Author Topic: What should I buy for my next mechanical  (Read 1833 times)

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Offline mr626

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What should I buy for my next mechanical
« on: Mon, 29 October 2012, 07:16:22 »
Hello all,

So, its been a while since I posted. I guess that means I'm happy with my boards for the moment! Enjoying using buckling spring at work and at home.
However, I am a little bored with the cherry brown board that I use for gaming (Choc Mini White). I'll be honest- I miss cherry blues!

So, what board to get? Here's what I'd like:

-PBT keycaps (or POM I guess). I don't like shine- no ABS for me!
-Standard ANSI layout
-Would prefer TKL, but I have the room for full-sized (doesn't matter too much either way)
-Spend around $150US delivered to Australia

I'm thinking my main options would be a Leopold FC700R, or something like a CM Quickfire with a separate PBT keycap set.

Any other possibilities?

Offline SmallFry

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Re: What should I buy for my next mechanical
« Reply #1 on: Mon, 29 October 2012, 07:23:36 »
Sounds like you hit it on the head. I think that the Choc keyboards have POM keys IIRC, at least some of them do. I'd go for a CM QFR, myself as I think we have a programmable controller eventually (don't have an ETA) coming down the pipes.

Offline MissMurd3r84

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Re: What should I buy for my next mechanical
« Reply #2 on: Mon, 29 October 2012, 07:48:40 »
The Leopold is $120 with PBT caps and shipping is like $13ish or something depending on where in Aus you are (From PCCG)
I like the board, myself.
KBC Poker - Red switches. Noppoo Choc Mini - Black switches. Leopold FC700R (White) - Blue switches. Ducky YOTD - Brown switches. Razer BW - Blue switches and rusted.

Offline Vintage

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Re: What should I buy for my next mechanical
« Reply #3 on: Mon, 29 October 2012, 11:44:45 »
Not to get off topic.... but is the Leopold FC700R not sold in the US? For $120+shipping it's a pretty good deal.

Any chance EliteKeyboards will eventually get them?
CM QFR w/ MX Reds  | Logitech G900


Offline rowdy

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Re: What should I buy for my next mechanical
« Reply #4 on: Mon, 29 October 2012, 16:33:41 »
Typical shipping cost for a keyboard from US to Australia is around $50 to $70, so that would put most US-based retailers off the radar according to the budget.

PCCG is probably the best Aussie mech keyboard retalier atm, then there is AusPCMarket, and also CPL (CPL has CM QFR blacks for $82 - the cheapest I have seen if you can pickup, otherwise add about $15 to $20 for shippnig within Australia).
"Because keyboards are accessories to PC makers, they focus on minimizing the manufacturing costs. But that’s incorrect. It’s in HHKB’s slogan, but when America’s cowboys were in the middle of a trip and their horse died, they would leave the horse there. But even if they were in the middle of a desert, they would take their saddle with them. The horse was a consumable good, but the saddle was an interface that their bodies had gotten used to. In the same vein, PCs are consumable goods, while keyboards are important interfaces." - Eiiti Wada

NEC APC-H4100E | Ducky DK9008 Shine MX blue LED red | Ducky DK9008 Shine MX blue LED green | Link 900243-08 | CM QFR MX black | KeyCool 87 white MX reds | HHKB 2 Pro | Model M 02-Mar-1993 | Model M 29-Nov-1995 | CM Trigger (broken) | CM QFS MX green | Ducky DK9087 Shine 3 TKL Yellow Edition MX black | Lexmark SSK 21-Apr-1994 | IBM SSK 13-Oct-1987 | CODE TKL MX clear | Model M 122 01-Jun-1988

