Dell Quietkey vs Topre???

[mike52787]

Hey geeks. Ever since I started lurking this site ive always wanted to try a topre board, but cant justify spending 200+ on a board I dont even know if I will like. So recently, browsing through my local thrift stores, I found this filthy, sad dell quietkey. I know this board is notorious for being one of the best dome with slider boards made, So I wanted to pick it up and give it a try. I paid the princely sum of 1$ for this board.


So what I want to know, Is there any correlation between the feel of this very well regarded dome with slider board and the even higher regarded topre switch? I figured I would ask at least, I want to believe in the church of topretology, but my bs boards always remind me how heavy and loud I like my boards. That said, The quietkey has a pretty good key feel for a dome with slider, 100x better than the rubberdome mushboards these days.

[jerue]

Your post pretty much answers it's own question... a $1 keyboard that feels pretty good; it's not like Topre at all (in my opinion). The technology isn't the same either: boards like the Dell Quietkey rely on bottoming out as the bottom of the dome makes contact with the PCB (usually via a small insert in the dome itself), where Topre just relies on electrostatic capacitive signals through the spring (it's possible to type on Topre w/o bottoming out).

If you want to try some other boards try to come close to the Topre feel, look for an old BTC-5100c, or maybe a Data 911 with the rubber guard on. I've used both and it's close but no cigar.

[Polymer]

The Dell is a very good keyboard...Will Topre ever match the value you got with that?  Not even close..

But it is different..it feels different.  There are similarities but overall they are different.

Yes, you do pay exponentially more for Topre..but I think the same can be said for any mechanical keyboard (although some of these ones coming out now are getting pretty inexpensive). 

[romevi]

I have both. The QuietKey is very good...but no Topre!

[Keycap]

NMB domes are great, but not Topre level. You're looking for the old BTC Dome with Sliders (PCB version). It's honestly the closest thing you'll get to Topre, and very close at that. Even the sound is comparable. Oh, and the stems are MX compatible.

You can find these BTC dome keyboards for dirt cheap and they're very common. $20 is the most you should even pay for them. Just make sure you're getting BTC Dome with Sliders and not BTC Foam & Foil.

EDIT: I should also add that NMB Dome with Sliders have this somewhat shallow travel which disappoints me somewhat. They feel like they bottom out too early in the keystroke. Maybe this is just with the board that I own though.