Please Help: Choosing my daily driver mechanical keyboard....

[NewToKeyboards]

After doing a fair amount of reading on this forum, not nearly as much as I should though, I have a feeling that this will not be the end of me here 

Let's jump straight to it...

I am looking for a mechanical keyboard (and this sure seems like the right place to be looking other than the fact that right now I am looking at the less than popular 100% 104-key keyboard). I have seemed to be able to create a list of things that I would like to have on the keyboard that should help with the process of finding a keyboard, but there are so many out there that I am looking to tap into this wealth of knowledge that resides in this forum.

The keyboard will be used for typing and getting a lot of work done on the computer, and if I am not too lazy to switch boards to my cherry mx browns, it may be used for some gaming as well. But, for argument's sake,  this board will be used for getting work done on the computer.

I will be doing a lot of data entry in excel, a lot of typing in word, hopefully a lot of coding if I am able to get better at it  , a lot of 3D modelling work in AutoCad which means more AutoCad work, and more typing 

Right now I have only ever tried the Corsair K70, the original one with the red back-light and the cherry mx brown switches, the Corsair K70 LUX with cherry mx blues, as well as the Das Keyboard Ultimate. I was not a fan of the blank keys, having lost 4000 words because of that (deleted a whole document and saved too  ), so the ultimate was not the board for me, I did however like the wire stabilizers on the Das, that was very nice to use, as well as I really liked the sound that the blues and the keycaps had on the Das, I had the blues on the Corsair and I was not a huge fan of the sound of the keys when I used it side by side with the Das, the Corsair seemed to sound a lot clunkier, more hollow, louder, lower pitched, and not as 'refined', I attributed this to the fact that the keys are floating but I am not sure, I could have just got a board that was a bad batch of the Cherry MX Blue switches and the Das had a good batch. Another thing that I found is that the front of the Das was too tall and would cut into my hands whereas I never had that problem on the K70. Other than the sound issue that I had with the K70 I really liked the board, so I may end up getting the K70, but I have heard a lot about how bad the K70 is compared to the Ducky Shine 5 RGB which makes me think that I should be looking more into the Ducky.

The switch that I think would be best for me right now would be the Cherry MX Blue switches but I am open to other options and I am sure that I will be trying more switches in the near future. The main thing is that the Cherry MX Browns don't have enough force to be comfortable for me, so anything that is heavier than a brown would probably be fine with me, but the tactile and audible feedback that I got when I used the blues felt great.

There are a few other features that I would like to have in the board and I will just put them in a list by order of importance:

1) Cherry MX Switches (preferably blues)
2) 100% standard key layout as well as the board has to be full size (with the exception of the cooler master quickfire TK)
3) Switches must be plate mounted
4) RGB or White LED back-light
5) Media Controls (Preferably with stop, next, previous as well as volume controls)
6) USB Pass-through
7) Detachable Cable
Wire Stabilizer if possible
9) Trough for the switches, so not like the floating that the K70 has, but more like the trough that the Das 4 Professional has


Some of the boards that I have been looking at are the:

Corsair K95 (can't seem to find in cherry mx blues) (How hard would it be to swap the keys into the MX blues if I bought this board? I am good with soldering if that is important)
Corsair K70 LUX
Corsair Strafe RGB (can't seem to find in cherry mx blues)
Cooler Master Master Keys Pro M
Cooler Master QuickFire TK
Cooler Master QuickFire XT
Cooler Master Master Keys Pro L
Das Keyboard Professional 4
CODE 104 Key Keyboard
Filco Majestouch 2
Ducky One
Ducky Shine 5 RGB Cherry MX Blue
Rosewill RK-9000V2
Logitech G710 Cherry MX Blues

ATM the main two boards that I am looking at and comparing are the Corsair K70 LUX as well as the Ducky Shine 5 RGB

If you have any input to share it would be greatly appreciated! All of the people on this forum seem to be so helpful from the few posts that I have already had here, so a big thanks in advance 

NTK


tl;dr If you don't have time to read the whole post just look at the two lists that are included which are the things that I am looking for in a keyboard as well as the boards that I am looking at right now.

ADDED: Something that I was wondering is why do so many people not like the Corsair K70 LUX RGB in Cherry MX Blue? The main problem that I have with the Ducky Shine 5, which may be a deal breaker unless there are worse things with the Corsair K70 LUX, is that there are no dedicated pause,  play, skip, and previous track buttons. That is something that the Corsair has, but if the Ducky is just a much, like miles better, keyboard in more important matters than that is the one that I would rather get.

Thanks for all of the input so far, I think that I will add this post to the OP so that people will see it if they don't have time to read the whole thread, thanks for all of the input so far!

[Auxo]

Ducky Shine is a pretty solid choice

[vivalarevolución]

Buy them all, sell the ones you don't want at a discount to me.

