Author Topic: Small mechanical keyboard?  (Read 7098 times)

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Offline hicks12

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Small mechanical keyboard?
« on: Mon, 28 May 2012, 08:50:40 »
Right ive had a Filco majestouch 2 for over a year now, love it but one thing i didnt anticipate was how annoying it is having a numpad on the right! My board before was a sidewinder x6 (managed to nab some from MS for £5 :D) and always had the numpad off or on the left(im right handed).

As my filco is so big i can never have an ergonmic position in regard to my mouse and keyboard, its really bad but i only use my numpad during work and the mouse isnt used much then but for gaming (a strong hobby...) i dont need it at all, so i decided that i would try a new switch out (currently my filco is Mx-Browns) thinking maybe the Mx-Reds? And have it as my dedicated gaming board, im looking for either a tenkeyless board or one where its really compact

Either this: http://www.keyboardco.com/keyboard_details.asp?PRODUCT=804

Or a size like this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Noppoo-Choc-Mini-NKRO-Mechanical-Keyboard-Cherry-MX-Red?item=330611244262&cmd=ViewItem&_trksid=p5197.m7&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D5%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D8735637465896832317

I think i prefer the latter board in terms of size/design, i would just buy a filco TKL as i know Filco are great but price is an issue, i need something cheap (very cheap!) as my main board was expensive enough and currently cashflow isnt as good as it used to be :(, so basically what is available at <£60 to the UK (so no imports unless in EU as id get 20% put on it + £8 import fees from royalmail!) with Mx-Reds? Also is there any UK layouts? Ideally want UK but i could sacrifice it for a good buy :D.

Also willing to grab secondhand, just dont know what boards i need to be looking at!.

Any help is appreciated :)


edit: I wonder would Blacks be good switches? It seems coolermaster still dont want to ship rapid fire boards with reds yet to the UK but they do blacks: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/coolermaster-cm-storm-quickfire-rapid-mechanical-cherry-mx-gaming-keyboard Sure its not as small as possible but its £66 which is pretty close and i believe these are good boards?
« Last Edit: Mon, 28 May 2012, 09:01:40 by hicks12 »

Offline nehkz

  • Posts: 22
Small mechanical keyboard?
« Reply #1 on: Mon, 28 May 2012, 09:41:11 »
I was thinking of getting the happy hacking keyboard. But I'll need to save a bunch before I can get it. I was also looking at the Noppoo one too, it looks good to me.

Offline waffochan

  • Posts: 11
Small mechanical keyboard?
« Reply #2 on: Mon, 28 May 2012, 09:55:08 »
Importing not being an option, and price point taken into consideration - the Storm probably isn't too bad of a bet.
AFAIK there isn't too big of a leap between red and black switches, so you should be good in that regard.

There's always the Keycool as well (if you change your mind on importing)
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Key-Cool-87-Mechanical-Gaming-keyboard-Cherry-MX-Red-W-Black-body-/290671056946?pt=PCA_Mice_Trackballs&hash=item43ad585832

Noticed you mentioning the Choc Mini as far as compact keyboards go - have you considered the KBC Poker at all?
« Last Edit: Mon, 28 May 2012, 09:58:34 by waffochan »
Quote from: metalliqaz
Tenkeys are for accountants.

Offline IvanIvanovich

  • Mr. Silk Underwear
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Small mechanical keyboard?
« Reply #3 on: Mon, 28 May 2012, 10:01:20 »
Poker would be a good choice (it's my favorite so I am extremely biased lol), but may be very difficult to find someone selling used one in UK/EU. Definitely worth looking though, used one should be right in your budget.

Offline hicks12

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Small mechanical keyboard?
« Reply #4 on: Mon, 28 May 2012, 11:31:25 »
I will try and look for a poker for sale but they seem to have dropped off the radar (i remember seeing loads when i was grabing my first board!). Im not really opposed to importing its just that most of the options will be really expensive, for example that noppoo is £76 immediately from ebay, when it gets shipped to me as its over £15/£18 and out of EU, customs will add 20% ontop (including shipping!) so that makes it £91.20 and then royalmail (main UK postal service) has the nerve to require a customs fee of £8 so that totals to £99.20, very close to buying a TKL filco from england with warranty and faster delivery :P.

