tenkeyless keyboard with actual 1000Hz polling rate (full speed USB 2.0)?

[Z Overlord]

Still to this day on Amazon and Newegg, the Quickfire Rapid's are listed as 1000Hz polling rate. However numerous comments here on GH have confirmed the Rapids are USB 1.1, limited to low-speed USB (125Hz). This really makes it hard to make an informed decision. Heck now that I look at a keyboard by CM that is confirmed 1ms, it's a tenkey and it uses the numpad to switch polling rates. So does this mean CM boards without a tenkey, even the newer Novatouch, are 125Hz as well? Sadly even reviewers of the Rapids blindly state that it's 1ms without actually testing it, and they also sometimes mistaken the repeat rate switches for polling rate switches.

I think the Rapids are the only tenkeyless boards (mistakenly) marketed as 1ms. At Least I can't find any others.

[chyros]

If you're very set on polling rates, you might want to invest in a something with a PS/2 port on it, if only in the future. PS/2 isn't dependent on polling for information so there's no delay at all. That said even 8 ms is very quick xD .

[NewbieOneKenobi]

I lack the technical knowledge to comment on 'real', put CM Novatouch ('cheap' Topre) is supposed to have a 1000 MHz rate. It does feel a bit more responsive than the usual USB keyboard, though I'm not sure I'm even supposed to be able to perceive the difference. However, if intuition is to be trusted at all, then I guess mine could be, because I spend more than 12 hours every day typing, often heavy-duty typing for work (as a translator).

[FoxWolf1]

I lack the technical knowledge to comment on 'real', put CM Novatouch ('cheap' Topre) is supposed to have a 1000 MHz rate. It does feel a bit more responsive than the usual USB keyboard, though I'm not sure I'm even supposed to be able to perceive the difference. However, if intuition is to be trusted at all, then I guess mine could be, because I spend more than 12 hours every day typing, often heavy-duty typing for work (as a translator).

In general, "feel" is not that great a tool for measuring response speed. It can only really pick up big differences, and tends to get thrown off by things like differences in switch weight and other characteristics. Unfortunately, the keyboard community hasn't done as well as the mouse community in terms of developing tools for objective measurement, so we wind up forced to rely on feel, A/B measurements with crude tools like Bloody's PK utility, and marketing from the manufacturers themselves.

That said, I wouldn't be surprised if the Novatouch is fairly fast, since, whatever the polling rate, you also have no debouncing.

[Findecanor]

the Rapids are USB 1.1, limited to low-speed USB (125Hz).

Just to clarify: USB 1.1 is not limited to low-speed USB. It includes "Low Speed" and "Full Speed". The latter is what allows 1000 Hz polling rate.
USB 2.0 adds "High Speed" USB which is a separate mode used only for bulk data transfers -- not for the HID protocol.

But... even if a keyboard is capable of 1000 Hz polling rate over USB, USB is a host-controlled protocol which means that it is the host's USB hardware, driver or operating system that decides when to poll - not the keyboard.
The keyboard does give the host a suggestion for a polling rate, but which the host does not have to follow.

Polling rate does not say anything about the time delay required for debouncing. Debouncing is necessary for all switches that close or open electric circuits for sensing -- but not for capacitative sensing like Topre.
There are some keyboards that have 5ms debouncing delay, but I would think that higher values are more common in commercial keyboards: often something closer to 30ms.

[NewbieOneKenobi]

I lack the technical knowledge to comment on 'real', put CM Novatouch ('cheap' Topre) is supposed to have a 1000 MHz rate. It does feel a bit more responsive than the usual USB keyboard, though I'm not sure I'm even supposed to be able to perceive the difference. However, if intuition is to be trusted at all, then I guess mine could be, because I spend more than 12 hours every day typing, often heavy-duty typing for work (as a translator).

In general, "feel" is not that great a tool for measuring response speed. It can only really pick up big differences, and tends to get thrown off by things like differences in switch weight and other characteristics. Unfortunately, the keyboard community hasn't done as well as the mouse community in terms of developing tools for objective measurement, so we wind up forced to rely on feel, A/B measurements with crude tools like Bloody's PK utility, and marketing from the manufacturers themselves.

That said, I wouldn't be surprised if the Novatouch is fairly fast, since, whatever the polling rate, you also have no debouncing.

It isn't necessarily faster in physical typing speed (finger movement), but I kinda feel less typing lag, unless I'm making things up. I'll be able to say more after I've spent a couple of days typing in Trados and especially MS Word.