limited experience, still looking for the keyboard that I can live with

[jellowiggler]

I've been looking for my perfect mechanical keyboard for about a month.

I was trying my hardest to buy locally, or at least in Canada for shipping and returns purposes.  Which has served me well so far because I've had a hard time finding the right board.

Keyboard 1
I had a Blackwidow Ultimate.  But I ran into the mostly psychological 2kro problem, so it went back.  The fact that I couldn't hit zxc (right in the gaming cluster) or more than 2 arrows at once really bugged me.  A $130 keyboard should do better.  I did like the blue switches though I could do with a bit quieter.

Keyboard 2
So I took it back.  While I was returning the keyboard to memoryexpress (one of the better Canadian stores, and local to me in Calgary) they had received the first Corsair K90 shipment.  So I picked up one of those.  I thought it was was pretty good, except that they mixed Cherry MX red switchs with rubber for all the number, center ins/del block and the macro keys.  It feels really strange to be typing then hit a mushy del, escape, or number key.  So I returned that one too.  I did like the red switches.

Keyboard 3
So the I figured, screw this blingy crap.  I'll get a concentrated typing machine that is centered on quality.  So I got the Thermaltake Meka G1.  As far as I can tell this is a Costar built plain keyboard that is identical to the Rosewill RK-9000, but with USB and audio passthrough.  This keyboard was awesome and I thought I was finally done with my search.  Until typing fatigue set in.  My forearms do not like Black switches.  There is too much resistance on the keys.

They also had a SteelSeries g6v2, but it has black switches and I'm done with them.

So I'm tired of trying keyboards and lines and hour long car trips to go return things.  I just want a bad ass keyboard.

I would like to source it in Canada if possible, because I don't want to get killed in shipping, possibly having to return it given my horrible track record.

I have exhausted my options local to Calgary, so I really want to avoid a further return.

Here are my options:

Das Keyboard Pro Silent (brown switches, usb jacks, no audio) $122 + $10 shipping.
 RK9000 (red switches, no usb or audio) $130 err..   just checked went to $100 + 10 shipping this morning.
Armour u9 (brown switches, no usb or audio) $80+ 10 shipping

Black widow ultimate stealth (brown, usb, audio, macros, backlight) - no stock, ship from USA only

The OCN Ducky tkl or shine is also an option, as is the Filco tkl, or a Leopold.  I'm not sure of the quality of the Ducky and Leopold. But any of these I won't return and they will have duty and shipping.  If I'm going to do that I might just go with a custom WASD. (probably close to $200 after shipping and such)

What do you guys think?  End the keyboard madness (at least for now)!
Thanks.

[patrickgeekhack]

Here are my options:

Das Keyboard Pro Silent (brown switches, usb jacks, no audio) $122 + $10 shipping.
 RK9000 (red switches, no usb or audio) $130 err..   just checked went to $100 + 10 shipping this morning.
Armour u9 (brown switches, no usb or audio) $80+ 10 shipping

That's too bad that you asked the question now. Newegg.ca had the RK9000-RE for $80 plus taxes, but with free shipping. A friend of mine bought it and it looks like a very decent keyboard to me. The price has changed again. I am seeing free shipping but at $100.

[jellowiggler]

That's too bad that you asked the question now. Newegg.ca had the RK9000-RE for $80 plus taxes, but with free shipping. A friend of mine bought it and it looks like a very decent keyboard to me. The price has changed again. I am seeing free shipping but at $100.

No further wisdom on Das vs RK-9000?

[Greenbean]

I feel your pain. I live in Vancouver, and I think I might have to replan my keyboard roadmap.

I would rule out the BWU Stealth Edition as it still has 2KRO I believe.

Consider a Rosewill, as great things have been said about them. Although make sure you can live with Reds. WASD is increasing their prices, which I'm not very happy about.

[pitashen]

It sounds like you've ruled out Blacks, did your BWU have blues or browns?  Have you decided on which switch you want yet?

According to his wish list, he has decided the brown switch.


go for either Das or RK9000

[Greenbean]

No plaque for Melissa!

Or WASD either.  

Should go to Elitekeyboards for year end sale.  Must be the Yen exchange rate.

Ha! And it keeps on getting worse. I was going to get some fancy 2Shots, but then: NOPE! Chuck Testa. R4 increased prices.

With concerns about Cherry Stabilizers, I'm scared.

[pitashen]

Ha! And it keeps on getting worse. I was going to get some fancy 2Shots, but then: NOPE! Chuck Testa. R4 increased prices.

With concerns about Cherry Stabilizers, I'm scared.

The Round4 price quote is not final, it can still go back down if more people are ordering. 7bit will likely not close the orders until the price reaches a reasonable point.

[pitashen]

I see red switches in the list, and his comments above suggest he preferred them over the blacks.  His BWU wasn't a stealth and his comments suggest it had blue swtiches.  There's nothing conclusive to suggest he's even used a brown (or any non-clicky tactile) switch.

He should be pretty happy with either red or brown

[Greenbean]

The Round4 price quote is not final, it can still go back down if more people are ordering. 7bit will likely not close the orders until the price reaches a reasonable point.

