Advantages to mechanical switches other than feeling?

[YWZMatt]

So my MX switch sampler arrived today and I was very excited because I could figure out which switch I liked and order my first mechanical keyboard. Long story short, I like mechanical switches better than membrane ones, but I'm not sure I like them enough to justify the price of them. Are there any other advantages I should consider?

[Puddsy]

You can mod MX switches to be a combo of whatever you want

[YWZMatt]

What do you mean by that?

[cribbit]

There's more than one mechanical switch. I thought reds were amazing at first, and now I'm typing on browns and considering taking this board between home and work so I don't have to use reds again. You can also use keycaps to completely customize how your board looks. They're also much easier to clean than normal keyboards because of the removeable caps.

Also, the cost really isn't that much. $70-100 gets you a very nice board, which will last pretty much forever. Even super nice boards can be found for $120-$150.

[osi]

Consistent feedback

[ideus]

First, you should try other mechanical switches like Topre, and BS, to have the full array of commercially available switches for mechanical keyboards.
Second, the advantages may be relative to what exactly you are doing with your computer. For some the different feeling when typing is enough reason to buy a mechanical keyboard. But for others there is no value in that to justify a higher cost.
A simple perspective is to become aware that the user interact with the computer with the keyboard, and mouse, only. Thus, it is hard to understand why keyboards should be the focus of cost reduction technologies, at the expense of a non-ergonomic user's experience. The result is that now very few users see a membrane keyboard as an issue, as it is the de-facto PC input device.
Some have claimed that durability is also a factor to prefer mechanical keyboards. While it may be true, I do not think there is a cost / benefit balance for that characteristic only.

[YWZMatt]

There's more than one mechanical switch. I thought reds were amazing at first, and now I'm typing on browns and considering taking this board between home and work so I don't have to use reds again. You can also use keycaps to completely customize how your board looks. They're also much easier to clean than normal keyboards because of the removeable caps.

Also, the cost really isn't that much. $70-100 gets you a very nice board, which will last pretty much forever. Even super nice boards can be found for $120-$150.

I know there's more than one mechanical switch. The sampler came with 4. I prefer reds/blacks to blues or browns. Also, pretty much every keyboard has removable caps. It's not something specific to mechanical keyboards. I just popped the right arrow key off this membrane board right now and it works fine after being put back on.

[genkidama]

Mechs have a much greater longevity compared to membrane ones, should be about 10 times longer.
And totally this:

Consistent feedback

And that you can mod the keyboard much more to what you like.

What do you mean by that?

I guess he meant that you could get a Clear Switch and mod the spring to 62g so that the feedback is much more different to the stock spring and that's how you can mod them to your liking and find a "perfect" switch for you. And of course there is lubing, and putting some kind of gold paper or so in between (I'm not really familiar with this so dont hold me responsible if it's totally wrong ^^)

For me it's the feeling writing on a mech, it's much better than on a membrane one and for me it seems like I can type much faster on it and really enjoy much more typing on it.

edit: I understand why you hesitate paying much more than you would pay for a membrane one. But as others said there are mechs which are not that expensive as compared to filco or ducky. I for myself only bought one as I got a lot of amazon gift cards and used this to purchase a keyboard to try it out and I'm not regretting buying it (I almost have it for about a year). If you would want to try a mech out without giving out much money, try "Cherry MX-Board 3.0" if it is available in your country or try one from CM Storm unfortunately I don't remember the name that was recommended so much the last few months (Quick Fire Rapid or Quick Fire Pro or Quick Fire XT?).

[Defect]

Last longer, individual switches (easy to repair), supports many modifications (it's a hobby), less fatiguing on fingers (depends on what switches you're using).

[1391406]

Some switches simply sound better?

[jacobolus]

Advantages (depending on the switch; I like clicky switches):
(1) Better tactile feedback
(2) Better audio feedback
(3) Reduced actuation force
(4) More consistent actuation
(5) Longer post-actuation travel (helps reduce the amount of force a typist puts into each press especially at the bottom of the stroke, reducing finger/wrist strain)
(6) Discrete switches can be easily built into better-shaped keyboards
(7) Can be used with a programmable controller; not sure if there are fully programmable rubber dome boards
[8] N-key rollover is common
(9) Keyboards tend to be better constructed and more durable
(10) Usually pretty easy to repair
(11) Great resale value, especially if you stick to buying used
(12) More style options

Overall, if using a computer is a substantial part of your personal or professional life, then buying input/output devices that you like, and generally improving the comfort and efficiency of your workspace, is a no-brainer. (For instance, I’d advocate finding a chair and desk you like, a nice display, and speakers you’re happy with, in addition to a nice keyboard.) I think it’s absurd that people spend thousands of dollars on computers and then toss keyboards in as a cheap afterthought. Unless you’re literally broke and buying a 10-year-old used computer, you’ll get a better experience from reducing your computer budget by $100 and spending the money you save on a keyboard. (Or spending $30 on a keyboard from the 80s on ebay.)

