Which mechanical AZERTY keyboard for typing/gaming ?

[Etienne Waldron]

Hi all,

I have been spending a lot of time recently learning about the different types of mechanical keyboards, but I am still unable to make a decision :/

I used to be a pretty serious gamer about 1-2 years ago (I played competitive CS 1.6 in LANs, as well as many hours spent on Quake).
However, this is not the case anymore as I am in the middle of my studies in computing/programming & I only have time for occasional games.
I spend a lot of my time on the computer and I really do type a lot. My average speed is 110wpm on a non-mechanical keyboard.

I am currently looking for:
- A mechanical keyboard
- Which has an AZERTY layout
- That would be more oriented for typing rather than gaming, but would still be alright for gaming from time to time, without always having to adapt.

I heard a lot of good things about the blue switches, as well as the brown ones.
At first I thought the blue ones would be right for me, but then I saw that many people couldn't stand them while gaming.
The brown ones seem to be more of a 'hybrid' solution, good for both typing & gaming.

I have to say, the blue switches sound very interesting to me, but I am just scared that they might not be good for the kind of games I play (FPS') when I do play them.
Unfortunately, I have no way of trying any of those types as I live in France and it is already very hard to find a keyboard that is both mechanical and has a AZERTY layout.

The noise is not an issue for me; I actually prefer when we hear the clicks
I am not certain about the budget I want to spend on this keyboard, but I know for sure I don't want it to be over 150€.

I was quite interested by the Das Keyboard Model S Ultimate (blue switches), but the layout is more of a QWERTY one (Some keys are different, like the enter key & the long left shift key, instead of a short one and the "<>" key next to it, which I really like).
I also looked at the Filco Majestouch 2, French version, which looked very interesting but maybe a bit too expensive (also, I am still not sure about which type of switches to get). I saw there were a few alternatives to this keyboard, but I don't have the references in mind.

What do you guys think?
Which keyboard model would you recommend for my needs?

Thank you very much !

Etienne

[Fabien]

Hey Etienne,

I also live in France, but for the sake of this board, I'll reply in English

Regarding the AZERTY layout mechanical keyboards, you're left with a few choices. I personally bought a Cherry G80-3000 from Materiel.net last year, and I love it. It uses Black MX switches, which are really nice. Still, I'm currently looking to sell this board in order to get a blue MX (probably a Filco Majestouch or a Razer Blackwidow). I'm a web developper and have to type A LOT, so I'm inclined to get a lighter feeling and the tactile feedback of the Blue switches sounds better to me. I may be wrong, but after testing the Blackwidow (I used to be a seller in a well-known french computer retailer).

I play a lot of FPS too (BF3 is my go-to game these days), and I've never had a problem with the Cherry. I seriously don't see where it could be a problem regarding playing and MX Blue to be honest.

I don't recommend going for a DAS Keyboard, because even though it has a "blank" version, the QWERTY layout is not the same as the AZERTY, and as you've pointed in your post, you'll get some weird results regarding some letters. It's a real shame, as far as I know, there's absolutely no AZERTY blank mechanical keyboard out there.

Anyways I hope this'll help a bit, don't hesitate to ask if you need more infos, or send me a PM.

[Etienne Waldron]

Hi Fabien,

Thank you for your response and your offer to help!
It feels weird speaking english with a french person, but I don't mind

I agree with you. I believe that the Das Keyboard is definitely not an option anymore.
I think that I will either go for the Majestouch 2 with blue switches, or the one with browns. I would love to have the blue ones actually. I just hope they would be okay for gaming sessions. I wish more people who played FPS and had this type of keyboard could share their experiences.
It's a shame that there aren't any blank AZERTY keyboards. I guess I could always buy a blank keyset, but the total price would be too high. I might do it some day though

Thanks again !