I'll probably have to settle with Round 5 or even 6 because I have troubles deciding which keyboard I want.

=_="

WASD, Filco, DAS, or Rosewill. Those would be my choices.

Although being Canadian, my gut says Rosewill.

[pitashen]

The Round4 price quote is not final, it can still go back down if more people are ordering. 7bit will likely not close the orders until the price reaches a reasonable point.

forget about the possible price drop on the Round4 i just mentioned... 7bit announced that SP would only drop the price so far, and the price will likely be around 110 for STD and 70 for TKL

[pitashen]

Ouch.  I could buy thick PBT Topres for that.   And if you are patient (see my Sherlock thread in my subforum) I anticipate big news in the Cherry MX world.

Thick caps FTW!

[Greenbean]

the only reason to buy a rosewill keyboard is because you think you might end up returning it again.  it offers no other real benefit than saving 20-30 bucks once it's taxed and shipped.

Ah, but with WASD increasing their price on their Custom V1 to $150, I'm not sure it's worth it for ABS caps.

Leopold has Cherry stabilizers.

Filco's are $40 more than Rosewill.

DAS has a shiny finish.

[jellowiggler]

Thanks for all of your replies guys.

I am looking for a lighter switch. Reds, browns.  I don't mind the blues, but I can leave the click behind.

There are worth while improvements in the normal to stealth versions of the blackwidow that make it more compelling to me. 6kro, matte finish body. But I do want to stay within canada for this first board as I seem to be having issues.

Thanks for the offer to help with the shipping. That is awesome for you to do for people.

Newegg dropped the price on the 9000 with reds today to $100 from $130, and has free shipping. So that's what I went with.

The funny thing is I'm usually not a 'returner' at stores. I research and buy what I want.

I just didn't know there were so many factors to finding a board to be totally happy with.

Geek hack and sites like it, and the sites of some of the members are a great resource. Thanks guys!

I'll be sure to let you know how it goes.  I have experience with this switch (k90) and a similar build (meka g1). So this should be the magic combo.  I always have the das pro silent to fall back on, or the classifieds.

Maybe next year I'll do a filco tkl brown for work.....

[Greenbean]

granted they're ABS, but when you consider the fact that the price includes customizable key caps which you'd need to pay extra for from any other manufacture, there's a value associated with that, which I think is deffinately worth $150.  The keyboards are quality units, easily as good as the leo board.

Yes, that is true. Customization can be expensive, and it really is a shame that they don't have PBT caps.

I prefer functionality over looks by a small margin.

SACRIFICES MUST BE MADE.

Anyways, congrats to OP for making his choice.

[Greenbean]

i really hope this is something that gets sorted out quickly.  there's a huge opportunity to capture by providing the services he already does to a very wide market if he can add PBT keys to his inventory, even if it's at a significant premium over the ABS keys.  with the quantity being shelled out between china and korea, i'm pretty sure it's just a situation where he's not found the right person or the right language to source them.

I'm honestly surprised that he can't get a great price from SP for some blank PBTs. Even if he only offers them in limited colours, a huge sum of potential revenue awaits.

BTW can you double shot PBTs? Or are double shots only for ABS?

[Greenbean]

I'm sure it's simply a situation where the vendors he's looking to purchase keys from are also his competition, as they're trying to sell to the same niche market.  If he can't get a good enough pricing break, and then needs to add his time/services on top of that, he ends up with a product that he can't make a viable margin on, and still remain competitive.

Look at \KL's group buy for the SP dyesubs, i think ~$100usd is about as much as anyone could ever ask for a 104 key caps set, but then you look at the original laser etched/engraved sets offered from KBC/Ducky at $39/104 set.  There's a huge gap, but the ceiling is relatively low for two companies to make a reasonable profit with services and time.

ABS only, however, DyeSub is PBT only.

Ah, true. Chinese manufacturing has also been more affordable because of their given conditions. Nonetheless, I really hope that WASD can find a supplier for PBT caps.

At $100 per set, it starts wondering into Topre caps level, which is interesting to say the least.

Thanks for the clarification. Now, DS ABS or Dyesub PBT?

[IPT]

I think you'll be very happy with your rosewill red
i mean you really liked the Corsair that uses red switches, minus the cheap dome parts.
I myself just picked up a Filco MJ LE Red from a member here to replace my Adesso Mechanical Blue.

[jellowiggler]

I'm in IT.

My boss noticed that I was researching keyboards, and I told him I was looking for a better keyboard than the usual junk because of typing fatigue in my arms.

So not only do I have the rosewill red ($100, free shipping) coming, I have a rosewill brown (just came back in stock today at $110 + shipping) coming too.  So I can take one home and keep one at work.  I will admit that I did order some key caps from EK to get me started with the swapping out keys and such.  The bug has bitten.

Awesome.

[jkercado]

Hmm...I wonder if I can get my manager to authorize getting a nice mechanical keyboard for me. Right now I'm using my own Dell AT101W. But I would really love to have a tenkeyless unit with Cherry switches...

[nhwhaup]

No need to threaten sexual harassment - workers compensation works just as well.