[cribbit]

See if you can find a friend with a mech. It's hard to really know until you've used one.

[Mooby]

No switch will piss the people around you off like blues. Can't do that with a rubberdome.

[SpAmRaY]

No switch will piss the people around you off like blues. Can't do that with a rubberdome.

Buckling springs also have a tendency to stir jimmies in coworkers over the noise.

[noisyturtle]

Tactile feeling, consistency, build quality, lifespan, ergonomic benefits, the sound, the feel, customization, individual style to suit your look

and of course: bragging rights knowing you are better than the rubber dome unwashed peasants

[strict]

Customization is one of the biggest selling points IMO. For example, swapping out stock ABS keys for a nice set of PBT keys is one of the first things I recommend any new mech user do. PBT is so pleasing to type on its almost criminal  )

Using a switch tester pales in comparison to typing on a full mechanical. It took me almost a month after I got my switch tester to finally justify the cost and pull the trigger on my first mech (a Filco) but after it arrived I immediately regretted not having done it sooner. If you're like me and you spend 8+ hours a day typing on a keyboard, its well worth it to have a quality piece of hardware. Mechanics buy quality tools like Snap-On and Craftsman because they spend so much time using them and relying on them ... why should a keyboard be any different.

[Polymer]

So my MX switch sampler arrived today and I was very excited because I could figure out which switch I liked and order my first mechanical keyboard. Long story short, I like mechanical switches better than membrane ones, but I'm not sure I like them enough to justify the price of them. Are there any other advantages I should consider?

You're using your keyboard a lot right?  Whether that be typing out something or playing a game?  It is something you're using on a very regular basis...So lets say 30 dollars for a whatever keyboard or 130 for a mechanical one.  100 dollars for a keyboard that will likely outlast your existing computer...to increase the enjoyment of using your computer you're spending a mere 100 dollars more over let's say 5 years.  It is definitely worth it if you look at it like that.

Now...the problem you'll have is you've found this forum and once you go down the mech path you'll likely start looking at all the extra little things you can do...all of which cost more money...So it is possible that extra 100 kicks you off into spending a lot more than that but hey, it is a hobby...

[JPG]

My F122 is a defense weapon too. You should take it in consideration!

But more seriously, the nice thing with a mechanical keyboard is the precision and comfort you get when typing and that really improves the pleasure of using a keyboard. When I was using my old rubber dome, the thing I hated the most was when I was typing something and was not sure if the key really registered. This aspect is MUCH improved with a mechanical keyboard, more so if you get the right switch for you.

[dorkvader]

No switch will piss the people around you off like blues. Can't do that with a rubberdome.

Buckling springs also have a tendency to stir jimmies in coworkers over the noise.

Beam springs with solenoid is hard to beat.

It also sounds like you're getting a  lot of work done. I count this as an advantage.

[YWZMatt]

Thanks for the massive flood of replies!
Does anyone have any views on the Roccat Ryos MK Glow? If not, any similar keyboards (blue backlight, arm/hand rest, etc.) that you would recommend?

[Razor Lotus]

I know there's more than one mechanical switch. The sampler came with 4. I prefer reds/blacks to blues or browns. Also, pretty much every keyboard has removable caps. It's not something specific to mechanical keyboards. I just popped the right arrow key off this membrane board right now and it works fine after being put back on.

It's great that you know what switch you like already There are a ton more than 4 mx switches but if you're deciding to stay with mx, those switches outside the 4 that you got are simply variations of them, like heavier springs etc

Seems like you like the linear ones more!

As for keycaps, not all membrane keycaps work with each other but pretty much any cherry mx keycaps would work with any keyboard if they suit the layout. Different manufacturers of different membrane keyboards uses different types of stems (?) and all that to fit the cap to the membrane but there is no standardization i think, unlike the MX keycaps.