If there is a good import option that can meet my budget after fees id jump at it :D, but it seems unlikely :(. Im having a look about the CM board now but do you lot know of any issues with it? Am i right in thinking its the same OEM who make Filco boards?

Offline dbdynsty25

  • Posts: 51
Small mechanical keyboard?
« Reply #5 on: Mon, 28 May 2012, 11:36:46 »
I'd say just save your money until you can buy a Filco TKL...ultimately it'll make you the happiest and you won't have the "upgrade" bug in a few months when one of the lesser boards starts to get on your nerves.  Sell some stuff on ebay or something to make up the difference...you're really only talking about like 50 bucks or so.  Sell a kidney if you gotta!

Offline IvanIvanovich

  • Mr. Silk Underwear
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Small mechanical keyboard?
« Reply #6 on: Mon, 28 May 2012, 11:43:30 »
Yeah CM Rapid is oem by costar just like Filco, asides from looks they are very similar. Also if you decide on Choc mini, you might check with Elite Esport. I guess they have some method of shipping that is less likely to have extra charges for UK/EU.

Offline waffochan

  • Posts: 11
Small mechanical keyboard?
« Reply #7 on: Mon, 28 May 2012, 11:46:45 »
Well, import-wise you could always order off of Qtan http://www.vendio.com/stores/E-sports-Gaming-equipments/
His store prices are usually a bit lower than the eBay counterparts, also - he seems willing to help in making the customs less of a headache, as per
Quote
"Please work careful and closely with seller and shipping agency to make sure item can pass the custom. I might declare item as buyer request, but buyer should fully respond of the outcome to doing so."

Take that however you want *cough*.
Quote from: metalliqaz
Tenkeys are for accountants.

Offline hicks12

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  • Posts: 11
Small mechanical keyboard?
« Reply #8 on: Mon, 28 May 2012, 13:10:48 »
Again thanks for all the quick and helpful comments :). The CM quickfire is looking more and more like the board im set on, i dont want/need to spend money on a Filco as i already have one, this is simply a gaming/lan board :) so im not so fussed on typing just more so that its quiet and reliable and easy to game on :D. Quality seems to be a strong point for the quickfire and it also looks a bargain at half the price of filcos and comes with a 2 year warranty, apparently the Mx-RED versions are due in a month or so and im not in a huge urgency  so i can wait for that to hopefully arrive as £65 is a great price :).

I will be keeping an eye out on the pokers secondhand though while im waiting, thanks for all the comments guys i appreciate the extra help!.

Offline exousia7

  • Posts: 82
Small mechanical keyboard?
« Reply #9 on: Mon, 28 May 2012, 20:42:13 »
I have a CM Storm QF Rapid with black switches. Highly recommend this awesome board.

Offline hamza_tm

  • Posts: 62
  • Location: Manchester, UK
Small mechanical keyboard?
« Reply #10 on: Tue, 29 May 2012, 08:10:35 »
Hey mate! In case you are interested I'm selling my CM Storm TKL with Reds (ANSI layout) for £75 delivered :)
Thread here: http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?29644-CM-Storm-TKL-Reds-(UPDATE-MOAR-PICS-vs-filco)-Cherry-DS-WTB-Zowie-AM-eVo-EC2

Had to go through the import route to get it here, so to sell it much less than that would be losing out :(

Reds are more expensive than the other switches currently. There were stores like Newegg selling reds at $92 and blues at $65 at one point! I think the reds when they arrive here will only be about £10 more expensive than the blacks though. CM Storm is a great choice though, awesome Filco-like quality. I ordered a brown one to replace this MX red as I prefer tactile switches.

Anything you want to know just hit me a PM

Offline GeorgeStorm

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  • Location: UK
Small mechanical keyboard?
« Reply #11 on: Tue, 29 May 2012, 08:21:02 »
I'd look at a Poker or a Race/Pure
Poker with blacks
My flickr