[OfTheWild]

Well thats easy now... I'd get this Glorious hot swappable full sized: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=84003.0

Why? because you haven't really been able to pound out a few weeks worth of typing on a particular switch yet and how "glorious" would it be to be able to simply swap them to something different without having to buy another board! This is super cool when you're new. Then you can start trying out layouts and sizes and custom built boards that will ruin your budget. 

[NewToKeyboards]

Ducky Shine is a pretty solid choice

Great, thanks for the recommendation!

[NewToKeyboards]

Buy them all, sell the ones you don't want at a discount to me.

WOW! That sounds like a great deal 

[NewToKeyboards]

Well thats easy now... I'd get this Glorious hot swappable full sized: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=84003.0

Why? because you haven't really been able to pound out a few weeks worth of typing on a particular switch yet and how "glorious" would it be to be able to simply swap them to something different without having to buy another board! This is super cool when you're new. Then you can start trying out layouts and sizes and custom built boards that will ruin your budget. 

Ouh, that is far too tempting! I looked on their website, all of a sudden the $99.00 keyboard turned into a $300.00 board really quickly 

[xondat]

Have you thought about the lord and saviour, topre? I think you should

MX thought, best choice would be a Filco or Ducky, both solid.

[NewToKeyboards]

Have you thought about the lord and saviour, topre? I think you should

MX thought, best choice would be a Filco or Ducky, both solid.

That is some high praise I think that I may be getting the Ducky, I have not decided yet though, as I think that I am going to miss the dedicated media controls that are at the top of the Corsair K70s.

Thanks for the input, it is greatly appreciated!

NTK

[quasistellar]

Yeah, the Das, Ducky, and Filco are all solid, depending on what's most important to you.  I was going to suggest the Logitech G610, but I think it only comes in MX Red and Brown.  It does have media controls, though.

[NewToKeyboards]

Something that I was wondering is why do so many people not like the Corsair K70 LUX RGB in Cherry MX Blue? The main problem that I have with the Ducky Shine 5, which may be a deal breaker unless there are worse things with the Corsair K70 LUX, is that there are no dedicated pause,  play, skip, and previous track buttons. That is something that the Corsair has, but if the Ducky is just a much, like miles better, keyboard in more important matters than that is the one that I would rather get.

Thanks for all of the input so far, I think that I will add this post to the OP so that people will see it if they don't have time to read the whole thread, thanks for all of the input so far!

[NewToKeyboards]

Yeah, the Das, Ducky, and Filco are all solid, depending on what's most important to you.  I was going to suggest the Logitech G610, but I think it only comes in MX Red and Brown.  It does have media controls, though.

Yea, from the looks of it, it does not have the Cherry MX Blue switches. Thanks for the suggestion though, as well as the input on the Das, Ducky and Filco.

[quasistellar]

Something that I was wondering is why do so many people not like the Corsair K70 LUX RGB in Cherry MX Blue? The main problem that I have with the Ducky Shine 5, which may be a deal breaker unless there are worse things with the Corsair K70 LUX, is that there are no dedicated pause,  play, skip, and previous track buttons. That is something that the Corsair has, but if the Ducky is just a much, like miles better, keyboard in more important matters than that is the one that I would rather get.

Thanks for all of the input so far, I think that I will add this post to the OP so that people will see it if they don't have time to read the whole thread, thanks for all of the input so far!

It's just the asthetics and the nonstandard bottom row, along with us keyboard hipsters being way to sophisticated (lol) to buy anything marketed to gamers. Other than that it's a fine keyboard (I used to have a strafe).

[NewToKeyboards]

Something that I was wondering is why do so many people not like the Corsair K70 LUX RGB in Cherry MX Blue? The main problem that I have with the Ducky Shine 5, which may be a deal breaker unless there are worse things with the Corsair K70 LUX, is that there are no dedicated pause,  play, skip, and previous track buttons. That is something that the Corsair has, but if the Ducky is just a much, like miles better, keyboard in more important matters than that is the one that I would rather get.

Thanks for all of the input so far, I think that I will add this post to the OP so that people will see it if they don't have time to read the whole thread, thanks for all of the input so far!

It's just the asthetics and the nonstandard bottom row, along with us keyboard hipsters being way to sophisticated (lol) to buy anything marketed to gamers. Other than that it's a fine keyboard (I used to have a strafe).

LOL  and that is good news, I am fine with the looks of the board, as well as I need the media keys  so until I am able to find another board that has the media keys with good build quality and cherry mx blues it is looking like this is going to be the one for me. That non-standard bottom row will be a bit of a pain though 

Thanks for the help!

[DALExSNAIL]

Yeah, the Das, Ducky, and Filco are all solid, depending on what's most important to you.  I was going to suggest the Logitech G610, but I think it only comes in MX Red and Brown.  It does have media controls, though.

Yea, from the looks of it, it does not have the Cherry MX Blue switches. Thanks for the suggestion though, as well as the input on the Das, Ducky and Filco.