Also, alot of our vendors here make keycaps for MX/topre/alps but mostly mx and if you'd like to purchase some of them like from our group buy or something, mx is the way to go hahah

[vatin]

Using less force and not needing to bottom out lead to less fatigue at the end of the day and your working life. A better life is a better feeling. Does my answer still qualifies?

[YWZMatt]

I'm definitely getting a mechanical keyboard from Amazon because if I didn't misread, you can do a full item return as long as it's shipped by them. That way if I don't like the blacks (the ones I've decided on) I can look for a red keyboard.

[davkol]

Generally speaking, the only advantage to so-called mechanical keyboards is that springs age more consistently than rubber domes. That's it. Nothing to see here. If anyone claims that mechanical switches are more ergonomic, lighter, clicky, tactile or anything, I'm calling BS on that (and I don't mean buckling spring by BS), because there's a counterexample for any of that: Cherry MY, black Alps, weird Asian vintage switches, whatever. Sure, there's a variety of possible choices, but so is with rubber domes. I've used snappy RDs, super soft nearly linear RDs, smooth RDs, etc. Mechanical keyboards are more reliable? Bullcrap, look at those Asian $35 monstrosities with MX knock-offs.

I use keyboards with all kinds of key mechanisms, including MX Red, MX Clear, various kinds of Alps, buckling spring and even plenty of rubber domes. It doesn't matter all that much. It's the whole package that makes a difference. For example, a Model M has buckling springs, right, but it's the combination of buckling springs, 2kg weight, IBM layout *and* a set of PBT dyesubs that makes it an Model M. What about, say, a typematrix? It has scissor switches! What an inferior design. Actually, it has a decent portable layout as well, which makes it unique. And so on.

One particular reason to pick Alps-/ML-/MX-compatible switches is that you can customize them for personalised experience, they're discrete (you can wire them in a custom keyboard with whatever (un)ergonomic shape you want) and they're widespread enough for a variety of aftermarket keycaps to exist (shapes, materials... and yes, colors).

My recommendation, pick a particular keyboard with distinctive features you want. Be it Filco MJ2 because of availability of fancy aftermarket parts, Model M for its specific experience, Maltron thanks to its shape, Matias Ergo Pro as the only modern staggered split mechanical keyboard with PBT keycaps (eventually), you name it. Or build your keyboard from scratch.

[jacobolus]

If anyone claims that mechanical switches are more ergonomic, lighter, clicky, tactile or anything, I'm calling BS on that, because there's a counterexample for any of that: Cherry MY, black Alps, weird Asian vintage switches, whatever.

This is a silly straw man argument. No one claimed (or even implied) that every mechanical switch ever made is better than any rubber dome ever made. There have been plenty of awful mechanical switches in the last 40 years, and a few sorta okay rubber domes.

Rubber dome switches actuate at the very bottom of the stroke (same goes for scissor switches). Even when the rubber dome is reasonably tactile, this encourages the typist to press the switch hard all the way through the bottom to make sure that it actuates. In general, typists end up using dramatically more force than necessary on such switches (if I weren’t so lazy, I’d track you down a few academic studies on this topic), because otherwise actuation can be inconsistent. This causes quite a bit of extra strain on finger joints and can lead to discomfort and injuries. Some rubber domes aren’t *too* bad on this front, but none of them are especially great. Typists experienced on mechanical keyboards, even when they “bottom out” the switches, tend to only use a bit more force than necessary to actuate the switch; tactile switches are especially nice, because typically the tactile point corresponds fairly closely to the actuation point, so as soon as the tactile point is past it’s possible to reduce the amount of finger force, resulting in a relatively soft landing.

To the OP: you should figure out your own preferences for keyswitches. The best way to do that is to find people near you (friends, coworkers, stores, thrift shops, whatever) with keyboards and go try them out. I’m sure you can find something you really like. Listening to people here is only marginally useful until you’ve tried some switches with your own fingers.

[davkol]

If anyone claims that mechanical switches are more ergonomic, lighter, clicky, tactile or anything, I'm calling BS on that, because there's a counterexample for any of that: Cherry MY, black Alps, weird Asian vintage switches, whatever.

This is a silly straw man argument. No one claimed (or even implied) that every mechanical switch ever made is better than any rubber dome ever made. There have been plenty of awful mechanical switches in the last 40 years, and a few sorta okay rubber domes.

"Any mechanical keyboard is better than any rubber dome" is a quite common claim at Reddit (/r/keyboards or even /r/MechanicalKeyboards). Surprise surprise, redditors sometimes come here. The same thing is true in case of IT forums that aren't about keyboards in the first place.

