Hello fellow keyboardists,
I found your community last night while I was extensively researching new keyboards... I spent 4 hours last night, woke up this morning at 630 am, it is now 440 pm (EST) and this whole time I've been researching keyboards... I'm tired of this, I need some resolution... lol!
Needless to say this happens every time I buy a keyboard (never to this extent however). I need a second opinion.
My history of mechanical keyboards is as follows:
1993-2003 IBM Ms back in the day which unfortunately I do not possess anymore ;(
2003-2010 Moved to USA where the dome craze started and the computer I bought came with a garbage rubber dome keyboard to which I did not protest for I had other issues to worry about
2010-2012 My financial situation improved significantly in the past decade so I went with a Razer Blackwidow with MX Blues, (after trying a Corsair K90 whose backlight LEDs started dying within the first week, known issue) - really enjoyed those switches on the Blackwidow, broke a few of them and replaced them myself
2012-2013 Because of lack of macro keys (only 5 on the blackwidow) and another round of extensive research, I decided to go with a Logitech G710+ (6x3 macro keys, backlighting) with MX Brown switches (which is what I'm currently using)
I just got a job last week in an office environment [a cubicle, (most people around me are developers/coders)]. I hate the dell keyboard they gave me over there and decided to take the G710+ to work yesterday and everyone really appreciated the keyboard... my position as a technical business analyst will involve a lot of typing (so I'm moving away from the "gaming" keyboards). While it would be nice to have macros, I would much rather have a nicer typing experience.
I cannot go with MX Blues because they're way too loud and I'm afraid I would be bothering the others, so that's out of the question even though, they would have probably been my favorite to go with. I could go with MX Browns but these feel like there's something missing - it leaves the typing experience unsatisfied for me (on the G710+).
I know that Filco makes amazing products and I considered a Quickfire Stealth TKL vs a Filco Ninja Majestouch-2 TKL both with Browns. I'm not sure how I feel about the TKL... I've always had a numpad... do I use it a lot? No... but I do use it sometimes. Is that going to mess up my workflow when I'm writing requirements as a technical business analyst? Since I was undecided about the TKL issue, I'm considering the QFR Stealth TKL and not the Filco which is 3 times the price and not 3 times as good. (If I do go the TKL route, and I like the QFR, I will most definitely get a Filco TKL in a year).
I read about Cherry MX Clear switches which sound like they are what is missing for me in the Browns. The only thing is the only keyboard I found that I can buy with MX Clear is the Deck Legend (which I would get in Frost (white backlight) because that blue is too obnoxious for the work place, and backlighting isn't even a requirement). In any case this item is priced at around $200... the font on the keys is horrendous, a new set of caps is around $100 and most likely not backlit.
My next thoughts went to Topre... their capacitive switches sound like "the best switch money can buy." However, these come with quite the price... $300 for a Realforce? I mean don't get me wrong, I'm not discounting the importance of "THE MAIN INPUT" but I'm not gonna have a $300 keyboard at home, and I'm gonna take one and leave it at work??? + What friggin keyboard is worth $300? Unless the pcb is made out of gold I just don't see the justification for paying that much. So then there's the alternative Topre Type Heaven...
I decided to go with PBT for keycaps... for durability's sake. And the layout is 104 US ANSI - A MUST. I believe all my choices are NKRO.
These are the keyboards I'm considering:
TKL:CM QFR Stealth $70Pros: everyone says it's good
Filco Majestouch-2 Ninja $200Pros: the brand, good construction; cons: expensive, consensus is 10% improvement over QFR... doesn't justify x3 price, super long shipping time from Japan to USA
Full size:
Deck Legend - Frost (Cherry MX Clear) $200 Pros: MX Clear switches, backlight; Cons: UGLY, expensive
Ducky DK9008G2 Pro Light Grey & White (Cherry MX Brown) $140
Pros: the brand is good, the key layout and keycap sizes for R4 is STANDARD; Cons: don't have any terms of comparison, don't know build quality
Topre Type Heaven $170
Pros: Topre switches; Cons: Topre switches... I really don't know how these feel, and from what I hear, the construction of this keyboard is not as good a quality as the Realforce - I don't know how it compares to the Filco for example
Filco Majestouch-2 Ninja $200 (Cherry MX Brown)
Pros: the brand is good; cons: not MX Clear for this price..., super long shipping time from Japan to USA
On another note, I found 2 keyboards on craigslist that someone's selling: a NMB RT2900TWIL and Keytronic FKD46Ak5300 (for $10 both haha) - couldn't really find any info about either of them here so I'm guessing they're probably not worth much... I did find this lol, I thought this was funny:
http://www.ambry.com/RT2900TWIL.html From a budget standpoint, I'm a stickler for quality - I don't mind paying $200 if I know that it's going to be worth it; I don't think paying $300 for the Realforce is worth it - unless my fingertips have microorgasms whenever I touch those keys.
Well this is the issue that I'm faced with... I'm almost inclined to say to hell with all of this, go to bestbuy and buy another G710+ and call it a day... I've wasted 40% of my weekend on this already lol... this is unacceptable!!!
Thanks for your help in advance
