Author Topic: Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.  (Read 28841 times)

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Offline Slux

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 12:13:38 »
For gaming.

Rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards for gaming due to the high resistance at the beginning and no resistance through. This ensures no fatigue and high accuracy because of the way rubberdomes work. You will always bottom out if you are playing intense matches and have to double tap repeatedly so the smooth motion is only useful for touch typing. Mechanicals are better built, have better durability, feel better, and are great for typist. Rubberdomes are better for gaming due to the point I said before. They just lack in the luxury part.

fossala

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #1 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 12:15:28 »
If that is your opinion have you tried reds. That would mean that all of the motion is smooth.
BTW you sound like a troll.

Offline HaiiYaa

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #2 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 12:16:53 »
I'm tired of these trolls

Offline Slux

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #3 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 12:18:27 »
That's just my opinion on the subject. You are free to be offended by it but that's just what I personally think. I'm entitled to my opinion.

EDIT: Also, could you people please make a reasonable argument instead of calling me a troll. If you disagree with someone, be specific and try to do in a intelligent manner instead of like a "troll".

Offline funkymeeba

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #4 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 12:21:14 »
I would quote individual pieces, but there's no need. The entirety of your post words it as if you are stating a solid, indisputable fact.

Meanwhile, I have a nice collection of friends who wouldn't dream of gaming on a rubber dome board.
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Offline Slux

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #5 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 12:23:09 »
It's an opinion. If you disagree with it, specify why.

Offline itlnstln

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #6 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 12:26:05 »
Quote from: Slux;443345
It's an opinion. If you disagree with it, specify why.

I don't think it's what you said, it's how you said it.


Offline Slux

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #7 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 12:27:07 »
Well disregard the way I said it and just take it as an opinion. I'd like your opinion on why you disagree with it instead of calling me a troll like I said before.

fossala

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #8 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 12:27:26 »
Quote from: Slux;443345
It's an opinion. If you disagree with it, specify why.
I have not shown anyone mechanical keyboards and them not like it. My girlfriend hates her old rubber dome now and everyone else has either bought one or said the only thing preventing them is the price.
Rubber domes where made to save money that is it.

Offline Slux

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #9 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 12:31:09 »
That's not the point. I'm fully aware of the quality of mechanical keyboards and what they produce, I'm just saying in theory, wouldn't rubberdomes be best because of the way they work? The high resistant pressure point down to no resistance seems the most reasonable to me. Let's assume that rubberdomes have the same quality such as a topre since they are very similar, wouldn't you agree with my statement?

Offline itlnstln

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #10 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 12:32:14 »
Mechanical keyboards can have NKRO; rubber dome 'boards are "gaming optimized" at best.  Riding the activation point is much easier on a mechanical keyboard than a rubber dome 'board.

I don't game, personally, but these are just a few common reasons some gamers go mechanical.  Plenty of other gamers use rubber dome 'boards.  YMMV.


Offline alaricljs

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #11 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 12:33:32 »
You're new here... Where if the first thing you post is anti-mech then it's pretty damned obvious you didn't come here to be liked.
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Offline Slux

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #12 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 12:34:54 »
I never understood the point of NRKO when you don't even utilize even close to that many presses. You use 2rko at most in a RTS and maybe 3-4 keys in a FPS.

Offline itlnstln

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #13 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 12:35:27 »
The only thing I would disagree with is the "no fatigue" part.  The rest is pretty much personal preference.


Offline Slux

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #14 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 12:36:24 »
I'm aware that this is a mechanical dominated forum, that's why I came here to get your hopefully valid reasons and opinions so that you can make an argument on why I am wrong.

fossala

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #15 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 12:36:42 »
Would only having $35 for a new keyboard have anything to do with your love for rubber domes?
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Offline Slux

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #16 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 12:38:39 »
I never stated that I loved rubberdomes, that is beyond the point of what I'm talking about. We are talking about in theory if rubberdomes were on the same quality levels as mechanicals, would you agree with my statement?

fossala

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #17 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 12:41:36 »
I have already stated that I think that cherry mx red switches are the best for gaming because they have no tactility. I feel that rubber domes are unresponsive and mushy. There are good rubber domes out there like the dell quitekey but they still don't feel up to par with cherry mx or BS.

Offline Slux

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #18 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 12:44:33 »
Unresponsive because the high resistance at the beginning? I assume that's what you are talking about. It's mushy because it's a rubberdome so... Up to par in what way?

Offline mmmty

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #19 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 12:45:34 »
Here we go again...
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Offline Slux

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #20 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 12:47:42 »
If this happened before, please post a thread link and I'll close the thread.

Offline Slux

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« Reply #21 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 12:51:27 »
You don't have to sarcastic. Just state your reasons on why you think I'm wrong.  Tactility isn't utilized in games where you bottom out the entire time.


