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Author Topic: First Mechanical.. Did I make out OK?  (Read 4168 times)

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Offline AgentZen

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First Mechanical.. Did I make out OK?
« on: Fri, 04 November 2011, 06:24:57 »
I have wanted a Mechanical Keyboard for a year or so now, but never took the time to research enough to make an informed decision. Tonight I finally took that plunge and did a nights worth of research and placed an order for Filco Majestouch-2, NKR, Tactile Action, Metallic Blue USA Keyboard FKBN104M2-AI from Amazon.

I am hoping I made the right decision as it seems like a hefty price for a keyboard. However, my justification was that I am typing for 50+ hours a week for work and then occasionally playing starcraft 2 marathons in-between. I figured brown keys would be the right choice for those needs, and from what I understand, Filco is a well respected manufacturer of Mechanical Keyboards; so I took plunge and this keyboard should be here Saturday. I am sure it will be a great improvement over the keyboard I'm using, but I am just hoping I made the best decision.

I hope to get to know all of you better in the future,

Brad
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Offline slueth

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First Mechanical.. Did I make out OK?
« Reply #1 on: Fri, 04 November 2011, 06:32:38 »
nice buy welcome to geekhack.
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Offline hemflit

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First Mechanical.. Did I make out OK?
« Reply #2 on: Fri, 04 November 2011, 06:55:30 »
Welcome. Unless there are some special factors you're not bringing up, I think you've done well. Filco does a fine job, the layout is standard, browns are quiet (if you share your work space and noise is an issue).

A major factor will be your satisfaction with the tactility of browns, but you've done your homework, so I guess you've reduced the possibility of error to a reasonable minimum. At worst, you might end up reselling the keyboard for not much less than you paid for it.

One personal bone of mine are numeric keypads for people who don't need them. If you don't actually use the keypad much, you might have been better off with a smaller board. But no biggie.
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Offline AgentZen

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First Mechanical.. Did I make out OK?
« Reply #3 on: Fri, 04 November 2011, 07:24:44 »
I wish I could do without the keypad, but it is a must for my work. Speed of entering numbers is a factor, and the faster I can enter them accurately, the more I can do and the more I'm paid. This keyboard will probably never be used at the office and only at my home office however. I work every other week from home for the time being, and may possibly be moving to work from home full time.

I chose the browns because from what I hear it may be the best fit for RTS and FPS type gamers who also use the keyboard to type. I am only playing RTS right now but will be playing FPS probably by Jan/Feb when I finish the new gaming PC.

I would be very interested to hear what the favorite switch type around here is? Blue? Black maybe?

Also curious as to what type switches others might suggest for me from what I've explained about my work. I work full time on a keyboard, speed is important, RTS (starcraft 2 gaming) is very important, quiet sound is important if I were to bring my keyboard in the office as I work closely with 2 others in small room. Also I do most of my work with headphones in blasting loud rock and roll music.
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Offline N8N

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First Mechanical.. Did I make out OK?
« Reply #4 on: Fri, 04 November 2011, 07:34:06 »
you paid a couple extra bucks for the blue case, but I think it looks cool too :)

I think you'll like the Filco.  Both Filco and WASD make a hell of a keyboard.

You really won't know whether you made the "best" decision or not until you get it and try it.
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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 AgentZen

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First Mechanical.. Did I make out OK?
« Reply #5 on: Fri, 04 November 2011, 07:39:12 »
Quote from: N8N;445386
you paid a couple extra bucks for the blue case, but I think it looks cool too :)

I think you'll like the Filco.  Both Filco and WASD make a hell of a keyboard.

You really won't know whether you made the "best" decision or not until you get it and try it.


Thanks! The blue was a treat to myself :)

I've already begun building a WASD in my head :D Dreaming can be expensive....
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Offline Rafen

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First Mechanical.. Did I make out OK?
« Reply #6 on: Fri, 04 November 2011, 07:41:24 »
Welcome to geekhack. You made a nice choice on your selection. Browns are very nice to type on and you will not be disappointed. My favorite switch however is the blue because it is "clicky" and has more of a tactile "bump" than the browns.
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Offline AgentZen

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First Mechanical.. Did I make out OK?
« Reply #7 on: Fri, 04 November 2011, 07:47:00 »
Quote from: Rafen;445389
Welcome to geekhack. You made a nice choice on your selection. Browns are very nice to type on and you will not be disappointed. My favorite switch however is the blue because it is "clicky" and has more of a tactile "bump" than the browns.

