Filco TKL vs Ducky Year of the Dragon

[Ferdowsi]

Hey guys, I'm in the market for a nice TKL.  I am pretty sure I am going to get a filco tkl cherry mx brown, or maybe the WASD v2 tkl if I can wait that long.  However, I was wondering, does the ducky year of the dragon have better/equal build quality compared to a costar (filco/wasd) tkl.  Thanks for all the help.

[noisyturtle]

They are both very close in build quality. The Filco has an ever so slightly more rigid case, but you likely won't even notice. The YotD board is beautiful and just as good as any Filco out there IMO. I would go with the Ducky for sure if given a choice.

[WhiteFireDragon]

Ducky has really stepped up their game. Their Year of the Dragon is same as Filco in terms of quality. The main difference will come down to what stabilizers you prefer. Filco uses Costar and Ducky uses Cherry.

If you want backlit, ducky is the clear choice. The specific YotD actually has the highest control of LED features. You can also consider a Ducking Shine II TKL. It's exactly the same as YotD, except it's not a limited edition and only has 1 less LED option, for a little cheaper. If you don't like LEDs, they can be completely turned off.

One other small advantage of Filco is that you can put a custom controller, which allows it to be programmable. Ducky has the Holtek controller soldered right on the main PCB, so you won't be able to change it out.

[MJ45]

Ducky has really stepped up their game. Their Year of the Dragon is same as Filco in terms of quality. The main difference will come down to what stabilizers you prefer. Filco uses Costar and Ducky uses Cherry.

If you want backlit, ducky is the clear choice. The specific YotD actually has the highest control of LED features. You can also consider a Ducking Shine II TKL. It's exactly the same as YotD, except it's not a limited edition and only has 1 less LED option, for a little cheaper. If you don't like LEDs, they can be completely turned off.

One other small advantage of Filco is that you can put a custom controller, which allows it to be programmable. Ducky has the Holtek controller soldered right on the main PCB, so you won't be able to change it out.

I have two YotD Duckys red and black switches. I think they may be a bit better quality than reg. models because they are limited editions maybe not. My wife uses a 9008 G2 Pro red MX at work and she's not any keyboard enthusiast but says my YotD red MX at home feels much better and smother than hers, but dislikes  like the lighting and keycaps.     

[babyhands]

I like costar stabilizers better, so i will say filco

(I have owned a filco mj2 with browns, currently own a ducky 9008 G2 pro TKL with blues)

[WhiteFireDragon]

I have two YotD Duckys red and black switches. I think they may be a bit better quality than reg. models because they are limited editions maybe not. My wife uses a 9008 G2 Pro red MX at work and she's not any keyboard enthusiast but says my YotD red MX at home feels much better and smother than hers, but dislikes  like the lighting and keycaps.     

Ducky 9008 G2 should be the same quality as the YotD. The only difference is that YotD is a limited edition with certain serial numbers, has 1 more LED function, and extra few caps not included in normal Ducky keyboards. Otherwise, internal and material should be the same. It was probably placebo effect since YotD was more expensive. And the reason why I'd say it's probably biased is because key smoothness is not dependent on the keyboard because the actual switches are all from Cherry.

Although, switches from yours might be from a better batch or just more broken in.

[MJ45]

I have two YotD Duckys red and black switches. I think they may be a bit better quality than reg. models because they are limited editions maybe not. My wife uses a 9008 G2 Pro red MX at work and she's not any keyboard enthusiast but says my YotD red MX at home feels much better and smother than hers, but dislikes  like the lighting and keycaps.     

Ducky 9008 G2 should be the same quality as the YotD. The only difference is that YotD is a limited edition with certain serial numbers, has 1 more LED function, and extra few caps not included in normal Ducky keyboards. Otherwise, internal and material should be the same. It was probably placebo effect since YotD was more expensive. And the reason why I'd say it's probably biased is because key smoothness is not dependent on the keyboard because the actual switches are all from Cherry.

Although, switches from yours might be from a better batch or just more broken in.

Yes I agree, maybe the TKL vs 108 full size caused a difference in perceived feel. But Ducky has really stepped up their products lately and a wider product range.