Offline nar

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #23 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 12:54:22 »
What I'm tired of is how some people seem to write up a post with wording that implies they are stating or trying to prove a fact and then deflect all crticism by saying it's merely their opinion later on.

Anyways, your argument that people will always bottom out in intense matches depends entirely on the type of game being played. For example I play fighting games on the keyboard, these have the most double tapping as you might imagine from games where you can 30+ hit combos. The general advice is to always try to press as light as possible to keep your movements fluid, espesically in moments where every frame of timing counts. In fact I believe it's the general advice for any game requiring rapid fluid movements like rhytmn games. From this I imagine a game like Starcraft would benefit more from rapid light touches rather than intense rapid bottoming out action.

Finally, there are switches designed solely for gaming, those are the switches use on game controllers and arcade sticks, those are pretty much linear, I'd assume if people found the keyboard style of bottoming out more useful for console/arcade games, some game company would have created buttons like that.
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Offline alaricljs

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #24 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 12:56:58 »
Rubber domes are squishy at all points in the key travel.  My fingers are more fatigued holding down a rubber dome key (say the W to move forward) because somewhere in my body it's saying 'the key is still capable of being moved...push it HARDER'  on a mechanical switch there is a bottom, a hard wall no amount of pushing with 1 finger is going to budge.  Somehow knowing that, I don't mash the life out of my fingers.
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Offline HWI

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #25 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 12:57:33 »
Why would you want "high resistance at the beginning and no resistance through"? I prefer to have as little resistance as possible throughout the key stroke, such as MX Reds. Some people want high resistance the whole way through, and they use MX Black or MX Clear, depending on if they want tactility. Regardless, a rubber dome is insufficient in these cases.
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Offline noodles256

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #26 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 12:58:05 »
Quote from: Slux;443337
For gaming.

Rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards for gaming due to the high resistance at the beginning and no resistance through. This ensures no fatigue and high accuracy because of the way rubberdomes work. You will always bottom out if you are playing intense matches and have to double tap repeatedly so the smooth motion is only useful for touch typing. Mechanicals are better built, have better durability, feel better, and are great for typist. Rubberdomes are better for gaming due to the point I said before. They just lack in the luxury part.


troll
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Offline alaricljs

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #27 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 13:00:47 »
Quote from: ripster;443382
Troll

Quote from: iMav;404313
FYI,
 - Posts you don't agree with aren't, necessarily, trolls.

Except when they are.
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Offline Slux

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #28 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 13:02:09 »
I'll try and make an argument about the red switches. The red switches are lighter and have the linear feel for fluency but they also induce accidental presses and I think that's a worse compromise to have.

Offline alaricljs

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« Reply #29 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 13:02:26 »
Quote from: ripster;443385
Troll.

Now that is definitely a troll post... See?
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Offline alaricljs

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #30 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 13:03:30 »
Quote from: Slux;443386
I'll try and make an argument about the red switches. The red switches are lighter and have the linear feel for fluency but they also induce accidental presses and I think that's a worse compromise to have.

Induce accidental presses how?  I can rest my fingers (or even my entire hand) on reds and not get a single accidental keypress... and I don't rest on my keyboard while playing a game.
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Offline 7bit

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #31 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 13:05:21 »
Quote from: Slux;443337
[void arguments]

This is nonsense.

Get blacks or reds. Don't use buckling springs for gaming (I've tried) unless it is no action game.

For optimal grip I recommend doubleshot keys from Signature Plastics.
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Offline keyboardlover

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #32 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 13:07:47 »
@OP - just curious, what games do you prefer domes for?

I vastly prefer mechanicals for FPS as I need 6kro and the tactility/accuracy I get from using a switch that doesn't feel "mushy". I personally prefer mx clears, but I also like mx browns and topres for FPS. I've found that it's much improved the way I play.

MX reds are ok but a red switch in the spacebar makes me bunny hop all over the place.

Offline Slux

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #33 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 13:09:15 »
Yes but resting your hands on them is barely applying any pressure whatsoever.  If you were in a intense game and you had to ensure that you made no mistakes, would you rather have the insurance with the higher resistance or would you rather have the extra fluency of the reds?

Offline Slux

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #34 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 13:10:24 »
Quote from: 7bit;443394
This is nonsense.

Get blacks or reds. Don't use buckling springs for gaming (I've tried) unless it is no action game.

For optimal grip I recommend doubleshot keys from Signature Plastics.

I already said not to reply with nothing that benefits the topic. I'll take your opinion into consideration when you have a valid argument.

Offline keyboardlover

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #35 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 13:10:53 »
Well, I have big hands. It's not easy for me to rest on reds without actuating them.

