Hello there, geekhack!

[TheMightySM]

Hi guys. I need a little bit of help and rather than clutter your main forums I figure I'd ask in my intro post.

About me, uh I like games?...haha idk. I'm a gamer at heart, I'm a computer engineering major, and I'm 21. I have a large appreciation for quality products in anything I like. Beautiful keyboards? Right up my alley. High quality car parts? Sign me up.

Anyways, I'm in the market for a new keyboard and I'm having some trouble finding the right keyboard. I'll explain the timeline and hopefully that will make it easiest to understand.

I play MMOs, MOBAs, RTS, Shooters, you name it. I love games. My first mechanical keyboard was a Razer Blackwidow Ultimate. It has blue switches in it and I've had it for about a year now.

An issue, in particular, that I run into is in my MMOs. Depending on the MMO (WoW, for example.) I seem to run out of keybinds by just a hair. Modifiers included. So I'll have about 2 or 3 miscellaneous abilities that are trivial, but can also be useful if I can use them correctly (Rogue's Distract). For the most part I've just decided to go without those abilities in my bind. Through watching some streamers I came across the Noppoo Choc Mini. I liked what I saw.

I liked it because many games have bars that are pre-bound to use the 'F' keys. I never understood this probably because my hands are somewhat small and reaching those keys felt uncomfortable and too far from important movement keys and I never could wrap my head around how using the 'F' keys on a standard keyboard could be competitive in any way shape or form. When I saw the Choc Mini I lit up because I figured there was finally a way for me to utilize those keys AND it would give me a few extra binds for games. I was already looking for a new board because I felt my Blackwidow's switches were beginning to be somewhat obnoxious to those around me.

I did some research, found out that the brown switches were the closest to the blues, but without the extra noise the blues provide. Thought it over and made a somewhat impulse buy. It got here, I waited a few days to bust it out because I was thinking about maybe buying a mouse also and I would rather get used to both at the same time. I got impatient and I gave it a whirl and I was disappointed. I wasn't disappointed because of the quality, though I could see that it lacked somewhat in that department. I was disappointed because the board didn't seem to click with me. It just didn't feel right. I gave it a few days though. In the end I ended up sending it back to get a refund because I decided that it wasn't my answer. I loved the idea though. Maybe I didn't give it enough time or whatever, but it just didn't work for me.

Through some home experiments between the two boards, the Choc Mini and the Blackwidow, I tried to figure out what was different before I sent it back. Fortunately I made some discoveries. First I noticed that on my Blackwidow my hands assume a more palm oriented resting stance, where on the Choc Mini my hands had to do a Claw-like stance. I guess my hands weren't as small as I thought. My pinkies aren't very flexible and using the Ctrl modifier on the Choc Mini was uncomfortable. Second, I discovered that I'm surprisingly sensitive to the difference in actuation force between the blues and the browns. Through more research I found out that the brown's require about 5 cN less I believe. However, on the Choc Mini the keys felt way to light and floaty to me. On my Blackwidow I feel like I am actually pressing the keys. My final discovery and probably a not so important one, I believe my typing style causes me to bottom out a fair amount.

So here I was, back at square one. I was already bitten by the upgrade bug, though, even though my Blackwidow is 100% fine and in working condition. I've decided though, that for MMO purposes I'm going to invest in a mouse that has extra buttons, my thumb tends to not do a lot and so a mouse with more than two thumb buttons should be plenty for me.

