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Offline jrsall92

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My first mechanical kb
« on: Tue, 13 January 2015, 15:33:29 »
Hi all,

I'm John and this is my first post(=noob). I'm thinking of investing in a mechanical keyboard and retiring my trusty old Sidewinder X6. But, as I'm rather new in the kb area, I'm finding brands that I never new that existed popping out of nowhere (or rather everywhere  :p ), so I don't really know what to look for, what brands have decent quality etc. Problem is that after nearly 6 years of using the X6 I'm looking for something with similar features like:

1. Backlit, red preferably, not that had to find I think, if not with a luminosity knob like X6, at least with several levels
2. Full length
3. Wrist rest, detachable or not is not a problem
4. Flat backlit keycaps.

I'm not interested if there are any macro keys, since I'm not using any of X6's.

Also I'm thinking MX blues switches, since I'm programming (thus typing) a lot, I like the clicky feedback. I'm also gaming but not competitively, just for fun, so are blues worse that dome for casual gaming?

Can you give any suggestions on what keyboard to look for? My budget is around 70GBD/105$/90 euros.

Thanks in advance  :)
« Last Edit: Tue, 13 January 2015, 15:38:21 by jrsall92 »
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Offline Firebolt1914

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Re: My first mechanical kb
« Reply #1 on: Tue, 13 January 2015, 15:43:28 »
Welcome to geekhack!

A keyboard with flat caps might be very tricky when it comes down to mechanical keyboards.

A wide variety of what you're looking for can be here, sans the wrist rest. That, i believe, you will have to buy on your own:

http://mechanicalkeyboards.com/search.php?switch_id=ALL&size=Full+Size&keyword=&backlit=on&in_stock=on
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Offline FrostyToast

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Re: My first mechanical kb
« Reply #2 on: Tue, 13 January 2015, 15:48:00 »
The Cherry MX 6.0 board is the only thing I could think of and I don't know if I could recommend that... especially since it isn't out yet.
Red backlight - check
Full length - check
Detachable wrist rest - check
Flat keycaps with backlight - check CORRECTION: these caps are low profile, not flat. There is no board that has flat caps.
MX blues - check

And an aluminum case as a bonus.
This is about $200 IIRC???

« Last Edit: Tue, 13 January 2015, 15:51:34 by FrostyToast »
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Offline jrsall92

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Re: My first mechanical kb
« Reply #3 on: Tue, 13 January 2015, 15:55:17 »
Hmmm, I've seen the this site before but I've also noticed that some brands aren't listed, like Corsair.

Anyhow I came across this Azio MGK1 (http://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1090) I noticed that it uses Kailh switches, how are they compared to cherry mx? I guess that they're compatible with Cherry Mx keycaps, right? Also, has anyone hands on experience with this keyboard? How's the overall quality?

Sorry if I ask to many "nooby" questions, but as I said I'm still one :P
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Offline Firebolt1914

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Re: My first mechanical kb
« Reply #4 on: Tue, 13 January 2015, 15:57:35 »
Kailh are MX compatible switches; I haven't tried them, so I don't really know how they feel like, but they've been reported to be 'alright' compared to Cherry's MX.
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Offline jrsall92

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Re: My first mechanical kb
« Reply #5 on: Tue, 13 January 2015, 17:02:19 »
@FrostyToast it really looks spot on for me, but 200$ is waaaaay too much for me for a keyboard! (But I'd happily steal it if I see anyone having one :P )

Btw, the Azio is not available in UK, or Europe in general as I can tell, does any of you know if there is a way to get it on this side of the ocean without being ripped off?
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Offline Huxley2500

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Re: My first mechanical kb
« Reply #6 on: Tue, 13 January 2015, 17:57:10 »
No.

