Kotaku's Best Gaming Keyboard Poll

[tp4tissue]

All of this Razer hate is ridiculous. If the QFR was the best selling gaming mechanical keyboard or whatever, people would probably hate on them as well. People just need something to hate on I guess. I've had my BW Tournament Edition for a while now, and I like it. I changed the caps with blank ones that I got from the Keyboard Company, and it's fine. No glossy finish, and the thing is built like a tank with virtually no flex. I've had no problems with the switches, but I have had problems with the Synapse software, so I simply don't use it. Not sure if they fixed it in recent updates, and I don't really care. But the board itself is just fine.

And don't we have Razer to thank for sparking more interest in mechanical keyboards? Blackwidows are a first mech keyboard for a lot of people, then it develops into Filco, Ducky, etc. Hating on a Toyota is absolutely silly, for example. Not everyone can afford a Porsche, or even cares, as long as it does the basics. And yes, the Blackwidow does the basics. Is it expensive for what it is? Yes, but that's all successful marketing.

The vast majority of BW users probably don't even know what a mechanical switch is past the fact that they're using it. It's a blind introduction, and the image that it gives off of '1337p1@y3r5 only' is pretty bad for the reputation of mechanical as just a great feeling, strong method of input.

Plus, the BW is built well? I haven't heard of a single board needing an RMA from breaking other than BWs here.

the BW is not built well...

The point that ynrozturk makes, is that it's built well-enough... for the casual kid playing his video games..


The keyboard hobby is actually a departure from the intended purpose of the keyboard, to function as an input device....

The keyboard hobby pushes improvement on the device outside of what is immediately useful... into our realm of "preference"...    This is the distinction between the typical keyboard-user and us the "keyboard-hobbyist"...

I don't hold our group above the typical user, but our objectives are very different.

[Hellmark]

No flex? The BWUs I've seen now (had the chance to hand a couple this past week infact) were really flimsy.

[tp4tissue]

No flex? The BWUs I've seen now (had the chance to hand a couple this past week infact) were really flimsy.

i thought the tournament edition that he's talking about had the metal plate

[Hellmark]

I was under the impression that the only difference was that the TE was TKL, and the rest are fullsized keyboards.

[tp4tissue]

I was under the impression that the only difference was that the TE was TKL, and the rest are fullsized keyboards.

not totally sure.. but the regular razer is a bit weak / flimsy relative to steel plated boards.

But... then if you look at it from the perspective of a normal-person...

HOW TOUGH... does a keyboard need to be... not that tough isn't better... but... this is not really a melee weapon, or a table that you're putting heavy things on... it's a keyboard.

[ynrozturk]

Exactly. It's just a damn keyboard. Not a SPAS 12.

I can only speak for the Tournament Edition which I have. I have not tried the others and never considered buying one, because I hate glossy finishes on pretty much everything. I'm not sure if it has a metal plate or not, perhaps I should take it apart to find out.

[Hellmark]

I personally want my keyboard tough enough to where I can beat someone with it, then immediately go back to typing. That's why I use an M.

Seriously though, to me flex is a sign of weakness and being cheaply made. If I am spending $140 on a keyboard, I don't want it to feel cheap. I am still used to being poor, and most of my M's I bought years ago, so I've never dumped a lot on a keyboard. I found the receipt on the silver label I'm on, and I spent $25 for it when I bought it. When you're used to not paying a lot for a keyboard that feels like it will last for years, then actually does, spending several times that on a keyboard that feels cheap, well, sucks. The Logitech G710+ I played with recently seemed like it was a decently made 'board, and the CM stuff I've seen always seemed like it was decent quality. Razor when it comes to their keyboards and pads always seemed cheap feeling to me. I've talked before about my N52, and how quality seemed to go down hill after Razor bought it from Belkin. The Tartarus that I saw this weekend felt like it would have some of the keys break off.

[tufty]

Also razer has almost zero customization. Each BW has one preset backlit color and switch. You can't even change keycaps that easily as they have weird modifier keys.

