Colored keycaps vs RGB/customized LED back-lit keys

[Lunatique]

I've been debating with myself for a while about whether to get a keyboard with customized colored keycaps, such as what WASD offers (http://www.wasdkeyboards.com/index.php/products/mechanical-keyboard/wasd-v2-87-key-custom-mechanical-keyboard.html), or customized/RGB LED back-lit keys, such as what MAX offers (http://www.maxkeyboard.com/customize/).

Here's a gallery showing the WASD customized keyboards:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/wasdkeyboards/

Here's MAX's gallery of custom backlit LED keyboards:
http://blog.maxkeyboard.com/2014/05/max-custom-backlit-mechanical-keyboard-image-gallery/

The way I want to customize, is to highlight often used/useful keys with a distinct color so I can locate them faster (it does make a difference--I've experimented), and also a bit of aesthetic design.

The pros and cons of each, IMO, are:

Colored keycaps
Pros: The entire key is colored and very distinct.
Cons: In dim lighting, the legends still won't read clearly.

LED back-lit keys (including RGB customized LED keys)
Pros: Can be seen clearly in any lighting situation. With RGB LED switches now available, I can change my mind and make changes very quickly and easily.
Cons: Only the legends are lit/colored, so not as instantaneously distinct visually, and subjectively, not as interesting aesthetically.

What are your thoughts?

[katushkin]

Are you changing the whole key's colour with the WASD option or just the legends?

[Lunatique]

Are you changing the whole key's colour with the WASD option or just the legends?

The entire key, like most of the photos in the WASD gallery I linked (the ones further down the page, not the ones with custom images spread over the entire keyboard, or only the legends are colored).

[katushkin]

Are you changing the whole key's colour with the WASD option or just the legends?

The entire key, like most of the photos in the WASD gallery I linked (the ones further down the page, not the ones with custom images spread over the entire keyboard, or only the legends are colored).

OK. Well in terms of practicality, I think you would be better off just changing the cap colour. That way if you don't need the key anymore, you can just change it back.

At night, there is always light coming from somewhere. If not from a light, then from your screen. You aren't not going to see the different coloured caps.

You say RGB LEDS are "available", but we haven't seem them available to the normal consumer anywhere yet, and I can't see them being as readily available as less common switches separately (think greens/whites/greys) in the next year, let alone the availability level of browns/blues/reds

[Lunatique]

Here are some examples I picked out, of the kind of look I would go for with each approach:

Colored keycaps:
09 by wasdkeyboards, on Flickr

18 by wasdkeyboards, on Flickr

01 by wasdkeyboards, on Flickr


And these are some of the LED backlit examples:

[katushkin]

OK. RGB boards are overpriced right now, and not made by any manufacturers that people on this site would normally recommend. If you are to ever get an RGB board, wait until there are more available from more reputable dealers.

Get coloured keycaps.

[Lunatique]

OK. RGB boards are overpriced right now, and not made by any manufacturers that people on this site would normally recommend. If you are to ever get an RGB board, wait until there are more available from more reputable dealers.

Get coloured keycaps.

That's sort of what I've been thinking too. I don't care for the game keyboard companies that are making the RGB stuff right now since I'm not into the gamer aesthetic (even if I do play games). If I'm going for a RGB keyboard, I'll have to wait and see what comes in 2015. But assuming they do come, and by companies I like, would the easy customization offered by the RGB keyboards (assign your own colors to any key, and can save/switch between multiple user-created presets, as well as can change your mind any time) be a better choice than the colored keycaps? With colored keycaps, you're paying a premium for the customization, and once you made your choice, it'll be expensive if you change your mind and want to swap to a different color palette.

[katushkin]

OK. RGB boards are overpriced right now, and not made by any manufacturers that people on this site would normally recommend. If you are to ever get an RGB board, wait until there are more available from more reputable dealers.

Get coloured keycaps.

That's sort of what I've been thinking too. I don't care for the game keyboard companies that are making the RGB stuff right now since I'm not into the gamer aesthetic (even if I do play games). If I'm going for an RGB keyboard, I'll have to wait and see what comes in 2015. But assuming they do come, and by companies I like, would the easy customization offered by the RGB keyboards (assign your own colors to any key, and can save/switch between multiple user-created presets) be a better choice than the colored keycaps? With colored keycaps, you're paying a premium for the customization, and once you made your choice, it'll be expensive if you change your mind and want to change to a different color palette.

Well look at it this way. You will have a massive amount of choice as to what boards you can put coloured caps on. Coloured LEDs would be limited to the boards that get good reviews/you like the look of.

You could literally take any Cherry board to put coloured keycaps on. Any switch. RGB LEDs are going to be limited to (probably) red, blue, brown, maybe black MX.

[Lunatique]

That's a good point.

I'm not really into collecting different keyboards though. When it comes to Cherry MX, I'm a blue guy and that's about it. So chances are, I'll get one blue Cherry MX keyboard and that would be it for me--I won't be looking at other Cherry MX keyboards any more.

I plan on getting one keyboard of each major switch type. I already have one buckling spring, so I still need be one blue Cherry MX, one Matias, and I have two Topres on the way, although the 2nd one is only because I love the form-factor (66% Leopold FC600C) for traveling and typing in bed (hooked up to my Galaxy Note 3).