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Author Topic: Looking for a keyboard for under $100  (Read 2767 times)

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Offline 5traus

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Looking for a keyboard for under $100
« on: Sun, 25 September 2011, 08:29:11 »
My parents agreed to get me a new board but it must be $100 or less. I would like it to be ten keyless. Thanks in advance for your finds. :)

i forgot to add that this is for Christmas and i also shoot more for second hand stuff.
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Offline N8N

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Looking for a keyboard for under $100
« Reply #1 on: Sun, 25 September 2011, 08:46:19 »
2nd hand tenkeyless is kind of hard... because the whole tenkeyless phenomenon is fairly recent, so there aren't a whole lot of "vintage' boards w/o numpads (unless you count the Model M SSK, which you likely won't find for <$100 anyway.)

I guess the real question is, what kind of keyswitches are you looking for?  Even only considering Cherry switches, there's a lot of different flavors out there.  Knowing what you're going to use the board for and what your typing style is will help making better recommendations.  e.g. I like clears but there's tons of people out there that think they're too heavy, so personal preference factors into choice a lot, and if you are playing lots of FPS games and not typing a lot you may want to go straight to blacks, reds, or browns.
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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 pagonda

  • Posts: 24
Looking for a keyboard for under $100
« Reply #2 on: Sun, 25 September 2011, 09:00:37 »
There is this new keyboard called CoolerMaster quick fire on pchome or something like that, for $90. You can also get a ducky 1087 for about $87. They are both tenkeyless
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Offline czarek

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Looking for a keyboard for under $100
« Reply #3 on: Sun, 25 September 2011, 09:18:44 »
Unicomp Spacesaver.
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Offline N8N

  • Posts: 791
Looking for a keyboard for under $100
« Reply #4 on: Sun, 25 September 2011, 09:26:44 »
Unicomp Spacesaver isn't the same thing as a Model M SSK.  It is a nice keyboard (I assume) as it's just a M in a smaller case, but if you are looking for a BS tenkeyless, you need to find a SSK.  But we don't know if the OP would prefer BS or not.
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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 spzz

  • Posts: 32
Looking for a keyboard for under $100
« Reply #5 on: Sun, 25 September 2011, 09:49:38 »
For Blue, Brown or Black MX switches get a Ducky 1087, probs best deal under $100. For Reds there is the CM Storm Quickfire, just like the other guy said.
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Offline 5traus

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Looking for a keyboard for under $100
« Reply #6 on: Sun, 25 September 2011, 09:49:54 »
Im sort of new to mechanical but i do know i would like brown or reds, since i have a ML-4100 now. What does BS mean?
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Offline N8N

  • Posts: 791
Looking for a keyboard for under $100
« Reply #7 on: Sun, 25 September 2011, 09:56:06 »
Buckling Spring = the key switch type used by the old IBM Model F and Model M

It kind of feels like what a blue wants to be when it grows up. Very heavy actuation force and makes a hell of a racket, but ludicrously tactile.  You just inspired me to hook up an M and it really does feel just as good as I remembered.  (I've been using a WASD w/ blues for a while; and I swapped it out earlier this morning for a "rawko" Cherry board with browns that I'm trying to sell.  In my opinion the M feels far better than either.  Really, if Unicomp could come out with a BS board that didn't clatter, I'd buy one and take it to work.

If noise is not a concern, see if you can pick up a 1391401 on eBay to try.  Well under your $100 budget (I think the one I'm using I spent maybe $35 shipped on) and it's a fine keyboard, so long as you don't require windows or menu keys.

Some say that the older Model F has a better feel, but I haven't tried one - even back in the day I didn't use a computer until the M was already current.  The layout of the F is a little wonky and the AT version (what you need to use with a modern PC) is hard to find - every time I've been motivated to look for one on eFlay they only have XT versions which aren't compatible without a new controller, which requires more commitment than I have.
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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 czarek

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Looking for a keyboard for under $100
« Reply #8 on: Sun, 25 September 2011, 10:02:40 »
Model F has different key feel but I don't like it more than Model M to be honest. It's equally good. Smoother and lighter, but pings like hell. It also has ****ty layout if you are doing any work apart from typing on it. It's true that Model M feels cheaper compared to Model F, the difference is more subtle than between Buckling Spring and Cherry MX Blue though.

