First mechanical, what should I get? (generic first post, sorry!)

[conley]

I don't really know where to start, so I'll just jump in. I finally decided to buy a quality keyboard. I have quite a bit of money set aside, but I'd like to order some books/albums as well, so it would take something really impressive for me to buy a $180 keyboard over a $100 keyboard. However, my preliminary research made me decide on the Cherry Browns or Clears. This is an issue, since most mechanical keyboards seem to be Blues, except for a few expensive ones. Moreover, I want a full NKRO keyboard.

NKRO, however seems to be a gray area. I used the geekhack wiki  here, and while the MKB-135B is listed NKRO, the review doesn't mention anything of the sort. To make matters worse, the Model S Pro is listed as NKRO, but the review mentions that it only accepts up to 12 keys. NKRO means that all keys can be pressed, doesn't it? If so, are the Model S Pro and the MKB-135B NKRO or XKRO?

Will Blues be alright for gaming? I do play some FPS games, and I'm not a professional by any standards, but I'm an okay pub-star. While I can see a mouse affecting performance, I can't really conceptualize how a keyboard would have any negligible effect on gaming performance (sans a longer key travel time; this aspect doesn't really bother me).

Also up for consideration: after playing FPS games for a while, my keyboard hand will sometimes hurt. It feels similar to a cramp: the muscles in the back of my hand feel swollen and painful. This could be in part due to the fact that my hands are huge (I'm 6'5", and my hands are proportional, for reference.). I think a 'deeper' key would help remedy this, but I don't know for sure. A lighter actuation may also help, but that would not be the best for gaming. Perhaps I just hit keys too hard in the first place.

Also, when I get the new keyboard, I intend to do a lot of coding/typing as well. Though I don't right now, I definitely want to. For that reason, I ruled out reds/blacks since people don't seem to like them very much for general use.

So, with all that in mind, here's what I've come up with:

If blues are best for my situation:
Adesso MKB-135B
Rosewill RK-9000
Das M Pro

Browns:
Das M Silent Pro

Clears:
No idea

I'm willing to try any 'hi-def' component once. I did with a sound card, and it was worth it times over. My input devices should be the same level of quality as my output, I think.

Thanks for reading this huge block of questions. I'm a bit obsessive sometimes.

[keyboardlover]

Welcome to Geekhack! For an nkro board with clears, check out deck or the Cherry G80-8113HRBUS-2 board I'm evaluating in my Sig. More info in the worldwide buying wiki.

[keyboardlover]

Not that it matters when most people only game with one hand on the keyboard except for those weird asian music games.

...that only Moogle plays...

[cyberphine]

Hey conley, I'm fairly new in geekhack also.  And my thought process went a lot like yours.  I ended up ordering a Filco due to the overwhelming popularity.  I'm thinking that if I don't like the filco/browns, then I can loose a few dollars and resell on here to find what I like.  So I sorta limited myself to the "popular" choice first.  I wouldn't say follow that rule, but I did get a little peace of mind in knowing that most people would jump at buying a nice lightly used keyboard on here.  So my point is, feel somewhat OK about jumping in head first, because even if you hate the keyboard, they aren't like cars that loose 25% of their value on the first day.  (I spent $160 w/ shipping, and probably could resell for $130ish. for a $30 loss)

[bakageta]

...that only Moogle plays...

He's not the only one...

Anyway, on the subject of switches, blues are fine for gaming for most people. You do need to completely let off the key to press it again, basically, which gives some people a hard time, but it's something you'll have to use to see. The main reason to pick or avoid blues is their distinct click sound, some people love it, some hate it, and some just can't have a loud keyboard because of others around them.

Browns are a very safe bet, they're a good switch for both typing and gaming, and even if you dislike them they're very popular, which should help you resell your keyboard. If you don't mind the glossy finish and the full sized layout, the Das is a good choice here, they're fairly cheap and even offer a student discount. If you prefer something without a numpad, you'll have to resort to ordering overseas at the moment, or waiting on EliteKeyboards to get their new products in stock. You've got Filco, Ducky, and Leopold/Archiss to choose from there, and all three are fine boards, but its going to be a noticeable price jump over the Das.

[conley]

Browns are the same as blues as far as letting completely off of the key though, aren't they? That is, neither is linear? I really think a distinctive click would be cool, but I do play late into the night sometimes... Also, my mic is mounted about 6 inches in front of my keyboard, but I can get a clip on mic if I need to. I don't mind having the numpad as well, it's useful sometimes for me.

The G80 would be really nice, but I don't particularly want a touchpad on my keyboard (silly reason, I know).

I am glad the new Das is NKRO, though. Is the Adesso MKB-135B confirmed as NKRO as well? Because now I'm probably going to buy either the MKB-135B (if I decide on blues) or the Model M Silent Pro (if I decide I need browns).

Since both switch types will be fine for typing, can I get the opinions of some gamers?

[bakageta]

Browns actually release just before the activation point, which means you can let halfway off and press the key again and get another keypress. I think there was a poll around that said something like 1 in 6 people here had issues with blues gaming, though that might be exaggerated. I don't notice problems in fps games, but when I get into something that takes a lot of quick, repeated keypresses I find blues frustrating. I play quite a lot of rhythm games, though, where it's critical that I hit the keys at exactly the right time and exactly the right number of times.

[conley]

Browns actually release just before the activation point, which means you can let halfway off and press the key again and get another keypress. I think there was a poll around that said something like 1 in 6 people here had issues with blues gaming, though that might be exaggerated. I don't notice problems in fps games, but when I get into something that takes a lot of quick, repeated keypresses I find blues frustrating. I play quite a lot of rhythm games, though, where it's critical that I hit the keys at exactly the right time and exactly the right number of times.

That makes it sound like I need Browns. In some games (like TF2) I'll feint one direction and then immediately go back the other way; usually I haven't even let off the first key completely before switching back to it.

Plus, the Browns shouldn't be much louder than my cheap Logitech board, should they? That way I can recoup a few dollars from buying the Das by not buying another mic (a pittance, sure, but I can at least say that I saved something).

Welcome to Geekhack!

The 12KRO listing was for the older DAS.  The new Das is NKRO under PS/2 or 6KRO under USB.

Not that it matters when most people only game with one hand on the keyboard except for those weird asian music games.

This one has full NKRO? I don't mean to be a pain, but I can see from the way I worded it that you might think I transposed the listings for the Das S vs Das 3 on this page. The review mentions that it accepts 'up to 12' keys. If the new Pro Model S does in fact have NKRO, does that apply to the new Ultimate/Silent editions as well?

[keyboardlover]

In TF2 its best to have 6kro. Ripster's son uses a customizer but I'm pretty sure he's a back-stabbing spy. Hopefully I owned him a couple times

[keyboardlover]

His record was 19 backstabs according to his stats.  I'm assuming that's pretty good.

Damn! That's ownage. Heavy's one of my fav characters, but they're one of the most susceptible to backstabs from spies.

[xira]

I'm also considering the Das and the Rosewill (Blues) and no one as seemed to mention how close the Rosewill is to the Filco in build.

[mashingkeys]

I'm going for a rosewill. I think between those two brands it ends up being a matter of aesthetics (or you really need USB ports), and the simplicity of the rosewill won for me.