Recommend a Mechanical Keyboard for a touch typist :)

[Kazekage Gaara]

Hi guys,

First of all, I live in India and am new here as is evident from my post count  I've been searching and reading quite a lot here at geekhack and read up on some AWESOME guides on mechanical keyboards here

Now, when I made a search, I mostly ended up with threads were people requested a mechanical keyboard majorly for gaming purposes, hence I've decided to make this thread.

Anyways, am a touch typist with average typing speeds of 100 to 120 wpm  I used to type on traditional rubber dome keyboards and that's when my fingers and sometimes wrists started hurting a little, hence I shifted to Natural Ergonomic 4000.  I've had this keyboard for more than a year, and it's starting to give me trouble now.  The keys have become stiffer and harder to press and sometimes a few keys (N, P, etc.) won't even register the click until pressed RIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE.  Now, with my typing speeds, this is giving me trouble, as I have to go all the way back and correct my mistakes.

Now, since this keyboard is at it's end, and I'll have to throw this away, I've decided to invest in a mechanical keyboard once and for all for it's "long lasting feature"

The Natural Ergonomic 4000 ran me Rs. 3000 Indian Rupees (approx $60 US), now that's a costly keyboard for me, but I never imagined it would crap out on me so soon

Anyways, I read up on the Cherry Blues, Browns, etc., and some people mentioned Cherry Browns are overall good for both typing and gaming, but my main use of this keyboard is TYPING.  So what "cherries" would you recommend

Also, availability of many brands of keyboards mentioned here at geekhack like Filco, Das, etc., is very poor and next to unavailable here in India.

I searched on Ebay India and the local computer shop and could only find 2 mechanical keyboards, namely the famous Indian Keyboard - The TVS Gold for Rs. 1450 (approx $32 US) and Razer BlackWidow for Rs. 3900 (approx $86 US).

Now, I read reviews of both these keyboards here at GH and found out they aren't that good.

So, I have a request, can you guys please suggest me a good mechanical keyboard that's BEST for SPEED TOUCH TYPING.  Here's what I am specifically looking for in my keyboard....

• Should be good for speed touch typing.
• Keys should be soft and remain soft for quite a long time, so as not to make my fingers painful.
• It should not be noisy, not clickity clack, but if cliciky clack buttons provide better typing experience, then I can live with the noise
• Should be comparatively cheaper as I'll most probably have to get it shipped to India and also bear the shipping charges if I can't find one locally.

Thanx a lot in advance for all the info guys.  Desperately waiting for a reply

PS:  Sorry for writing such a big post

[bugfix]

At first I would have suggested a Kinesis Advantage or a Topre, but they might be to expensive for you.

Another alternative would be a Unicomp keyboard, I personally love the buckling spring for typing, but I don't know if it is "soft" enough for you. Also it's not ergonomical.

[Kazekage Gaara]

At first I would have suggested a Kinesis Advantage or a Topre, but they might be to expensive for you.

Another alternative would be a Unicomp keyboard, I personally love the buckling spring for typing, but I don't know if it is "soft" enough for you. Also it's not ergonomical.

Well, the NEK 4000 was very good and soft originally, so I don't think newer and other mechanical boards would become this stiff as rubber domes usually tend to become after a certain period

Anyways, as the guide here at GH suggests...

A typical rubber dome is in the 60g to 70g range

So I would say, switch force of 40 to 60g would suffice

[squarebox]

I believe you should be able to get the TVS gold cheap as they are made in India.
TVS-gold are using Cherry MX switches.

[Kazekage Gaara]

I believe you should be able to get the TVS gold cheap as they are made in India.
TVS-gold are using Cherry MX switches.

Yeah...like I said, am getting a TVS Gold for Rs. 1450 Indian Rupees (approx $32 US), but the only problem I see in it is the short backspace key

But I guess I'll just have to get used to it

Edit: By the way guys, TVS Gold is available in PS2 and USB interface, so wanted to ask, which interface should I go for ?  USB or PS2 ? or any is okay ?

Edit II:  Alright, I just checked the guide here at GH, and I should probably go with the USB interface

[Kazekage Gaara]

Alright, thanx a lot for all the help guys.

I think I should just go with TVS Gold  It is the cheapest option I have

May be down the road, I might just order Cherry Browns or any other "cherry" switches in hopes of swapping them out in my TVS Gold

Edit: By the way, is it okay to put wrist rests ? like any gel wrist rests ?  The TVS Gold won't come with one, so I was thinking, may be I should get one.

I know I'll be missing the ergonomics of the Microsoft NEK4000.

[bugfix]

Edit: By the way, is it okay to put wrist rests ? like any gel wrist rests ?

I personally like my wrist rest very much. They're not that expensive so it won't hurt to try.