gaming keyboard thread 1001

[Shinx]

I hate to make another thread about this, but after reading the others, I realize that I'm not quite as picky as anyone else here. All I am really looking for is a NKRO or at least 6KRO gaming keyboard. I read somewhere that blacks are good, and reds are better, or get browns and put rubber rings on the inside of each cap, etc. I guess all I really need is one good for gaming. If it helps, I'm coming from a Saitek Eclipse II. I've been looking at the SteelSeries 7G, and the Saitek Cyborg, and even the G15. The reason it needs NKRO/6KRO is for games like GTA4 with weird flight controls which my Saitek can't handle. Also this keyboard is dying. Thanks in advance!

[Phaedrus2129]

Could consider the I-Rocks KR-6230 if you want mechanical. For rubber domes and substantially less cost the Microsoft Sidewinder x4 and I-Rocks KR-6820E have NKRO (>6 IS CLOSE ENOUGH).

[Shinx]

Excellent finds <3! The best part about that first one is it allots me money to get a mechanical for typing. I am mechanical-curious, as I've never typed on one before, which is why I came to you guys.

[uncola]

thanks for the recommendations Phaedrus2129, I'm interested in nkro but not so much mechanical switches so I ordered that microsoft sidewinder x4.

[002]

Like you, Shinx, I was frustrated with my Saitek Eclipse II at the beginning of the year.
As an arrow-keys FPS gamer, I put up with not being able to run diagonally forwards and reload my gun at the same time for far too long.

My 'mechanical curiosity' has lead me to some quite expensive purchases within the last 6 months but I have no regrets (so far). When I consider how much I originally paid for the Saitek (~$200AUD) I can easily justify my purchases.

Regarding gaming, I use my Filco 104 with Cherry Blues. I think some people here won't recommend the blues for gaming but if noise doesn't concern you then blues are fine.

[lmnop]

Excellent finds <3! The best part about that first one is it allots me money to get a mechanical for typing. I am mechanical-curious, as I've never typed on one before, which is why I came to you guys.

there are 10 TG3 82 with a trackpad available on eBay for $70/ea these are Deck 82 Fire (Discontinued) with additional trackpad, steel plate, splash guard and less aggressive font. nice deal. the non-trackpad versions pop up on eBay every odd month or so.

you can buy a set of Deck 82 Blank Keycaps from Performance-PCS for it to have "Otaku"

[lmnop]

Excellent finds <3! The best part about that first one is it allots me money to get a mechanical for typing. I am mechanical-curious, as I've never typed on one before, which is why I came to you guys.

there are 10 TG3 82 with a trackpad available on eBay for $70/ea these are Deck 82 Fire (Discontinued) with additional trackpad, steel plate, splash guard and less aggressive font. this is a good choice for a starter because it's not alot of money and you are getting quality. the non-trackpad versions pop up on eBay every other month or so.

you can buy a set of Deck 82 Blank Keycaps from Performance-PCS for "Otaku"

[kriminal]

oooh deck 82 fire for 70!! nice!!
i had a logitech G11 cant remember it having 6kro and keys went dead after a few months, its been replaced by a deck 82 ice with cherry blacks... havent looked back since, i have a nostromo n52 so macro keys isnt really an issue.

[kwang2009]

there are 10 TG3 82 with a trackpad available on eBay for $70/ea these are Deck 82 Fire (Discontinued) with additional trackpad, steel plate, splash guard and less aggressive font. this is a good choice for a starter because it's not alot of money and you are getting quality. the non-trackpad versions pop up on eBay every other month or so.

you can buy a set of Deck 82 Blank Keycaps from Performance-PCS for "Otaku"

Do these use the cherry blacks, and hows the NKRO on these? I've heard things about the NKRO on this board and they are not good.

[lmnop]

Do these use the cherry blacks, and hows the NKRO on these? I've heard things about the NKRO on this board and they are not good.

yes. since it has a USB connection it's 6+4 like the Deck 82 Ice. Ricercar has a TG3 82 with a PS/2 connection and said he didn't run into any blocking. the Deck 82 Fire and Toxic had a 2-Key rollover problem and they were discontinued. Deck 82 Ice and the TG3 82 are fine.

here is what the Red LED look like on the Deck 82 Fire.

[kwang2009]

yes. since it has a USB connection it's 6+4 like the Deck 82 Ice. Ricercar has a TG3 82 with a PS/2 connection and said he didn't run into any blocking. the Deck 82 Fire and Toxic had a 2-Key rollover problem and they were discontinued. Deck 82 Ice and the TG3 82 are fine.

here is what the Red LED look like on the Deck 82 Fire.

