Buying my first mechanical keyboard soon. Advice appreciated.

[Lorem-Ipsum]

Hiah, new member here. I've gone through a few keyboards, a couple of generics, a Saitek Cyborg V5, Apple Aluminium Wired and am now using a Logitech Illuminated keyboard.
I've just upgraded my monitors to twin 23" LG IPS panels, sold my R.A.T 5 for a Razer Deathadder and am now planning on getting a good keyboard.

From what I've read on geekhack, other forums and from reviews I think I'm more suited to cherry mx blues. I like my numpad, so no tenkeyless and being in the UK I'd like an ISO 105 UK layout.
I've got a budget of up to £150 but could go slightly over if its for a good reason.

I quite like the idea of buying a completely custom board from wasdkeyboards but I'm a bit worried about shipping. Anyone bought one from the UK, are there customs charges etc...?
I've considered boards like the razer blackwidow, steelseries 7g etc.. but as I use ArchLinux I need 100% Linux compatibility and the Win key is vital as I use a tiling window manager and use that to control window movement.

Any help or other suggestions much appreciated.

Matt

[mkawa]

if shipping a whole board from wasd is too pricey, keep in mind that you can order the customized keyset alone and source the board locally -- bruce of keyboardco is in the UK i believe and is the primary western filco dealer, so that might be a good way to keep your total outlay down.

[Reptile]

if shipping a whole board from wasd is too pricey, keep in mind that you can order the customized keyset alone and source the board locally -- bruce of keyboardco is in the UK i believe and is the primary western filco dealer, so that might be a good way to keep your total outlay down.

Bruce is the man. Remember filco reds should be available soon :thumbup:

sent from my mobile

[IvanIvanovich]

I hear Scan just got some CMStorm rapids in stock, might check that too.

[delgo]

You honestly cant go wrong with a Filco from thekeyboardcompany.
http://www.keyboardco.com/keyboard_search.asp?SG=10021

UK based company, great support though no problems with either products or delivery.
A Filco board wont let you down, imo the most solid construction, and I compare it with the IBM Model M and a HHKBpro2...
You can also choose what switch you want unlike the even more expencive Realforces that all use topre switches which might to a new mechanical user feel close to normal rubber domes, dont get me wrong they are great but I would still choose the Filco. On top of that they have some cool accessories for the Filco boards!

Hope it helped somewhat..

[Lorem-Ipsum]

if shipping a whole board from wasd is too pricey, keep in mind that you can order the customized keyset alone and source the board locally -- bruce of keyboardco is in the UK i believe and is the primary western filco dealer, so that might be a good way to keep your total outlay down.

IRRC when I looked at the cost it would be £125 in total which is well within my price range. I was just a bit worried about customs as I've never ordered anything from the US before. I may well just go for the keyset though.

Bruce is the man. Remember filco reds should be available soon :thumbup:

sent from my mobile

As I'm using the board mainly for coding I don't think reds are for me. A filco from keyboardco is definitely an option though.

I hear Scan just got some CMStorm rapids in stock, might check that too.

I would prefer a numpad and 105 iso but it's still another option.

You honestly cant go wrong with a Filco from thekeyboardcompany.
http://www.keyboardco.com/keyboard_search.asp?SG=10021

UK based company, great support though no problems with either products or delivery.
A Filco board wont let you down, imo the most solid construction, and I compare it with the IBM Model M and a HHKBpro2...
You can also choose what switch you want unlike the even more expencive Realforces that all use topre switches which might to a new mechanical user feel close to normal rubber domes, dont get me wrong they are great but I would still choose the Filco. In top of that they have some cool for the Filco boards!

Hope it helped somewhat..

Thanks. I'm a bit confused by their website. Do filco do an iso 105 with cherry blues? EDIT: NVM, found it.

[exousia7]

I quite like the idea of buying a completely custom board from wasdkeyboards but I'm a bit worried about shipping. Anyone bought one from the UK, are there customs charges etc...?
I've considered boards like therazer deathadder, steelseries 7g etc.. but as I use ArchLinux I need 100% Linux compatibility and the Win key is vital as I use a tiling window manager and use that to control window movement.

Any help or other suggestions much appreciated.

Matt

Did you mean razer BW or BWU (or their other membrane keyboards)...?  There are quit a bit of good quality keyboards out there...but if anything I definitely would not recommend Razer keyboards. Their quality is no good for the price you pay. You're better off looking at other brands like Filco.

[Autolyze]

Grab a Filco and then start investigating the keycap options. If you're interested in keycaps from WASD, you should be aware that soon they will be producing PBT keycaps, which are generally preferred over ABS ones. There are also lots of custom keycaps getting made in the Group Buys forum here!

[1839cc]

Seems like you already know exactly what you want and it's within your budget. What advice do you need?

Oh, The Keyboard Company is UK based, not US.

