buying first mechanical keyboard - need your help

[chilipp]

i'm looking forward to buy my fist mechanical keyboard this week and it would be nice if some people could help me.
i'm tryin to give you some information about what i need / want

i will use the keyboard for gaming and typing, around 60-70% gaming and 30-40% typing.
i did some research on the different mx switch types after reading all this i tend to pick brown swiches. mostly i'm playing league of legends, starcraft 2 and sometimes 1.6. i heard the browns should be the "best" for rts / mmo is this true ?

here is a list of the keyboards i'm thinking about:

ducky shine 2 tenkeyless / year of the dragon

filco majestouch 2 tenkeyless

cooler master qickfire rapid

noppoo choc mini

leopold tenkeyless

tl;dr

new keyboard:
- mainly used for gaming(lol,sc2,1.6)
- mx brown
- tenkeyless prefered
- good quality
- no overbranding
- backlight isnt necessary but would be a nice extra
- mediakeys would be nice (but no extra macrokey or something like that if possible)
- german layout would be nice aswell (not 100% required)
- budget 200€ with shipping (i'm living in austria so shipping will cost me a lot i think)


thanks for your help

p.s i will probably do not answer within the next ~8 - 10 hours cause here it is half past 4 in the morning and i'm going to bed now

[jeroplane]

Browns are generally regarded as a sort of "all round" switch for both typing and gaming. A good starting point for a first mechanical keyboard.

With a budget that big, I would say go straight for Filco. Or the Ducky YOTD for a backlit option.

[rowdy]

You can get Ducky TKL with MX browns and different LED colours - the YotD is a limited edition to celebrate, well, the Year of the Dragon, and costs a bit more than a standard Ducky.

[Magnusian]

The type of switch is primarily a preference thing. The best plan would be to find friends who have keyboards which run the gamut of different switches, try them each for at least week or two, and then go with the switches your fingers like the best.

I don't get how a specific switch would be better than another when it comes to gaming, probably a lot of the information in that regard is subjective.

[jeroplane]

The type of switch is primarily a preference thing. The best plan would be to find friends who have keyboards which run the gamut of different switches, try them each for at least week or two, and then go with the switches your fingers like the best.

I don't get how a specific switch would be better than another when it comes to gaming, probably a lot of the information in that regard is subjective.

Yeah, I was going to mention this to but I figure most people don't have many friends with mechanical keyboards. Of course it would be ideal to try each switch and then decide, but many do not have this luxury.

As has been mentioned countless other times on Geekhack, "gaming" switches is mostly a marketing term. All switches can be used for gaming depending on preference. But Browns can be considered the in-between option for a safe choice.

[TotalChaos]

Reds are better for gaming because it is easy to hover a key right at the point of activation, activate the key and have it instantly reset for the next activation.  This allows you to press a key rapidly in succession, if u need to.

Brown and Blue switches have a large bump on the side of them that interferes with this.

Cherry Reds require less force on your fingers.  IMHO there is no reason to plow all that extra force into a Brown switch to activate a key.

Whatever kind of switches you get.  Install O-rings!  Do it for your tendons.  Do it for your nerves.  Do it for your gf.  Just do it!
Get both kinds of 40A O-rings from WASDkeyboards.com.  Try them and out stick with whichever ones you like best.

If I was you in ur situation I would get CM QFR + sample pack + both kinds of 40a O-rings.  A girl from oz on here recently got a cm qfr.  She has not complained about it except for the branding.

[YMSNoms]

I would recommend Browns for a first mech and if you prefer non tactile get a Black switch for linear.

[rowdy]

I haven't tried browns, but with blues you can push the key down until you feel the activation force increasing just before the activation point, hold your finger there, then just push it the remaining 1/2mm or so to activate.  The downside with blues is that you then have to let the most of the way up to reset.  Browns would alleviate this, but iti s said that the tactile bump is much less pronounced, some say to the point that you can hardly feel it.

In general linear is often better for gaming - reds or blacks.