My questions before buying a new keyboard.

[stereophonic]

A few months ago I got a das keyboard silent ultimate but since I'm more a gamer than I am a typist, I've decided to sell it and get a keyboard with red switches instead. That's the plan so far at least.

Before I do anything I have some questions that need answering in order to better understand what I'm buying.

First of all, the stabilizers. I didn't know much about them until about an hour ago, but now I know that there are the Costar and the Cherry stabilizers. With the Costar ones it's pretty straight forward. Nothing really special except that they are less common so in case I break one or lose it, I can't replace it easily.

The Cherry stabilizers is where I'm sort of lost. Lots of mixed reactions on the Internet. Some say that there are cheap imitations in certain keyboards that cause the keys to feel flimsy. Also some say that cherry stabilizers make the keys feel stiff compared to the costar. Overall, I'm not sure which one is better and why, and that's what I'm trying to figure out. I'd appreciate any sort of objective observation on the matter since there are too many people who don't say anything meaningful except that they love one or hate the other, and that's not helpful.

The keyboards that I'm sort of looking at right now are Rosewill RK-9000RE and Leopold FC500R. As far as I know the rosewill has the costar stabilizers and the leopold has cherry. According to some, the leopold doesn't have very good stabilizers which I find weird considering that the quality of the rest of the keyboard is quite high so I don't know if they are indeed good or bad stabilizers. I might take that one off the list tho since it's possible that I'll have to pay fees to ship it to Canada where I'm from, so the price spikes quite high. Unless someone proves me wrong.

That's it for now. I'll surely have more stuff to ask soon. Any other keyboard suggestions with the MX Red switches will be appreciated too. The price range is no more than around 120$ since I don't know for how much I'll be able to sell my das keyboard even though it's practically new. With only 4 months of use and in mint condition.

Thanks! :biggrin:

[Djuzuh]

You didn't really ask any question .

What exactly do you want to know?

[stereophonic]

You didn't really ask any question .

What exactly do you want to know?

tl;dr is: are there indeed cheap cherry stabilizer imitations and how to avoid getting that? Also, which stabilizer type is better? Does the FC500R have good or bad ones? xD

Sry for my weird way of asking.

9/10 Keyboard Experts agree with me:
http://deskthority.net/keyboards-f2/cherry-key-stabilizers-t143.html?hilit=cherry%20stabilizers

I actually read that before I started the thread, but those missing pictures are sort of important. Do you have them uploaded somewhere else?

[alaricljs]

I find it interesting that the mod linked to by mass in that thread seems to try making Cherry stabilizers more like Costar.

[stereophonic]

That Cherry Clone thing was Sixty's weirdass theory but not confirmed.  

Sure, I have the pics.

I'll reupload there when I get a chance.   Point is if keyboard experts disagree then it's a personal choice.  The rest is just for lolz.

Okay thanks.

You said that you felt that the cherry stabilizers weren't as good as the filco ones and weren't sure if it was them or you. Have you figured out if they are indeed worse or if you just didn't like them for some reason?

[alaricljs]

They feel different.  How much different is really dependent on the user as is which one feels 'better.'  It's me opinion that the Costar change the feel of the switch the least amount, but there are sometimes issues with rattling or squeaking.

[stereophonic]

What concerns me the most is this mushiness of the Cherry stabilizers that so many people have already complained about, but there have been no real follow-ups or resolutions.

Does this "mushiness" go away as the stabilizers get worked in as time passes or is it something that stays with the Cherry stabilizers forever?  If it is a persistent issue, are there any known fixes to it?

[alaricljs]

I have a brand new Cherry spacebar stabilizer set in front of me.  Never used, only assembled a couple times.  

One of the 2 plastic slider assemblies provides some springy resistance due to tolerances in a particular hole.  This will wear over time, no idea how long it would take to lose the effect completely.  There are more parts contributing to friction in a Cherry stabilizers.  As ripster already alluded to, lube can help there.  So might some gentle sanding of any mold flashing or other rough surfaces.  The mod in that DT thread makes Cherry stabilizers more like Costar by cutting certain plastic which allows the key cap interface parts to come out, but I don't see any other benefit.

[IvanIvanovich]

It's nearly irrelevant on reds in my opinion. Both type have their pros and con. I don't really care much myself, but then every board I own is Cherry stabs so... But I think a lot of people that complain of the so called mush, is brand new board where the clip is very tight. It loosens up over time with use and feels smoother later on.

[stereophonic]

I might just sigh up for the cherry switch tester and make a decision based on that. Since I already have costar stabilizers I'll be able to easily compare the two. Also since the browns and reds are similar with the exception of the tactile feel, I might decided that it's not worth switching for such a minor difference.

[Crake]

Side note, have you tried black? You should try to try red and black before ordering. Fry's has some keyboards with black.  You could check if any on display. I think they have Corsair with reds too.

Based on the blues, do you think you would want lighter (red) or firmer (blacks)?

[stereophonic]

I doubt I'd want to use MORE force to press keys. The browns feel right. I can't really say with a certainty because I haven't tried the other sorts, but I don't feel like there's anything wrong with the 45g.

[Squelos]

Trying out on a test board is really hard to tell.
For instance, when i got my topre board the other day i was like : ffs, this is mushy, **** rubber domes. But now im like, damn, this is really better than i thought !

But blacks might be heavy for you. I know I like to feel, and go without too much effort. Havent tried out blacks yet, but reds/browns and 45g topres are just perfect for me


Edit : sorry kinda intoxicated here, good belgian beer got me. What i want to say is that you really need to try out the board before making a decision. Trying it out, as in typing during quite an extended period of time.
For instance, I find my topre board too light on the space. I press it without realizing i am pressing it.
I find blues a bit too heavy for me, so browns or reds seemed better but without the tactile feedback.

[stereophonic]

Thats why I said I might sigh up for the cherry switch tester. It's the closest I can get to trying out the different switches. I don't know of any local stores in my area that would sell mechanical keyboards for me to go and test them out. Unless there are fellow geekhack members in Montreal. I could probably test the mx blue switches since Razer has a popular keyboard with those, but I don't really need those switches since they aren't that good for games other than the likes of StarCraft.