I am still befuddled that a buckling spring keyboard would be "old-looking" 
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To each's own, of course
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First off: Fix your desk setup and ergonomics! If you continue typing with your wrists / palms resting all the time you will end up with some form of injury. While gaming it's okay to rest the nub of your palm on something to keep your hand in position without fatigue, but make sure it's high enough that you keep your wrist straight. When actively typing, raise your wrists up off the desk and try to keep your wrists as straight in line with your forearms as possible (both up/down and left/right). This allows you to involve more of your arm muscles in typing, reducing fatigue and risks of injury long term.
You should have a high enough seat and low enough desk that your elbows bend roughly 90 degrees or a little more with your upper arms straight and your wrists straight while your fingers are on the keys.
I would recommend a Filco Majestouch 2 full size, Ducky Shine 3 full size or Coolermaster Quickfire XT with MX Browns and some orings.
They all have standard layout, so you can replace the keycaps with almost any set you like, very good build quality and high quality components, etc (although the Filco and Ducky are a bit better than the Coolermaster). In general, most "gaming" keyboards will have more gimmicks, higher price and lower quality.
The orings are more for reducing shock on bottom-out than reducing the key travel, although they do reduce the travel slightly. One downside to using orings is you may have to try different thicknesses when switching keycap sets as different keycap profiles have different underside designs. I do something called the "trampoline mod" on my switches which essentially puts an "oring" inside the switch, so you don't have to worry when changing keycaps, but this requires desoldering the switches and opening them to install.
MX Reds are often recommended for gaming due to their light springs and linear action for "hovering" near the actuation point or double tapping without fully releasing the key, but the lack of tactility can be an issue when typing. I make more mistakes with Reds than most other switch types. Browns have a small tactile "bump" that allows you to register when the switch actuates, so you can be certain that you've pressed it far enough. This helps a lot when typing, even if it's subconcious and you don't really notice the bumps when typing fast.
Clears are stiffer (especially if you bottom out all the time), so they will be more fatiguing to type on, but they have a much bigger tactile bump and feel awesome if you install lighter springs in (again, this requires desoldering and opening the switches, though).
I am not a fan of Topre. They are very expensive and there aren't many options. Some board designs only come with one switch strength. For full size, you're looking at either a Type Heaven or Realforce 104. There are no easily available aftermarket keycap sets for Topre switches. The only mod available for changing the switch feel is to swap rubber domes from another Topre.
I recall learning about keyboard ergonomics in an old keyboarding class, but I've since never really paid attention to it. I can see its utility for ordinary typing, but it may be a distraction when you're trying to play games and you have to focus on both the game and trying to keep your hands in posture. I will listen to your advice though, and try to get into the habit of lifting my hands for typing.
And wow, thank you very much for your keyboard recommendations. I will definitely look them up. Does it matter what brand or keyboard I purchase, if the switches as the same? I always figured keyboards cannot really "break" unless the lettering fades away, or you're clipping onto keys and constantly force your fingers into them (my hatred for laptop chiclet keys).
Unfortunately, I understand little to nothing about soldering, although my father was a master at that during his youth. I'll be sticking with some premade keyboard!
I see what you mean about how the lack of tactility could become an issue for typing. But don't Cherry MX switches actuate halfway down? I did try the Browns as well as the Reds, and I did make some mistakes on the Reds before. I felt that it was an issue with trying to move to different keys, but it could be due to the lack of tactility and typing too quickly, like you say.
I suppose I'll stay away from the Clears, then!
I'm not really interested in "modding" my keyboards, so it's not a big deal. However, there isn't really any Topre keyboard to test around here, so I'm limited to assumptions as to what they're like. Hopefully I'll get a chance to try the NovaTouch.
I don't see double-tapping as an issue. If you play Osu, Cookiezi used to play on an MX blue keyboard. Here's a clip of him practicing streams with a Blackwidow: t=1473
In theory, double-tapping seems problematic, but in practice, it doesn't matter much.
If you like bottoming out, I suggest that you try Topre. Coming from normal keyboards, I think that Topre feels really natural to type on. I like the HHKB and Leopold FC660C, but the Realforce 55g is a nice Topre keyboard too.
