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Offline AUAnonymous

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« on: Fri, 22 July 2011, 20:09:17 »
Hey everyone, I've been lurking around here for a bit and finally decided to make an account so I could get some advice.

I'm looking for my first mechanical keyboard that hopefully meets the following criteria:
  • Full size
  • Standard US layout
  • Preferably non-clicky (not 100% necessary)
  • Sub ~$100 (I could perhaps go a little over)

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance :smile:
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Why don\'t you give Colemak a try? You\'ll like it, I promise.*

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Offline noodles256

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« Reply #1 on: Fri, 22 July 2011, 20:32:46 »
get a logitech g110
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Offline AUAnonymous

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« Reply #2 on: Fri, 22 July 2011, 20:51:56 »
What, you mean like this one?

[ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 21906[/ATTACH]
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Noppoo Choc Mini (MX Blacks) - First mechanical keyboard :D
Why don\'t you give Colemak a try? You\'ll like it, I promise.*

*Not a real promise

Offline N8N

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« Reply #3 on: Fri, 22 July 2011, 20:54:15 »
What keyboard have you been using?  What do you like about it?  What don't you like about it?

I would suggest an eBay Cherry G80-8200 to try w/ browns or clears before spending real money on a keyboard but that may or may not be what you really want.

Do you like tactile feedback? (you say you don't want clicky so I will rule out blues.) How hard do you typically hit the keys?  All of these things factor into switch choice and even then you might not like the "official" recommendation...
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Filco Majestouch-2 with Cherry Corp. doubleshot keys - Leopold Tenkeyless Tactile Force with Wyse doubleshots - Silicon Graphics 9500900 - WASD V1 - IBM Model M 52G9658 - Noppoo Choc Pro with Cherry lasered PBT keycaps - Wyse 900866-01 - Cherry G80-8200LPBUS/07 - Dell AT101W - several Cherry G81s (future doubleshot donors) (order of current preference) (dang I have too many keyboards, I really only need two)

Offline noodles256

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« Reply #4 on: Fri, 22 July 2011, 20:57:24 »
yea man, you dont even need a keyboard anymore. that g110 is perfect
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Offline AUAnonymous

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« Reply #5 on: Sat, 23 July 2011, 00:55:12 »
Quote from: N8N;385670
What keyboard have you been using?  What do you like about it?  What don't you like about it?

I would suggest an eBay Cherry G80-8200 to try w/ browns or clears before spending real money on a keyboard but that may or may not be what you really want.

Do you like tactile feedback? (you say you don't want clicky so I will rule out blues.) How hard do you typically hit the keys?  All of these things factor into switch choice and even then you might not like the "official" recommendation...

I've got a Logitech G110, and it's a sold keyboard. I'm just interested in trying out a mechanical keyboard. As far as I can tell, I don't hit the keys particularly hard and I'm assuming the a lot of the point of a mechanical keyboard is the tactile feedback. I had a look at the one you mentioned, and the cheapest one I saw was $100 O.o not exactly cheap... still I appreciate the effort.
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Noppoo Choc Mini (MX Blacks) - First mechanical keyboard :D
Why don\'t you give Colemak a try? You\'ll like it, I promise.*

*Not a real promise

Offline noodles256

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« Reply #6 on: Sat, 23 July 2011, 01:15:10 »
g110 is a mech keyboard in it's own regards.
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Offline IvanIvanovich

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« Reply #7 on: Sat, 23 July 2011, 01:15:51 »
Maybe a Dell AT101? It has Alps switch, but is often easy to find on ebay for under $45.
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Offline AUAnonymous

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« Reply #8 on: Sat, 23 July 2011, 01:58:11 »
Quote from: noodles256;385776
g110 is a mech keyboard in it's own regards.
If it is so great why isn't is one of your "current flavas"? I agree it is good, but I'm just looking for something different.

