New to mechanical keyboards, advice requested

[EXARKUN007]

As the title says, I'm new to the market.  My Saitek Cyborg has seen better days, and while it has served well, it's time for it to go the way of the dodo.  I'm looking into a mechanical, since I've seen many folks rave about them.  I've read the whole post on the OC forum and done some other reading/video watching, so I have somewhat of a knowledge base to work from, just not the experience with the different boards like you all do.

Say I'm looking for a board with backlighting and minimal noise that will be primarily used for gaming (MMOs and FPS mostly), what would you reccomend?  I had a mechanical board on an old 80 88 I rescued from the dumpster at my school many years ago, but have no idea what kind of switches or even board it was.  It was a clicky type though, and I can't go with one of them as the television isn't too far from my desk and I don't want to disturb anyone there.

Reds, blacks, clears, and browns seem to be my options from what I can tell.  I've been looking at the Nighthawk X series, as well as Ducky and a few others.  Any thoughts?

[CPTBadAss]

I've been playing Borderlands with missalaire (another GH member) who's been playing with Clears and it's been surprising how loud those switches are. Theyre not louder than my blues but it's still nowhere near silent. I also know that if you really need to double tap in something like an FPS, then you might not like the bump in tactile switches like the Brown or Clears. That being said, I've watched streams where even Reds and Blacks sound really loud.

I don't really like the Nighthawk series. I think they look gaudy and overdone. I really like the Ducky's backlighting and I think the quality of the boards is pretty high.

If I were you, I'd get a Ducky TKL board with Black or Blue switches. I feel like both of those are good intro switches. What switch you like is more a personal preference than anything else. You can play FPS's with Blues. I know people have said they gamed on Buckling Spring boards.

And before I forget, welcome to Geekhack! Enjoy your stay!

[jabar]

Ducky will be your best backlit option. They have a wide variety of LED and switch combinations, as well as very good build quality. Ducky is about to release what they're calling Shine 3s, DK2108S, which are more competitively priced than the older Shine 2s, DK9008/DK9087 TKL. I own a Shine 2 variant and it is a solid board.

Your other options for backlighting are: Deck, which is insanely expensive for what you get and with flat profile (but PBT) keycaps, plus limited options; Vortex Pure, which has some keycap QC issues documented here; Keycool is newly available in the US so not much feedback yet; Max Nighthawk, which I also own and do like a lot, but would only recommend a Max if on sale. Max is also made by iOne OEM which is very maligned here at GH but it is of very good build quality.

Take a look through the list below and crossreference with what you can find here at GH. Also look at deskthority.net, there is a lot of information on their forums/wiki.

http://mechanicalkeyboards.com/search.php?keyword=&switch_id=ALL&size=ALL&man=ALL&key_plastic=ALL&backlit=ALL&interface=ALL&cord_length=ALL&usb_kro=ALL&ps2_kro=ALL&x=80&y=24&in_stock=on

[csloan1218]

Like you, I used the saitek cyborg and the eclipse 2 for a good backlit board before I knew about the wonderful world of mechanical keyboards. I also primary play games like mmos, so I wanted something that was good for long hours of playing, so I went with cherry reds for a light and non tactile feel and I don't regret it. Ducky makes the best backlit board that I've seen, super bright and customizable layouts. So I would recommend a ducky with red switches for a easy transition from the keyboards you're used too.

Good luck and have fun getting your first real keyboard!

[Tarzan]

Like you, I used the saitek cyborg and the eclipse 2 for a good backlit board before I knew about the wonderful world of mechanical keyboards. I also primary play games like mmos, so I wanted something that was good for long hours of playing, so I went with cherry reds for a light and non tactile feel and I don't regret it. Ducky makes the best backlit board that I've seen, super bright and customizable layouts. So I would recommend a ducky with red switches for a easy transition from the keyboards you're used too.

Good luck and have fun getting your first real keyboard!

I'll second (third?) the recommendation for Ducky for back-lit keyboards.  If you want non-clicky, look for linear or tactile switches like Cherry MX Red (light), MX Clear (medium) or MX Black (heavy). 