[hoggy]

Check out the 80% vortex on their facebook page.  It's only just above your budget (£154 but then shipping) but would be an amazing first board.

http://www.facebook.com/Vortexgear

Whoops - it's ten key less.

Do you need the numpad to be attached to the board?  There's more of a market here for tkl boards if you decide to sell it later and you can always buy a separate numpad.

[Nighted]

Over there, at the end of that rainbow, it's a Vortex keyboard, a unicorn, the Easter bunny, and Elvis.

V = Vaporware.

[laffindude]

V for Vaporware. I like that.

[Lorem-Ipsum]

Did you mean razer BW or BWU (or their other membrane keyboards)...?  There are quit a bit of good quality keyboards out there...but if anything I definitely would not recommend Razer keyboards. Their quality is no good for the price you pay. You're better off looking at other brands like Filco.

I meant the blackwidow, fixed OP. After perusing geekhack and a few other forums I'm now aware it sucks. I think the plan is to get a Filco in the UK then order the keycaps separately from wasd and just put up with the 25% customs vat and assorted charges.

Good luck!  I don't do these threads any more.  The OP inevitably gets pissed at me.

Sent From Brother Ripster's iPad

You may have hard time annoying me. I am one of the most layed back people alive :biggrin: Don't take that as a challenge though .... :peep:

Grab a Filco and then start investigating the keycap options. If you're interested in keycaps from WASD, you should be aware that soon they will be producing PBT keycaps, which are generally preferred over ABS ones. There are also lots of custom keycaps getting made in the Group Buys forum here!

Thanks. Sounds like a good plan.

Seems like you already know exactly what you want and it's within your budget. What advice do you need?

Oh, The Keyboard Company is UK based, not US.

Was really just wondering if anyone else had experienced getting an expensive keyboard through UK customs, time, costs etc...

Check out the 80% vortex on their facebook page.  It's only just above your budget (£154 but then shipping) but would be an amazing first board.

http://www.facebook.com/Vortexgear

Whoops - it's ten key less.

Do you need the numpad to be attached to the board?  There's more of a market here for tkl boards if you decide to sell it later and you can always buy a separate numpad.

I'm going for the Filco to start with I think. That's not to say I won't be buying more :biggrin:

[laffindude]

That's not to say I won't be buying more :biggrin:

That's the spirit.

[Lorem-Ipsum]

That's the spirit.

Don't tempt me too much though. I am a poor student.....

[Djuzuh]

If you follow the group buy subforum, you'll regret spending too much money.

But if you don't and then you see all those awesome keycaps, you'll regret not spending your money.

[1839cc]

If you follow the group buy subforum, you'll regret spending too much money.

But if you don't and then you see all those awesome keycaps, you'll regret not spending your money.

Or if you skip the GB, you can always wait and see what turns up in the classifieds later on.

Don't forget food and rent come first. :tongue:

[Djuzuh]

classified prices are 5 times more, IF there are some leftovers

[1839cc]

Not leftovers. The ones that got used until bill-paying time.

[Lorem-Ipsum]

If you follow the group buy subforum, you'll regret spending too much money.

But if you don't and then you see all those awesome keycaps, you'll regret not spending your money.

Or if you skip the GB, you can always wait and see what turns up in the classifieds later on.

Don't forget food and rent come first. :tongue:

classified prices are 5 times more, IF there are some leftovers

Not leftovers. The ones that got used until bill-paying time.

Look like I'll be keeping an eye on the group buys then.

Nobody ever got fired for buying a Filco.

And you're safe.  Lorem Ipsum is a great screen name to a FontHead.

http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?28179-Ripster-s-Random-Font-Lesson

Good to know I'm safe. :biggrin:

[Djuzuh]

http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?30735-Open-Until-5-7-Billiards-Double-Shot-Keycap-Group-Buy

Did you see this one? it makes a terrific replacement for all your F1-12 keys ! So you'll have something fancy and colorfull, while still keeping the numbers on them. (the F* are hard to touchtype)

You need to buy a set for all the keyboards you'll buy in the future !

[smknjoe]

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

- sections 1.10.32 and 1.10.33 of "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum" (The Extremes of Good and Evil) by Cicero, written in 45 BC

It's really sad they don't offer Latin in public schools these days (not even at the college level around here.) I don't think you can find mythology classes in public schools either.

On topic - Everybody seems to love Filco!

[derek trousers]

Bruce is the man. Remember filco reds should be available soon :thumbup:

sent from my mobile

How do you know reds are available soon? Is there some newsletter I'm missing out on? This is very interesting news!

[Autolyze]

How do you know reds are available soon? Is there some newsletter I'm missing out on? This is very interesting news!

It's been all over the place recently. There was a thread about it in the general keyboards forum and also at least one in the GH Keyboard Company vendor forum. Filcos with reds should be available on Amazon in mid-June. I'm guessing that initial batch is going to sell pretty quickly.