A "help me find the right board" thread

[ferociousfingerings]

[wasn't sure where to put this, so it's starting out in "off-topic."]


So i want a mech. Topre and HHKB are too expensive, as are most of the filco's i've liked.


I'm not exactly sure which one i want, but i want to get "just one," and i don't want to spend too much.

Ideally, i'd like to get the best board i can, with as many of my most desired features as possible, for under $100.


I'm not exactly sure which switches i want, but i'm pretty sure i don't want blues.

I play guitar and used to game quite a bit, and may still have several marathon sessions in my future (most recently played games: Xonotic(spawned from nexuiz project), TSW, SWTOR, APB:R... AoC... and i played through original Crysis a couple/few weeks ago).

These days, i type more than i game or guitar. I have "light top, heavy bottom" strings, so my fingers are no strangers to pressure.

I think i might like browns or blacks, but am doubtful about reds or blues. Reds are probably too light, and blues are probably too clicky/loud.


My "ideal" board does not seem to currently exist, anywhere.

"Ideally," i'd like a compact, programmable, backlit board, with LED color options, and perhaps "macro keys," but all these options apparently don't yet exist, and maybe never will.

I like the size and shape of the KBT Pure, but i worry about the missing F-keys, as well as the reported complaints about the function layers.

I like the KBT Race, but i worry about the tiny right-shift, and the Esc, Del, and arrow keys.

I like the choc mini, but it seems A) difficult or costly to obtain a backlit version, and B) the backlit version apparently has "bad" keys.


I'm rather accustomed to the full-size standard US layout... but i'd like to avoid that, if possible.


I also really like the "mx-96" layout i've seen available from Plum (tenkey/edit-cluster hybrid), but i'm not sure where to find sufficient info on them, or where/how would be the most appropriate route to acquire one.
I did see that the plum mx-96 allegedly has a backlit version, as well as all their PCB's being "backlight ready," with holes available to add them, should one so desire (and this one does).


Ultimately, if i had to narrow it down to most important factors, i'd like a backlit, programmable pure... but they seem to only be available at high prices, with the wrong LED colors... and not "programmable." I would love to pair a pure with a g13. I think that would be about as perfect as i can get... unless someone makes a mech version of something like the g13, of which i am doubtful.


I've seen the "Keycool 84," which has virtually the same layout as the choc mini, but is backlit. I don't really know much else about it.


Since i know only one language (this one!), i've found difficulty in properly identifying and researching my options.

Also, i've been seeing "rumors" that "new boards are on the way."


Ultimately, i feel that an mx-96 would be my best option... but i can imagine ending up wishing i'd gone with a pure or race.


I also like the filco camo, but i think it would be... imprudent... to buy a filco just for the look of the case, when it has virtually none of the other features i'd want. I also like the ninja... but the same inhibition applies.


So i guess i'm looking for the best "all around" compact backlit board... or i might just get an mx-96.


Anyone have thoughts, advice, suggestions, or can help me acquire a board that's as close as i can get, to what i'm looking for?


I'm just itching to throw this old dirty HP w/ domes, in the garbage. lol. It wasn't even mine, initially; i had to trade a low profile scissor-switch logitech for it, because of (i don't remember which) one of the house's PC's having a keyboard compatibility issue. I think it was something about one of them didn't work in the BIOS, so a switch was made. And i got stuck w/ this foul, disgusting HP, that's still "too dirty" after vigorously wiping it. The only good points i can give it, are that it's black keys on a silver/grey case, and it has an "email" key... which is surprisingly convenient. lol. I would like to add that particular functionality to whatever i end up replacing it with.

If the "new stuff" is only a week or two away, i guess i can wait... otherwise, i'm tired of typing on this dirty rubber dome HP.

Halp!

Or, alternatively, feel free to entice me with boards you'd like taken off your hands. ^^

-blacks/browns (maybe reds... maybe...)
-backlit (not blue or red, though purple would be fine... prefer white... green might be acceptable...)
-compact

[tp4tissue]

Um.. get a rosewill 9000 and be done with it.

Moding will require soldering on that board because it's plate mounted. but the switches feel much more solid.

You can get a pcb mounted board if you "reallly" really''' want to try out custom combination of stems and springs, but in my experience, it hasn't been worth the trouble.

for tkl, the only inexpensive offering is the quickfire rapid.

To get the Plum MX, you contact imsto, send him money, and he mails one to you. I've heard that the wireless part isn't worth a damn and doesn't work very well, but i mean, who uses wireless?

[ferociousfingerings]

Um.. get a rosewill 9000 and be done with it.

Moding will require soldering on that board because it's plate mounted. but the switches feel much more solid.

You can get a pcb mounted board if you "reallly" really''' want to try out custom combination of stems and springs, but in my experience, it hasn't been worth the trouble.

for tkl, the only inexpensive offering is the quickfire rapid.

To get the Plum MX, you contact imsto, send him money, and he mails one to you. I've heard that the wireless part isn't worth a damn and doesn't work very well, but i mean, who uses wireless?

Thanks for input.


I had certainly considered the rosewill's... but i read... someone... complaining about a couple things. Plus, they're full-size.

"Ideally," the closest i ever want to be to "full-size," ever again, would be the mx-96.

Barring that, i'd like to go with a pure/race + g13 setup.

However... it's been a little difficult to find a reasonably priced Pure, with the LED's/switches i want. Same w/ Race.

Also: with the "GH60" on the... distant horizon, as well as the "maybe new boards releasing soon," i'm not sure about the mx-96... although it seems to be the best combination of all the stuff i'd want, with the least compromises. And, they're supposedly somewhat inexpensive, comparatively speaking.

So... pure/race/keycool84/mx-96 +g13...

I'm not sure i care enough about the arrow/tenkey, to go with mx-96. I'm not sure i care enough about the F-row of the Race, to deal with the shift key. I'm not sure i care enough about the F-row, to avoid a pure.

I am sure i like the idea of a "tiny" keyboard that i can keep almost perfectly centered, directly in front of me... and i'm pretty sure i do want backlighting.

Tenkey + F-row = mx-96.
Tenkeyless + F-row = Race/Keycool.
Tenkeyless - F-row = Pure(/poker, if i were able to find a "reasonable" one... which i doubt).

I would also prefer to be able to find replacement keycaps for a reasonable price, instead of being "stuck" with whatever it comes with (ie: race; unless you want to spend several hundred dollars @SP, for a partial set of customs!)

Bah! It's such a difficult decision.


And yes, i most likely would not ever want or need a wireless keyboard. I can't see the screen well enough from any distance that would justify a wireless keyboard. Maybe someday i'll need it for a 6' screen on an HTPC, but that day is not today.


Aesthetically, i prefer the pure. Functionally... with options for modding... i'd probably say the mx-96 would be "best," even though it's not exactly all that "compact."

What exactly is it about the Pure's function layer, that "sucks" so much? I've seen lots of complaining, but i don't quite understand.