I'd really like to try out the blues. Looks like the Razer Black Widow uses cherry blues, though I am not a fan of razer products I'll have to seek one out to see how they feel in comparison to the browns. I think they have Razer products at Microcenter.
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Offline hashbaz

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First Mechanical.. Did I make out OK?
« Reply #8 on: Fri, 04 November 2011, 07:56:15 »
Welcome to the Filco club.  Browns are a solid choice that most people are very happy with.

Also check out Fry's if there's one in your area.  Last time I was there they had a keyboard with blues out on display, and one with white clicky Alps switches as well.
« Last Edit: Fri, 04 November 2011, 08:05:24 by hashbaz »
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Offline Tony

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First Mechanical.. Did I make out OK?
« Reply #9 on: Fri, 04 November 2011, 08:03:59 »
I am typing on a Filco brown and I think that you will like yours like I do mine.

Once you have more experience, you will find that you have made the right decision since most of keyboard collectors here got at least one, if not several, Filcos in their bag.

Please take photos of the keyboard, keycaps, switches, cable, plugs and post here for us to see.
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Keyboard: Filco MJ1 104 brown, Filco MJ2 87 brown, Compaq MX11800, Noppoo Choc Brown/Blue/Red, IBM Model M 1996, CMStorm Quickfire Rapid Black
Layout: Colemak experience, speed of 67wpm

Offline AgentZen

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First Mechanical.. Did I make out OK?
« Reply #10 on: Fri, 04 November 2011, 08:12:11 »
Quote from: hashbaz;445395
Welcome to the Filco club.  Browns are a solid choice that most people are very happy with.

Also check out Fry's if there's one in your area.  Last time I was there they had a keyboard with blues out on display, and one with white clicky Alps switches as well.

I'm east coast, Philadelphia area. I don't think there's a fry's around here, but maybe I'll have luck at one of the few mom and pop computer outlets here.

Tony, I'm sure I'll be pimping my Filco all over the forum, stay tuned for that, haha.
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Offline noodles256

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First Mechanical.. Did I make out OK?
« Reply #11 on: Fri, 04 November 2011, 08:21:43 »
cool
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Offline flyball

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First Mechanical.. Did I make out OK?
« Reply #12 on: Fri, 04 November 2011, 08:25:21 »
if you don't like it then you made the wrong decision.
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Offline AgentZen

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First Mechanical.. Did I make out OK?
« Reply #13 on: Fri, 04 November 2011, 08:39:27 »
Quote from: flyball;445407
if you don't like it then you made the wrong decision.

But what if I do like it and I could have made a better decision? Then WHAT?! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
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Offline Rafen

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First Mechanical.. Did I make out OK?
« Reply #14 on: Fri, 04 November 2011, 08:45:23 »
Quote from: brsp25;445391
I'd really like to try out the blues. Looks like the Razer Black Widow uses cherry blues, though I am not a fan of razer products I'll have to seek one out to see how they feel in comparison to the browns. I think they have Razer products at Microcenter.

Micro Center does carry the BlackWidow and I believe that Best Buy is carrying it also. If you do like it you could sell your board in the classifieds to fund the purchase of some cherry mx blues. That board will probably sell fast because almost everyone loves FILCO.
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Offline hashbaz

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First Mechanical.. Did I make out OK?
« Reply #15 on: Fri, 04 November 2011, 08:51:21 »
Quote from: brsp25;445414
But what if I do like it and I could have made a better decision? Then WHAT?! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.


Then, my friend, you shell out for more keyboards.  Welcome to geekhack. :D

Seriously though, there are ways of trying lots of switches for not too much money.  You can get an old POS (that's Point of Sale, not piece of ****) keyboard from ebay, buy a few individual switches from Mouser or squarebox, and swap them in easily since PCB-mounted keyboards are simple to mod.

