Hello guys, I was told it's the best place for mechanical keyboards questions. So here I am.
I'm typing this on Zowie Celestia keyboard and the only things I like about it are it's colour and the Cherry MX Brown switches, the things I'm not so stoked about are: characters are not lasered so they became dirty and hardly visible in just two days, it has no retractable feet but has a short right shift and "slash" key next to it (drives me nuts).
The thing I should start with is: I live in the bumf_ck Russia and it factors in in two ways. First, there's some probability that anything marginally valuable I order from the abroad will either end up at home of some customs or postal worker or it will be plain lost. In best case it will come to me in 2-3 months (I hope, I was kidding here). Second, I'll have to custom engrave the characters and it's another hassle, what if they screw it up...
That's why I'm listing the models that are available to me right now(in order of price from highest down):
1) Filco Majestouch-2 - where I live, it is almost twice as expensive as the number two ($260) but seems to be good in other regards. But the price' just killing me.
2) Razer BlackWidow Stealth 2013 (not the Ultimate - I don't care about those lights). Some time ago in the store I was able to place my hands on its predecessor and it felt quiet nice but I wouldn't be able to cope with the MX Blues. I liked the feet angle (although I was standing at the time) and it felt as if the keycaps were slightly bigger than standard ones and maybe not as tall - that would be a plus for me since my previous keyboard was Logitech Wave and I came to appreciate the big keycaps. Maybe it's the font that makes them look bigger. If somebody has a Blackwidow please tell me if the keycaps are actually the standard size and while you at it, does Blackwidow have a metal backplate? The things I don't like about it are: glowing logo (thank dog it's small and it's green), macro keys - I'm not going to use them and if anything else, the way they are placed, I'm afraid they're gonna mess with my typing. Also I have no need for any USB pass-through and audio shenanigans, those just make the cable harder to thread to where I need to. Almost forgot, those fonts look peculiar, to put it mildly. And I will really try to avoid using the drivers.
3) Leopold FC500R - cheapest of the three (where I live). The looks are kinda meh to me (mostly the sticker) and the blue LED lights are the worst to my eyes. Also with the slim bezel it looks like the smallest of the three and as a former Logitech Wave user I prefer my keyboards on the wide side. Is it indeed smaller than a Filco Majestouch-2? I have no personal experience with different key stabilizer but I read on this forum that the ones Filco's using are preferable to Leopold's (don't know which ones Zowie uses but it doesn't feel that sturdy to me). I like its detachable cable (and that you can thread it to the side) although miniUSB worries me slightly; did anybody have it (the port) fail? Guess my main question about it: Is Filco that much better, cause it costs twice as much here?
Non contenders:
a) Logithec g710+ - regrettably, it has short "shift" key on the model they sell here, and those gray WASD keys are UGLY.
b) Das Keyboard Professional Silent - costs almost as much as Filco (where I live). I really like the general design, but the things I've read about a recent QC issues, plus the glossy finish with that price make it a no go for me.
The things I look for in the keyboard are:
- it should be black and fullsize,
- it must have CherryMX Brown switches,
- it should have retractable feet (the taller and sturdier - the better),
- the bigger the keycaps - the better,
- the cable has to be absolutely not shorter then 6ft,
- lasered characters (I'm not a blind typer by any margin),
- proper long "shift" and "backspace" keys,
- driverless operation (macro keys don't count).
- Oh and also that rollover thing.
Thank you, guys.
I'm sorry you had to wade through all this.
Alex.