It is a BIG ocean.
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Offline jrsall92

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Re: My first mechanical kb
« Reply #7 on: Tue, 13 January 2015, 18:07:41 »
 :( :( :(

Anyhow, I found about Func KB-460, any thoughts on this one? mainly built quality...
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Offline Firebolt1914

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Re: My first mechanical kb
« Reply #8 on: Tue, 13 January 2015, 18:15:13 »
Ah crap, I should've noticed that you were using GBP. What's the pricing like on mechanicalkeyboards.com for you?
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Offline jrsall92

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Re: My first mechanical kb
« Reply #9 on: Tue, 13 January 2015, 18:25:14 »
It's in USD, but that's not the problem. Problem is that everything is states-side, and almost impossible to by in uk/eu, or extremely expensive compared to the us price :/
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Offline munch

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Re: My first mechanical kb
« Reply #10 on: Tue, 13 January 2015, 18:34:39 »
how much for the KB-460? I found it to be a decent board in terms of feel. and I saw it for as low as ~70 euros once.
I've heard it has decent build quality too. I think you would be pleased with it.
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Offline jrsall92

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Re: My first mechanical kb
« Reply #11 on: Tue, 13 January 2015, 18:40:17 »
Cheapest price right now with MX Blues is 70 GBP ~107$ ~90 euro
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Offline munch

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Re: My first mechanical kb
« Reply #12 on: Tue, 13 January 2015, 18:43:32 »
ahh alright, not too bad really. I assume you have no chance of testing one before you buy it?
it's not a bad board though, and it seems to meet your criteria rather well.
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Offline jrsall92

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Re: My first mechanical kb
« Reply #13 on: Tue, 13 January 2015, 18:46:41 »
Not really, as I live in a "village" in the UK, so the tech opportunities are rare(if that even makes sense :P ) and only for the really well known brands and stuff like smartphones
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Offline munch

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Re: My first mechanical kb
« Reply #14 on: Tue, 13 January 2015, 19:51:17 »
ahh right, well I don't think you can go wrong with that at the price, boards are a bit pricy in the UK!
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Offline demik

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Re: My first mechanical kb
« Reply #15 on: Tue, 13 January 2015, 19:53:03 »
hhkb.

**** all that scrub ****. get a god's board.
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Offline jrsall92

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Re: My first mechanical kb
« Reply #16 on: Tue, 13 January 2015, 20:08:42 »
Quote from: demik on Tue, 13 January 2015, 19:53:03
hhkb.

**** all that scrub ****. get a god's board.

Nope, not a chance, it's TKL, and there are not control buttons! Why do I need to re-learn to use a keyboard? or reduce its functionality? Also for me it's ugly Imho (anything less than full is a bit ugly for me :P ), but that's just me.
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Offline demik

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Re: My first mechanical kb
« Reply #17 on: Tue, 13 January 2015, 20:15:07 »
1) it's not tkl
2) it has control keys
3) it's ansi, what exactly are you re-learning
4) it's fully functional
5) you want red backlit, you have no idea what's good looking and what isn't.



6) i was only kidding anyway
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Offline jrsall92

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Re: My first mechanical kb
« Reply #18 on: Tue, 13 January 2015, 20:40:22 »


this one right?

1)yeap it's not TKL, less than that
2)where are the control keys? Can't see them, unless you're talking about the keys with diamonds, then again they are in a wrong position for me
3)control buttons and no arrows as independent keys without the need to use Fn
4)it is in a way, different than what I've been used to
5)something that I'm used to, too, and also pretty practical in rooms/spaces with low lighting, which I prefer

6)didn't got that, soz :P

I can't game on that! I need a third hand for it :P

Edit: I found control key, but not where I was expecting it to be
« Last Edit: Tue, 13 January 2015, 20:52:13 by jrsall92 »
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Offline rowdy

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Re: My first mechanical kb
« Reply #19 on: Wed, 14 January 2015, 01:17:47 »
(2) Control is on the left, between Tab and Shift, where it is supposed to be.

O consider a Ducky Shine - the key profile is OEM though.
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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

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Offline jrsall92

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Re: My first mechanical kb
« Reply #20 on: Wed, 14 January 2015, 06:52:42 »
In the end I opted out for a K70 MX Blue with 'O' and 'I' switches not working for ~68$, shipping included, and I'll just replace the those two switches. I think it's a good deal...
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Offline munch

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Re: My first mechanical kb
« Reply #21 on: Wed, 14 January 2015, 22:20:11 »
cool. it's not a bad board either despite its reputation, it's just a pain in the buttocks to get a working keycap set for them due to the non-standard bottom row.
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Offline jrsall92

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Re: My first mechanical kb
« Reply #22 on: Wed, 14 January 2015, 22:30:33 »
I know, although I'm not bothered right now, since I can't find any quality backlit lp keycaps to replace the originals (nor I have the money for a complete set), so for the time being, it's not really that important to me :P
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