Show Image

So they are Cherry blacks? The guy lists the keyboard as "tacticle" (I had to google this 'word'), so you must understand my confusion.

[lmnop]

borrowed from ricercar.

[apachi1]

well im using a cheapy ps2 plasticnipple keyboard (doesnt even have a brand)
and i have no ghosting or anything just when i tried to plug my new bought k102 usb touch keyboard it ghosted.

[Shinx]

I'm beginning to get used to the GamingKeybo term "ghosting" instead of the more appropriate technical term of "blocking" because it...

Appears....

Then Disappears....

Microsoft isn't helping that any...
http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/gaming/ProductDetails.aspx?pid=105

[ricercar]

Now I want a translucent case for my BL82. I already have those case feet and Cold Cathodes...



TG3, the OEM of Deck keyboards, uses Cherry blacks. Unfortunately I have no PS/2 machine working today so I can't run Ghosting/Blocking/Rollover tests.


EDIT:
Wait wait. I do. More to come.

[Shinx]

Does the Sidewinder x4 really live up to the 23 key thing or is that with very specific combinations?

[ironman31]

I really think browns are good for gaming. I use my filco for typing and gaming. If your budget is a little tight, its always good to have one keyboard for all your uses

[Shinx]

I really think browns are good for gaming. I use my filco for typing and gaming. If your budget is a little tight, its always good to have one keyboard for all your uses

What kind of gaming if you don't mind my asking? I was told blues were good for gaming too. I'm incredibly new to all of this.

[ricercar]

The TG3 model BL82 has 2-key rollover. Most of the time 3+ keys were good, but there were at least two combos that register only 2.


So is the Deck 82 key supposed to do better than this?

[ironman31]

What kind of gaming if you don't mind my asking? I was told blues were good for gaming too. I'm incredibly new to all of this.

I do a lot of fps games (tf2) and a good bit of sc2 (until the beta ended for the time being .)     I play a lot of other different types of games too, like dragon age. The browns might be lighter than you are used to, but once you use it for a while they work for a great all around keyboard

[Shinx]

I do a lot of fps games (tf2) and a good bit of sc2 (until the beta ended for the time being .)     I play a lot of other different types of games too, like dragon age. The browns might be lighter than you are used to, but once you use it for a while they work for a great all around keyboard

I do all sorts of games as well like TF2 and unfortunately MW2 (grindy grindy = addictive) and The Witcher among MANY others. I worried about the browns being too HEAVY from what I've been reading but if they are lighter then it won't be a problem. I wonder if I'll perform better both in gaming and in keyboarding with a mechanical keyboard than my standard lame keyboard. I only used a mechanical keyboard once (it was the Model M) but back then I didn't know anything about keyboards

[washuai]

I do all sorts of games as well like TF2 and unfortunately MW2 (grindy grindy = addictive) and The Witcher among MANY others. I worried about the browns being too HEAVY from what I've been reading but if they are lighter then it won't be a problem. I wonder if I'll perform better both in gaming and in keyboarding with a mechanical keyboard than my standard lame keyboard. I only used a mechanical keyboard once (it was the Model M) but back then I didn't know anything about keyboards

Where did someone refer to browns as heavy?  There is not a lot that browns are heavier than and those things tend to not be easily found stateside.  

Browns are significantly lighter than Model M.  Blacks on the other hand are another story.

[Shinx]

The X4 works fine.  Not true N-key as in N="every damn key on the keyboard" but good enough.  6-key (USB) is frankly good enough.

Didn't he say 11 keys or was that doing PS/2? He being the guy who worked on it. I have the link somewhere... I think in here.

[Shinx]

The claim is it's not a keyboard limitation but a bug in Windows.

Microsoft R&D Blaming The Microsoft Windows Team?

Show Image

To be honest I only need around 8 keys at the same time so the upper limit of 10 wouldn't be a huge deal, but full NKRO would be nice, as is doing something new for a change i.e mechanical.

[AvengeR]

To be honest I only need around 8 keys at the same time so the upper limit of 10 wouldn't be a huge deal, but full NKRO would be nice, as is doing something new for a change i.e mechanical.

this post proves steelseries and razer do a great job marketing job.
In case you didn't get it: you won't need more than 6 keys pressed at the same time, unless something really strange like 2 persons playing on the same computer that still don't know about joysticks or emulating a full piano. Even pros don't need that, ofc being the best examples sc (dt-35's awful ghosting) and quake players (the most skillful fps game does not truly need more than a regular kb to be played at the highest level).

if you are having ghosting (blocking) issues you should try binding other keys, especially shift, ctrl, alt and space.

btw the threads from somethingawful and overclock.net are really making lots of signups here.