Ị̸͚̯̲́ͤ̃͑̇̑ͯ̊̂͟ͅs̞͚̩͉̝̪̲͗͊ͪ̽̚̚ ̭̦͖͕̑́͌ͬͩ͟t̷̻͔̙̑͟h̹̠̼͋ͤ͋i̤̜̣̦̱̫͈͔̞ͭ͑ͥ̌̔s̬͔͎̍̈ͥͫ̐̾ͣ̔̇͘ͅ ̩̘̼͆̐̕e̞̰͓̲̺̎͐̏ͬ̓̅̾͠͝ͅv̶̰͕̱̞̥̍ͣ̄̕e͕͙͖̬̜͓͎̤̊ͭ͐͝ṇ̰͎̱̤̟̭ͫ͌̌͢͠ͅ ̳̥̦ͮ̐ͤ̎̊ͣ͡͡n̤̜̙̺̪̒͜e̶̻̦̿ͮ̂̀c̝̘̝͖̠̖͐ͨͪ̈̐͌ͩ̀e̷̥͇̋ͦs̢̡̤ͤͤͯ͜s͈̠̉̑͘a̱͕̗͖̳̥̺ͬͦͧ͆̌̑͡r̶̟̖̈͘ỷ̮̦̩͙͔ͫ̾ͬ̔ͬͮ̌?̵̘͇͔͙ͥͪ͞ͅ

Offline mr626

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Re: What should I buy for my next mechanical
« Reply #5 on: Mon, 29 October 2012, 16:44:37 »
Thanks for the replies.

My minor issues with the Leopold are: non-standard space bar (why does Leopold continue to do this?) and the colouring of the media function markings (not a fan of the bright blue).

If I was to get the CM QFR, what would be the cheapest (but still good) PBT keycap set I could get?

Offline mr626

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Offline mr626

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  • Posts: 214
Re: What should I buy for my next mechanical
« Reply #7 on: Wed, 31 October 2012, 19:54:06 »
Ending up going with the FC700R after all. IRL the blue markings on the keys don't look as bad as they do in some photos. I still don't like that the Leopold spacebars are weird, but then again I can't see myself ever replacing the spacebar so I guess it doesn't matter.

Offline rowdy

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Re: What should I buy for my next mechanical
« Reply #8 on: Wed, 31 October 2012, 20:01:52 »
I was tempted by the white Leopold - it looks cleaner.

But ordered a Filco, and ended up getting the CM QFR.

Go figure ;)
"Because keyboards are accessories to PC makers, they focus on minimizing the manufacturing costs. But that’s incorrect. It’s in HHKB’s slogan, but when America’s cowboys were in the middle of a trip and their horse died, they would leave the horse there. But even if they were in the middle of a desert, they would take their saddle with them. The horse was a consumable good, but the saddle was an interface that their bodies had gotten used to. In the same vein, PCs are consumable goods, while keyboards are important interfaces." - Eiiti Wada

NEC APC-H4100E | Ducky DK9008 Shine MX blue LED red | Ducky DK9008 Shine MX blue LED green | Link 900243-08 | CM QFR MX black | KeyCool 87 white MX reds | HHKB 2 Pro | Model M 02-Mar-1993 | Model M 29-Nov-1995 | CM Trigger (broken) | CM QFS MX green | Ducky DK9087 Shine 3 TKL Yellow Edition MX black | Lexmark SSK 21-Apr-1994 | IBM SSK 13-Oct-1987 | CODE TKL MX clear | Model M 122 01-Jun-1988

Ị̸͚̯̲́ͤ̃͑̇̑ͯ̊̂͟ͅs̞͚̩͉̝̪̲͗͊ͪ̽̚̚ ̭̦͖͕̑́͌ͬͩ͟t̷̻͔̙̑͟h̹̠̼͋ͤ͋i̤̜̣̦̱̫͈͔̞ͭ͑ͥ̌̔s̬͔͎̍̈ͥͫ̐̾ͣ̔̇͘ͅ ̩̘̼͆̐̕e̞̰͓̲̺̎͐̏ͬ̓̅̾͠͝ͅv̶̰͕̱̞̥̍ͣ̄̕e͕͙͖̬̜͓͎̤̊ͭ͐͝ṇ̰͎̱̤̟̭ͫ͌̌͢͠ͅ ̳̥̦ͮ̐ͤ̎̊ͣ͡͡n̤̜̙̺̪̒͜e̶̻̦̿ͮ̂̀c̝̘̝͖̠̖͐ͨͪ̈̐͌ͩ̀e̷̥͇̋ͦs̢̡̤ͤͤͯ͜s͈̠̉̑͘a̱͕̗͖̳̥̺ͬͦͧ͆̌̑͡r̶̟̖̈͘ỷ̮̦̩͙͔ͫ̾ͬ̔ͬͮ̌?̵̘͇͔͙ͥͪ͞ͅ