Quote from: lysol;385778
Maybe a Dell AT101? It has Alps switch, but is often easy to find on ebay for under $45.
I see your point, buying a cheap one to try out is probably a good idea, but the way I see things is that if I'm gonna spend money on a keyboard, it should be one that I won't need/want to replace if I do end up liking it. Conversely, I don't want to spend a ton of money just for a keyboard... Is there anything that's new (i.e. doesn't look like it's from the 80s) and not too expensive? I'm thinking something along the line of the Das Keyboard, but maybe a little cheaper.
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Noppoo Choc Mini (MX Blacks) - First mechanical keyboard :D
Why don\'t you give Colemak a try? You\'ll like it, I promise.*

*Not a real promise

Offline IvanIvanovich

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« Reply #9 on: Sat, 23 July 2011, 02:12:54 »
Adesso Mechanical Pro or Cherry g80-3000 for around $75.
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Offline N8N

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« Reply #10 on: Sat, 23 July 2011, 03:30:26 »
look @ "rawko" on eBay, he has cherry POS boards for reasonable prices.  a lot of people here have bought them from him.  Or if you want to try browns I have a MX11800 and a G80-8200 that I think I will get rid of - I'm just not used to the browns.  I think rawko has G80-8200s with clears up now for $22 plus shipping and browns for the same or less.
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Filco Majestouch-2 with Cherry Corp. doubleshot keys - Leopold Tenkeyless Tactile Force with Wyse doubleshots - Silicon Graphics 9500900 - WASD V1 - IBM Model M 52G9658 - Noppoo Choc Pro with Cherry lasered PBT keycaps - Wyse 900866-01 - Cherry G80-8200LPBUS/07 - Dell AT101W - several Cherry G81s (future doubleshot donors) (order of current preference) (dang I have too many keyboards, I really only need two)

Offline AUAnonymous

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« Reply #11 on: Sat, 23 July 2011, 05:18:28 »
Quote from: lysol;385786
Adesso Mechanical Pro or Cherry g80-3000 for around $75.
Hmm... that Adesso looks promising, although I can't seem to find the Cherry readily available.
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Noppoo Choc Mini (MX Blacks) - First mechanical keyboard :D
Why don\'t you give Colemak a try? You\'ll like it, I promise.*

*Not a real promise

Offline bcpk

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« Reply #12 on: Sat, 23 July 2011, 05:28:36 »
Steel Series 6gv2 is fairly cheap and uses MX Blacks.
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Offline TacticalCoder

  • Posts: 526
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« Reply #13 on: Sat, 23 July 2011, 05:42:18 »
Quote from: bcpk;385819
Steel Series 6gv2 is fairly cheap and uses MX Blacks.


But the OP clearly specified "standard US layout".  Not that I like or disklike the 6gv2 or anything but simply: with its bigass ENTER key and the tiny right-shift and the weirdly located '\|' key, it apparently doesn't qualify for "standard US layout".  Which may or may not be an issue for the OP.
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HHKB Pro JP (daily driver) -- HHKB Pro 2 -- Industrial IBM Model M 1395240-- NIB Cherry MX 5000 - IBM Model M 1391412 (Swiss QWERTZ) -- IBM Model M 1391403 (German QWERTZ) * 2 -- IBM Model M Ambra -- Black IBM Model M M13 -- IBM Model M 1391401 -- IBM Model M 139? ? ? *2 -- Dell AT102W -- Ergo (split) SmartBoard (white ALPS apparently)

Offline r4pture

  • Posts: 27
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« Reply #14 on: Sat, 23 July 2011, 05:46:29 »
1+ for the Dell AT101W.  Amazing mechanical KB and you can get them for like 20-30 on eBay.  :)  Nothing fancy, just extremely solid and a pleasure to type on without being too drastically different.
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Offline noodles256

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« Reply #15 on: Sat, 23 July 2011, 10:22:05 »
i wouldnt get a g110 because it sucks lol
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Offline AUAnonymous

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« Reply #16 on: Sat, 23 July 2011, 16:49:46 »
Quote from: noodles256;385894
i wouldnt get a g110 because it sucks lol
Thanks for the help... ಠ_ಠ
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Noppoo Choc Mini (MX Blacks) - First mechanical keyboard :D
Why don\'t you give Colemak a try? You\'ll like it, I promise.*

*Not a real promise

Offline IvanIvanovich

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« Reply #17 on: Sat, 23 July 2011, 16:54:01 »
Where are you located? Finding Cherry g80-3--- series keyboards usually isn't hard.
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Offline palindrome

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« Reply #18 on: Sat, 23 July 2011, 18:03:18 »
How about the Noppoo Choc Pro?

