Deck (cherry clear) vs. Steel Series (Cherry Black) vs. Keytronic (Rubber Dome)

[Viper2]

I am confused as to which keyboard to buy for typing and gaming.  Cherry Brown is too light for me, Model-M is too noisy, and Realforce Topre doesn't have a 55g keyboard with easy to read lettering.  So my choices left are Deck (Cherry Clear), Steel Series (Cherry Black), or Keytronic (Rubber Dome). However, I have heard that the Deck keyboard has a different feel to it because all the keys are the same level.

Which is the best choice?

Any responses will be appreciated.

Thanks.

[chel-]

While I cant comment on the switch (I really like black switches) I can tell you that the steeseries have really crappy keys.

[mmmty]

Typing on someone else's Dell Quietkey right now and it's awesome!! So I went ahead and bought one on Ebay for about $18. I would recommend it over Keytronic. I tried one and didn't like it that much. Spacebar was pretty sharp too. Man, this thing (Quietkey) is pretty good.

[Surly73]

IMO, most Dell Quietkeys out there aren't the good ones.  I've seen literally rooms full of ones that will seize up my forearms in about 30 minutes of typing because they are so bad.  The "good ones" are often only distinguishable by looking at country of origin, or knowing the list of "good" model #s.  

IMO, recommending a "Dell Quietkey" without heavily qualifying that with additional information is pretty risky.

[mmmty]

IMO, most Dell Quietkeys out there aren't the good ones.  I've seen literally rooms full of ones that will seize up my forearms in about 30 minutes of typing because they are so bad.  The "good ones" are often only distinguishable by looking at country of origin, or knowing the list of "good" model #s.  

IMO, recommending a "Dell Quietkey" without heavily qualifying that with additional information is pretty risky.

Hmmm, I did not know that. The one I was able to try is definitely an older model. What am I looking for as far as country, model#... I guess I can try to swap that one out with mine when I get it. The room is pretty dark and I don't think the guy uses that keyboard that much. He'll probably think it's an upgrade  :smile:

Found the Model# - It's SK-8000 (035KKW). Made in China. The one I bought on Ebay was 0463CD. Good thing it was $18 instead of $180. I'll ask the guy if I can swap out with his Quietkey. I don't think he minds since his primary keyboard is a white plastic Apple keyboard.

[ricercar]

I game on Cherry black almost exclusively. Every once in a while I try another key switch, but I always come back. It's a smooth switch, like good sex, with absolutely no hysteresis to speak of. I'm a fan of Cherry brown for day-to-day typing, and therefore getting curious about Cherry clears.

I've tried gaming with ALPS white(complicated/simplified/clone) and Monterrey; buckling springs; Cherry black/blue/brown, rubber dome, and scissors. I always take the time to put a Cherry black keyboard in front of me when I get ready to game.

[The Solutor]

Cherry clears should feet your needs

[mmmty]

Hmmm, I did not know that. The one I was able to try is definitely an older model. What am I looking for as far as country, model#... I guess I can try to swap that one out with mine when I get it. The room is pretty dark and I don't think the guy uses that keyboard that much. He'll probably think it's an upgrade  :smile:

 
Found the Model# - It's SK-8000 (035KKW). Made in China. The one I bought on Ebay was 0463CD. Good thing it was $18 instead of $180. I'll ask the guy if I can swap out with his Quietkey. I don't think he minds since his primary keyboard is a white plastic Apple keyboard.

[BucklingSpring]

Cherry clears should feet your needs

Plus - Same level on Decks never bugged me.
Typing on a Deck do not feel weird.
Getting back to a "stair" like keyboard after using a Deck for a while will feel strange at first but not for long.

[bionicroach]

I really liked the Deck Legend Tactile (Clears) that I owned, but returned it during the trial period because the Clears were just a little too heavy for me.  Other than that, I had zero complaints about it.  I thought the non-stepped keys would bother me as well, but I agree with BucklingSpring that it really isn't that big of a deal.  If anything, I felt my typing was super-accurate on it for whatever reason.  Build quality on mine was excellent and Deck had great customer service when dealing with my return, so I wouldn't be worried about them handling any issues that you might have.  If Deck ever made a Legend with Blues, Browns, or Reds, I would almost definitely buy another one.  (Or, if I ever get half-decent at soldering, I may get another Clear one and mod it with lighter springs myself.)

In your case, if you are OK with the force required by a Model-M but don't like the noise, the Clears might be a good choice for you.  The styling of the Deck is definitely a love / hate issue with many, but I actually kind of like the weird keycap font just because it's different.

[redpill]

I can second bionicroach's experience with Deck.  Keyboard felt very solid and the keycaps are nice.  I also wound up sending it back because they sent me USB instead of PS/2, but also because cherry blacks were too heavy for me and the illuminated characters on the keys began to annoy me.  But otherwise well made.

[mmmty]

I'll try to sneak in like a ninja tomorrow and do it while he's not watching  I just came up with another plan. I can say "your keyboard has a virus and it needs to be replaced immediately!!".
It's pretty dark in there.

[Zet]

If you really want to go with blacks, I would definitively would recommend to look somewhere else, there's other brands that have really nicer keyboards than the SteelSeries ones.

[Surly73]

Hmmm, I did not know that. The one I was able to try is definitely an older model. What am I looking for as far as country, model#... I guess I can try to swap that one out with mine when I get it. The room is pretty dark and I don't think the guy uses that keyboard that much. He'll probably think it's an upgrade  :smile:

Found the Model# - It's SK-8000 (035KKW). Made in China. The one I bought on Ebay was 0463CD. Good thing it was $18 instead of $180. I'll ask the guy if I can swap out with his Quietkey. I don't think he minds since his primary keyboard is a white plastic Apple keyboard.

I've heard high praise for the Thailand RT7D5JTW but I have not committed a full suite of QuietKey expertise to memory - sorry.  I'm sure it should be around geekhack somewhere.  Ripster will probably be along with some kind of a photo featuring lego with a pointer to a wiki any moment...

[Tony]

Before using a mechanical keyboard, I was really impressed with a Keytronic keyboard. But right now I have a Filco, so my sturdy Keytronic keyboard have to stay on the shelves. Still, you will be very happy with Keytronic keyboard's quality and built.

[Surly73]

Before using a mechanical keyboard, I was really impressed with a Keytronic keyboard. But right now I have a Filco, so my sturdy Keytronic keyboard have to stay on the shelves. Still, you will be very happy with Keytronic keyboard's quality and built.

I find that "build" is where the Keytronic suffers the most compared to the so-called premium keyboards we like around here.  I can feel the key caps twist a little while typing, sometimes there's some stiction/jamming in the downstroke, they make a "pliky" noise on release and the caps are made from a very thin and bendable plastic.  On the other hand, they have a nice "poppy" tactile point, have variable force mapping based on an ergo pattern, are available in lots of layouts and colours, are rated for many millions of keystrokes and are CHEAP.

Considering they're $20 or so, they get my nod as some of the best of the 'domes and perform excellently at their price point.

[Viper2]

Thanks for the responses everyone.