RE: Keyboard as a present

[skayleef]

Hello, I have been scowering the internet for information about mechanical keyboards to buy for my son as a present, and stumbled upon here.

I have read around a bit, and want to know if anyone has a suggestion for a mechanical keyboard in the range of 100-120 US for my son. He mostly plays games on his computer with limited schoolwork in between. He spends about 20 hours or so on the computer a week. I think that cherry mx brown switches would be best, but I don't really know for sure. After doing research browns just look good for what he does on the computer which is playing video games.

I want to get it for him for christmas, but if there is something better coming out after Christmas, his Birthday is a few months after so I can get it for him then.

I am mainly looking for the best quality I can buy for my price range. Any suggestions? Thanks!

[reaper]

Welcome to Geekhack and at that price, a lot of people are gonna recommend CM Storm Quickfire Rapid.  A good board at a decent price. 


Personally I'd recommend you pay a little more and get him a Filco ($149 on Amazon) or a Leopold ($99).

[Harlequin]

Hello, skayleef. It's good to hear that you are buying your son a mech kbd.

Yes, i totally agree with you about Cherry MX Brown. I think it's the best kbd for a starter. There are two kinds of kbd.

one, with the numberpad on the right side and the one without it.
Personal preferences but i think you should go for the one with numberpad.

Around 100-120 bux, i guess CM Storm Quickfire.
http://www.amazon.com/Storm-QuickFire-Pro-Mechanical-SGK-4010-GKCM1-US/dp/B007VDOOBU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1355016493&sr=8-2&keywords=cm+storm+quickfire

It's quite fancy. Instead of CM Storm, there are also Ducky and Das Keyboard.

Just search on Amazon there would be heaps.

Lastly, the BEST mech kbd imo is Filco Majestouch but it goes up to 160 and more. but gives us the best build quality.

[jdcarpe]

Welcome to Geekhack!

I have only one word for you: Filco

[xDezor]

Welcome to Geekhack and at that price, a lot of people are gonna recommend CM Storm Quickfire Rapid.  A good board at a decent price. 

Can't go wrong there. I just got a CM Storm Quickfire Rapid (with brown switches) and I love it. Oddly enough it was also a gift.

The only con I see is if you have another person living in the same room as you. I can't type while my roommate is sleeping because I am afraid of waking him up (but that really comes with the territory of owning a mechanical keyboard). Aside from that this keyboard is great!

[rowdy]

Welcome to Geekhack!

You have a lucky son

Best quality in that price range is probably CoolerMaster Quickfire Rapid.  If you want to go slightly over, Filco would be even better (slightly better - the QFR is a very well made keyboard).

If you want backlighting, these can tend to be slightly more expensive than one without backlighting, simply due to the extra electronics.  If you do, look into a Ducky Shine.

[firebt]

Welcome to Geekhack!

You have a lucky son

Best quality in that price range is probably CoolerMaster Quickfire Rapid.  If you want to go slightly over, Filco would be even better (slightly better - the QFR is a very well made keyboard).

If you want backlighting, these can tend to be slightly more expensive than one without backlighting, simply due to the extra electronics.  If you do, look into a Ducky Shine.

Yes, specifically the Ducky Shine II.  Don't get the Shining (its the Ducky Shine I).  It doesn't have NKRO over USB, nor does it have reactive lighting mode, marquee lighting mode, 2 customizable profiles and doesn't save your last used setting when you turn off the computer (no internal memory).

[rowdy]

Too much flashing lights would be distracting.  Great for demos or trade shows, but not much use if you are trying to type in a darkened room.

The one thing the Shine II has over the Shine (version 1) is that it remembers the backlighting settings over a reboot.

[Polymer]

For that price range you can get a CM Quickfire Trigger...

It might not have the following or quite that same feel as the Rapid...but it is a bit more solid than the Pro, fully backlit, macros, etc...If your son is a gamer and relatively young I'm sure he'll like having something with macros, lights, etc...

And if it gets too loud you can always order him some o-rings...

[tr4656]

For that price range you can get a CM Quickfire Trigger...

It might not have the following or quite that same feel as the Rapid...but it is a bit more solid than the Pro, fully backlit, macros, etc...If your son is a gamer and relatively young I'm sure he'll like having something with macros, lights, etc...

And if it gets too loud you can always order him some o-rings...