Hm, but the internals of the Blues don't return quick enough to the starting point, which can cause problems if you don't fully lift your fingers off the keyboard. As Defect explains after your post.
I will certainly give the Topre switches a try to see whether it's my thing!
Double tapping with MX blues is possible
The issue is that the click mechanism does not reset unless you fully release the key.
What's the point in a tactile clicky switch if it fails to be accurately and consistently tactile and clicky.
MX blues try to emulate a click within Cherry's design limitations. Very smart, but falls short when compared to BS and ALPS.
http://deskthority.net/wiki/Hysteresis
For FPS gaming, go Linear. For anything else, any switch will do. More important than switch type is your layout and KRO support. You should have at least 6kro for gaming, which many buckling spring boards do not have. Newer ALPS boards (Matias clones) should have 6KRO, but are more expensive than old SKCM ALPS.
I did some searching for ALPS keyboards, but there doesn't seem to be much available for purchasing. Is it because it is outdated?
Matias' website really pushes the whole "not meant for gaming" on its keyboards, which seems to push me away from them. I'm not sure how they perform in gaming, and they aren't available at my local retailers to test. Refunds would become a bit of an issue if I don't like the keyboard.
I did watch some videos about the Matias ALPS keyboards, and they look and feel nice, but there are no articles anywhere explaining whether they work for gaming. Could you elaborate if you've tried them before? How do they perform for quick tapping, and double-tapping?
Why don't any "nicer-looking" keyboards exist with the buckling springs? A keyboard like that would certainly appeal to many people.
SC2, League, Dota 2, CS, etc gamer here...
Have played the above games with Filco MX Blue TKL, Razer BW MX Brown, KBT Race S (75% form factor) Browns, RF 101 variable topre, Das 4 blues, and recently a Unicomp Model M. Waiting for a CM storm TKL with greens to come in too.
I've never had a problem double tapping with the MX blues/browns. The blues are noisy for playing team games in skype/whatever unless you do push to talk or you have a good setting for voice activation. The browns don't feel too different from blues in terms of fast gaming, but when I'm typing for chat I prefer the blues for crispness. My topre board feels very fun to type on, but didnt' feel as good for gaming. The key presses are soft with a nice rebound, but something just doesn't jive for gaming.
Playing on the Model M (buckling spring) was very fun in SC2 and in League/Dota. They make a lot of noise, more than the MX blues. The tactility is very high and I do sometimes miss a key because the spring is a bit heavier. Once I get used to it, however, it's not so bad. The only downside to the Model M is that the F row is farther off than the standard layout. I use the F keys a lot in Dota and SC2, so that's a problem for me. Hopefully the MX greens are a good compromise.
I also have played with MX reds for SC2 and League and I don't like it at all. The linear switches feel ok, but I didn't like the spring rate on the reds. Blacks feel better to me. Also the lack of feedback threw me off completely. Perhaps they are better for FPS games, but I've never had an issue playing CS GO and CS Source with my blues and browns.
I've hit 105-120 WPM on some type test sites and 150-160APM (as zerg) on SC2 with the buckling spring keyboard, so don't be too put off by the spring rate etc. It's all about just getting used to things.
It's wonderful to read an opinion from an actual gamer. So from your experience, the Blues generally don't suffer from double-tapping issues. That's interesting! Do you ever bottom-out? That could be a factor. And so far, you're the first person to say that the Topre keyboards are not as good compared to the others. I will keep this in mind.
Would you say that the buckling spring keyboards are much more responsive to your own tapping speed? I'm looking forward to hearing what you have to say about the Cherry MX Greens!
What was wrong with the springs on the Reds? They weren't quick enough? It's possible that the Blues perform fine for you since you're primarily a RTS gamer and you don't catch yourself double-tapping as frequently. So there may be bias for feel.
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Final comment: I'm now tied between the Cherry MX Reds, Browns, and Blues. Cherry MX switch keyboards are easier and more plentiful to purchase (and thus easier to exchange or refund), so I probably won't delve too deep into other kinds of switches. As some of you have mentioned, the difference is generally minor. I will set aside the Topre switches as there is too little to make an educated decision for them. However, if there is a good "all-around" keyboard with ALPS switches, I am definitely interested in checking it out. Thank you all very much! I won't jump to conclusions until I am 100% sure about the keyboard that I want.
