Author Topic: mechanical keyboard help  (Read 1153 times)

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Offline polandspring

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  • Posts: 2
mechanical keyboard help
« on: Sat, 06 August 2011, 18:21:06 »
Hello!

Well to start off my budget is only about 70$-90$ so i cant afford the das and filco keyboards =( so dont give suggestions for me to buy one XD.

so i only found the black widow and the xarmor u9 to be within my with my price range and need help deciding which one to get or if there are any other mech keyboards 70$-90$ please do tell =D

i mostly play FPS and RTS games

Offline N8N

  • Posts: 795
mechanical keyboard help
« Reply #1 on: Sat, 06 August 2011, 18:39:51 »
do you have an idea in mind as to what switch you like?

For browns or clears, for real cheap you could get a "rawko" Cherry POS board off eBay for about $35 which will be NKRO over PS/2...  it'll look like hell but you can't beat it with a stick.  I've got one brown and one clear and the only real downsides are that I can feel the flex in the PCB on the one w/ clears, the ISO enter takes some getting used to, and the card reader makes it kind of large.  However if you aren't certain what switch you'd like it's a good way to try some, and really the only way to try clears unless you buy a Deck which is already out of your price range.  Since they're PCB mounts, you can even buy stems and springs and swap them to try different switches if you want to.  I may be biased because I have two, but really, any keyboard geek ought to have one because they're cheap and you can easily swap switches.  Just MHO.  (I didn't even know they existed until I came here...)  and you always need a good board as a backup right?

If you want to buy new, if you stretch a little, you can get a WASD semi-custom for $120 shipped, which isn't a bad deal.  If you buy tomorrow he's got a 10% off deal. (see the WASD forum, there's a sticky at the top) which would take you to $108.  That's a plate-mounted MX board like Filco.  Downside to that is if you can't touch type you'll have to learn because the keycaps only come in laser etched.  They come in blue, brown, and black.

If you think you want reds...  I have no suggestions for you given your price constraints :)  really, you'd have to buy a black board and probably an eBay POS brown board and make 'em yourself.

Also, all the boards I've mentioned are standard 104 layout w/ the exception of the POS boards, which have all the keys in the right places (except for enter and backslash) but also have extra programmable keys.  If you want tenkeyless wait for more opinions because all the research I've done is centered around 104 boards because I am used to a full size board.  If you're using it primarily for gaming a tenkeyless might be an option, esp. if you use a mouse.
Filco Majestouch-2 with Cherry Corp. doubleshot keys - Leopold Tenkeyless Tactile Force with Wyse doubleshots - Silicon Graphics 9500900 - WASD V1 - IBM Model M 52G9658 - Noppoo Choc Pro with Cherry lasered PBT keycaps - Wyse 900866-01 - Cherry G80-8200LPBUS/07 - Dell AT101W - several Cherry G81s (future doubleshot donors) (order of current preference) (dang I have too many keyboards, I really only need two)

Offline IvanIvanovich

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mechanical keyboard help
« Reply #2 on: Sun, 07 August 2011, 09:55:42 »
If you want tenkeyless, the PLU-87 or Ducky 87 would be within your budget. If you want something more compact, there is the KBC Poker.
Other fullsize new in that price is Cherry g80-3000, Adesso Mechanical Pro, Siig JK-US0112-S1 which can be as low as $65.

Offline N8N

  • Posts: 795
mechanical keyboard help
« Reply #3 on: Sun, 07 August 2011, 10:22:09 »
Actually if you think you want the SIIG I have a fullsize one for less, but it may be already sold (waiting on a PM.)  I don't think I would recommend that for a first mechanical, although it was mine - you have to know that you like the Alps switches, and it seems that most people actually prefer some flavor of Cherry MX (I know that I do.)

I don't really think that it would be good for gaming, either, due to the feel of the switches and the fact that it's only 2KRO.
Filco Majestouch-2 with Cherry Corp. doubleshot keys - Leopold Tenkeyless Tactile Force with Wyse doubleshots - Silicon Graphics 9500900 - WASD V1 - IBM Model M 52G9658 - Noppoo Choc Pro with Cherry lasered PBT keycaps - Wyse 900866-01 - Cherry G80-8200LPBUS/07 - Dell AT101W - several Cherry G81s (future doubleshot donors) (order of current preference) (dang I have too many keyboards, I really only need two)