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Author Topic: Which MX brown for UK buyer?  (Read 4148 times)

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Offline Jokah

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Which MX brown for UK buyer?
« on: Tue, 15 February 2011, 19:45:10 »
Hello everyone!

I recently decided that I finally want to invest in a mechanical keyboard. I've spent the past few days studying the options and I think I have finally settled on cherry mx brown switches for my gaming and typing.

My problem at the moment is finding a suitable board, at a reasonable price, which is available in the UK or can be shipped to the UK for an affordable price. I was hoping to spend around £50 (this isn't my limit just a sort of rough guide) but at this price a board with brown switches is proving difficult to find.

I did like the look and price of the cherry G80-3000 models but as far as I can tell it is not available with browns (I'm hoping to be proved wrong on this).

At the moment it seems the only board available to me is this: http://www.armygroup.com.tw/shop/goods.php?id=4706 The Ione scorpius M10. I am happy to settle for this board but seeing as I am new to the mechanical board scene I was hoping someone could maybe point in the direction of something I may have missed.

I have searched the classifieds and palces like ebay for second hand deals but so far have found nothing suitable.

I only get chance to use my computer a few times a week so I am reluctant to spend £100+ on something I wont be using every day.

Any help or suggestions is more than welcome. Thank you.
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Offline .XL

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Which MX brown for UK buyer?
« Reply #1 on: Tue, 15 February 2011, 19:55:52 »
PCHome has a USD$10 shipping promo. Get a Ducky 1008/1087 from there for around USD$105 shipped, ~65GBP
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Keyboards: Filco Majestouch-2 87key Browns - Realforce 103UB 55g - Compaq MX11800 (ghetto clears + doubleshots)

Offline Jokah

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Which MX brown for UK buyer?
« Reply #2 on: Wed, 16 February 2011, 03:00:41 »
Really?

I think I could go for that. I'm at work at the moment but I'll be checking that out as soon as I get home.
I have tried looking on sites like pchome and taobao but even with google chrome translate I find it a little difficult to navigate.
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Offline keyb_gr

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Which MX brown for UK buyer?
« Reply #3 on: Wed, 16 February 2011, 10:52:41 »
No G80-3000s with browns indeed. You can try keeping your eyes open for the occasional used MX11800.
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Offline .XL

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Which MX brown for UK buyer?
« Reply #4 on: Wed, 16 February 2011, 11:30:47 »
I've got the MX11800 and while I love it, I want a new keyboard so I can really see how brand new browns feel. Can't wait for my filco tenkeyless to get here for that reason. The MX11800 is a great keyboard, though.

Buying off PCHome is easy...check out the Geekhack wiki. I actually figured it out on my own before seeing the post on the wiki, and I could have saved a lot of time looking there first. Check out the wiki, get yourself a brand new ducky for 65GBP and enjoy.

Or, get yourself a used MX11800 for some ~30GBP shipped, if you can find one in good condition. I got lucky and got one for $20USD + $10 shipping off eBay, and it worked perfectly. It was really dirty though...like REALLY dirty. I spent 2 hours cleaning it, and it looks like new now.

Honestly, if I was you and I had the option between a Ducky 1087 and an MX11800 I'd get the Ducky, for the simple fact that it's a tenkeyless, better built, and better looking (subjective, though). I may be twice the price but I think it's definitely worth it.

P.S.- I only got the MX11800 to try the browns before I made a final choice of brown vs. blue. Settled on browns, so I think you've chosen the right switch.
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Keyboards: Filco Majestouch-2 87key Browns - Realforce 103UB 55g - Compaq MX11800 (ghetto clears + doubleshots)

Offline theferenc

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Which MX brown for UK buyer?
« Reply #5 on: Wed, 16 February 2011, 11:58:41 »
Just a quick question, but does the Ducky come in the UK layout? Jokah, does that even matter to you?
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Offline manfaux

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Which MX brown for UK buyer?
« Reply #6 on: Wed, 16 February 2011, 12:01:13 »
Quote from: .XL;295778
PCHome has a USD$10 shipping promo. Get a Ducky 1008/1087 from there for around USD$105 shipped, ~65GBP


shipping to Europe is $20.
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Offline Jokah

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Which MX brown for UK buyer?
« Reply #7 on: Wed, 16 February 2011, 12:36:50 »
Well.....

