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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: Zurik on Mon, 17 January 2011, 15:48:26

Title: Illuminated Mechanical Keyboards
Post by: Zurik on Mon, 17 January 2011, 15:48:26

Hai. Im using a crappy 5 euro keyboard right now since I spilled a couple of drops of coffee in my last one and it stopped working.

So im looking for a new keyboard now. A background/key Illuminated keyboard to be more precise. Having a mechanical switch would be nice for a change since I used membrane ones all my life and I have heard marvellous things about mechanical keyboards.
From what I have seen out there the only available options right there are the Blackwidow Ultimate, the XArmor U9BL and the Deck legend. Am I missing any?
-A deck legend is way too expensive for me.
-The blackwidow pisses me off cuz its so expensive and still doesnt have NKRO and uses cherry MX blue switches which from what I have heard is kinda bad for gaming as the release point is too high therefore making double-tapping hard.
-The U9BL doesn't have the extra macro keys which are a plus in the blackwidow and also uses blue switches.

So my questions are.
-Are the lack of NKRO and use of cherry MX blue switches really going to ruin my gaming experience with those keyboards? Or should I just go with either one and ignore that?
-Or, are there any other options with similiar caracteristics available out there that I dont know about?

Thanks and sorry for the wall of text but Im really anxious to try this new thing to me called mechanical switch keyboards! :P

Title: Illuminated Mechanical Keyboards
Post by: Pylon on Mon, 17 January 2011, 17:04:15

You can also get the TG3, which is made by the same company that makes Deck boards. It's backlit, with MX blacks.

Title: Illuminated Mechanical Keyboards
Post by: Mr. Perfect on Mon, 17 January 2011, 17:06:24

:welcome: Lol at "wall of text". Geekhack isn't like Twitter, we routinely blow past the 140 character mark.

At any rate you've hit the main three illuminated boards right there. I guess it comes down to which of three features you want more; Media keys, NKRO, or non-blue switches.

Pylon's suggestion of the TG3 series listed here (http://www.tg3electronics.com/products/backlit).

Title: Illuminated Mechanical Keyboards
Post by: msiegel on Tue, 18 January 2011, 00:44:25

is that your... final answer?

Title: Illuminated Mechanical Keyboards
Post by: woody on Tue, 18 January 2011, 03:26:36

The hand is so MP-esque.

Title: Illuminated Mechanical Keyboards
Post by: Senor_Cartmenez on Tue, 18 January 2011, 07:50:01

not much to add here, backlit mechs are a rare breed. Add German Layout and you are down to the BlackWidow Ultimate and the x-armor. Of which only the BW is currently available, the x-armor we still wait for.

So be merry with your choice of three (plus the TG3) :P

The TG3 backlit 82 key as well as the Deck 82 key are quite often available used on ebay. Since those things are quite sturdy and the keycaps won't wear out in a decade, they are quite safe to buy used imho. So you might want to give that a shot. However the Deck 82 has to be purchased with care. The yellow, red and some older versions of the green (and blue?) 82 Deck have rollover issues. The TG3 not afaik.


And yes, ripster is quite right. The whole "blues suck for FPS cuzz of double tapping" is quite the BS. I had a Deck 82 and a Das Model S here for testing. Das had blues. While I agree that blacks are a bit nicer for FPS (that's an opinion though, not a fact), I absolutely don't see how someone would be able to say "blues are not good for FPS".

I play both Bad Company 2 and Starcraft 2. While I found the blacks to be much nicer for BC2, I couldn't play SC2 with them properly (too many missed keypresses). While I found the blues not as nice for BC2, I found them much nicer for SC2 and I could play both games with them without issues.

So I went for the blues.

Title: Illuminated Mechanical Keyboards
Post by: bugfix on Tue, 18 January 2011, 07:51:47

Quote from: Senor_Cartmenez;280320

While I found the blues not so nice for BC2,

I actually enjoyed them quite a lot in BC2.

Title: Illuminated Mechanical Keyboards
Post by: Senor_Cartmenez on Tue, 18 January 2011, 07:56:35

fixed that into
"while I found the blues not AS nice for BC2..."

cuzz u are right, I enjoy them for BC2 as well. I just liked the blacks more for BC2.

Title: Illuminated Mechanical Keyboards
Post by: Philth on Tue, 18 January 2011, 08:22:30

Quote from: Pylon;280059

You can also get the TG3, which is made by the same company that makes Deck boards. It's backlit, with MX blacks.

^Seconded. TG3 would be perfect if you're looking for something on the cheaper side of backlit mech keyboards  (And it has a splatter/blood guard...l!).Look on ebay for them. Only problem is that its 2KRO IIRC, but I think you won't find anything on the "cheap" side with full NKRO

Title: Illuminated Mechanical Keyboards
Post by: Senor_Cartmenez on Tue, 18 January 2011, 11:07:41

Oooooh all TG3 are 2KRO to begin with?
I always get confused with the TG3 ones...

For NKRO look for a used 82 Deck then. But mark my words further up.

MARK MY WORDS !!!

Title: Illuminated Mechanical Keyboards
Post by: jokkon on Tue, 18 January 2011, 12:05:24

hmm i've had my razer blackwidow standard edition (mx blue) for a week. although I dont play games competitively, I have tried it on crysis and sc2. I am by no means a gosu player but I haven't noticed any ghosting or double key problems on mine.

Title: Illuminated Mechanical Keyboards
Post by: Zurik on Wed, 19 January 2011, 14:09:15

Thanks everyone for your tips and other reviews I found on Geekhack.org, I made my decision, the Razer BlackWidow Ultimate :)

Ill post on the "what did you get in the mail today?" section on the forum once I get it with further opinions of mine on this epic keyboard (imo)

Thanks!