Hello!
I'm a little embarrassed really, to just register here and start demanding answers with my very first post. I'm a long-time lurker and happen to know that there are many a knowledgeable geek in here and I'd like some answers that I can't find on my own!:)
So my current board is starting to give up after about 1,5 years, and I'm kind of tired of it. It's the
Logitech Illuminated. The keys are OK I guess, but I'm just tired of the quality of the thing. It flexes and bends with every keystroke and has started giving up on the more used keys. It's supposed to be quiet, but it rattles like all hell so it really isn't. I'm growing tired of buying a new board every year or so, so I've decided to invest in a quality mechanical keyboard. Mainly I find it hard to find a good keyboard that has all the features I want but none of those I don't want. So I'd like some help.
1. Let's start with the hardest part, it absolutely
has to be Swedish layout. I once brought a US layout home at which point I got laughed at and then threatened because it lacked the едц and the Enter key was looked down upon as "a tiny ****-enter"
Yeah, so there's that.
2. After a brief trial, I'd say my prefferd switch is the
brown cherry. Blue is out of the question seeing as my fiancee would probably murder me if I started typing on one of those at home. The other non-clicky tactile cherries are quite rare as I understand it, and I haven't tried them, but if you know of a good kb that uses them... I might give it a go. I also wouldn't shy away from red or black, even though I am somewhat hesitant to black ones.
3. I usually type and game in dim-lit rooms, rarely have bright lights on, so I'd like keys individually backlit. Trouble is, every backlit mechanical keyboard out there is too 1337 for my taste. They have weird fonts, special keys galore and can be used as lighting at discos. I just want the letters to shine vaguely in the dark so that I can see them somewhat. I am willing to go without this if the options are just too "awesome" for me.
4. I spend my time in front of the computer probably 60% typing out text, 40% gaming (SC2, D3, Battlefield3) and then a minuscule amount of time in Excel crunching numbers. But I think I want to give up the numpad because I've found out that that having my hands closer together while gaming is soo much more comfortable, so a tenkeyless would be preferable, but I'm hesitant to go without the numpad as I've always had one. Anyone in a similar situation that can tell how life without the numpad is like? Do you miss it? Do you sometimes try to punch in a number but hit your mouse instead, and shed a single manly tear?
So a short summary in order of priority:
- Must be Swedish (or Nordic as they sometimes call it) layout.
- Brown switches, could settle for red (or black to some extent) if i absolutely must.
- Each key individually backlit, can do without this feature if the option is too disco (or elite as the kids call it).
- Tenkeyless for better ergonomics, but if you think I'm being daft, please let me know.
Max budget is 200 USD (you'd be surprised how little that get's you in Europe:))
Greatly appreciate any help I can get, and thank you for a great forum!