I've just ordered a Ducky 1008 from pchome. £60 delivered. Cant argue with that really. I settled on the 1008 because, although the tenkeyless looks alot sexier, space isnt really an issue and I like having a num pad.

Quote from: theferenc;296169
Just a quick question, but does the Ducky come in the UK layout? Jokah, does that even matter to you?


I wish I had come back and read this thread before ordering because I never thought of this. Is there a difference between USA and UK layout? If so can the keys be swapped around? I'm a newbie to all of this so I dont know and never really thought to check.

Its deffinately an english board with just english lettering (which is back in stock now at pchome if anyone wanted know).

@keyb_gr. Apparrently there are g80-3000's with browns. There just very rare and very exspensive. A thread i found some where pointed one out on pchome. If I find it again I'll add a link.
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Offline theferenc

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Which MX brown for UK buyer?
« Reply #8 on: Wed, 16 February 2011, 13:00:05 »
There are differences, but I imagine most can be dealt with in software...as long as you're a touch typist.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_and_American_keyboards

Oh, except for that wonky ISO enter key...
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HHKB Pro 2 -- Custom UNIX layout Unicomp Customizer 101 -- IBM Model M 1391401 (modded to UNIX layout) -- IBM 1397000 (also UNIX layout) -- SSK in UNIX layout -- Model F 122 key in UNIX layout (Soarer USB "native")
 
CST L-TracX trackball -- Kensington Expert Mouse trackball

Offline Jokah

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Which MX brown for UK buyer?
« Reply #9 on: Wed, 16 February 2011, 13:05:55 »
Thanks theferenc. Over the past half hour or so I have been doing a bit of research and have now spotted the differences. I'm not quite a touch typist yet but I'm pretty sure I can memorise the british key positions so hopefully shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Thanks everyone. Really looking forward to its arrival now.
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Offline manfaux

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Which MX brown for UK buyer?
« Reply #10 on: Wed, 16 February 2011, 13:44:36 »
Quote from: Jokah;296195
Thanks theferenc. Over the past half hour or so I have been doing a bit of research and have now spotted the differences. I'm not quite a touch typist yet but I'm pretty sure I can memorise the british key positions so hopefully shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Thanks everyone. Really looking forward to its arrival now.


congrats, now get yourself a nice set of double-shot keycaps because the Ducky ones are crap. Mine has a crooked space bar FFS.
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Offline .XL

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Which MX brown for UK buyer?
« Reply #11 on: Wed, 16 February 2011, 14:43:15 »
Quote from: manfaux;296212
congrats, now get yourself a nice set of double-shot keycaps because the Ducky ones are crap. Mine has a crooked space bar FFS.


QFT. I ordered a whole set and I haven't even gotten my Filco yet. What you saved by buying a Ducky 1008, spend on doubleshots!!!
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Offline nathanscribe

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Which MX brown for UK buyer?
« Reply #12 on: Wed, 16 February 2011, 18:43:52 »
Quote from: manfaux;296171
shipping to Europe is $20.


And then there's 20% VAT, duty and a handling charge.

By way of illustration, my $80 Unicomp cost about twice as much by the time I'd got it in the UK.  Be aware of international shipping costs and how they work before buying.
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Offline Jokah

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Which MX brown for UK buyer?
« Reply #13 on: Thu, 17 February 2011, 03:45:52 »
Quote from: .XL;296249
QFT. I ordered a whole set and I haven't even gotten my Filco yet. What you saved by buying a Ducky 1008, spend on doubleshots!!!


Already voted for a UK key set and an orange game key set.