I know several things, though. First, I would like a smaller more compact board, a tenkeyless would be ideal. Basically a full board with the number pad chopped off. I've also decided I cannot do the browns. Maybe you guys can convince me otherwise, but they were just too light for me. With that in mind I did more research and found out about the Cherry MX Clear switches. It sounds exactly like what I want. The tactile ridge is more pronounced and it does not click like the blues. The only two issues are that boards with those switches in them are rather hard to come across and they have a noticeably higher actuation force. It's an issue because of my sensitivity to the actuation force difference between the browns and blues. I feel though that those two switches might be at a threshold rather than me being sensitive to actuation force. What I mean is that my hands prefer a heavier key to a lighter key. I wish they just made blues without the noise

Anyways, I need your guys help! Either with convincing me that the browns are actually better than I experienced or help me find a board to fit my needs! Here are some boards I've been looking at:

http://www.wasdkeyboards.com/index.php/products/code-keyboard/code-87-key-mechanical-keyboard.html#ad-image-0

http://gaming.coolermaster.com/en/products/keyboards/stealth/

I will probably be buying different higher quality keycaps for my board of selection unless it is backlit, which I hope the keys that come with it are rather good quality. I really like the side printed key caps on the stealth because I like the clean and simple look. I also like the engraved keycaps. Backlit is not necessary, but I do love the WASD CODE board. Color's that I like are White/Black with more white than black. I like that contrast and I think it looks really good. My budget is about $150.

Sorry for the long winded post (don't worry there is a TL;DR) but I have very specific tastes and I would like to spend my money well and be happy with my purchase. Hopefully you guys can help me I appreciate all of your guys help and input!

TL;DR

Hi dudes. Need new keyboard. Already tried Noppoo Choc Mini didn't like it.

Want:

-Clear or Blue switches, did not like brown switches (my hands prefer heavier switches) and I would like something quieter but if not that's okay too.
-Tenkeyless
-Good quality
-Simple Design (Side printed keys, engraved keys, or blank keys)

k thx. you guys cool.

[asdfjkl36]

Hey! Welcome to the forum!

ALRIGHT

So based off of what i read (and i'm sorry, but i'm very bad at reading) but i've come to this suggestion.

You might want to go for Clears, just as you thought. The WASD Code Tenkeyless is the one you want, and should get.  Better build quality than the Cooler Master boards, and seem to be selling like hot cakes, selling out every time.

According to Code Keyboards, they should have more in stock early July: http://codekeyboards.com/

I would suggest Green/White or Grey switches but i think that's a bit much.

I started off with blues, and my girlfriend didnt like the noise so she got browns. She would try and sleep and id be clicking away so i needed something quieter.

That's where greens come in.

Greens are quite a bit heavier (which i prefer) and still have a click but a slightly softer click. White's are about the same as green but an even softer click. Both sit at 80 cN.

Still was bothering her so then i moved on to Greys. They're tactile, so there's no audible click like blues. Greys sit at 80 cN as well.

I suggest going with Clears because they're the closest to Blues without the click, and are heavier than Browns. If you still dont like those, i would suggest Greys if you want something heavier.

You could always try and find someone who is selling a TKL keyboard with Ergo Clear switches. Ergo Clears are a Clear stem (the Clear slider portion of the switch) and replace the spring with a lighter spring from a Blue, Brown, Red or similar spring. You get the best of both world, with a light feel (like Blue switches) but a better tactile feel because of the larger bump on the Clear slider vs the Brown slider.

TL;DR (I've taken too long and my girlfriend is getting hungry so i'll wrap it up)

1. Wait out until July for the WASD Code TKL w/ Clear switches to come back in stock. If you end up not liking it, it will be no trouble reselling it.
2. If you end up not liking them, or you want to dive right in, try out Ergo Clears, which are modded switches that have Clear sliders (which have a larger tactile bump than browns) with the spring of a Blue or any other light spring. You get the best of both worlds with a more defined tactile bump and the same cN as blues.

I'm sure you'll be happy with Clears though 

Hopefully i'm of some help.

Enjoy your stay 

[TheMightySM]

Thanks for reading my long post and responding with some quality feedback, I appreciate it!

I really like the WASD Code Tenkeyless. It's kind of a bummer that it doesn't come back into stock in july. I was also looking at some Leopold's with clears. I can find the 66-key ones with clears but I'm struggling with finding a tenkeyless with Clears.

I would seriously look into buying one like that too.

[sth]

Good Evening Barry