Thermaltake unveils mechanical keyboards

[vhaarr]

At CompuTex, Thermaltake has unveiled their new line of keyboards, which will be available in two tiers; one cheap, and one expensive.

My guess is that the expensive tier is the one with mechanical switches.

Here's a quote form PC Perspective;

Thermaltake is going to have several models of the "clicky" mechanical keyboards under the "Mecha" brand name.  Mechanical keyboards are really something you either love or hate but if you have seen or heard all the excitement about legacy IBM keyboards, this is a similar design.  These keyboards will take a beating and keep working for years most likely.

And another one for pricing info, which contains surprisingly accurate prices for IBM boards;

Expect to pay at least $150 or so for the basic models and more for the ones with lights, etc.  However, even the much older, used and refurbished IBM-built mechanical keyboards will go for over that amount on ebay and at online resellers.  

I've attached 4 photos of the new keyboard range. I'm not sure which ones of them will be mechanical and not.

[HaaTa]

I'm guess the last pic is the mech board. The others just smell like dome/pantograph boards.

[Brodie337]

Thats a truly horrible paint job on the last one...

[Rajagra]

Might just be the flash making it look bad. Looks like painted metal, at least that's different if so.

The keyboard in the 3rd pic is huge yet they still destroyed the function key spacing.

Edit> The fan in the pic isn't just a photo prop, it's part of the keyboard. Anti-sweaty-palm fan? My first thought was hoax, but it could be real.

[HaaTa]

Lol, anti-sweat keyboard.

I've yet to acquire budda's "sweaty palm" technique. Though I know plenty of people who have...

[ch_123]

[Rajagra]

Uh oh. It's the "I'm going for a slash, I may be some time" layout.

[HaaTa]

Oh WTF, who the hell thought that / ? is not used that much.

For gamers, it's probably ok, I guess. Anyone who actually types, or god forbid, codes/uses linux terminals would go berserk.

[iMav]

Anyone that is bringing out a new mechanical 'board and doesn't offer a tenkeyless version clearly hasn't been doing their homework.

[Phaedrus2129]

$150 for the baseline model? When a Deck costs $170?

Thermaltake never fails to amaze me to the depths of fail they can sink. Crappy layout and stupid pricing ftw.

[bhtooefr]

http://techreport.com/discussions.x/19023

TR says they'll have blacks at launch.

[bhtooefr]

That site's had a problem with trolls as of late, but it's usually Nvidia vs. ATI.

(Then again, there was a problem with religious and political trolls, which they solved by sending anything religious or political to a R&P [strike]cage match[/strike] subforum with very little rules, and restricting access to that forum.)

[vhaarr]

Can anyone tell how the letters are applied to the keys? They seem -slightly- raised to me, in some of the photos you can see a small ridge on some of the keys. Perhaps it's just the light playing tricks with my head?

Would be awesome if they were doubleshot as well though

I like how the lettering is centered on the keys.

[quadibloc]

I'm happy to hear that there is a new supplier of mechanical keyboards, as this might mean that I could walk into a local computer store and buy one (as I hoped might happen with the Scorpius M10, but no such luck).

The layout with the ?/ key moved horrifies me, but presumably that's just for the gaming keyboards which, if they did use mechanical switches, would use linears anyways. I'm not expecting anything better than pad printing for the keys.

But while Thermaltake is best known for its line of CPU fans, what on Earth is a fan doing on a keyboard? I mean, it's not as if keyboards use so much power, their controller chips need to be kept cool with a fan.

Mind you, other companies make little fans that plug into USB ports to blow on the user and keep him or her cool on warm days, but they don't use the kind of expensive high-quality fans designed for chassis mounting like we see in the photo.

[Phaedrus2129]

The fan is apparently to keep your hands from sweating too much during long gaming sessions.

...

Yeah, c'mon Thermaltake, fair is fair, pass the toke.

[hyperlinked]

I really like the LED in the space bar... as if anyone who's ever tried a keyboard would have a hard time finding that key in the dark. Oh ****! I just died because I hit the Win key instead of spacebar! I need a Thermaltake board!

I'll bet the fans are just a tie in to their main line of business and will disappear eventually if the keyboards become strong sellers on their own.

Or maybe there are legions of teenage boys whose palms sweat when they're chatting up their first, second, and third crush online and they absolutely need this.

[vhaarr]

Or maybe there are legions of teenage boys whose palms sweat when they're chatting up their first, second, and third crush online and they absolutely need this.

I don't know about you guys but when I fire up Quake 1 and game a set of Deathmatch 6 with my old buddies, my palms water up pretty fast!

[washuai]

Saitek or bad irocks layout clone boards.  Linear switches.  So the only thing new is a higher price tag and a fan!  What kind of R & D is that?!  Which one of those was the backlit?  If they can keep quality control up, then that'd be something.
I'm always happy to hear about anything more mainstream in the mechanical arena, but I can't help but be disappointed (preferring browns, reds & clears doesn't help).  On the bright side, when my cousin can finally afford to get a mechanical, he'll have some blacks to choose between.