You can get the black or brown switches since you do not want the click.  It seems to be in your price range as well.
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Offline AUAnonymous

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« Reply #19 on: Sat, 23 July 2011, 19:58:16 »
Quote from: lysol;385975
Where are you located? Finding Cherry g80-3--- series keyboards usually isn't hard.

I'm in the US.
Quote from: palindrome;385997
How about the Noppoo Choc Pro?

You can get the black or brown switches since you do not want the click.  It seems to be in your price range as well.

That's looks pretty good too, I'll have to look into it a bit more.
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Noppoo Choc Mini (MX Blacks) - First mechanical keyboard :D
Why don\'t you give Colemak a try? You\'ll like it, I promise.*

*Not a real promise

Offline IvanIvanovich

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« Reply #20 on: Sat, 23 July 2011, 20:11:08 »
Seems the price has gone up on g80-3000. Most places are at around $85 now.
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Offline AUAnonymous

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« Reply #21 on: Sun, 24 July 2011, 14:13:31 »
Quote from: lysol;386036
Seems the price has gone up on g80-3000. Most places are at around $85 now.

Yeah it seems a bit expensive for what it is
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Noppoo Choc Mini (MX Blacks) - First mechanical keyboard :D
Why don\'t you give Colemak a try? You\'ll like it, I promise.*

*Not a real promise

Offline Arcanius

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« Reply #22 on: Sun, 24 July 2011, 14:19:01 »
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Offline AUAnonymous

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« Reply #23 on: Sun, 24 July 2011, 20:54:05 »
Quote from: Arcanius;386293
Try a ducky off of PChome?
http://global.pchome.com.tw/?mod=item&func=exhibit&IT_NO=DCAH0X-A53592969&c=A10&tm=u
About $90 shipped.
Thanks for the tip, however I'm a bit reluctant to buy something off of a Taiwanese-only website.

Out of all of the keyboards I've looked at so far, the best looking so far are the Das Professional S Silent (hopefully with the student discount) and the Noppoo Choc Pro (or maybe mini) w/Brown switches. I'd probably lean towards the Noppoo more if it weren't incompatible with Macs. I don't have a Mac myself, but I do use them occasionally and there's a possibility of getting one in the future, so I don't want limit myself if I don't have to.
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Noppoo Choc Mini (MX Blacks) - First mechanical keyboard :D
Why don\'t you give Colemak a try? You\'ll like it, I promise.*

*Not a real promise

Offline Bry

  • Posts: 167
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« Reply #24 on: Sun, 24 July 2011, 21:08:59 »
Quote from: r4pture;385826
1+ for the Dell AT101W.  Amazing mechanical KB and you can get them for like 20-30 on eBay.  :)  Nothing fancy, just extremely solid and a pleasure to type on without being too drastically different.

 

+1 for opeth!!


And why do you keep suggesting a g110... trololol?
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Offline N8N

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« Reply #25 on: Sun, 24 July 2011, 21:41:53 »
If you want to try an AT101W I actually am flogging one in the classifieds now and I thought I saw another one for sale... what I don't like about it compared to other options is the high tactile/click point.  I much prefer the middle-of-travel tactile point of the Cherry switches.  (NB: I have only tried clears and browns so far.  Don't know anyone with a board with blues, and I didn't buy one because clicking drives my cow orkers nuts apparently.)
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Filco Majestouch-2 with Cherry Corp. doubleshot keys - Leopold Tenkeyless Tactile Force with Wyse doubleshots - Silicon Graphics 9500900 - WASD V1 - IBM Model M 52G9658 - Noppoo Choc Pro with Cherry lasered PBT keycaps - Wyse 900866-01 - Cherry G80-8200LPBUS/07 - Dell AT101W - several Cherry G81s (future doubleshot donors) (order of current preference) (dang I have too many keyboards, I really only need two)