Rubber dome switches actuate at the very bottom of the stroke (same goes for scissor switches). Even when the rubber dome is reasonably tactile, this encourages the typist to press the switch hard all the way through the bottom to make sure that it actuates. In general, typists end up using dramatically more force than necessary on such switches (if I weren’t so lazy, I’d track you down a few academic studies on this topic), because otherwise actuation can be inconsistent. This causes quite a bit of extra strain on finger joints and can lead to discomfort and injuries. Some rubber domes aren’t *too* bad on this front, but none of them are especially great. Typists experienced on mechanical keyboards, even when they “bottom out” the switches, tend to only use a bit more force than necessary to actuate the switch; tactile switches are especially nice, because typically the tactile point corresponds fairly closely to the actuation point, so as soon as the tactile point is past it’s possible to reduce the amount of finger force, resulting in a relatively soft landing.

...but then you get people, who say they enjoy bottoming out their (MX Green) switches "because it's a part of the experience".

[CaptLock]

Mechanical Switchs last longer

[YWZMatt]

Mechanical Switchs last longer

You don't need to keep repeating information that's been stated multiple times already.

[Quardah]

Advantages (depending on the switch; I like clicky switches):
(1) Better tactile feedback
(2) Better audio feedback
(3) Reduced actuation force
(4) More consistent actuation
(5) Longer post-actuation travel (helps reduce the amount of force a typist puts into each press especially at the bottom of the stroke, reducing finger/wrist strain)
(6) Discrete switches can be easily built into better-shaped keyboards
(7) Can be used with a programmable controller; not sure if there are fully programmable rubber dome boards
[8] N-key rollover is common
(9) Keyboards tend to be better constructed and more durable
(10) Usually pretty easy to repair
(11) Great resale value, especially if you stick to buying used
(12) More style options

Overall, if using a computer is a substantial part of your personal or professional life, then buying input/output devices that you like, and generally improving the comfort and efficiency of your workspace, is a no-brainer. (For instance, I’d advocate finding a chair and desk you like, a nice display, and speakers you’re happy with, in addition to a nice keyboard.) I think it’s absurd that people spend thousands of dollars on computers and then toss keyboards in as a cheap afterthought. Unless you’re literally broke and buying a 10-year-old used computer, you’ll get a better experience from reducing your computer budget by $100 and spending the money you save on a keyboard. (Or spending $30 on a keyboard from the 80s on ebay.)

^ this.

People who spends 2000$+ on a computer tower that has cheap input/output renders a powerful machine utter useless other than processing-heavy computing.

If you want multimedia you have to invest in a good monitor and good headphones/sound system, because even with the best GPU or the best Sound card, if your output device is sh1t then you will get sh1t results.

Same goes for input; if you are using computers a lot in your daily life, means you will actually become good a something on the computer (typing, gaming, creating media, editing media, mixing...) but if your input devices are sh1t then you will mostly be slower/uncomfortable for your work and that should affect in the end the quality of your work. If you type 100000+ characters a day (like i do) and you have a rubber dome keyboard, you'll end up changing it once in 6 months maybe, because a single key will start being defective and there's no use spending time repairing a cheap keyboard.

If you respect yourself as a power user, get a good keyboard, a good mouse, a nice headset, a nice set of monitors (yes, dual at least in 2014 please), a good chair and a nice wrist rest (optional). Maybe that'll cost you about 600$ or so but you will work with these on a daily basis and defenetly win over your investment. Anyway, if you know your stuff in computers, you'll soon understand you may not need the highest end inner hardware available, therefore optimizing to trim out 600$ is easy.

That is, if you are not the type of "geek" spending 2000$+ on a lastest i7 black edition with two nvidia 780+ titan with a RAID 5 of 512GB SSDs with 64gb of ram to run minecraft on Windows 7.