The Deck keyboards are quite pricy, but you can try out their line by getting a TG3 branded board - TG3 is the parent company of Deck.  TG3-BL82 keyboards were designed for public safety and industrial applications, you can get these 82-key units on eBay or from the Classifieds for around $50.00.

[Bry]

I recommend Reds for WASD gaming. If you play more RTS style games, browns is also good option. I still love reds the most, and play SC2 on my mx red board exclusively.

The way the brown switch creates tactility, is by pressing through a physical bump. It's the friction that makes the tactility, kind of like how it feels when you push a key into a lock (comparing the bump on the key against the pin in the tumbler to the bump on the rail in the switch against the metal contact). It tends to feel a little unrefined and gritty to me. Don't get me wrong though, browns are a great switch, I just feel like the bump is in the way / unnecessary when I use my Filco with browns (everyday at work).

Cooler master seems to have great quality if you're looking for backlit boards.

[babyhands]

between reds and browns i would chose browns everyday, for gaming, for typing, for anything. I have owned both switch types by the way. You are going to want to do the o-ring mod, because no cherry switches are really that quiet and the o-ring mod seems to help quite a bit.

[EXARKUN007]

On mechanicalkeyboards.com they have a bunch of shine II that are the Chinese version.  Are they somehow different?  There are very few others in stock is why I ask.

[Hour]

On mechanicalkeyboards.com they have a bunch of shine II that are the Chinese version.  Are they somehow different?  There are very few others in stock is why I ask.

They have Chinese characters on the keys below the English, it's really sick. 

[knotra]

On mechanicalkeyboards.com they have a bunch of shine II that are the Chinese version.  Are they somehow different?  There are very few others in stock is why I ask.

They just have chinese characters under the english layout on the keycaps. its the same as an US layout keyboard just with extra chinese characters on them. I actually have one. They are actually pretty nice and work just like a regular keyboard.

[EXARKUN007]

Looks like there are 2 versions of the 9087, the regular and the G2, I'm not seeing any difference other than $30.  Anyone that can enlighten me?

[csloan1218]

Looks like there are 2 versions of the 9087, the regular and the G2, I'm not seeing any difference other than $30.  Anyone that can enlighten me?

It doesn't look like the g2 is backlit, just leds under the wasd cluster.

[EXARKUN007]

Ducky DK9087 Shine II TKL Chinese Version Blue LED Backlit Mechanical Keyboard (Black Cherry MX)

^ And thus my journey into the land of the mechanical keyboard begins!  Pulled the trigger on this one this morning

[csloan1218]

Good on ya mate!

Post some pics when you get it.

[EXARKUN007]

Will do sir/madame!

[EXARKUN007]

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The chinese characters are sweet!  This is on the 2nd to lowest LED setting, those suckers are bright.   It's gonna take some getting used to I think, the cyborg I replaced was a behemoth while this is the exact opposite, plus the feel is waaaay different.  Backspace, space, and shift all feel a little stiffer than the other keys and it's throwing me off for now, but I'll revisit my impressions in a few weeks.  Many thanks for the advice guys/gals!

Initial impressions:
After pulling a key, these are actually reds (In the comments I made a sad face that the reds weren't available with the blue LEDS), apparently they read those.  So these are red switches.  Nice and light, but less tactile feedback than even the cyborg, going to have to train myself for it, I can definitely see the allure of the browns in that regard.   Going to have to try it out in a few games and see if I may need to try a few other switches.  You know, just one or 2 others, just to see how they feel.

[csloan1218]

Very nice, I would imagine going from a full to a tkl would be quite a shock. The red do come with blue leds, but maybe just not in that model board. With the shift and space bar being stiffer, I think those are black switches, which I dont really care for myself. I would rather my switches be uniform, but with larger keys there might be a weight and actuation issue... idk.

But congrats on a great looking board!

[EXARKUN007]

The spacebar is a little stiffer, but still accidentally gets depressed with just me resting my thumb on it.  I don't know if I'll try to get used to it, mod it, or try a different board/switch.  Still pretty early with this one.