Aluminum Cases and Metal Plates for %60 - Function or Fashion?

[Tiramisuu]

In my imagination a aluminum case makes the keyboard feel more solid and improves typing BUT...

The 60% that every claims is super perfect is the HHKB and it has no metal plate and a plastic case.

Are these features mostly about making us feel good about ourselves or do they have some functional merit?   

[epzy]

Eh, I think many people would appreciate a metal case for their HHKB... I personally think MX boards that doesn't have aluminium cases feel inferior to those with aluminium cases, but the same can't be said for Topre boards. I have a digilog case for one of my Realforce boards and I don't think it makes that big of a difference as it does with MX.

[Sent]

Can't speak much about topre (yet) but I recently discovered a long lost Pure in the closet.  I slapped some caps on it and got to typing and immediately disliked it.  It just felt incredibly flimsy, almost as if it was going to move/rock around or fall apart.  It didn't feel good and it didn't sound good. 

[Razor Lotus]

Havent tried plate switches yet except for my switch tester so I can't really say whether they do anything to the keyboard..

But as for the metal case, I've had a few on my 60%. I think it's really good but it's more for form I guess. It doesn't really does much in terms of what a keyboard does but I love the aesthetics and the weight of it

[Hyde]

I think like switches, it's all preference.

Initially I was buying into the hype that "plate mount is better because it's more solid".  Yes it's more solid, but I find it too harsh and forgiving.  It's almost like it's punching right back at my finger if I bottom out.

I got a TEX Aluminum Case for my Poker II and it's the same thing.  Looks amazing in pictures but so harsh to type on.

Eventually I tried a Race II (PCB Mount) and HHKB (Case Mount) and realized that I actually like softer feeling in keyboards.

Now I'm on a quest to try more PCB mount keyboards.

[Oobly]

In my experience, definitely functional.

I'm typing this on a KBT Pure Limited with aluminium case and added Hammer aluminium plate. They have both made a tangible difference to how the board feels to type on. On the opposite end of the spectrum is the Cherry G80-3000, PCB mounted board. It doesn't have much board support in the plastic case and feels utterly horrible to type on, IMHO, despite having PBT keycaps and the same switches as my Pure (MX Clears).

A heavy, solid case stabilises the board and gives a nice heft to it. A plate increases the rigidity and the solid feeling. Feels more precise and "tight". The whole board feels more like a unit and less like a collection of loosely joined switches.

Orings or trampolines help the bottom out feel and prevent "shock" on bottoming out. Almost mandatory for a good solid MX board.

[azhdar]

Functionnal , when i switch my poker stock case to the pexon aluminium one , the keyboard felt so much sturdier and solid , also more pleasent to type on

[Razor Lotus]

I think what most of you are describing is form isn't it?

Cause metal case or not, the keyboard still works the same. It doesn't make the switches wear out less or they response time any faster or lets you programme complicated macros and all that (based on how I see it). Having a plate or case does not make it "work better" and personally I think that "feel better" here is kinda like "look better", unless we're limiting form to purely aesthetics and everything else to function.'

Or am I wrong?

[Skuloth]

To me the difference between form and function is this:

Form: Purely looks different / better
Function: Changes in actual use of product

The 'feel' of the keyboard is to me one of the most important aspects of using the keyboard, which to me makes it a functional difference. I use a poker II which is plate mounted, in a tex case and can say that for me when I switched from the stock case to the tex the keyboard felt noticeably better. My roommate who owns both a pure and a poker II also agreed that the aluminum cases made the keyboard feel better to type on than the stock case did. It's hard to describe what feels better about it, but it is noticeable.

[Razor Lotus]

My apologies, I've always thought that function referred to the technical functionality of a keyboard and that form was everything subjective