Offline alaricljs

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« Reply #36 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 13:11:52 »
Quote from: Slux;443401
Yes but resting your hands on them is barely applying any pressure whatsoever.  If you were in a intense game and you had to ensure that you made no mistakes, would you rather have the insurance with the higher resistance or would you rather have the extra fluency of the reds?

Wha?  'Fluency (also called volubility and loquaciousness) is the property of a person or of a system that delivers information quickly and with expertise.'

If I want to ensure that I make no mistakes a rubber dome is the first thing to avoid.  When I get to the bottom of the key stroke I want to know it.  More importantly (which is why I use browns) I want to know exactly when the key activated.  Rubber dome does not give me this.
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fossala

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #37 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 13:11:52 »
Quote from: Slux;443401
Yes but resting your hands on them is barely applying any pressure whatsoever.  If you were in a intense game and you had to ensure that you made no mistakes, would you rather have the insurance with the higher resistance or would you rather have the extra fluency of the reds?
In that case use blacks.

Offline Slux

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #38 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 13:12:49 »
Quote from: keyboardlover;443397
@OP - just curious, what games do you prefer domes for?

I vastly prefer mechanicals for FPS as I need 6kro and the tactility/accuracy I get from using a switch that doesn't feel "mushy". I personally prefer mx clears, but I also like mx browns and topres for FPS. I've found that it's much improved the way I play.

MX reds are ok but a red switch in the spacebar makes me bunny hop all over the place.
I don't understand how you need tactility for gaming when you are going to bottom out the entire time, especially with a fps game. Like I said, I don't believe you are fully utilizing 6rko or even close to nrko.

Offline Slux

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #39 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 13:14:28 »
Quote from: fossala;443406
In that case use blacks.

Blacks have higher resistance and cause fatigue.

Offline Slux

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #40 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 13:16:41 »
Quote from: alaricljs;443405
Wha?  'Fluency (also called volubility and loquaciousness) is the property of a person or of a system that delivers information quickly and with expertise.'

If I want to ensure that I make no mistakes a rubber dome is the first thing to avoid.  When I get to the bottom of the key stroke I want to know it.  More importantly (which is why I use browns) I want to know exactly when the key activated.  Rubber dome does not give me this.
I know when I hit the bottom of the rubberdome so I'm not sure what you mean by that. From what I understand the tactility is useful for touchtyping to know when to stop half way. The tactility isn't utilized when you are tapping extremely fast and you cant help but bottom out.

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #41 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 13:17:13 »
Blacks are not much heaver than most rubber domes.

Offline Pretendo

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #42 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 13:17:20 »
Okay, so here is what I've gathered so far:

The OP states an opinion about rubber dome keyboards.  He validates that they are acceptable for gaming by claiming that the actuation point (bottoming out) is very precise, and therefore it is easy to double tap and whatnot.  This poster labeled the thread "Why rubber domes are better than mech. keyboards" and expected his opinion to be merrily accepted by the biggest collection of keyboard buffs on the internet!

Meanwhile, all persons trying to make a defense for mechanical keyboards are brushed off by the original poster as haters.  Those calling him a troll (which is a fair statement, even if this thread somehow wasn't actually intending to be a troll thread) are slashed as ignorant.

Ripster, who came to the defense of this guy by pointing out the fact that, hey, all modern controller pads use rubber domes, is being "sarcastic."  Truth be told, this is a good indication that properly implemented rubber domes are an excellent choice for gaming.  Wii and PSx put them under double shot keys, and sell individual units for upwards of $30!

In conclusion, it seems that nobody can post in this thread and appease the OP.  I suggest that nobody post after this, and we let the thread die.  Done?  Done.
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Offline wompwomp

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #43 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 13:17:27 »
IMO, no keyboard or switch will help you game better. It's all just a personal preference, and what you enjoy using more.

If you really think about it, all you're doing is pressing a key down to activate something. I guess some switches/rubber-domes travel down faster than others, but in reality is it really going to make a difference? If so, then press the down faster.

And for those "accidental key presses," work on your finger accuracy =D

I guess owning a "gaming" keyboard couldn't hurt, but you wanna know how you really become a good gamer? By practicing.


Btw, I know my statement is retarded and contradicts with itself, but I'm a billy bad ass. lol

Offline Slux

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #44 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 13:21:06 »
Quote from: Pretendo;443416
Okay, so here is what I've gathered so far:

The OP states an opinion about rubber dome keyboards.  He validates that they are acceptable for gaming by claiming that the actuation point (bottoming out) is very precise, and therefore it is easy to double tap and whatnot.  This poster labeled the thread "Why rubber domes are better than mech. keyboards" and expected his opinion to be merrily accepted by the biggest collection of keyboard buffs on the internet!