[YWZMatt]

Advantages (depending on the switch; I like clicky switches):
(1) Better tactile feedback
(2) Better audio feedback
(3) Reduced actuation force
(4) More consistent actuation
(5) Longer post-actuation travel (helps reduce the amount of force a typist puts into each press especially at the bottom of the stroke, reducing finger/wrist strain)
(6) Discrete switches can be easily built into better-shaped keyboards
(7) Can be used with a programmable controller; not sure if there are fully programmable rubber dome boards
[8] N-key rollover is common
(9) Keyboards tend to be better constructed and more durable
(10) Usually pretty easy to repair
(11) Great resale value, especially if you stick to buying used
(12) More style options

Overall, if using a computer is a substantial part of your personal or professional life, then buying input/output devices that you like, and generally improving the comfort and efficiency of your workspace, is a no-brainer. (For instance, I’d advocate finding a chair and desk you like, a nice display, and speakers you’re happy with, in addition to a nice keyboard.) I think it’s absurd that people spend thousands of dollars on computers and then toss keyboards in as a cheap afterthought. Unless you’re literally broke and buying a 10-year-old used computer, you’ll get a better experience from reducing your computer budget by $100 and spending the money you save on a keyboard. (Or spending $30 on a keyboard from the 80s on ebay.)

^ this.

People who spends 2000$+ on a computer tower that has cheap input/output renders a powerful machine utter useless other than processing-heavy computing.

If you want multimedia you have to invest in a good monitor and good headphones/sound system, because even with the best GPU or the best Sound card, if your output device is sh1t then you will get sh1t results.

Same goes for input; if you are using computers a lot in your daily life, means you will actually become good a something on the computer (typing, gaming, creating media, editing media, mixing...) but if your input devices are sh1t then you will mostly be slower/uncomfortable for your work and that should affect in the end the quality of your work. If you type 100000+ characters a day (like i do) and you have a rubber dome keyboard, you'll end up changing it once in 6 months maybe, because a single key will start being defective and there's no use spending time repairing a cheap keyboard.

If you respect yourself as a power user, get a good keyboard, a good mouse, a nice headset, a nice set of monitors (yes, dual at least in 2014 please), a good chair and a nice wrist rest (optional). Maybe that'll cost you about 600$ or so but you will work with these on a daily basis and defenetly win over your investment. Anyway, if you know your stuff in computers, you'll soon understand you may not need the highest end inner hardware available, therefore optimizing to trim out 600$ is easy.

That is, if you are not the type of "geek" spending 2000$+ on a lastest i7 black edition with two nvidia 780+ titan with a RAID 5 of 512GB SSDs with 64gb of ram to run minecraft on Windows 7.

Yeah the whole reason I'm here is because I was about to spend a bunch of money on hardware until I realized that unless I spent a ****oad of money, I won't get much out of an upgrade so I was like "what do I still need?" And the only two things are a better second monitor and a decent keyboard. Obviously I chose the latter as my monitors are decent but my keyboard is complete crap. I'm also looking into getting a better chair but for now I'm going with keyboard and working on cable management because I've got cables up the wazoo in here.

[Quardah]

Yeah the whole reason I'm here is because I was about to spend a bunch of money on hardware until I realized that unless I spent a ****oad of money, I won't get much out of an upgrade so I was like "what do I still need?" And the only two things are a better second monitor and a decent keyboard. Obviously I chose the latter as my monitors are decent but my keyboard is complete crap. I'm also looking into getting a better chair but for now I'm going with keyboard and working on cable management because I've got cables up the wazoo in here.

That is the best choice you can do. Upgrading your computer usually results in very little changes unless you spend a lot of money, because you'll still play the same stuff and mostly do the same stuff, with litterally seconds or better frames upgrades.

Except for an SSD, i'd say getting an SSD, ESPECIALLY WITH WINDOWS, is a better upgrade than Anything. If you do not have an SSD, it's a better bet than a mech.

If you have two monitors i strongly suggest you change the ****ty one, as the video output is the main output of the computer, and having sh1tty ones makes the expetience sh1tty as ****, especially if you work over 4 hours a day on your machine.

And yeah then comes the keyboard, which is awesomely customizable from scrub to power-user. It's funny because they rarely have issues and defenetly enhance the computer experience.

A chair is nice but don't expect good ones under 200$ or so. I don't know much about chair, this is my next autistic fanatism-fetish-igottaknowallabout.

[davkol]

lol, my ErgoDox, vintage headphones and trackballs are probably twice as expensive expensive as my desktop itself with a standing setup.

[tp4tissue]

Mechanical switches themselves provide NO real advantage..

Sean Wrona can type super accurate and fast on any keyboard..

Top SC2 players can pwnz0r you with any mouse and keyboard on a ****ty machine @ 30fps


However,, when Mechanical switches are combined with the Ergodox... That is where the difference is made..

comfort...

Flat mechanical keyboards are every bit as uncomfortable as conventional flat keyboards..