Offline AUAnonymous

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« Reply #26 on: Sun, 24 July 2011, 22:21:45 »
I'm looking for something a bit more modern and nicer looking than the AT101(W). Functionality is important to me, but looks and condition do play an admittedly large role as well, so I don't think a board from the 90s (two decades ago O.o) is the right thing for me.
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Noppoo Choc Mini (MX Blacks) - First mechanical keyboard :D
Why don\'t you give Colemak a try? You\'ll like it, I promise.*

*Not a real promise

Offline George7

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« Reply #27 on: Tue, 26 July 2011, 16:11:32 »
I can personally vouch for the Cherry G80-3000. Mine has blues, which are clicky, but you can get it with other non clicky switches too. It's not a bad looking keyboard either. It's a very classic design.
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Offline panda

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« Reply #28 on: Tue, 26 July 2011, 16:26:01 »
I'm getting the noppoo choc pro as my first keybaord next week. It's on it's way from China with my family =). Here's a nice review of it.
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Offline palindrome

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« Reply #29 on: Tue, 26 July 2011, 16:32:15 »
Quote from: panda;387683
I'm getting the noppoo choc pro as my first keybaord next week. It's on it's way from China with my family =).

 
Congrats!  You're lucky you have family that can bring you back a keyboard.  I'm looking at this board for my work.
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Offline AUAnonymous

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« Reply #30 on: Tue, 26 July 2011, 21:59:43 »
Just bought this, it should be on its way soon. It doesn't have to far to ship, so hopefully I'll have it in a few days :D
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Noppoo Choc Mini (MX Blacks) - First mechanical keyboard :D
Why don\'t you give Colemak a try? You\'ll like it, I promise.*

*Not a real promise

Offline panda

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« Reply #31 on: Tue, 26 July 2011, 22:09:04 »
Quote from: ripster;387692
Where did they buy it from?  Taobao?

 
If you're asking about the noppoo, yup! 430 cny shipped to shanghai.
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Offline palindrome

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« Reply #32 on: Tue, 26 July 2011, 22:14:37 »
Quote from: AUAnonymous;387866
Just bought this, it should be on its way soon.

You got the mini?  I thought you wanted a full keyboard.  Congrats!
 
Quote from: panda;387873
If you're asking about the noppoo, yup! 430 cny shipped to shanghai.

That is a SICK price for the Pro.  Jealous.  Your parents should do a group buy!  :D
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Offline panda

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« Reply #33 on: Tue, 26 July 2011, 22:23:12 »
Quote
That is a SICK price for the Pro. Jealous. Your parents should do a group buy! :D
Haha. It's coming back in luggage =X. But I've considered this because I have family who make trips to China very often. Just curious though, what would customs say if they found a luggage full of new keyboards. You think they'd buy "for personal use?"
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Offline palindrome

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« Reply #34 on: Tue, 26 July 2011, 22:26:36 »
Quote from: panda;387882
Haha. It's coming back in luggage =X. But I've considered this because I have family who make trips to China very often. Just curious though, what would customs say if they found a luggage full of new keyboards. You think they'd buy "for personal use?"

Ha!  I'd imagine it'd depend on how many they found.  I would guess 5 or less would be ok for "family gifting".  Anything more may draw suspicion.
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Offline AUAnonymous

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« Reply #35 on: Tue, 26 July 2011, 23:24:40 »
Quote from: palindrome;387877
You got the mini?  I thought you wanted a full keyboard.  Congrats!

Haha yeah I changed my mind for the right amount of money (or lack thereof). Also, I've already got a full sized board, albeit a non-mechanical one, so I thought I'd change things up a bit.
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Noppoo Choc Mini (MX Blacks) - First mechanical keyboard :D
Why don\'t you give Colemak a try? You\'ll like it, I promise.*

*Not a real promise
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