Unicomp Spacesaver isn't ten keyless indeed but it looks more modern than classic Model M (and takes less space on your desk obviously), has USB and Windows keys which can come handy. Also please notice that Black / Grey version shows Unicomp's bad quality mouldings much more than pearl white which looks like a really great quality keyboard (which in fact it is).
« Last Edit: Sun, 25 September 2011, 10:07:10 by czarek »
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My little ErgoDox / GH60 factory: http://falbatech.pl

Offline Wihl

  • Posts: 224
Looking for a keyboard for under $100
« Reply #9 on: Sun, 25 September 2011, 10:23:57 »
Noppoo Choc Mini
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Offline alaricljs

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Looking for a keyboard for under $100
« Reply #10 on: Sun, 25 September 2011, 10:25:03 »
Quote from: spzz;421125
For Blue, Brown or Black MX switches get a Ducky 1087, probs best deal under $100. For Reds there is the CM Storm Quickfire, just like the other guy said.

The brown switch version from CM is the Rapidfire (also available through pchome and a little cheaper than the quickfire.
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Filco w/ Imsto thick PBT
Ducky 1087XM PCB+Plate, w/ Matias "Quiet Click" spring-swapped w/ XM Greens

Offline 5traus

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Looking for a keyboard for under $100
« Reply #11 on: Sun, 25 September 2011, 17:34:06 »
Thank you for all the feedback. i learned a lot from this. 1391401 would be cool but i really need it to be ten keyless.
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Offline akerasi

  • Posts: 29
Looking for a keyboard for under $100
« Reply #12 on: Sun, 25 September 2011, 19:41:29 »
As kind of a newer member here, I'm actually kind of surprised no one's mentioned the Poker yet. Pokers come in most flavors of Cherry, are tenkeyless, and easy enough to get for $90 or so.
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Owns, no particular order:
Ricercar SPOS (Variable Force Mod number 3), 122-key IBM terminal board (future project to learn a Teensy), 1993 IBM Model M, Dell AT101W, 3x Cherry G80-8200LPBUS (2 in pieces, 1 modded to Ghetto Reds), Cherry G80-1190HRMIT(Variable Force Mod), Wang 724 Terminal Keyboard (Pink Alps), Cherry G84-4100, Cherry G81-LUMUS, a pile of random old ALPS Macintosh boards in poor condition.
Wants:
Odd keyswitch boards for cheap (NEC sliders, space invaders, other weird stuff), Cherry Blues for cheap

Offline demik

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Looking for a keyboard for under $100
« Reply #13 on: Sun, 25 September 2011, 19:51:31 »
ocn ducky? and pokers are smaller than tenkeyless, and some people don't like the layout of it.
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Offline HeavyArms

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Looking for a keyboard for under $100
« Reply #14 on: Sun, 25 September 2011, 19:54:17 »
You might be able to find a KBC Poker for that price, didn't bother to look to see if any others suggested it. Keep an eye on the classifieds, all the advice i got.
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Offline 5traus

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Looking for a keyboard for under $100
« Reply #15 on: Sun, 25 September 2011, 20:26:52 »
Yea when i mentioned tenkeyless i meant to also state that i am open to even smaller. like i said i have a ML-4100 so i like my boards small. i am also ok for boards that have small backspace key since i have a reg editor program that has the home (to the right of bsp) set to also backspace. this gives the feel of a full bar on keyboards that dont have them.
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Offline duncan

  • Posts: 184
Looking for a keyboard for under $100
« Reply #16 on: Sun, 25 September 2011, 20:32:42 »
Well then I also suggest that one board to have on your list is the Poker.
Not the best built board and the layers are a little odd but it is a fun little item that is hard to beat for compact, portable and fun at the price.
Be careful of the fragile miniUSB connector and you may find it a good option.
The fact it has a bit of a fun aspect to it also makes it kinda more interesting as a gift than a more 'boring' option IMO.
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Realforce 86UB || HHKB P2 || FILCO MT 87 Blues || FILCO MT 87 Browns || FILCO MT 87 Ninja  Blacks || Poker X Reds

Offline squarebox

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  • Location: Singapore
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Looking for a keyboard for under $100
« Reply #17 on: Sun, 25 September 2011, 23:45:09 »
Cooler Master Storm QuickFire will be a very good choice as it's basically a Filco.

For now, you can only buy it online from taiwan
Red switch - USD$110
Brown/Black - USD$100
Link

Should be slight cheaper once it hits retail in your country.
I got a red switch version recently and it's basically a re-shelled version of the highly-sought after Filco R tenkeyless.
« Last Edit: Sun, 25 September 2011, 23:50:34 by squarebox »
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Filco Yellow Edition  | Filco Brown | Filco 2 Brown TKL | G80-1950 | G80-3494 | G80-11900 | Leopold FC500R | Noppoo Choc Mini
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