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Offline Chris230291

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Help me find a keyboard?
« on: Thu, 26 December 2013, 08:45:57 »
Hello all. I want to buy my first mechanical keyboard but I'm struggling to find one that ticks all of the boxes, so I was wondering if you guys can help me?

I like the CM Quickfire/Filco design where the back of the case is taller, so something like that would be perfect style wise.
I would like all of the keys to have LED back lighting (ideally I would be able to change brightness/modes).
I want one that comes with/can be fitted in a metal housing (CM QF/Filco style).
A detachable cable would be ideal.

Can anyone help me find anything that meets my requirements? I don't mind moding or building my own from parts, but I would like to achieve this keyboard for as little cost as possible.

Any help or suggestions are welcome and appreciated.

Cheers,
Chris.
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Offline Stevenator21

  • Posts: 117
Re: Help me find a keyboard?
« Reply #1 on: Thu, 26 December 2013, 08:48:05 »
Quote from: Chris230291 on Thu, 26 December 2013, 08:45:57
Hello all. I want to buy my first mechanical keyboard but I'm struggling to find one that ticks all of the boxes, so I was wondering if you guys can help me?

I like the CM Quickfire/Filco design where the back of the case is taller, so something like that would be perfect style wise.
I would like all of the keys to have LED back lighting (ideally I would be able to change brightness/modes).
I want one that comes with/can be fitted in a metal housing (CM QF/Filco style).
A detachable cable would be ideal.

Can anyone help me find anything that meets my requirements? I don't mind moding or building my own from parts, but I would like to achieve this keyboard for as little cost as possible.

Any help or suggestions are welcome and appreciated.



Cheers,
Chris.

Sounds like a Ducky Shine 3 would be perfect for you, although they run you $140-ish
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Ducky Shine 3 TKL w/ Browns + White LEDs

Offline sprk

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Re: Help me find a keyboard?
« Reply #2 on: Thu, 26 December 2013, 09:06:27 »
Quote from: Stevenator21 on Thu, 26 December 2013, 08:48:05
Sounds like a Ducky Shine 3 would be perfect for you, although they run you $140-ish

I second this sentiment. If you don't need arrow keys you could also go for a poker ii with leds like these:
http://mechanicalkeyboards.com/search.php?switch_id=ALL&size=ALL&keyword=poker&in_stock=on

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Offline Chris230291

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Re: Help me find a keyboard?
« Reply #3 on: Thu, 26 December 2013, 09:20:49 »
WOW thanks for the quick replies!

I have already had a good look through the site you linked Sprk, and at the Shine 2, but it doesn't appear to have the same side profile as the 2 I mentioned? I had already decided to go with the Shine 2 if I cant find what I'm looking for.

Do you know if I can I buy aftermarket cases for the Shine? Preferably metal.
Correct me if I'm wrong but it appears that pretty much all TKL boards use the same layout, so could I just buy any TKL housing and make it fit (drill and tap new mounting holes etc)?

Chris.
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Offline Puddsy

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Re: Help me find a keyboard?
« Reply #4 on: Thu, 26 December 2013, 09:24:37 »
Buy a Ducky shine YOTS. It is 100% what you're looking for.

I don't know of any aftermarket ducky cases, but this one comes in an alu case.

I wouldn't drill/tap into an alu case, they're specifically fitted to boards for a reason.
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Offline Chris230291

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Re: Help me find a keyboard?
« Reply #5 on: Thu, 26 December 2013, 09:48:22 »
Thanks TacticalStache. Do you know if it's available in TKL?
Are all of the "year of" editions alu?

Chris.
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Offline sprk

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Re: Help me find a keyboard?
« Reply #6 on: Thu, 26 December 2013, 12:29:29 »
Actually the poker has the type of case you mentioned, just a smaller incline. There's also cases for it with a higher back side (that's what she said) and metal or acrylic construction. I do agree with the ducky shine recommendation though, I was just saying that if you want a smaller form factor without the arrow keys and 6pack keys the poker would be a worthy competitor.

Also, que quickfire rapid/stealth is a great keyboard if you're willing to go without the backlight, and if you don't want to let that requirement go you could always go for this:
http://coolermaster-usa.com/product.php?product_id=10071&product_name=CM%20Storm%20QuickFire%20Ultimate
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Offline Puddsy

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Re: Help me find a keyboard?
« Reply #7 on: Thu, 26 December 2013, 12:30:30 »
The YOTS is the only alu ducky. And I don't think it's available in TKL.
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QFR | MJ2 TKL | "Bulgogiboard" (Keycon 104) | ctrl.alt x GON 60% | TGR Alice | Mira SE #29 | Mira SE #34 | Revo One | z | Keycult No. 1 | First CW87 prototype | Mech27v1 | Camp C225 | Duck Orion V1 | LZ CLS sxh | Geon Frog TKL | Hiney TKL One | Geon Glare TKL



"Everything is worse, but in a barely perceptible and indefinable way" -dollartacos, after I came back from a break | "Is Linkshine our Nixon?" -NAV | "Puddsy is the Puddsy of keebs" -ns90

Offline Chris230291

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Re: Help me find a keyboard?
« Reply #8 on: Thu, 26 December 2013, 13:39:48 »
I was looking at the Quickfire. I even checked teardown videos to see if the PCB had holes for LED's, but it doesn't.
I think I'll just go with the Shine 2/3.

