Are the Ducky Shine II keyboards worth $150?

[amarshonarbangla]

I am in the market for my first ever mechanical keyboard. After doing quite a bit of research, I have come to the decision to get a Cherry MX Blue keyboard. Now I love the looks and lighting effects of the Ducky Shine II keyboards, but why are they so expensive? How does a CM Storm Trigger compare to them?

[firebt]

The Ducky Shine II is more expensive because of the programming they put into the board that is saved even when you unplug the board.  It has 2 customizable user profiles, a reactive lighting mode, marquee mode, breathing mode, tenkeyless, fullsize mode with 5 levels of backlight, all programmed into the keys.  That takes a bit of figuring out to do.  There is no other keyboard with these lighting features, and also to make they keys they have to first mold the key, paint it with enamel, then remove the enamel for the legend. 

It's also NKRO over USB, and theres a set of dip switches on the back where you can change various settings and flip certain switches. 

Another thing is that it's all standard stuff, meaning you can easily get any cherry mx switch keycaps and it should fit right in. 

Downsides Dual layer PCB means that to clean and take apart switches you must desolder each one. 

Finding custom backlit keycaps are hard, only options are Feng (here on GeekHack and on eBay) for semi-clear KBC's, and custom ones.  Ducky said they might release them soon, who knows. 

Also its a low-speed usb connection.  Meaning that it may have up to 8 ms of latency. 

CM Storm has 1 ms, which is more optimal for gaming.

I really like the fact that I can have certain keys light up and not others for certain games, so I can keep my hands where they need to be. 
If you love backlighting this is the keyboard for you, it has the most features on the market right now.  It is a bit pricey, but the worst part is finding them in stock.  Anyways, good luck!

The CM Storms are nice, and decent bang for your buck.  If you want to game more, then get the CM storm. Personally, I don't like any of my stuff to look like "gamer" stuff when I have people over, so I go for the discrete route, but if you don't care, then that's fine

[amarshonarbangla]

Thanks for all the info. Didn't know the Ducky had that much of a latency. Since I am looking to game, that may not be the best option. I honestly don't need that many lighting modes. Just brightness up and down will suffice.

Which would feel better to type on would you say? The Ducky Shine II or Storm trigger? (MX Blue)

[wetto]

Thanks for all the info. Didn't know the Ducky had that much of a latency. Since I am looking to game, that may not be the best option. I honestly don't need that many lighting modes. Just brightness up and down will suffice.

Which would feel better to type on would you say? The Ducky Shine II or Storm trigger? (MX Blue)

Kinda hard for anyone to say, since they're both the same switches. Should feel similar, unless the Ducky Shine uses better quality keycaps, which may be the case.

Anyways, both are good and the Storm Trigger is obviously focused on gamers, but people who don't game will hate the space it uses over the desk due to macros...

[amarshonarbangla]

Hmm I don't mind the extra space it will take. Which has better build quality would you say? And which has the better keycaps?

[wetto]

I don't know about the Ducky, but this should clear some things up regarding the Trigger:

[Carter]

For reference, the truck weighed in at 8000 pounds

Man its been a long time since we filmed that. Almost had forgotten about it.

[TheQsanity]

Is that you looking fancy?

Oh and triggers are nice and cheaper. There wristrest is what does it for me.

[singaporean123]

duckys have the brightest LEDs lol

[WhiteFireDragon]

OP, new generations of duckies are great keyboards. On par with widely known Filco in every aspect except the top cover being a tad more flimsy. Huge advantage Ducky Shine series has over Filco is the variety of LED functions if that is one feature that you put weight on. Here's a review and teardown of a Ducky Shine II:

Downsides Dual layer PCB means that to clean and take apart switches you must desolder each one. 

Why would you ever need to clean the insides of the switches? But if you decide to take apart the switches for modding purposes, then desoldering is true for nearly every TKL and full size boards. So that's not really a downside to just duckies.

[Hyde]

I find I like the look of Ducky better, I like simple looking keyboard.

CM Storm Trigger look a bit too tacky for me, however Trigger do win over on price, availability (can be pick up at local store and save shipping) and Costar stabilizer.

Personally I'd go with Ducky but CM Storm TK (where they listen to their fans and go with the simple route, and only $100) is a nice good choice too 

[wetto]

Is that you looking fancy?

Oh and triggers are nice and cheaper. There wristrest is what does it for me.

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/carter-salley/5/71b/223

Yup, that's Carter himself, lol.

Anyways, no one beats Ducky when it comes to backlit effects. NO ONE.

[amarshonarbangla]

What type of keycaps do the Triggers use?

[Soarer]

CM Storm has 1 ms, which is more optimal for gaming.

Quick Fire Pro has 1000Hz / 1ms.
Quick Fire TK probably does (at least, its specs page reads like the Pro's, and mentions full-speed).
Quick Fire Rapid does NOT. Even though its specs page STILL says that it does!
Trigger - dunno. Specs page say it does, but doesn't claim 'USB 2.0 full speed' like the Pro and TK do, so probably not.