Honestly, in a poll of /gamers/ regarding keyboards made for /gaming/, how much sway does is customisability likely to have have? 

In a wider sense, how many people outside the extremely minority group of geekhack / deskthority members with far more money than sense would even consider swapping keycaps as something that isn't completely nerdy and pointless?

Backlighting /should be/ utterly useless for gamers or typists.  But it looks proper bling, innit, so it's far more important than ergonomics, keyswitch quality, nkro, and, above all, the ability to change caps on your keyboard and (depending on the caps) make it impossible / more uncomfortable to use.  It's probably marginally less important than the ability to program "STFU, N00B" macros at a hardware level, though.

[Hellmark]

Usually customization is a big thing for gaming stuff, because people like making their own, especially for gamers. That's why you see all the custom and outlandish gaming gear. I mean, gamers like bling, but what good is bling if it is exactly the same as everyone else. The point of bling is to have you stand out.

As far as the backlighting goes, I wouldnt say that it is 100% useless. While I can effectively type blind, there are times that I need to know what key is where, at least so I can get my fingers placed on a known starting point. Plus there are the keys that aren't used as often that you may find your self in need of. Plus, for some backlighting itself isn't "cool" as having a glow from the keyboard. Quite a few keyboards I've seen with lighting didn't have transparent keycaps, just had a glow around they keys themselves.

[Linkbane]

All of this Razer hate is ridiculous. If the QFR was the best selling gaming mechanical keyboard or whatever, people would probably hate on them as well. People just need something to hate on I guess. I've had my BW Tournament Edition for a while now, and I like it. I changed the caps with blank ones that I got from the Keyboard Company, and it's fine. No glossy finish, and the thing is built like a tank with virtually no flex. I've had no problems with the switches, but I have had problems with the Synapse software, so I simply don't use it. Not sure if they fixed it in recent updates, and I don't really care. But the board itself is just fine.

And don't we have Razer to thank for sparking more interest in mechanical keyboards? Blackwidows are a first mech keyboard for a lot of people, then it develops into Filco, Ducky, etc. Hating on a Toyota is absolutely silly, for example. Not everyone can afford a Porsche, or even cares, as long as it does the basics. And yes, the Blackwidow does the basics. Is it expensive for what it is? Yes, but that's all successful marketing.

The vast majority of BW users probably don't even know what a mechanical switch is past the fact that they're using it. It's a blind introduction, and the image that it gives off of '1337p1@y3r5 only' is pretty bad for the reputation of mechanical as just a great feeling, strong method of input.

Plus, the BW is built well? I haven't heard of a single board needing an RMA from breaking other than BWs here.

the BW is not built well...

The point that ynrozturk makes, is that it's built well-enough... for the casual kid playing his video games..


The keyboard hobby is actually a departure from the intended purpose of the keyboard, to function as an input device....

The keyboard hobby pushes improvement on the device outside of what is immediately useful... into our realm of "preference"...    This is the distinction between the typical keyboard-user and us the "keyboard-hobbyist"...

I don't hold our group above the typical user, but our objectives are very different.

It was a question to point out a flaw, the keyboards definitely aren't built well.
Plus, backlighting is very useful while gaming in the dark for me.

[watterrbottle]

All of this Razer hate is ridiculous. If the QFR was the best selling gaming mechanical keyboard or whatever, people would probably hate on them as well. People just need something to hate on I guess. I've had my BW Tournament Edition for a while now, and I like it. I changed the caps with blank ones that I got from the Keyboard Company, and it's fine. No glossy finish, and the thing is built like a tank with virtually no flex. I've had no problems with the switches, but I have had problems with the Synapse software, so I simply don't use it. Not sure if they fixed it in recent updates, and I don't really care. But the board itself is just fine.

And don't we have Razer to thank for sparking more interest in mechanical keyboards? Blackwidows are a first mech keyboard for a lot of people, then it develops into Filco, Ducky, etc. Hating on a Toyota is absolutely silly, for example. Not everyone can afford a Porsche, or even cares, as long as it does the basics. And yes, the Blackwidow does the basics. Is it expensive for what it is? Yes, but that's all successful marketing.