[hyperlinked]

Those Overclock.net dudes and their gamerz keybos have nothing on me.

Yow! Real men risk injury to their fingers when they type.

[washuai]

Just set one of these to blow over your keys and bod:
.

I went with blank key security, but for those anti-otaku boards, some finger dicing fan security sounds like a good way to gain some unique splats.  You'll even have DNA evidence to prove who dared to touch your keys.

[vhaarr]

I'm always happy to hear about anything more mainstream in the mechanical arena

I think this captures the essence of my thoughts.
Perhaps now that Thermaltake is entering the market, other mainstream vendors will follow suit and do a better job at it.

Steelseries already tried I guess, but their keyboard was (as far as I remember) way too expensive.

[AvengeR]

Anyone that is bringing out a new mechanical 'board and doesn't offer a tenkeyless version clearly hasn't been doing their homework.

size seems decent nonetheless.


I'll look at them when they make a v2. This type of company make mediocre launch products but they learn afterwards


tips for tt and ss: tenkeyless, cherry browns (or non blacks really), better layout (hopefully hhkb lite 2 [arrow keys separated from the other keys] but i know the "gamer version" won't have fn or dip switches to make it cheaper), etc....in other words just make a cheap filco/hhkb copy with an accessible price or that at least won't make gamers consider a logitech or razer kb instead or the real deal.

[ricercar]

Needs water cooling

[Brian8bit]

Thermaltake aren't all bad. They did do the 5.25 cup holder with cigarette lighter. So you could spark up and drink a cold one while gaming with your dude bros and popping collars.

[002]

dude bros and popping collars.

Oh lord that made me laugh.

Don't forget a pair of these to complete the douche uniform

[chimera15]

I have one of their cases. I think they're one of the better case makers other than lian-li, so maybe their keyboards will be nice too, although probably overpriced like most of their cases.

[Hamburglar]

For their current cases, I feel the opposite. :\

[chimera15]

For their current cases, I feel the opposite. :\

Yeah mine's an older one(a couple years).  I haven't checked out any of the newer ones.  I noticed that they had some quality issues occasionally in reviews.

[Hamburglar]

Yeah mine's an older one(a couple years).  I haven't checked out any of the newer ones.  I noticed that they had some quality issues occasionally in reviews.

Yeah, qualities gone down over the years. They use more plastics now which is a letdown. It seems like they're kind of turning it around though, so hoping for the best.

I remember how awesome my TT Armor was.

[didjamatic]

I see that avatar and all I want to say is "Robble Cheeseburger" and then I want to eat a Tomato McGrand

[spolia optima]

Well, they know their market. Thermaltake caters to those with a "particular" aesthetic taste.

[aegrotatio]

The last picture, dare I say, looks like a variation of the Adesso MK-134B.

[Phaedrus2129]

A guy I know who went to Computex spoke with the Thermaltake reps. Apparently the i-Rocks style board is going to cost ~$80, +/-$10. If so, that's a pure winner for gamers since that puts it at the price point of a G15, which is exactly where a mechanical gaming keyboard needs to be to get sales in any number. If that pricing info is accurate then these Thermaltake boards just went from guaranteed losers to possible winners.

And APPARENTLY their flagship mechanical board will have full NKRO over USB. I really want to see that confirmed or denied.

Here's his info, at least what's relevant to GH:

On to Thermaltake.  I do a lot of looking and banging on mechanical keyboards.  So I must say I almost ignored their rubber dome models.  All I can say is: they have small fans on them.  The mechanicals though were a different story.  I talked to one rep then he chickened out and pushed me on to a guy who actually knew stuff.  I hit him hard and fast with all the questions including "Why call it anti-ghoasting on the box" and how can you have NKRO over USB.  Darn it all if he didn't go and answer all my questions to my satisfaction.  Guys, these look like good options to buy.

They have 2 modles.  The first I looked at looks an awfull lot like the I\rocks I am typing on right now, but with a bit more trim and red Thermaltake writ all over it.  Oh and Black rather than Brown switches.  If your looking for a black simple gamer than this will do you fine.  Should be in the just over $80US price area, giver or take $10.  This puts it at or just cheaper than the I-rocks with the browns.  Some my find the oddly placed ?/ key to be too odd, but I got used to it quickly.  I still work on not typing faster than my thoughts can pump out letters.  This board loves speed!

The other has all the bells and whistles of a true gamer board.  They listened to their team of pro-gamers as to what they wanted.  They upped the poling rate to beyond human finger speed.  Yes, you can't type this fast but if your hitting multy keys at the same time this may actuality give some slight boost that is so important at the highest of levels.  Lowly mortals such as you and I will never notice the difference.  But the big thing for me is: True NKRO over USB.  If this is true its better then Microsoft could do with their own keyboards.  I would like to test this out in true OCN style though.  I gave the Microsoft guy hassles for his and I look forward to giving Thermaltake their due, good or bad, after I can convince my wife to buy one.