[Turbo Slaab]

Op: Just curious, why blue switches if you intend on gaming?

[wetto]

What type of keycaps do the Triggers use?

Both use ABS keycaps, but the quality of the ABS may vary from one keyboard to another. Then there's also the printing, where it seems according to firebt, that on the Ducky Shine II "they (Ducky) have to first mold the key, paint it with enamel, then remove the enamel for the legend".

Probably the printing is far better on the Ducky than on the Trigger.

[amarshonarbangla]

@Turbo Slaab I just like the click of blues. I know they can feel weird for gaming, but I believe I can get used to it.

@Carter Can you confirm the latency of the Trigger please?

@wetto Thanks for clearing up all my questions.

[amarshonarbangla]

One more thing. Does polling rates matter on keyboards if I use a PS2 connection? Does it matter at all? Will I notice any issues with 8ms latency on the Ducky? Could a Shine II owner post their opinions on gaming with it?

[wetto]

One more thing. Does polling rates matter on keyboards if I use a PS2 connection? Does it matter at all? Will I notice any issues with 8ms latency on the Ducky? Could a Shine II owner post their opinions on gaming with it?

Uhhh, I don't think the PS/2 connection can offer enough power for either of them since they require a lot of energy for Backlit... And the Trigger even has USB HUBs...

Besides, the controller for the Ducky is probably not compatible with PS/2... And I know for sure that it doesn't works on the Trigger.

[amarshonarbangla]

You are right. That was a dumb question. My main concern is that if 8ms will be an issue for gaming, because I really want to buy the Shine II.

[wetto]

You are right. That was a dumb question. My main concern is that if 8ms will be an issue for gaming, because I really want to buy the Shine II.

I really don't know, 8 ms doesn't seems all that much to me and many keyboards out there in the market have 8ms or more and most people just don't complain (or even know) about that...

[amarshonarbangla]

Yea, I have never seen anyone complain about that anywhere.

Now where would you say is the best place to buy it? mechanicalkeyboards.com or tigerimports.net? Who has the better customer support and return/exchange policy

[laffindude]

You are right. That was a dumb question. My main concern is that if 8ms will be an issue for gaming, because I really want to buy the Shine II.

Debounce time is longer than 8ms. Some older boards has >50ms debounce time. This isn't a mouse, you won't notice the difference.

[firebt]

No, actually debounce time for typical cherry switches are about 5 ms.  The switches don't take very long, and 50 ms is pretty hefty in terms of bouncing. 

Yes, the Ducky Shine II is a USB connection.  There is no PS/2 available for it because as stated above, the keyboard requires about 100 mA of power to run and can also achieve NKRO over USB.  Personally, I've played Counter Strike: GO and Dota 2 with no problems at all with latency.  Keep in mind that it's UP TO 8 ms, not always 8 ms.  Also, that's 125 times a second, I highly doubt anyone can type or produce that many signals in time, and if you are, watch your mana.  Jk.  But you get the point.   

Personally, backlighting effects takes the cake for me, and I really love that about my Ducky Shine II.  It also looks really cool and discrete and chicks won't think you play games all day, which is pretty important to me.  As for gaming, I don't see any issues at all.  I highly doubt anyone is really at that level to really notice unless you are a pro.

The Ducky keys are nice though.  They're smooth and the legend font is really attractive, along with the lack of letters when possible (such as shift key only having an arrow pointing up) which makes it a very clean keyboard.  It's also highly customizable, and the numpad is really helpful for any excel or programming work (engineers ) but yeah, ultimately up to you. 

[amarshonarbangla]

Thanks firebt for the assurance. I think I will just buy a Shine II.

Where did you buy yours from?

[firebt]

EDIT: www.mechanicalkeyboards.com has them in stock now!! Pick them up asap, they 5+ in stock of the White LED cherry reds.   It's $149 + $9 shipping so about $158, no tax as long as you're not in the same state, which I believe is Tennessee.  So yeah, you're in luck

[amarshonarbangla]

How's their return/exchange policy and customer support?

Do they ever have any Black Friday or Cyber Monday sales?

[firebt]

I can't say too much on that since I haven't ordered from them, but when I inquired about the keyboard a couple of weeks ago they were pretty good about it.  I'm sure they aren't bad people, as mechanical keyboarding isn't the largest industry and it's important for them to keep their customers.  I'm sure if you have any issue, Ducky has a 1 year warranty that they should work with you on.  I wouldn't worry about ordering from them, just use PayPal if possible or credit card and you should be covered anyway.

[amarshonarbangla]

Thanks for all the help. Will order in a couple days

[rowdy]

Let us know what you think of it when it arrives.

Both my Ducky Shines (version 1) are going strong

[firebt]

Thanks for all the help. Will order in a couple days

Good to hear And yeah, let us know how you like it!

[amarshonarbangla]

Will definitely let you all know my thoughts on it

[laffindude]

No, actually debounce time for typical cherry switches are about 5 ms.  The switches don't take very long, and 50 ms is pretty hefty in terms of bouncing. 

Hardware specs vs actual implementation in firmware.