Sure is elite in this thread. Not the brightest of threads to reflect the GH community. A lot of this hate is seriously uncalled for, everyone has their preferences.

the BW is not built well...

The point that ynrozturk makes, is that it's built well-enough... for the casual kid playing his video games..


The keyboard hobby is actually a departure from the intended purpose of the keyboard, to function as an input device....

The keyboard hobby pushes improvement on the device outside of what is immediately useful... into our realm of "preference"...    This is the distinction between the typical keyboard-user and us the "keyboard-hobbyist"...

I don't hold our group above the typical user, but our objectives are very different.

However, this was well said.

[Hellmark]

I really don't see why people are saying we're being elitist here. People are showing pictures of things done in a poor way. There genuinely is a quality difference, even compared to that of cheaper boards. No one here is saying it is the worst keyboard on the market, but in comparison to like keyboards, it isn't that good.

[tp4tissue]

I really don't see why people are saying we're being elitist here. People are showing pictures of things done in a poor way. There genuinely is a quality difference, even compared to that of cheaper boards. No one here is saying it is the worst keyboard on the market, but in comparison to like keyboards, it isn't that good.

There may very well be a 3rd category of users, keyboard-elitists.


Keyboard Elitists:

Those who judge other human beings based on unrelated corner-characteristics of their keyboard choice.

Keyboard Hobbyist:

One who enjoys the genre above and beyond its actual utility.

Keyboard-User/Novice:

The Back-lighting makes me happy, therefore Razer is the ****znit..



None of the parties are wrong in their belief.. they just all have different objectives for their keyboards.

The k-elitist is using his material possession to elevate his own ego.

The k-hobbyist is utilizing keyboards as a progress tracker for his life.. better keyboard = better life

The k-novice is an unfocused basic materialist..


I, Tp4 am a keyboard-hobbyist

I have an ergodox... because I have it... my life is fffffing awesome....

[inteli722]

I have an ergodox... because I have it... my life is fffffing awesome....

Show Image

It's OK, you can swear on the internet.

Anyways, I don't like Razer because they tend not to have great QA, which for how much they charge should be necessary.

[ynrozturk]

Overall I am not a fan of Razer, either. They are way too overpriced for what they produce. Including their mice.

[wetto]

Ok, let's get one thing straight. The overall quality of the old 2009 lines were crap indeed, iOne managed to make lots and lots of faulty units of the Razer Blackwidow and Razer Blackwidow Ultimate and even if it wasn't faulty it was still bad, that's true and undeniable. And at the same time, people, especially Razer fanboys, would defend such keyboards over the course of years and years, making it seem like a holy grail of Mechanical Keyboards be it 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. And at the same time, of course, people who knew stuff about keyboards would get mad at them.

But, things got changed when the Razer Blackwidow 2013 and Tournament lines, when Razer did replaced their OEM. Now, before we get to bashing and stuff, take a look at this soldering job on a Razer Blackwidow Tournament:



I don't see any slacking there, soldering looks as it should, shiny, no excess nor lack. Just as it should look on any good electronic equipment. Hell, it looks better than the PCB of my CM Quick Fire Rapid.

So... There aren't many reasons as why to avoid Razer, besides price, keycaps and modifiers. But since gamers don't even care about that...

[Linkbane]

Reason to avoid Razer: can't identify which language they attempt to use on their 'English' keyboards.

[Sniping]

Reason to avoid Razer: can't identify which language they attempt to use on their 'English' keyboards.

Seems to be the same dialect as the one on the QFR and TK.

[wetto]

Reason to avoid Razer: can't identify which language they attempt to use on their 'English' keyboards.

Seems to be the same dialect as the one on the QFR and TK.

Let's not even get started on Déck... 

Seriously, the only "gaming" company that uses a clean and nice font is Corsair... 

[Linkbane]

Reason to avoid Razer: can't identify which language they attempt to use on their 'English' keyboards.

Seems to be the same dialect as the one on the QFR and TK.