[ricercar]

full NKRO over USB

I'll believe it when I see the driver. Keyboard HID is limited to 6-key in the USB Specification.

[gr1m]

I had no idea that there were this many people who didn't consider TT's products ****, or just above **** and no higher. I haven't used anything TT that was decent. I had the misfortune of working with a Tsunami and a Kandalf and they were both horrendous.

[Nonmouse]

But the big thing for me is: True NKRO over USB. If this is true its better then Microsoft could do with their own keyboards. I would like to test this out in true OCN style though.

So, that'd be holding down both shift keys and typing "The drunk red fox rogered the slutty brown dog"?
[/color]

[chimera15]

I had no idea that there were this many people who didn't consider TT's products ****, or just above **** and no higher. I haven't used anything TT that was decent. I had the misfortune of working with a Tsunami and a Kandalf and they were both horrendous.

What was wrong with the Kandalf? It's not a Lian li, but then nothing is. Looks like a pretty nice case relatively. It's definitely overpriced.  The Tsunami looks like a cheaper end case of theirs.

[chimera15]

That's what we need.  Lian Li keyboards.  I want mine with lots of holes and wheels.

omg that would rule. lol   Brushed aluminum case and keys. lol  Removable pcb tray with thumbscrews. roflol

[washuai]

Not everything Lian Li ****s is gold bricks.  A Lian Li concept keyboard, might be scarier, than apple [strike]chicklets[/strike] touch.  Even that Tsunami has to be better than my $30 COMPUSA flimsy black back up case, right?  Although, I managed to load it up without bleeding, I like how light it is and it will hold a big fan.
I've never owned anything Thermal Take though, so I really don't have a clue.  I ruled them out at red.

[chimera15]

Not everything Lian Li ****s is gold bricks.  A Lian Li concept keyboard, might be scarier, than apple [strike]chicklets[/strike] touch.  Even that Tsunami has to be better than my $30 COMPUSA flimsy black back up case, right?  Although, I managed to load it up without bleeding, I like how light it is and it will hold a big fan.
I've never owned anything Thermal Take though, so I really don't have a clue.  I ruled them out at red.

Yeah, they've come up with some real weird designs and junk, but their main lines (pc-6x series) are untouchable by most other case manufacturers, and their cases came out with features no one even dreamed of like 12-15 years ago, that really blew everyone away, and at reasonable prices.  They really innovated amazing designs, and I'm sure if they produced a keyboard it would do the same.  They really knew how to give people features they never knew they needed, but once they had them wouldn't be without.

Tell me that isn't some cool crap for a test bench:

http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/flashpage/t1/

Thing looks like a spider. lol  It's a replicator! lol

Holy crap it really is! roflol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBeWtssy6MA

http://cgi.ebay.com/Lian-Li-T1-Spider-Mini-ITX-TEST-BENCH-Case-Black-/320541495022?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4aa1c30eee

And of course the new desktop to go with it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gi2Bc85DpWU

[washuai]

I was just noting Lian Li have some duds and odd ideas.  I'm thankful for their innovations.  I love that I'd expect their crack at a keyboard to be either really awesome or something I don't want to touch.  Strong reaction is better than no reaction.  I even like some of their cases that aren't as popular.  If I was looking for a new case, I'd either be looking for the pyramid, modding something steampunk (black leather and silver, not brass/gold) or Lian Li or something I haven't thought about.  I dunno . . I have an itching for a green computer, lately and I don't mean environmentally friendly, per se.
Yay to the expansion of mechanicals, as long as it doesn't set back their progress.

[ricercar]

My test bench was a milk crate. Once I cable-tied everything down for a LAN party. Not just a cool case, but well-ventilated.

I liked the Thermaltake laptop cooler thing in red and grey. That didn't suck.

[arc2]

http://usa.ttesports.com/products/product.aspx?g=feature&s=13

Manufacturer: Thermaltake Ltd
Product Name: MEKA G1
Model Number: KB-MEG005US

Hmmm, just bought one of these on ebay for £60 (couldn't resist as I have not tried cherry black switches).

It's not new, the seller used it for about a week to write a review on it.

Will be interested to see just how these switches compare to my filco blues.

[Reaif]

http://usa.ttesports.com/products/product.aspx?g=feature&s=13

Manufacturer: Thermaltake Ltd
Product Name: MEKA G1
Model Number: KB-MEG005US

Hmmm, just bought one of these on ebay for £60 (couldn't resist as I have not tried cherry black switches).

It's not new, the seller used it for about a week to write a review on it.

Will be interested to see just how these switches compare to my filco blues.

That looks like a pretty stylin keyboard. Functional without being too flashy. I wish they would come out with something like that which had a detachable 10key, which you could attach on either the right or left side. That would be so cool.