New mechanical Keyboard // Oh cruel, cruel world...

[OMNOMNOM]

Dear keyboard enthusiasts of geehack.org,

i have been looking for a replacement for my Logitech DiNovo Edge for quite some time now. I don't like it anymore. Maybe i have never really liked it. Wireless just doesn't float my boat. It sucks for gaming, i have to recharge all the time and if the battery charge ever gets below 30% the keys might become "stuck" (which almost exclusively happens during gaming). I used to have this old Cherry MY 3000. According to the Wiki it is indeed a mechanical keyboard albeit with a more uncommon type of switches. Heck i might still use it, but i can't stand it's looks anymore and my girlfriend can't sleep during excessive typing/gaming sessions.

So i come to you guys, to ask for help. I've been reading the forums for quite some time now and i've also already consulted the wiki. I might have acquired more knowledge of mechanical keyboards, but i still don't know which keyboard would be the perfect fit for me. So here is a small list of my requirements:

- 50/50 Gaming and writing, i spent quite some time @ my desk
- LEDs, macros, etc. is nice to have, but i don't really care about that kind of stuff
- additional USB Ports and audio interfaces would be nice (speakers, mic)
- i'm unexperienced but from what i can tell i would go with Cherry Reds or Browns (if someone knows the Cherry MY 3000 and/or the logitech dinovo...maybe you could help me a littel out here in terms of comparisons)
- German keyboard layout
- fitting wrist rest (quite important, see next point)

- LOOKS (!)

Okay. Here we go. I cannot stand this Razer crap. It makes me want to puke so hard. On my desk. All the time. I want a nice, modern looking keyboard, not some friggin plastic toy-like hommage to gundam. I want something more sleeky. Or at least something with no puking involved.

- Pricing

Truth be told, i originally settled for a WASD keyboard. Customizable Keycaps (with all sorts of nerdy stuff...trollface on capslock? hell yeah!), a nice fitting wrist rest, good quality and the kind of switches i would have wanted. The problem: I live in Germany. I would have paid the (iirc) ~120$, but shipping and taxes really broke the deal. And if i had'nt liked the switches, i would have to pay shipping again. No thanks. As a student i cannot afford that kind of money. So it's propably important to note that the designed keyboard should be available in europe. And maybe the price should be below 100 €...but...nah i don't know. If it's worth it, it's worth it. I want to buy one keyboard instead of a cheaper one now and the expensive one later on...

I really hope you can help me out with your recommendations. The keyboards i researched and quite liked were the Corsair K 60/90 or maybe the Qpad mk85 (thou it looks a bit too military-inspired for my liking). But there are so many other good keyboards out there...das keyboard...roswell...that gigabye tt esports thingy...but they all don't really seem to fit. Damn! I'm so confused!

[Squelos]

Hum, well, i wouldnt settle for the corsair. Maybe the Qpad. But im afraid that if your looking for a good keyboard, your going to have to go through the taxes and shipping costs. Not much cutting on those. Appart if you find some german reseller.

If the price really is the thing bothering, you should try buying a second hand keyboard from some other german dude.

Germany is quite big, you will most likely find something that suits your needs.

[escargot]

Haven't you checked World Wide Shopping Links Wiki? There's lots of places in Germany to get a mechanical keyboard. You could go for a Cherry G80-3000, I'm sure you can get a good price on one of them and it's Cherry afterall.

[Erick_C]

^ I agree with the comments above.  Your best bet is to shop locally.  You may not get the customizable keycaps option but it's a far better option than getting something from another country, especially if you have to deal with taxes and international shipping.

In addition, local vendors may have sample keyboards for you to try out.  It'll give you the opportunity to figure out which switch is actually right for you.

[OMNOMNOM]

Besides the obvious problem of using rubberdomes in conjunction with mechanical keys are there any other facts that really break the corsair k90/60?

I could get a Filco (Majestouch) from keyboardco or even amazon. I just do not know what justifies the price. it looks kind of generic and has absolutely no features...not even additional usb ports or some kind of wirst rest. The Das Keyboard with brown switches or the steel series 6gv2 seem to better in that regard. So what are the drawbacks of those two, especially compared to the filco? And what makes the Cherry g80-3000 so cheap (it comes from amazon for around 50€) compared to those? It really comes down to "i don't know the differences that make/brake the keyboards". Every experience u share with me is well appreciated.

On the other hand: I don't like the look of the qpad mk series. Is there anything similar looking more like a Das?

I know these questions are more simplistic in nature, but please...bear with me. Thanks a lot. (=

//edit:

@ Erick_C: I guess i >should< go and see some local retailers. I don't think they will have a good stock of various styles and brands thou... but who knows. In the end ordering from a european retailer and shipping it back in case i don't like it is not so much of a deal either. Note to self: Do both.