The QF is more readable than you might think. Thick, block letters everywhere, which are quite legible.

Legible from a distance. The 'A' is stylized and not great for legibility, but it's honestly the only styled keycap, which I don't mind too much.

The BW, on the other hand..

Seriously, they're off center, and 'q', 'b', 'v', 'y', and 'p' look horrible.

Seriously, the only "gaming" company that uses a clean and nice font is Corsair... 

Heh, some aren't too bad. Ducky's keyboards, in fact, are completely sans serif.


I agree though, Corsair's font is great. Just wish they didn't pad-print.

[wetto]

Reason to avoid Razer: can't identify which language they attempt to use on their 'English' keyboards.

Seems to be the same dialect as the one on the QFR and TK.

The QF is more readable than you might think. Thick, block letters everywhere, which are quite legible.

Show Image

Legible from a distance. The 'A' is stylized and not great for legibility, but it's honestly the only styled keycap, which I don't mind too much.

The BW, on the other hand..

Show Image

Seriously, they're off center, and 'q', 'b', 'v', 'y', and 'p' look horrible.

Seriously, the only "gaming" company that uses a clean and nice font is Corsair... 

Heh, some aren't too bad. Ducky's keyboards, in fact, are completely sans serif.

Show Image

I agree though, Corsair's font is great. Just wish they didn't pad-print.

I have my doubts if Ducky's focus is really the "gaming" market or the "casual" market with the Ducky 2108 Zero Shine lines and Enthusiast Market with the Ducky Shine III, so, I didn't count them in.

Here's another entry for the terrible font contest:



Seems almost "clean" with the flash, but the letters are all unreadable unless it's backlit  :rolleyes:

[Sniping]

Reason to avoid Razer: can't identify which language they attempt to use on their 'English' keyboards.

Seems to be the same dialect as the one on the QFR and TK.

The QF is more readable than you might think. Thick, block letters everywhere, which are quite legible.

Show Image

Legible from a distance. The 'A' is stylized and not great for legibility, but it's honestly the only styled keycap, which I don't mind too much.

The BW, on the other hand..

Show Image

Seriously, they're off center, and 'q', 'b', 'v', 'y', and 'p' look horrible.

Seriously, the only "gaming" company that uses a clean and nice font is Corsair... 

I agree though, Corsair's font is great. Just wish they didn't pad-print.

While I do agree that that BW font doesn't look good, the board in the poll is the BWU 2013, which uses the same font that the regular blackwidow always did, which looks very similar to the TK and QFR.

[Pacifist]

Well the poll is for the best gaming keyboard and I think razer automatically wins as they are only for gamers and have a massive army of gamers using blues

[davkol]

Do Razer still claim that taking off keycaps voids warranty? I mean who could make such ridiculous statement but a bunch of jerks?

Also, what's the demographic of that poll? 13-year-old gamer kidz with no common sense? Or the same kind of people that buy Beats by Dre without doing any research? That would explain a lot.

At last but not least, it shouldn't be called "best keyboard", but "most popular keyboard" instead, and the winner is obvious. Razer and SteelSeries are the only companies that have had their mechanical keyboards in nearly every store even in the middle of nowhere since forever.

[PadawanGeek]

Do Razer still claim that taking off keycaps voids warranty? I mean who could make such ridiculous statement but a bunch of jerks?

Also, what's the demographic of that poll? 13-year-old gamer kidz with no common sense? Or the same kind of people that buy Beats by Dre without doing any research? That would explain a lot.

At last but not least, it shouldn't be called "best keyboard", but "most popular keyboard" instead, and the winner is obvious. Razer and SteelSeries are the only companies that have had their mechanical keyboards in nearly every store even in the middle of nowhere since forever.

LOL! But there is some truth in what you'd said.

