although to be fair, recently Razer cleaned up their act on the soldering. The rubberized caps though will inevitably wear out until you can't see the legends anymore, and that won't get fixed any time soon.

Overall, Razer is a marketing and gimmicky brand, targeted at "gamers". If you never run into problems, then that's great, and I hope for that since it's your first keyboard. Don't let me spoil your joy

Yeah, I've noticed that too through one of my friends older Black Widows. Kinda seem as if it's really cheaply built, and quite frankly it is. Hopefully they've revamped this new 2013 model and quietly fixed the soldering problem. I haven't quite encountered any inconsistency of the keys so far...that's a good thing.  And yes to the new rubberized keycaps as well. And with this new model, they made everything in a matte finish, including the body. I am aware that the coating will sooner or later chip off and I'm pretty prepared for it, haha.  Yeah, I do agree that Razer is a bit too mainstream and overpriced for what you get. But it's the easiest to find without the need to import keyboards of other brands to smaller countries like Malaysia; that's why my friends got this for my present!  Nah, I greatly appreciate your information bro. It's people like you that made me come to this forum! Honest and unbiased experienced users!  I tried finding flaws on Razer but nothing showed up on this forum. You should open a thread warning the rest of the users beforehand! Thank you so much. 

Well well, don't be surprised when next year Cooler Master releases their keyboards in your country, as is going to happen here in mine (Brazil) now in December.

Razer Keyboards can really just go to hell after this, cuz simply:

Razer Blackwidow Ultimate 2013 with ANSI layout: About US$ 300
Cooler Master Storm Trigger with our native ISO-ABNT (Brazilian Portuguese) layout: About US$ 225

Better overall quality, far better OEM (Costar), more extras (wrist rest and the USB HUB isn't at a retarded position), available on our ISO-ABNT layout and cheaper!


Anyways, welcome to Geekhack!

Haha, you're right! But is both the keyboards really that expensive? It's like double the price from the original. .___. It includes shipping fees? But the CM Storm really gives the customers a piece of mind by giving the choices of MX keys to choose from to their likings which I find as a plus. And I totally dig the complimentary wrist wrest! I was so eager to get one for my BW that I bought the one from the picture which was jell based above for about $7. Haha, totally respect your opinion and will take it to consideration. But for now, I'll just be grateful that I can even type on a mechanical keyboard that I own right now. 

[wetto]

My country has like, 60% tax fees over imported items, so yeah, prices get doubled... 

But well, on some cases it's just due to the god damn brand and other factors.

For an example:

Razer Blackwidow (without backlit) in USA: US$ 70
Razer Blackwidow (without backlit) in Brazil: US$ 200

CM Storm Quickfire Rapid in USA: US$ 70
CM Storm Quickfire Rapid in Brazil (and even has our ISO layout!): US$ 140

[YoungMichael88]

I made that warning thread you spoke of in the keyboard section. The "Warning" Thread

[RedScarlet]

I made that warning thread you spoke of in the keyboard section. The "Warning" Thread

Haha, that was smart of you! Time to make my debut to 'contribute'. Haha, I'll post in as soon as i get the time.

[RedScarlet]

My country has like, 60% tax fees over imported items, so yeah, prices get doubled... 

But well, on some cases it's just due to the god damn brand and other factors.

For an example:

Razer Blackwidow (without backlit) in USA: US$ 70
Razer Blackwidow (without backlit) in Brazil: US$ 200

CM Storm Quickfire Rapid in USA: US$ 70
CM Storm Quickfire Rapid in Brazil (and even has our ISO layout!): US$ 140

Holy hell. 60%!?  Nah, I shouldn't be surprised, and I feel you bro. Here in Malaysia taxes put on automobiles are hefty as well Haha, yeah...the bloody branding. I think the total cost of any mechanical keyboard shouldn't be THAT expensive. It's just the branding, and the fact that the MX switches has to be imported to the factory from Germany. And I think the labor cost shouldn't cost much since they're not handmade and mostly are assembled in an assembly line. Hmm, true. Can't believe the 10keyless keyboards cost so much less for not having just 2/8 of the keyboard. No wonder they're so popular in this forum! Heh. )

[wetto]

It's not really due to them being cheaper. Topre TKL are not cheaper than full-sized ones. FILCO's are just about the same price.

It's just about a fact that, you want more space on your desk. You want a cleaner keyboard, a more usable one, smaller with less unnecessary parts.

Think with me. The distance your right hand travels between your mouse and the keys themselves gets shorter when you don't have the numpad, right? The mouse gets closer to your keyboard and you can switch faster between typing and using the mouse and the fatigue over time also gets reduced.

And, well... Many people just don't use the numeric pad, so why not tossing it away then?

Many, many, many people in here use their keyboards as work tools on offices. That's why they dislike macro keys and their love for TKL keyboards is so great. They just don't want a keyboard that wastes space on their desktops, they want something usable that won't be a bother when their desk is full of papers and other materials.

[RedScarlet]

It's not really due to them being cheaper. Topre TKL are not cheaper than full-sized ones. FILCO's are just about the same price.

It's just about a fact that, you want more space on your desk. You want a cleaner keyboard, a more usable one, smaller with less unnecessary parts.

Think with me. The distance your right hand travels between your mouse and the keys themselves gets shorter when you don't have the numpad, right? The mouse gets closer to your keyboard and you can switch faster between typing and using the mouse and the fatigue over time also gets reduced.

And, well... Many people just don't use the numeric pad, so why not tossing it away then?

Many, many, many people in here use their keyboards as work tools on offices. That's why they dislike macro keys and their love for TKL keyboards is so great. They just don't want a keyboard that wastes space on their desktops, they want something usable that won't be a bother when their desk is full of papers and other materials.

Wow, you really have a point there. I seriously never thought of that. I always thought that full sized keyboards were built to favor left-handers!  ) It does make a lot of sense. That's the reason I've always adored the Azio Levetron Mech 5 for it's versatility to place the numpad wherever you see fit, be it at the left or right.

 

Yeah, it would make it much more convenient for using a mouse. Haha, I use the numpad all the time, that's why I never really ever thought of having ditch the full sized keyboard for a 10keyless, but some of their lower prices do make me feel quite guilty for having the Razer BW, something like what you mentioned earlier about the CM Storm. The macro keys though I barely touch at all. Yeah, I do find them quite useless and only use them if I'm required to manually paste in my signature at an end of an email. True, space is a factor that I kinda overlooked because I have a large workspace for my stuff. Haha, thanks for the info Wetto!