Dude. Save yourself the entire factory MX keyboard journey and gather funds for a custom aluminum board. It is so worth it. So. Worth. It.
I can admit it.
I am silly.
I am obsessed with the korean custom boards.
I can only speak from my own experience so this is the advice I would have given myself if I could go back in time.
I knew for sure I was looking for a solid, beautiful and modern cherry mx board and I knew that a korean custom was the epitome of that category. When I first became a lurker on GH, the KMAC craze was just starting and I instantly fell in love with images of DanGWanG and Reaper's titanium anodized boards [among others of course]. I spent countless hours looking through the Post your korean keyboard thread just enjoying the fact that these machines exist. It's what kept me coming back, it's what got me to register, and it's why I'm still here.
At the time the cheapest alu-cased board was a Poker X with a CNC case. It was not cheap, weighing in at over half the price of a fully alu housed TKL. I got the poker in hopes of temporary satiating my hunger for a solid metal board. But alas, in a few short months, I knew that I had to part with it in order to save funds for a "real" aluminum board. The taste of 6061 only made me want more.
Later that year, I purchased a KMAC LE for almost $400; my first TKL board. Life is different now. I'm there. I made it. It suffices to say that this board lived up to my expectations and was worth every last penny. The heft, the build quality and the looks. It was all there. The board is one of the first things I touch in the morning and one of the last things I touch at night. It literally looks, feels and weighs like $400. Maybe more. I'm constantly feeling the cold hard angles and bevels of the board, in awe of it's precision machining. No matter what I'm doing on the computer I am almost always aware of the keyboard. I'm never "trapped" at my desk at home. I want to be there because of my board. My stupidly awesomely expensive korean custom board.
One of the reasons I could sell the KMAC at cost was because I loved having it so much. It was worth the loss of selling it for $330. In my mind I paid about $12 a month to have the board for the six months of ownership. The only reason I sold it was to find a board that supported full backlight so I got an LZ.
So of course, if I am going to give advice on what keyboard you should buy, it's going to be a custom alu board because I have an obsession. Geekhack itself is a hub of keyboard obsession. And I think a custom fully-housed aluminum board is the best way to express that obsession.
Korean customs are not practical. But falling in love never is.
I want to say QFR, regardless if they care about the numberpad or backlighting. I just don't understand the need for either of those things...
Yeah the friend of mine that ended up with a WASD was an example. He insisted on having a numberpad. I think I recommended Rosewill (with a warning about the USB problem and volunteering to fix it) and WASD. I think the keycap customization is really what sold him though.I want to say QFR, regardless if they care about the numberpad or backlighting. I just don't understand the need for either of those things...As you know, keyboards are a very personal thing, so what is right for you might not be right for them. Telling someone oh you don't need this because I don't use it, doesn't encourage them usually. At least in my opinion.
I recommend a Realforce.
Go big or go home.
I want to say QFR, regardless if they care about the numberpad or backlighting. I just don't understand the need for either of those things...
As you know, keyboards are a very personal thing, so what is right for you might not be right for them. Telling someone oh you don't need this because I don't use it, doesn't encourage them usually. At least in my opinion.
If they don't get it, then I show them my fountain pens :P. Piling the confusion on top of confusion!
If they don't get it, then I show them my fountain pens :P. Piling the confusion on top of confusion!
Not a problem for me when I point out that my youngest fountain pen is 12 years old.
I'll always suggest G80s, although most of the people I suggest that to hate the retro look and prefer the flashy keyboards with tonnes of LEDs, so that suggestion almost always gets shot down.Yay! I'm not alone...
If they don't get it, then I show them my fountain pens :P. Piling the confusion on top of confusion!
Not a problem for me when I point out that my youngest fountain pen is 12 years old.
I'll always suggest G80s, although most of the people I suggest that to hate the retro look and prefer the flashy keyboards with tonnes of LEDs, so that suggestion almost always gets shot down.
...and that's exactly the thing to be avoided. Get a G80 for €30
Many people are so overwhelmed by the choices available in mechanical keyboards, that when migrating from a rubber dome keyboard they are just happy to use the first one they buy.
Later on they might become curious about other switches, or perhaps try a friend's board with different switches.
Most of the time, people like their full size keyboards and are put off by the XT's branding and logos so I haven't been recommending it because of the "gamer" style looks.
Most of the time, people like their full size keyboards and are put off by the XT's branding and logos so I haven't been recommending it because of the "gamer" style looks.
Curious about this branding business. My CM XT only has the one CM Storm logo on the edge of the case which isn't visible while using the keyboard. How is that any different than the Filco logo?
Most of the time, people like their full size keyboards and are put off by the XT's branding and logos so I haven't been recommending it because of the "gamer" style looks.
Curious about this branding business. My CM XT only has the one CM Storm logo on the edge of the case which isn't visible while using the keyboard. How is that any different than the Filco logo?
Branding might be a bad term. You know how the Filco just has the three LED windows and it has a smooth case top? The XT I remember has all the channels and angles and had a grey top.
...Apparently I haven't kept up with the CM stuff because it looks different from what I remember.