Mechanical keyboards are no solution to anything, and deep down we all know it

[atarione]

/off topic.. so the Amp is a Sony TA-N77ES rated @200WPC (but don't be confused it is proper FTC watts not nonsense HT reciever RMS watts..)    I have it hooked up to some JBL L1 speakers ($40 at estate sale)

it will annoy the neighbors / shake the walls pretty easily

rest of the gear Sony TA-E77ESD (pre) 700ES tape deck, 730ES Tuner, SDP-777ES surround processor, also got a N110 amp nice~ 50WPC amp  all for the $75


/back on topic... who ask this guy ..and why does it have to make me a better gamer or whatever.. I like typing on mechanical keyboards.. I'm actually pretty slow ~50wpm but whatever.. I don't give a **** ..... dude was just trolling

[Jaymanlp]

No one ever said a mech would make you better at games.

Razer's marketing did. ~_^

That's why I use a blackwidow ultimate. You're all just jealous I keep slamming your asses in Call of Duty /s

[kasakka]

The biggest issue mechanical keyboards solve is key rollover. If you ever try playing a game on an Apple keyboard made in the last few years for example you'll quickly notice that it just won't respond when you are holding enough keys and that makes it terrible for gaming. Same is true of most cheap membrane keyboards you can buy today.

The old keyboard in the OP article probably has better rollover than many of the more modern ones. I sure as hell didn't experience any issues with the rubber dome keyboards I had back in the day and they didn't feel bad to type on either compared to the cheap Dell, HP etc keys you often encounter in offices all around the world.

A 60% keyboard has allowed me a bit more ergonomic working position so I have less fatigue. Beyond that, the Zealios on my home keyboard are just luxury. I use a Pok3r with MX Browns at the office and like that too. A lot of the expensive stuff keyboard fans buy are luxury items - exotic switches that feel just that little bit better than the more common models available on any cheap mech, esoteric layouts that are more clever than your bog-standard full or TKL size boards and often hideously expensive keycaps that certainly don't improve your typing experience but just look cool.

I don't think there is anything wrong with buying something because you like how it looks and feels, even if it doesn't solve a real problem for you.

[chyros]

The biggest issue mechanical keyboards solve is key rollover. If you ever try playing a game on an Apple keyboard made in the last few years for example you'll quickly notice that it just won't respond when you are holding enough keys and that makes it terrible for gaming. Same is true of most cheap membrane keyboards you can buy today.

The old keyboard in the OP article probably has better rollover than many of the more modern ones. I sure as hell didn't experience any issues with the rubber dome keyboards I had back in the day and they didn't feel bad to type on either compared to the cheap Dell, HP etc keys you often encounter in offices all around the world.

A 60% keyboard has allowed me a bit more ergonomic working position so I have less fatigue. Beyond that, the Zealios on my home keyboard are just luxury. I use a Pok3r with MX Browns at the office and like that too. A lot of the expensive stuff keyboard fans buy are luxury items - exotic switches that feel just that little bit better than the more common models available on any cheap mech, esoteric layouts that are more clever than your bog-standard full or TKL size boards and often hideously expensive keycaps that certainly don't improve your typing experience but just look cool.

I don't think there is anything wrong with buying something because you like how it looks and feels, even if it doesn't solve a real problem for you.

The majority of mechanical keyboards have 2KRO.

[dante]

The biggest issue mechanical keyboards solve is key rollover.

Implementation determines how flexible the rollover is.

I had a Packard Bell Alps board with crappy 2KRO that was impossible to play games with.  On the other hand I had no issues whatsoever with a Model M.

I also have no issues with the HP rubberdome I use now for gaming.

[zslane]

How do you perform Ctrl+Alt+Del with only 2KRO?

[dante]

How do you perform Ctrl+Alt+Del with only 2KRO?

Modifiers are not included in the total.

[DuckNorris]

The biggest issue mechanical keyboards solve is key rollover.

Implementation determines how flexible the rollover is.

I had a Packard Bell Alps board with crappy 2KRO that was impossible to play games with.  On the other hand I had no issues whatsoever with a Model M.

I also have no issues with the HP rubberdome I use now for gaming.

I game on a mechanical keyboard so I am better.1v1 me mate, I will rek you so hard.   

[digi]

How do you perform Ctrl+Alt+Del with only 2KRO?

I just did it, it works!

[zslane]

How do you perform Ctrl+Alt+Del with only 2KRO?

I just did it, it works!

To elaborate why it works - 2NKRO actually means 2 key presses can be pushed at the same time as the first key, so it's actually 3 keys registering at the same time.

According to Wikipedia:

A keyboard with "two-key rollover" can reliably detect only any two keys used simultaneously; in other words, a user can hold down any key on the keyboard and press a second key, and be sure that the keypress is correctly detected by the computer. However, if the user has two keys depressed and attempts to strike a third key, the third keypress may create a "phantom key" by shorting out the switch matrix. This is not acceptable for quality keyboards because there are many cases when more than two keys need to be depressed at the same time, such as Ctrl-Alt-Delete, or when more than two keys are depressed because of fast typing ("rolling over" more than two keys).

[davkol]

Idk what you're talking about, guys. Modifiers aren't counted in the #KRO figure, the end.

[digi]

Idk what you're talking about, guys. Modifiers aren't counted in the #KRO figure, the end.

Dav is right! My bad!

Another thing to add is that even though a keyboard might only be "2KRO", there are good chances that you'll still get a lot of 3 key patterns to work, maybe even more.... it's just that ALL 3 key patterns won't work.

Example, from my SIIG Minitouch (2KRO)

[zslane]

Is this another case where we've lost a technically precise definition in favor of sloppy marketingspeak? Like how "classic beige" never seems to contain any actual beige? And how TKL removes considerably more than just "ten keys"? And the way everyone uses grams to describe (resistance) force?

[digi]

Is another case where we've lost a technically precise definition in favor of sloppy marketingspeak? Like how "classic beige" never seems to contain any actual beige? And how TKL removes considerably more than just "ten keys"? And the way everyone uses grams to describe (resistance) force?

Yea, and check this out from my "2KRO"

v=

[sth]

i dunno i think most of his points are pretty valid other than using his inability to type accurately on a mechanical board.

just admit you buy them because you want to buy them, you have them because you just like them. isn't that enough? leave the "scientific" advantages to the advertising companies. my HHKB is cute. looks cuter with some expensive keycaps. the layout is nice and it feels nice. that's about as far as it goes for me.

[davkol]

The problem with that article is ignorance and hasty generalization.

The writer hated his "gaming" keyboard with a standard layout, clicky switches, presumably generic cheap keycaps, steel plate and NKRO. I can get on board with such sentiment. However, there's so much more beyond that.

Even if I want something as simple as more sweat-resistant keycaps, the options boil down to… Cherry G83/G86, "mechanical" keyboards and Topre (or clones). Or a custom layout, then the discrete "mechanical" switches are an obvious choice. Oh, and if I go with such switches, I actually have some control over what kind of key mechanism I want (at least soft/stiff, tactile/linear).
That's three problems solved right there.

[_rubik]

I'm not going to lie... I started to agree with that author a wee bit until he tried to asset that

It's much harder to type accurately on mechanical keyboards.

That's about where he lost me. All that quote tells me is that he's largely uninformed when it comes to keebs. Furthermore, with the collection of boards -- and brands -- he mentioned, I feel as though the only mechs he's spent serious time with are junky, rgb nightmares. I'd love to see his response after spending a few months with the GH/IRC crowd. These keyboards are a lot more than expensive gaming peripherals, and I think that's what he fails to see...

Also... our keyboards don't actually need to solve anything.