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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: Hercules on Mon, 03 September 2012, 10:32:02
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Trying to decide between:
1. Max Keyboard Nighthawk X8 Blue Backlit Mechanical Keyboard; and
2. Filco Majestouch2 Keyboard 104-key Cherry Brown.
They will both cost the same price - being $149.00 AUD for me.
I appreciate the Max is backlit - which is of some benefit.
What are the other pros/cons for each? I am also interested in quality, of course.
Cheers.
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Isn't the Max made by Ione? If that's the case, your best bet would be the Filco, as it is built much better than an Ione board.
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I just got a Max Keyboard X8 and I can tell you, it is built like a tank. I opened it up and it is mounted on a 2-3mm steel plate. Feels SOLID. Trust me, you won't be disappointed. Also, it opens up the possibility of crazy LED mods...I personally want to switch out the LEDs myself and customize with a combination of white/yellow/orange/red/green/blue/purple LEDs :)
Get a Max unless you want tenkeyless. Filco is pretty basic in my opinion and overpriced for what you get.
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Problem with iOne stuff isn't the materials and components, but the assembly. They do seem to have improved recently, but often their boards were plagued with cold/dry solder joints that looked like balls instead of tents, stray blobs that caused shorts, and so on. Poor assembly lead to a lot of early failures. They will have to keep up good assembly for quite awhile before they have much hope of being recommended here. Another thing, is they tend to sell the same board under several brand names. You might want to look and see if identical other brand is cheaper if you do decide to go that way, often are.
While Filco might be light on features, that is kind of the point. Keep it simple and elegant. They don't have a lot of assembly issues and a much lower failure rate. Another huge pro is they use all standard keysize, so it is much easier to get aftermarket keysets.
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I did some checking and the Max is basically an Xarmor. I had one of the Monoprice rebranded Xarmor mech keyboards and returned it. It was the non-backlit one but it only cost about $65 with shipping. The Max basically looks identical except it has backlighting. I didn't like the board and returned it. The bottom line is that if you're paying the same amount and can choose between an Ione board and a Costar board, especially a Filco, I'd go Filco all day long.
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Welcome to Geekhack!
If you want/need backlighting, then the Max is the way to go (from your list).
Otherwise get the Filco.
Or, as you are quoting AUD, maybe look at PCCG (http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=113_1276) if you haven't already (although you might have already done your research, based on the prices which match what PCCG is selling these two for), and see what else is available.
Or consider a Ducky Shine II, if you can wait for a few more weeks.
Most mech keyboards haev a pretty solid build, some more than others seem to show wear or faults after prolonged use.
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iOne can go suck a major c'ck... seriously they suck ass..
Who made the Razer black widow you ask??
iONE....
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Actually I was interested in the Max Keyboard so I did a bunch of research, they're actually A LOT better than the XArmor keyboard even though they share the same case, internally they're quite different.
For example Max Keyboard has dual layer pcb (red as oppose to green), resister on all the LEDs, and internal memory to remember your light settings after computer reboot. It also uses Costar stabilizers. So if you want backlit keyboard, this is the best choice at the moment.
Filco is pretty safe if you don't care about backlit that much. HOWEVER, Costar is coming out with backlit designs so if you have the patience I'd wait for it.
http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=35133.0
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Or consider a Ducky Shine II, if you can wait for a few more weeks.
I can wait a few more weeks. Do you think the Ducky Shine II is better than the Max Keyboard or the Filco?
I presume the Shine II is better than the Shine I - But my understanding was that the Max Keyboard was > Shine I...?
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Actually I was interested in the Max Keyboard so I did a bunch of research, they're actually A LOT better than the XArmor keyboard even though they share the same case, internally they're quite different.
For example Max Keyboard has dual layer pcb (red as oppose to green), resister on all the LEDs, and internal memory to remember your light settings after computer reboot. It also uses Costar stabilizers. So if you want backlit keyboard, this is the best choice at the moment.
Filco is pretty safe if you don't care about backlit that much. HOWEVER, Costar is coming out with backlit designs so if you have the patience I'd wait for it.
http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=35133.0
No one's ever faulted iOne for poor quality components, it was the shoddy assembly.
Does Max Keyboard use a completely different assembly process//oem as well?
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No one's ever faulted iOne for poor quality components, it was the shoddy assembly.
Does Max Keyboard use a completely different assembly process//oem as well?
That I'm not too sure, though so far out of all the reviews I've read it seems positive. Also people seems to prefer Max Keyboard over Ducky because of Costar stabilizers. Personally I've never owned a board with Cherry stabilizers so I don't know how much of a difference it actually is. But I'm a bit biased (having owned a Das and Filco) so I'd rather wait for the Costar backlit board.
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Not havnig owned, or even tried, most of these, I can only say that both Ducky Shines that I have (first model) seem fine, both in operatino and build quality.
Both are solid, the only fault with one is that the up arrow does not always click (Cherry MX blues) but does always work.
I seem to get the impression that Filcos are well-regarded (I have one on order, so I will be able to cmopare it to the Duckys at the end of the month).
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Does the Ducky Shine II use Costar stabilizers?
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No. At least mine does not.
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Still Cherry stabilizers, my friend has one. Also keep in mind the MX Red version has MX Black spacebar it's a "feature" to help you not bottom out. My friend has that and he hated it. Not sure about the other switch types, maybe it's MX Red only >___>
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Yes I've heard about using a different mx on the space bar, but I thought they were clears. Depends on which mx it has, I guess. I was thinking about getting a YOTD but the green led one only has black mx. :(
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Yes I've heard about using a different mx on the space bar, but I thought they were clears. Depends on which mx it has, I guess. I was thinking about getting a YOTD but the green led one only has black mx. :(
It's Green, i believe.
But you make something similar by putting a black spring into a blue switch.
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I'd go with the Filco.
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Monoprice has a keyboard that looks similar to the iONE and the MaxKeyboard
http://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-Backlit-Mechanical-Keyboard-Headset/dp/B0081TQ83K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1346924441&sr=8-1&keywords=monoprice+keyboard
This once came down to about 90 dollars now its back up again :(
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Monoprice has a keyboard that looks similar to the iONE and the MaxKeyboard
http://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-Backlit-Mechanical-Keyboard-Headset/dp/B0081TQ83K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1346924441&sr=8-1&keywords=monoprice+keyboard
This once came down to about 90 dollars now its back up again :(
I got the non backlit one during the 10 year anniversary sale for around $65 shipped with black mx but I wasn't impressed with it. It's hard to change out the row 1 keys and space bar because the space bar seems to be slightly smaller than a standard space bar, it won't fit unless you remove the alt keys, and the fn/win key is a 1x1 key, which is fine but if you get a replacement key set it won't come with extra row 1 1x1 keys so it'll end up mismatching a bit since you won't be able to replace those keys.
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How do the Filco, Max Keyboard and Ducky compare to the Corsair K60?
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Personally, I'd take any of the above over the Corsair. K60 and K90 are only partially mechanical; some of the keys are domes. In addition, they are known to have firmware issues that compromise their useability. Plus, you can only get the Corsairs with MX Red.
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Filco and Ducky blow Corsair out of the water.
Maybe it's because I don't like red switches.
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Filco and Ducky blow Corsair out of the water.
Maybe it's because I don't like red switches.
Sweet pun. It's really because no-one likes Rubber Dome over Membrane keyswitches.
I have heard the corsair controller has issues, though the build quality looks really nice, and I like the frameless look.