Doesn't the trigger not have the costar stabilizer while the pro does.

[Hyde]

Try to find out if your son use the number pad or not.  Because if he uses number pad for school work and you give him a tenkeyless keyboard (no number pad) then it would be annoying.

Also MX Brown is typically the safest switch to start with.  After that I would try MX Red if he games a lot.  But for this situation I'd say stick with MX Brown.

[firebt]

Too much flashing lights would be distracting.  Great for demos or trade shows, but not much use if you are trying to type in a darkened room.

The one thing the Shine II has over the Shine (version 1) is that it remembers the backlighting settings over a reboot.

Yeah but you don't want reactive mode? Or I don't know, to have more and the newest stuff for $3 more? It's not like the Shining packs more features than the Ducky Shine II.  The 2nd one is superior to the first one in every way.  Dont ever get the Shining.  Your son will wonder why you cheaped out on not getting the Shine II.  And he's a kid dude.   Everyone loves marquee and reactive mode.  Seriously.

[Polymer]

For that price range you can get a CM Quickfire Trigger...

It might not have the following or quite that same feel as the Rapid...but it is a bit more solid than the Pro, fully backlit, macros, etc...If your son is a gamer and relatively young I'm sure he'll like having something with macros, lights, etc...

And if it gets too loud you can always order him some o-rings...

Doesn't the trigger not have the costar stabilizer while the pro does.

I think so....but the Pro feels relatively hollow..overall the Trigger feels a lot more solid...Plus whether or not this is relevant, the Pro is an iOne board...

[Human]

One doesn't simply compare an iOne board to a Costar board.

[wetto]

The Pro uses costar-style stabilizers made by iOne which are as thin as a paperclip and probably as fragile.

The Trigger uses Cherry-style Stabilizers, the only one that does uses Costar stabilizers is the Quickfire Rapid (which is the cheapest and best keyboard from Cooler Master).

Anyways, your son probably wants a gaming keyboard, backlit would seem nice to him but you still need to worry about quality. I won't lie, he'd probably be happier if he got one of those "fancy" keyboards like Saitek Cyborg or a Razer Blackwidow Ultimate at the start, but you should try to give him something that would be better for him as a keyboard, not something that's better only as a table ornament.

The CM Trigger does indeed seems to be the best choice, as the Logitech G710+ currently seems to have some quality issues regarding the backlight...

And seriously, the Cherry MX Brown version is at about US$ 100 at Amazon.

[uJalled]

Anyways, your son probably wants a gaming keyboard, backlit would seem nice to him but you still need to worry about quality. I won't lie, he'd probably be happier if he got one of those "fancy" keyboards like Saitek Cyborg or a Razer Blackwidow Ultimate at the start, but you should try to give him something that would be better for him as a keyboard, not something that's better only as a table ornament.

^^^

[samwisekoi]

The Pro uses costar-style stabilizers made by iOne which are as thin as a paperclip and probably as fragile.

The Trigger uses Cherry-style Stabilizers, the only one that does uses Costar stabilizers is the Quickfire Rapid (which is the cheapest and best keyboard from Cooler Master).

Anyways, your son probably wants a gaming keyboard, backlit would seem nice to him but you still need to worry about quality. I won't lie, he'd probably be happier if he got one of those "fancy" keyboards like Saitek Cyborg or a Razer Blackwidow Ultimate at the start, but you should try to give him something that would be better for him as a keyboard, not something that's better only as a table ornament.

The CM Trigger does indeed seems to be the best choice, as the Logitech G710+ currently seems to have some quality issues regarding the backlight...

And seriously, the Cherry MX Brown version is at about US$ 100 at Amazon.

Yep.  Qualifies for Prime as well.

http://www.amazon.com/CM-Storm-Trigger-Mechanical-SGK-6000-GKCM1-US/dp/B007TFOO6K

 - Ron | samwisekoi

p.s.  Welcome to geekhack.org.  Have you considered a nice keyboard for yourself for the holidays as well?  The Pro version also has MX Brown switches, but doesn't have all the flashy gamer stuff.  $75 at Amazon. 
http://www.amazon.com/Storm-QuickFire-Pro-Mechanical-SGK-4010-GKCM1-US/dp/B007VDOOBU

[skayleef]

Thank you so much for the replies! They really helped. I think I am going to get him the trigger.

Thank you very much!