geekhack
geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: jcoffin1981 on Mon, 31 August 2015, 21:45:50
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I have the Vortex Poker 3 coming tomorrow. I just happened to see on Massdrop the Keycool 84 hero, which I was considering but bailed because of lack of availability (along with Race2 and a few others). What I really wanted was a compact board smaller than TKL, PBT keycaps, dedicated F function and arrow keys, and no oddball backspace or shift buttons. It's asking a lot, but not too much. OH, MOST IMPORTANT WAS THE TYPING EXPERIENCE, OR FEELING. I WANT TO "ENJOY YOUR FEELING!"
I opted to get the Poker 3 with limited options. Some others I wanted only came from China and could be looking at 1-2 months delivery. They day after I purchased the Vortex, I saw the Massdrop for the Keycool 84. It has everything I want, except for the white color. I'm not a fan at all, but like the legends. Keycool also had a media functions behind an FN layer, which I understand the Poker 3 does not have?
Anyways, had I saw this yesterday I would have probably opted for the Keycool, which also comes out to about $30 dollars cheaper (of less importance). What I am looking for is for somebody to tell me that the decision I made is best , or to talk me into purchasing the Keycool and then returning or selling (or keeping, but I have student loans, I can't) the Vortex. Yes this is all very subjective and opinionated, but I have owned nor typed on neither, so I need a little more input than what I'm getting from the manufacturer's websites. Thank you my fellow enthusiasts.
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Apparently the soldering on the Keycools is quite bad. They're definitely more of a bargain board and the poker is more premium in terms of build quality. The 60% layout takes a little to get used to, but after a while, it's hard to go back to a bigger board.
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So yeah I would definitely say you made the right choice
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POK3R - 60 % layout
Keycool- 75% layout
I think you can try searching for other keyboards like the MK84 they use gateron switch, it is also interesting
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I've been wanting a 75% for arrows and functions keys, so I was hesitant about buying a Pok3r. When i did however, I noticed that while the remapped arrow keys took awhile to get used to, I actually never used the Function keys.
I feel that with my typing style, aside from dedicated arrow keys, anything larger than a 60% is used only for displaying keycaps. YMMV.