Don't limit to just cherry blues btw. Some decent boards with gateron blues in em on MechanicalKeyboards.com that are very affordable. Same switch but better imho.

But the 2 I'd suggest are the filco and the ducky. Both very solid and the filco also has those new cases on MKB which are pretty sweet.

[SenorCit]

I don't have experience with most of the keyboards on your list, but FWIW, I've found Ducky keyboards to be much more solidly built and feeling than Cooler Master. And I think the Duckies on the list are the only ones with better than the basic ABS etched caps. Both should have double shots.

.sc

Edit: Oh, I have tried a Logitech 710+ in a shop and it felt terribly flimsy to me. This was the MX Brown version, but I doubt the one with Blues is built any different.

[Tactile]

I have a Logitech G710 and I find it to be remarkably solid. The plastic wings & wrist rest can give the impression at first that it's flimsy but set it down on a desk and it's solid. It's very heavy and doesn't flex at all when typing. IMO it feels as solid to type on as the Realforce I'm using right now.

Probably the biggest drawback is that quite a few people have had a problem with the cap stems breaking. And the non-standard bottom row makes it harder to find a replacement set.

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/198239-logitech-g710-review-stay-away/

[EDIT]
And the cable is fat, stiff, heavy, and does not detach. This is because it's two cables combined, one for the keyboard & one for the pass-through USB port on the rear.

[NewToKeyboards]

Yeah, the Das, Ducky, and Filco are all solid, depending on what's most important to you.  I was going to suggest the Logitech G610, but I think it only comes in MX Red and Brown.  It does have media controls, though.

Yea, from the looks of it, it does not have the Cherry MX Blue switches. Thanks for the suggestion though, as well as the input on the Das, Ducky and Filco.

Don't limit to just cherry blues btw. Some decent boards with gateron blues in em on MechanicalKeyboards.com that are very affordable. Same switch but better imho.

But the 2 I'd suggest are the filco and the ducky. Both very solid and the filco also has those new cases on MKB which are pretty sweet.

I will be sure to look on a more broad horizon then Cherry, I was initially under the impression that Cherry has some  of the better switches on the market. Which is funny because the non-cherry Blue switches that are in the Tt Poseidon Z are actually very good, I felt them at the store and thought that they were very nice to type on.

I don't have experience with most of the keyboards on your list, but FWIW, I've found Ducky keyboards to be much more solidly built and feeling than Cooler Master. And I think the Duckies on the list are the only ones with better than the basic ABS etched caps. Both should have double shots.

.sc

Edit: Oh, I have tried a Logitech 710+ in a shop and it felt terribly flimsy to me. This was the MX Brown version, but I doubt the one with Blues is built any different.

Awesome thanks for the input! After looking at a lot of the other keyboards I don't think that I am too fond of the aesthetics.

I have a Logitech G710 and I find it to be remarkably solid. The plastic wings & wrist rest can give the impression at first that it's flimsy but set it down on a desk and it's solid. It's very heavy and doesn't flex at all when typing. IMO it feels as solid to type on as the Realforce I'm using right now.

Probably the biggest drawback is that quite a few people have had a problem with the cap stems breaking. And the non-standard bottom row makes it harder to find a replacement set.

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/198239-logitech-g710-review-stay-away/

[EDIT]
And the cable is fat, stiff, heavy, and does not detach. This is because it's two cables combined, one for the keyboard & one for the pass-through USB port on the rear.

I would like a detachable cable but that is not the end of the world if I am not able to get one on my board, as for the stems breaking that is a bit of a deal breaker especially knowing that you are going to have a hard time finding keycaps for the thing, I am sure that it can be done though.

[lancre]

Have you considered a vintage keyboard? E.g. Dell AT101, Focus FK-2001, Northgate Omnikey?

They are great daily drivers at work where they might get bashed about a bit.

If you got a Dell AT101 for, say, 40 quid, you'd have enough money left over to maybe get something nice and funky like a Gateron board

[NewToKeyboards]

Have you considered a vintage keyboard? E.g. Dell AT101, Focus FK-2001, Northgate Omnikey?

They are great daily drivers at work where they might get bashed about a bit.

If you got a Dell AT101 for, say, 40 quid, you'd have enough money left over to maybe get something nice and funky like a Gateron board

I have for sure considered it    Only problem is that I have not been able to find ones that I would be interested in using to get a feel for the buckling springs. I have looked at the thrift shops that are around us and have not been able to find much in the line of keyboards, so I thought that I would ask the front desk lady why there are no computer parts around, they don't take in computer parts because "they have no way of finding out if they work or not" ITS A COMPUTER, PLUG IT IN AND GIVE IT A SHOT!!!!!!!!!! But I digress  The prices on Ebay are not that great when it comes to this kind of stuff right now, at-least that is what I have found.

[fohat.digs]

Maybe over your price range but these should be some particularly good ones:

https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=82625.msg2189993#msg2189993