As for the case, I'll just look into that at a later date.

Anyone know if and where I can buy spares for ducky keyboards?

Thanks,
Chris.

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Offline C5Allroad

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Re: Help me find a keyboard?
« Reply #9 on: Thu, 26 December 2013, 14:22:23 »
YOTS Ducky shine 3, but I don't you can find one still, unless it's on ebay,  the Duck Shine3 is a great board. Has all of those ticks except metal case. If you're interested in it I have a  review up.http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=49108.0
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Offline 1pq

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Re: Help me find a keyboard?
« Reply #10 on: Thu, 26 December 2013, 14:35:02 »
CM is also coming out with Ducky-esque lighting modes, probably at CES. If you want costar stabs or you're on a tight budget you could wait 1.5 weeks for one of those...
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Offline rowdy

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Re: Help me find a keyboard?
« Reply #11 on: Thu, 26 December 2013, 19:14:21 »
Quote from: Chris230291 on Thu, 26 December 2013, 13:39:48
I was looking at the Quickfire. I even checked teardown videos to see if the PCB had holes for LED's, but it doesn't.
I think I'll just go with the Shine 2/3.

As for the case, I'll just look into that at a later date.

Anyone know if and where I can buy spares for ducky keyboards?

Thanks,
Chris.



Welcome to Geekhack!

As others have said,m Ducky is probably closest.  Ducky YotS has an aluminium case top only - the bottom part is still plastic.  It is also only available in full size (just as the YotD last year was only available in TKL).

I don't immediately know of any metal (aluminium?) aftermarket cases for Ducky Shine.  Generally a metal case has to be machined specifically for the PCB that is going in it - they all have mounting points in different places, LEDs or not in different placed, different clearances inside.

Is there any particular reason you want a metal case?
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"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 Chris230291

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Re: Help me find a keyboard?
« Reply #12 on: Fri, 27 December 2013, 05:47:05 »
Thanks. There's a lot of cool topics on here so I will definitely keep visiting.

There's no particular reason other than I like the look of anodised ally.

I'm going to order a Shine 3 today. I want some white key caps for it though. How do I know which key caps let light through the letter/printed parts? I think Ducky might do a Shine 3 with white keys, but I cant seem to find anywhere that sells them.


Thanks,
Chris.
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Offline rowdy

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Re: Help me find a keyboard?
« Reply #13 on: Fri, 27 December 2013, 19:12:53 »
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"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 Pacifist

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Re: Help me find a keyboard?
« Reply #14 on: Wed, 29 January 2014, 22:48:48 »
Quote from: Chris230291 on Thu, 26 December 2013, 08:45:57
Hello all. I want to buy my first mechanical keyboard but I'm struggling to find one that ticks all of the boxes, so I was wondering if you guys can help me?

I like the CM Quickfire/Filco design where the back of the case is taller, so something like that would be perfect style wise.
I would like all of the keys to have LED back lighting (ideally I would be able to change brightness/modes).
I want one that comes with/can be fitted in a metal housing (CM QF/Filco style).
A detachable cable would be ideal.

Can anyone help me find anything that meets my requirements? I don't mind moding or building my own from parts, but I would like to achieve this keyboard for as little cost as possible.

Any help or suggestions are welcome and appreciated.

Cheers,
Chris.
Full size:
http://www.banggood.com/Keycool-108II-Backlit-Mechanical-Gaming-Keyboard-Cherry-Brown-Switch-p-86757.html
tkl
http://www.banggood.com/Keycool-87II-Purple-Backlit-Mechanical-Gaming-Keyboard-Cherry-MX-Red-p-90768.html

KC boards are pretty much universal design.

Other than this shine 3
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Offline wrwhoami

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Re: Help me find a keyboard?
« Reply #15 on: Thu, 30 January 2014, 04:38:31 »
keycool 87 is good
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Offline kilogeek

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Re: Help me find a keyboard?
« Reply #16 on: Thu, 30 January 2014, 06:14:46 »
My personnal advice : whatever layout or brand you choose, try before buying, if you have a local store with enough choice, type on different switches. Until you've never typed on black, red, brown, blue MX, it's hard for you to know what you'll love best. Just to avoid spending 100$ or more and dislike the typing feeling. It happened to me, hopefully it was on Amazon and I got my money back, and now know I hate black MX^^ But I like brown and would certainly love blue if I can get one someday...
« Last Edit: Thu, 30 January 2014, 06:16:47 by kilogeek »
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