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geekhack Marketplace => Classifieds => Topic started by: Jeff Atwood on Sun, 26 December 2010, 07:51:16

Title: SOLD: Topre Realforce 103UB 55g (Black)
Post by: Jeff Atwood on Sun, 26 December 2010, 07:51:16

Hi guys,

You may have seen a blog post I wrote about this amazing forum, and mechanical keyboards in general:

http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2010/10/the-keyboard-cult.html

Anyway, after writing that blog post I went through a bunch of mechanical keyboards and I've settled on the one I love (the Deck full size with clears). That means I have a lightly used Topre RealForce with 55g weighted keys that didn't quite make the cut:

http://elitekeyboards.com/products.php?sub=topre_keyboards,realforce&pid=rf_se02c0

(http://elitekeyboards.com/proddata/images/th/se02b0_iso_1000_th620x400.jpg)


Great keyboard, fantastic action, but overall I prefer the cherry clears in the Deck. This keyboard was lightly used for about a month and is in "like new" condition.

I am open to trade for another keyboard of around $200 value, or I will sell it outright for about that same price. PM me.

Also, if you guys are interested, we have a set of technical Q&A websites I'd love to point you at:

http://stackexchange.com/sites

Please visit and infect our users with your awesome keyboard geekery! :)

Title: Topre Realforce 103UB 55g (Black)
Post by: keyboardlover on Sun, 26 December 2010, 08:23:11

I was always interested in that Deck...interesting to know someone preferred it to a Realforce 55g. Maybe I'll get it one day.

2000th post. Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyy.

Title: Topre Realforce 103UB 55g (Black)
Post by: keyboardlover on Sun, 26 December 2010, 08:32:35

Well, even then 2kro doesn't really work for me...I'd need 6kro.

Title: Topre Realforce 103UB 55g (Black)
Post by: WhiteRice on Sun, 26 December 2010, 09:00:30

Whoa cool Jeff Atwood!

Title: Topre Realforce 103UB 55g (Black)
Post by: Jeff Atwood on Sun, 26 December 2010, 10:03:01

Well, in case anyone reading this is curious, I tried the following keyboards to end up where I am now:

- Das Professional S (cherry brown)
- Razer Black Widow Ultimate (cherry blue)
- Topre Realforce weighted
- Deck Legend (cherry clear)

(are there other keyboard types you think I should try? Or do these 4 pretty much cover it?)

I did not care at all for the uber-noisiness of the blue switches. Since you can get the same feel without the loud clicking, I feel it's pointless. The Razer keyboard has some other problems, like the gloss finish which gets terribly smudged and a slightly non-standard layout, just enough to be annoying -- namely the offset function keys.

The brown switches on the Das were too weak for me. I'm a "hard" typist and it felt mushy to me.

The Topre had a very, very good feel -- but once I had the Deck (frost, white) in hand it was love at first touch. The clear switches have a firm feel that I prefer, with a nice inflection point when the key actuates.

I think what I learned was a) you don't need a loud click to have a good mechanical action and b) I am a hard typist and prefer very firm keys.

And, one last plug -- I invite everyone here to check out our awesome network of technical Q&A sites and infect them with your awesome brand of keyboard geekery! :)

http://stackexchange.com/sites

Title: Topre Realforce 103UB 55g (Black)
Post by: keyboardlover on Sun, 26 December 2010, 10:32:33

I'm familiar with stack overflow - cool site Jeff. I'm a .net developer. Thanks for your keyboard feedback!

Title: Topre Realforce 103UB 55g (Black)
Post by: WhiteRice on Sun, 26 December 2010, 10:36:35

You should try out an IBM model m! Old school and affordable!

Title: Topre Realforce 103UB 55g (Black)
Post by: ironman31 on Sun, 26 December 2010, 10:36:47

Quote from: ripster;269085

Shoulda tried a Filco Blue Cherry with doubleshot keys - brings down the high pitched sound quite a bit and no distracting "bling".

I found that when you put Cherry Double shots on Cherry blues, the pitch becomes higher

Title: Topre Realforce 103UB 55g (Black)
Post by: Billy Budd on Wed, 29 December 2010, 13:14:32

Sent a PM. I guess that makes this my first post!

Title: Topre Realforce 103UB 55g (Black)
Post by: iMav on Wed, 29 December 2010, 13:37:32

Quote from: Billy Budd;270355

Sent a PM. I guess that makes this my first post!

Welcome to geekhack!

Title: Topre Realforce 103UB 55g (Black)
Post by: Billy Budd on Wed, 29 December 2010, 14:01:25

Thanks. Seems like a close-knit (see crazy) group :)

I've been reading for while now and have started obsessing over keyboards.