geekhack
geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: AKIMbO on Fri, 22 June 2012, 13:16:18
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I've been typing on a Model F AT and Model F XT side-by-side for a few days now and I wanted to post some differences between the two keyboards in terms of typing feel. I've seen many people claim that they feel different to type on (AT vs XT), so I figured I'd throw my 2 cents into the ring.
-The AT has a slightly lower pitched sound. This most likely has to do with the chasis of the keyboard. The AT is 100% plastic whereas half of the XT's chasis is metal.
-The XT has a much rougher texture to the top chasis than does the AT. This texture is somewhat noticeable on the palms of the hands, but by no means uncomfortable.
-The XT feels a tad lighter to type on (but this could be due to a number of variables having nothing to do with the keyboard itself...such as how the keyboard was stored, condition of the springs post-storage, etc.). What I mean when I say "light" is that the XT requires less force to buckle the spring and actuate the key switch.
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So which one was more preferable for you to type on? Also, I had no idea there was an XT converter, I always thought those were impossible to use on a modern PC.
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I still prefer the AT, but solely because the layout is easier to type on. The XT has the better feel imo. You can make the XT compatible with modern computers by wiring a teensy controller to the XT and loading soarer's converter code onto the teensy. It's actually very easy to do. Check out this mod thread (http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Island:17458) on it.