[gr1m]

Hey, I can honestly say that I joined for the keyboard chat and not for anything related to my OCN ban, although I was pleasantly surprised at all the familiar faces (tim4mail, Manyak, Phaedrus, lmnop).

[Shinx]

btw the threads from somethingawful and overclock.net are really making lots of signups here.

You say that like its a BAD thing. People are scared of newbies and change. Being rude to newbies is no way of getting attention drawn to mechanicals.

But yes, I do need 8 buttons at the same time, as I play more complicated games than say, Doom. Flight controls in GTA4 are cruel and unforgiving, and flying with the numpad really helps immensely, however my current keyboard can't handle that. That is only an example of one game that I would need at least 8 for. I didn't actually find out about RKO untill it was brought up in a NewEgg comment, I'm not one to fall into marketing hype, thats why I decided to ask here and a few other sites (my friend AvengeR here pointed out a few) as oppoed to go head-on into a SteelSeries. And I don't appreciate people telling me what I think or say, I'm fully capable of my own thought, thanks though.

[AvengeR]

You say that like its a BAD thing. People are scared of newbies and change. Being rude to newbies is no way of getting attention drawn to mechanicals.

But yes, I do need 8 buttons at the same time, as I play more complicated games than say, Doom. Flight controls in GTA4 are cruel and unforgiving, and flying with the numpad really helps immensely, however my current keyboard can't handle that. That is only an example of one game that I would need at least 8 for. I didn't actually find out about RKO untill it was brought up in a NewEgg comment, I'm not one to fall into marketing hype, thats why I decided to ask here and a few other sites (my friend AvengeR here pointed out a few) as oppoed to go head-on into a SteelSeries. And I don't appreciate people telling me what I think or say, I'm fully capable of my own thought, thanks though.

I didn't want to sound mean but you should really consider reading the wiki first because all your questions are already solved there and in a more extensive way (maybe "GeekHack Wiki should be in red).
In the end the optimal and easiest solution is the same: get a filco or a hhkb2.

I haven't played gta4 on pc but I suppose you are using WASD, q, e, numpad and alt like in san andreas. Even in that case you won't be hitting 8 buttons at the same time in any scenario and not even 6. Also you can pull that off with a regular kb if you use different binds.

[AvengeR]

and one more thing since this thread will be looked at a lot for it's title: you should not buy a kb just to play because that's not it's main use (unless you play 10 hours everyday). With that in mind please consider getting a tenkeyless one due to ergonomics (changing ingame key bindings if necessary), nkro or 6kro is rarely needed so do not focus on that, and do not get cherry blacks (not much of a difference from rubber dome but you will feel it terribly wrong when typing)

[Shinx]

I didn't want to sound mean but you should really consider reading the wiki first because all your questions are already solved there and in a more extensive way (maybe "GeekHack Wiki should be in red).
In the end the optimal and easiest solution is the same: get a filco or a hhkb2.

I haven't played gta4 on pc but I suppose you are using WASD, q, e, numpad and alt like in san andreas. Even in that case you won't be hitting 8 buttons at the same time in any scenario and not even 6. Also you can pull that off with a regular kb if you use different binds.

I'll check out the Wiki, but I was hoping to get an idea of what everyone else's experiences were, not to see what you SHOULD be using for what tasks.

Edit: The wiki on the forums or the actual wiki? The actual wiki is empty....

[AvengeR]

the quick answer is "nkro is expensive to buy but not to produce".
Most probably you'll want to get a cheap as possible cherry blacks nkro kb but you'll end selling it. That's the reason why the advice is to just remap your keys or use a joystick if playing single player only, but if you really want nkro prepare to make some spending because the main use for keyboards is typing then do not get one just looking for a better gaming experience.

wiki: http://geekhack.org/forumdisplay.php?f=34&redirect=no

[Shinx]

the quick answer is "nkro is expensive to buy but not to produce".
Most probably you'll want to get a cheap as possible cherry blacks nkro kb but you'll end selling it. That's the reason why the advice is to just remap your keys or use a joystick if playing single player only, but if you really want nkro prepare to make some spending because the main use for keyboards is typing then do not get one just looking for a better gaming experience.

wiki: http://geekhack.org/forumdisplay.php?f=34&redirect=no

I'll just get the Sidewinder x4 and when I start programming I'll get the browns. Sorry for the terrible thread.