Meanwhile, all persons trying to make a defense for mechanical keyboards are brushed off by the original poster as haters.  Those calling him a troll (which is a fair statement, even if this thread somehow wasn't actually intending to be a troll thread) are slashed as ignorant.

Ripster, who came to the defense of this guy by pointing out the fact that, hey, all modern controller pads use rubber domes, is being "sarcastic."  Truth be told, this is a good indication that properly implemented rubber domes are an excellent choice for gaming.  Wii and PSx put them under double shot keys, and sell individual units for upwards of $30!

In conclusion, it seems that nobody can post in this thread and appease the OP.  I suggest that nobody post after this, and we let the thread die.  Done?  Done.
I didn't brush anyone off and I took everyone's opinion and gave them a reason on why it isn't valid (in my opinion) and that the compromises you make aren't justifiable. Being called a troll for a logical argument isn't a fair statement.

Offline Trueepower

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #45 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 13:22:29 »
If we put Topre in this category then yes rubber domes > mechanical (to me). But, all of the other rubber dome boards I have tried have felt horrible or no where near close to Topre in feel, and especially in quality (not to mention styling). So it's just a matter of opinion. Every switch will be liked, or disliked by at least a decent amount of people (if they are honest about it).
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Offline alaricljs

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #46 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 13:23:23 »
Logical arguments about opinions are a fallacy.
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Offline 7bit

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« Reply #47 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 13:34:19 »
OK, you win!

Get a G81 they are cheap and then order some key caps from my group buy.
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Offline insilica

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #48 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 13:36:30 »
Quote from: Slux;443337
For gaming.

Rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards for gaming due to the high resistance at the beginning and no resistance through. This ensures no fatigue and high accuracy because of the way rubberdomes work. You will always bottom out if you are playing intense matches and have to double tap repeatedly so the smooth motion is only useful for touch typing. Mechanicals are better built, have better durability, feel better, and are great for typist. Rubberdomes are better for gaming due to the point I said before. They just lack in the luxury part.


Well you are entitled to your opinion. You may be right, I personally don't play many games and when I do I tend to play turn based games or games like diablo which don't require you to thump your keyboard. My keyboard(s) are primarily for work and since I use my computer > 10hrs a day -> an hour gaming session is unlikely to convince me of (a) using rubber domes (b) swapping it out for gaming only.

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Offline Surnia

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Why rubberdomes are better than mechanical keyboards.
« Reply #49 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 13:46:31 »
I'm Typing this on a rubber dome on campus, between my classes. Its a mac one, came with an iMac.

In that one sentence above, I actually managed to make an error on EACH word, and failed to hit the space between every two letters.

The plain and simple fact is that rubber domes do not have a good lifespan associated with them in hard/prolonged usage. I LITERALLY have to smush each key HARD to get it to actuate it right now, due to all the stresses this keyboard has lived through. Granted the keyboard is significantly more quiet than my Das Silent, but that's attributed to the fact that there's so much key friction in the keys its slowing ALL movement. Actually even to that point, it takes a bit for the keys to spring back up... The keys are mushy, there's no sense of tactility at all (not even close to linear, just... bleh.), the dome is so degraded at this point that there's no tactile point left (you can press slowly, and feel the mush slowly give way...). To be absolutely honest, I think sticking my finger through a bowl of jello would feel better than THIS kind of mush. I think even the Rip-0-meter would fail on this keyboard, the stack might get so high they would topple before the key pressed down (its not isolated to this board only, the entire row of them in the library are this bad)

The best keyboards on campus are obviously the newest ones, and even then those are Dell Scissor switches.

At home I hated the rubber domes for ages, well before I even learned what a mechanical keyboard was. Not really mushy, but I did not like the key travel. The only thing I did like was the double tapping, as you could manage it without really lifting your finger at all (which theoretically you can accomplish with a red or black as well). Scissors were my next stage in keyboards (last two years), but that didn't live exceptionally well, as I had C and M key failures; not to mention the key press limitations were very restricting in what I could accomplish in MMOs, or certain command combinations I changed around for ease of use in programs. You really don't need NKRO even for that, but at that point 6KRO is still light years ahead.

I have to be perfectly honest here, I'm actually getting a typing cramp for the first time in my life. This rubber dome is absolutely HORRIBLE. I have used significantly better rubber domes than this one around campus, but they don't get much better (scissor switches aside; as they are actually serviceable for me. I like them as well, but not as much as Cherry Browns). Once you use a well broken in mechanical, any rubber dome loses out significantly on feel and precision (in store demo units don't get enough usage, they barely feel different from a new rubber dome). It is a noticeable and drastic difference in key travel, tactility and overall feel that can be seen within 2 weeks of usage.

Noppoo Choc Mini with MX Black | Filco 104 MJ2 Ninja with MX Black