Even though you say the keys it comes with are rubbish it will be a vast improvement over what I already have.

Quote from: nathanscribe;296398
And then there's 20% VAT, duty and a handling charge.

By way of illustration, my $80 Unicomp cost about twice as much by the time I'd got it in the UK.  Be aware of international shipping costs and how they work before buying.


I knew there would be extra charges once in the uk but twice as much seems like a bit of an exageration. If I paid £60 for the item and postage then I would not be expecting to paying much more than about £80 total once it arrives at my door.
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Offline Minskleip

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Which MX brown for UK buyer?
« Reply #14 on: Thu, 17 February 2011, 04:18:32 »
Remember that the UK set only contains the UK specific keys, so you'd need a STANDARD set too to get a complete keyboard.
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Offline nathanscribe

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Which MX brown for UK buyer?
« Reply #15 on: Thu, 17 February 2011, 04:37:08 »
Quote from: Jokah;296593
I knew there would be extra charges once in the uk but twice as much seems like a bit of an exageration. If I paid £60 for the item and postage then I would not be expecting to paying much more than about £80 total once it arrives at my door.


Twice as much is not an exaggeration in the case of the Unicomp.  I used it as one example only.  Costs depend on the value of the item and shipping, the handling fee is fixed I think.  From what I remember, duty is only applicable above a certain value and it's worked out as a percentage...
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Offline Jokah

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Which MX brown for UK buyer?
« Reply #16 on: Thu, 17 February 2011, 07:02:05 »
Well what done is done. I'll just have to wait and see won't I.

With regard to the Uk keys. I did realise there only specific keys but is the only difference that the the lettering is centred on the double shots or are they going to sit at different hights or something like that. I do plan to replace the lot one day but for now I'm on a bit of a budget. Under estimating the duty charges won't have helped either.
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Offline .XL

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Which MX brown for UK buyer?
« Reply #17 on: Thu, 17 February 2011, 08:41:54 »
Quote from: Jokah;296637
Well what done is done. I'll just have to wait and see won't I.

With regard to the Uk keys. I did realise there only specific keys but is the only difference that the the lettering is centred on the double shots or are they going to sit at different hights or something like that. I do plan to replace the lot one day but for now I'm on a bit of a budget. Under estimating the duty charges won't have helped either.


I'm fairly sure it's just a couple keys that need swapping, like the slash and the enter key. Not sure of any others.

The duty charges shouldnt be bad. VAT is 20%, right? You can expect to pay 12GBP then. 72GBP still isn't bad for a mech keyboard.
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Offline Jokah

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Which MX brown for UK buyer?
« Reply #18 on: Thu, 17 February 2011, 08:58:19 »
Worst case scenario I think would be something like:

£60 for board
£10 for cleareance duty
+10% for import duty
+20% for VAT

Which if my maths is correct and vie worked it out in the right order should come to £92.4. Uk government is such a set o Robbin bastards! (but let's not start a debate about this. Its just my opinion).
« Last Edit: Thu, 17 February 2011, 09:28:35 by Jokah »
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Offline nathanscribe

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Which MX brown for UK buyer?
« Reply #19 on: Thu, 17 February 2011, 12:56:05 »
What matters in the end is that you get the keyboard you want.  I think even if you end up having to pay a few pounds more for what you want, and then keeping it and using it for several years, those few pounds aren't important.

I bought a used Model M off eBay last year, then got a Unicomp, then spent a bit more on a Filco.  All good.  Not cheap, but good.

Regarding layout, my Filco is ANSI and I've got used to it - to the extent I prefer it, all except for a persisting confusion over the £ sign...
« Last Edit: Thu, 17 February 2011, 14:44:21 by nathanscribe »
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Offline keyb_gr

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Which MX brown for UK buyer?
« Reply #20 on: Thu, 17 February 2011, 13:18:07 »
I'd go for the "US International" layout setting in this case.
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This message was probably typed on a vintage G80-3000 with blues. Double-shots, baby. :D
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