The last part is quite true, in my neck of the woods, there is a chain of electronic shops that sell complete pre-built systems from HP, Acer and Dell......and Apple. Yes, you can find typical peripherals like keyboards, mice, speakers among others. You can find MS keyboards, Logitech (but don't recall seeing a G710+ though).....but the only mechanical keyboards they sell is by......yep, you've guessed it, Razer.  To find Ducky or Filco, you'd have to go to a giant tech mall here where there are shops that specialized in such peripherals. Go to those regular shopping malls, and you might find this chain of shops I'd mentioned, and the only mechanical keyboard they have is Razer......so, anybody who has no inkling of what makes a good mechanical keyboard would ultimately end up getting a Razer simply because it's the only ones they sell.

I have my reason for disliking Razer, but do not wish to add to the somewhat heated disagreement here. Suffice to say I think that poll is skewed in favor of the uninformed and as davkol so succinctly put it, "13-year-old gamer kidz with no common sense? Or the same kind of people that buy Beats by Dre without doing any research", (with the exception Razer keyboard owners here of course) hence Razer winning it.

[AuRinBei]

It was a question to point out a flaw, the keyboards definitely aren't built well.
Plus, backlighting is very useful while gaming in the dark for me.

I’ve heard people talking about pretty much every keyboard under the sun breaking at least once. The problem with Razer is that I have no idea how good their 2013 version is. The amount of people who have one and are talking about it is just too low. Pretty much all the complaints are directed to the old iOne Blackwidow. I barely see anyone on keyboard forums talking about the new Blackwidows other than people who have never owned one talking about how much it sucks based purely on reputation. Razer is a pariah, so even if their quality has improved to the point where they could compete with Ducky, nobody would know. They’re like the Madcatz of the mechanical keyboard world. They can improve their products tremendously, but it will be very hard for them to shake their reputation.

[Binge]

Not trying to be a ****... but for GAMING I use an orbweaver.  It is a game-pad, but really it's just a small keyboard.  If we were going to get all nit picky about their entire line-up I would include the orbweaver and stress that the other companies just aren't trying to appeal to the gamer.  Features and utility are important.

Love CM storm-- although they do nothing to provide anything over the bare reliable minimum, and Corsair/Logitech are just putting their goods into "appealing" cases.  When it comes to the orbweaver Razer provided a fully programmable left handed low latency input device.

Razer isn't my favorite although I will give them credit for doing a service to gaming with a handful of their products.

[wetto]

Love CM storm-- although they do nothing to provide anything over the bare reliable minimum, and Corsair/Logitech are just putting their goods into "appealing" cases.  When it comes to the orbweaver Razer provided a fully programmable left handed low latency input device.

Razer isn't my favorite although I will give them credit for doing a service to gaming with a handful of their products.

Which concept was first developed by Belkin and bought afterwards by Razer. 

No news there though, Logitech also gets all the credit for the work Design Partners do as well, since they're paid for that.

[davkol]

Not trying to be a ****... but for GAMING I use an orbweaver.  It is a game-pad, but really it's just a small keyboard.  If we were going to get all nit picky about their entire line-up I would include the orbweaver and stress that the other companies just aren't trying to appeal to the gamer.  Features and utility are important.

Love CM storm-- although they do nothing to provide anything over the bare reliable minimum, and Corsair/Logitech are just putting their goods into "appealing" cases.  When it comes to the orbweaver Razer provided a fully programmable left handed low latency input device.

Razer isn't my favorite although I will give them credit for doing a service to gaming with a handful of their products.

Is it actually programmable, or just the Synapse 2.0 crapware?

[tp4tissue]

Dude... all of you guys... Suck it up.... Razer is da'BOSS...

Fate is against us... the world has chosen.... Fight another day.....

[Hellmark]

BWU2013 still uses Synapse 2.0

[davkol]

BWU2013 still uses Synapse 2.0

Still? I thought they actually switched to Synapse 2.0 on all of their hardware—and "replaced" even on-board memory in mouses, which is another reason why.... is "I hope they die a painful death" too strong?

[Hellmark]

Well, still, being, because it has been a bit since the initial brouhaha over the things.

But yeah, their requiring software and an online connection is why I won't buy Razor. I had thought most of their things must have been decent quality based on their popularity until more recently when I got some hands on time with some. I only knew of a drop in quality on the Nostromos.