[Erick_C]

From my experience between my IDFactory Groove87 and my Filco MJ2 TKL, there really isn't very much seperating the two.  The Groove87 (about 50 bucks cheaper) actually has better caps than the filco and offers media controls and a way to turn off the windows key (good, if you play older titles).

The only reasons I bought the Filco MJ2 are because 1) I got curious what the fuss was all about and 2) it was the only TKL that was readily available with the MX Black.

Whatever you choose, it'll be very hard to be disappointed with your first mechanical keyboard purchase.

[1839cc]

What makes Cherry so cheap is probably the missing metal plate for rigidity. That shouldn't really be a problem though. I was using a huge Cherry POS board for more than a year and the PCB and case flex was noticeable, but ignorable.

I got a Leopold today and the plate is indeed better, but at 50€ it's hard to justify not getting one. I would have if I had been in Europe.

[OMNOMNOM]

So i re-checked the available retailers. The models i could easily get my hands on are:

real basic:
- Cherry G80-3000 (all kinds of switches)
- Filco Majestouch 2 with Browns (thou quite expensive)

sober designs:
- Das Keyboard (silent version)
- Mionix Zibal 60
- Steel Series 6Gv2 (maybe the 7G as well, but right now it seems to be out of stock)
- Raptor Gaming K1
- Zowie Celeritas

gimmicky gaming stuff:
- Qpad MK 50/80/85
- Corsair MK 60/90

I consider this to be the list of keyboards that i would actually consider acquiring (at least one of them). The filco and Cherry keyboards are pretty basic, but i think i can already rule out the filco since i could literally get 3 cherrys for one filco. I'm more interested in the other two categories, but i don't know how i could possibly rule out some of them (since i won't be able to test every single device). Any of thta stuff = real bad? If so, why? All the reviews @ the net of all the keyboards were pretty much positive...

[keyboardnoob]

So i re-checked the available retailers. The models i could easily get my hands on are:

real basic:
- Cherry G80-3000 (all kinds of switches)
- Filco Majestouch 2 with Browns (thou quite expensive)

sober designs:
- Das Keyboard (silent version)
- Mionix Zibal 60
- Steel Series 6Gv2 (maybe the 7G as well, but right now it seems to be out of stock)
- Raptor Gaming K1
- Zowie Celeritas

gimmicky gaming stuff:
- Qpad MK 50/80/85
- Corsair MK 60/90

I consider this to be the list of keyboards that i would actually consider acquiring (at least one of them). The filco and Cherry keyboards are pretty basic, but i think i can already rule out the filco since i could literally get 3 cherrys for one filco. I'm more interested in the other two categories, but i don't know how i could possibly rule out some of them (since i won't be able to test every single device). Any of thta stuff = real bad? If so, why? All the reviews @ the net of all the keyboards were pretty much positive...

Look at the classified, there's a lot of people selling their boards there.

[OMNOMNOM]

Rarely do you see negative reviews except from me.  It is called Post Purchase Rationalization in the psychology field.  And posting your dislikes of certain keyboards gets the forum fanbois upset.

Out of that particular list I like the Das.  Plus the Germanic The Hunger Games Bank Gothic will attract the babes.

I bow down in awe and gratitude. Thank you =D I totally forgot the chic-factor. Althou...

Look at the classified, there's a lot of people selling their boards there.

Thanks for the tip. Thou most people seem to be located overseas (from my point of view =D).
Anyway i finally thinned out my choices a little bit. Some time in the not too distant future i might go for a Das Keyboard with the brown Switches. Right now there are two combatants left in the ring: The Cherry g80 (blacks...should be the LPCDE model) and the Steel series g6v2. I finally said goodbye to the attached wrist rest. The price makes both of them pretty much no brainers and if i understand that correctly i will be able to swap out keycaps without problems later on. The only question remaining i have is: Will the Cherry be able to fulfill my gaming needs (lockouts, ghosting)? I heard different opinions in that regard.

[jellowiggler]

Better classifieds for you are found at deskthority. They are based in Europe , GH is primarily a North American site.

I like the filco and das.

When i did some oem research I think I remember the Mionix zibal and the zowie celeritas are the same as the tt esports mekka g1, which is a solid board with black switches.  It has media controls and USB hub.  I'd still have that board, but I don't like black switches.

Wouldn't go with the 6g. Non standard "big ass" enter I believe.

If its only a few euros more get the filco. Otherwise the other two I suggested are good too.

[OMNOMNOM]

I would have totally gone for the mionix. I calculated the prices to $ so u got a simple comparison.

Cherry G80 - 66$
SS G6v2 - 74$
Mionix Zibal - 172$
Zowie Celeritas - 135$
[all prices without shipping]

I don't like the Meka G1 (or anything else from their TT line) in regard of looks thou. Same goes for CM Quickfire. Oh and just for the lulz i would have to pay about 180 $ for a Das without shipping and 200 $ flat for a filco from keyboardco. hoooray!