There are also one or two switch tester numpads floating around.  I'll have one coming on line hopefully within a couple of weeks that has browns, blues, reds, blacks, clears, and ergo clears.
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Offline bloodygood

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First Mechanical.. Did I make out OK?
« Reply #16 on: Fri, 04 November 2011, 09:12:00 »
Give it a month and if you really dislike the keyboard you put it up in classifieds here for about 90~95% of the original value as "slightly used" and then have the buyer also pay for shipping (don't charge them for priority 1 day shipping unless they specifically ask for it..) and voila you just gave yourself a second chance at finding your ideal keyboard. Personally I went with Black Alps, then Buckling Springs, and finally Cherry MX brown. I do hope to try mx red in the near future but that is why I ordered some keyswitches from onlinecomponents so that I can test clear, black, blue, and red.
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Offline Pretendo

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First Mechanical.. Did I make out OK?
« Reply #17 on: Fri, 04 November 2011, 12:36:13 »
I own a Rosewill RK-9000, which is nearly identical to the Filco majestouch.

From my experience it is a well built, low profile board that won't make your desktop look like a space station command module.  Conservative, unassuming, and simple. There's probably "better" boards out there, but nothing about this board has screamed "bad purchase" as of yet.

As a programmer and freelance writer, I can say that I've been happy with Cherry switches.  Brown vs Blue is down to preference; I personally chose blue because they feel more akin to the IBM Model M I was coming off of.  You're going to feel more productive, want to type as much as possible (why do you think I'm writing paragraphs of keyboard praise here?) and you'll be much happier overall if your profession requires tons of typing.

Best luck!


EDIT: ps- Life is to short to devote to reaching keyboard nirvana.  Try a few different switch types, settle on something you're happy with, and let your doubts go :D
« Last Edit: Fri, 04 November 2011, 12:43:34 by Pretendo »
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Offline hemflit

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First Mechanical.. Did I make out OK?
« Reply #18 on: Fri, 04 November 2011, 12:51:58 »
Quote from: brsp25;445379
I wish I could do without the keypad, but it is a must for my work. Speed of entering numbers is a factor, and the faster I can enter them accurately, the more I can do and the more I'm paid. This keyboard will probably never be used at the office and only at my home office however. I work every other week from home for the time being, and may possibly be moving to work from home full time.

I chose the browns because from what I hear it may be the best fit for RTS and FPS type gamers who also use the keyboard to type. I am only playing RTS right now but will be playing FPS probably by Jan/Feb when I finish the new gaming PC.

I would be very interested to hear what the favorite switch type around here is? Blue? Black maybe?

Oh, if you actually use the keypad, it's not a mistake. It's just that people sometimes get full-size kbds by inertia.

Everyone has a different favourite switch, you'll get your ears talked off. Don't fall into the trap of thinking Cherry MX is the only thing that exists, either. A popular opinion holds that of the Cherries, reds and black are better for FPSs than browns, but not everyone thinks so.
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Offline pitashen

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First Mechanical.. Did I make out OK?
« Reply #19 on: Fri, 04 November 2011, 12:53:29 »
brown is a safe choice. Can be boring for some, but def a safe choice for first time buyer.
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\\\\ DSI Mac Modular Keyboard (Brown) w/ Leo  Blank Keycaps //
\\\\ Leopold 87keys Keyboard (Brown) w/ Black CherryCorp + SP DoubleShots //
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Offline Lethal Squirrel

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First Mechanical.. Did I make out OK?
« Reply #20 on: Fri, 04 November 2011, 14:06:51 »
This is part of the addiction of mechanical keyboard. You just have experience them all.
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Offline absfac

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First Mechanical.. Did I make out OK?
« Reply #21 on: Sat, 05 November 2011, 16:13:13 »
Quote from: brsp25;445379
quiet sound is important if I were to bring my keyboard in the office as I work closely with 2 others in small room.


Depending on your typing technique and how sensitive your officemates are, you should consider buying soft landing pads or o-rings. I found that I was bottoming out a fair amount with my Filco browns, and there's a distinct clack when you do this which is noticeably louder than with a rubber dome board. However you can postpone deciding whether this is necessary until you get your board and type on it for a couple of days.
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Offline AgentZen

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First Mechanical.. Did I make out OK?
« Reply #22 on: Sun, 06 November 2011, 10:23:05 »





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Offline AgentZen

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First Mechanical.. Did I make out OK?
« Reply #23 on: Sun, 06 November 2011, 10:26:39 »
Well it arrived yesterday and it is a great keyboard, but I went to try out the MX Blues, and I ordered myself a White Filco tenkeyless with MX Blues. I'f I choose not to keep this metallic blue Filco, I will offer this to geek hack classifieds before I return it to amazon.
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