There is no difference whatsoever.....

[Quardah]

@ tp4tissue :

Sean Wrona is just like Hendrix that took a random guitare and went world wide phenomena or that indian woman who could do very intense mental mathematics in the blink of an eye. Those are gifted people (read: totally autistic) that finds their ways.

Top SC2 player is a bad example cause it happens with any games. Top Smash melee player would own you on emulator using a 360 controller. Top SF player would own you even with a keyboard. Top CS player would murder you any day using anything if you play CoD like in CS. Top League player would also murder you anyday using a random character.

It looks like skills and practice are not only input/output devices related. Who couldn't figure that out?

About the Ergo Dox

Lol if you start entry level in the mechanical keyboard world with an Ergo Dox

Just totally lol.

[Oobly]

I would say don't get the Ryos for one main reason and it's a big reason, IMHO, for owning a mechanical board: The bottom row is non-standard (has unusual sized keycaps) so you won't be able to replace the caps. Stock ABS caps are usually rubbish quality, thin ABS. They certainly don't do good mechanical switches justice. Most of the boards with built-in wrist rests have weird keycap layouts, so I would recommend rather getting a better quality board (such as a Ducky, Filco, KUL, or even a Coolermaster QuickFire Rapid) with standard layout and a separate wrist rest (a solid one, maybe leather over wood, definitely not one of those gel things).

If you try some high quality thick caps on MX Blacks or Clears you'll know what I mean. This is just one of the customisations you can do to make your mechanical keyboard feel even more awesome and to your own tastes. There are many great looking and feeling aftermarket keycap sets available for Cherry MX switch keyboards that have a standard layout. Different profiles, too (angle of the top surface, height of keycaps, shape of the dents, etc.).

I've gone quite deep into customising my MX board and now have a 60% sized board with aluminium case, aluminium plate with switch opening cutouts, heavily modified MX Clear switches (stickered, 62g springs, trampoline and latex modded), nice aftermarket keycaps (a few sets, I switch them now and then), white LED's (originals were green) and a custom cable. It feels like no other board I've tried, simply awesome and it's great to know it will last practically forever.

Fully customising isn't for everyone, but it's super easy to swap out the keycaps to make your board more individual.

[YWZMatt]

<DELETED MESSAGE>

If you want to read what this message said, just check out the posts below where it was quoted.

[strict]

Well I'm never coming back to this forum. I came here wanting to get some advice on keyboards and instead people recommend super expensive boards that are unreasonably more expensive than other ones with more features because of their "build quality." As if that was bad enough, all I was looking for was to buy a nice keyboard for gaming with some extra luxuries and be done with it. I didn't want to become Tony stark and build a ****ing arc reactor out of spare keycaps and blue backlighting.

[SpAmRaY]

[jacobolus]

Well I'm never coming back to this forum. I came here wanting to get some advice on keyboards and instead people recommend super expensive boards that are unreasonably more expensive than other ones with more features because of their "build quality."

Wait a minute, you came to a “keyboard enthusiast” forum, and you’re mad that people are enthusiastic about their keyboards?

FWIW, I think the advice was pretty reasonable (e.g. if you want to replace the stock keycaps with much nicer ones, you might want to have a standard bottom row; if that doesn’t apply to you though, that’s fine too). Perhaps if you clarify what your criteria are, people could give better advice. For instance, if you need per-key LED brightness control, or want your keyboard to look like a transformer robot, maybe the Ryos keyboard is a good choice. Note that several of the suggested keyboards are cheaper than the Ryos.

If you try a few keyboards out, you might find that “build quality” matters more than you initially thought. Or you might decide it’s an irrelevant waste of money.

* * *

Anyway, your original question was about why might someone want a mechanical keyboard, not about what specific keyboard you should buy. If you want specific advice and can provide some thoughts about your needs / criteria, I’m sure people will try to give more focused advice.

[YWZMatt]

Sorry about my previous post. I think I was too on board my own hype train for the Roccat Ryos and I didn't want to  believe that I should get something else, but I think I am actually going to do that because there are numerous things about the Ryos that aren't very good such as the permanently attached hand wrest, the fact that unless you pay $170 for the Pro you can only get blacks which actually feel a bit too stiff for me, and the fact that it's so huge. Thanks for the recommendations and as I said sorry for being rude earlier. I'm not sure I'll necessarily get a ducky but I'll definitely take it into consideration.

[ndakota79]

Dont't get the Roccat, You would regret it!