Need a new keyboard

smarteyeball said:

Andreas W said:

I would like the keyboard to be mechanical & have media controls.

Forget the Logitechs - they're nasty.


Seriously, stick with a mechanical keyboard.

It's not often I'm a component 'snob' - but mech boards truly are superior - except for 'dedicated' media function keys - but there are several decks that have FN +Media keys, and for those that don't - there is always Autohotkey - a configurable script based app that can turn keys into media keys.

(no offence to Logitech owners, but... mech keyboards are simply much, much better. Especially for the price. I have had the expensive 'gaming keyboards' and compared to mech keyboards, they lose big time - all the time. Any 'inconvenience' is completely outweighed by build quality and the NKRO of proper mech boards. Hybrid boards like the Corsair are getting there, but still aren't 'that' great.



Since you're from Sweden, I don't know what online stores you have/use. If you post a link to one or two to these stores, I can have a look at what else beside the K90 is available that suits your needs.

In the meantime, some brands to consider:

► Filco
► Topre
► Leopold
► DAS
► Ducky
► Razer (Not really recommended. Poor Quality)

Without knowing your availability, it's hard to suggest any particular model.

I am quite the quality guy myself, hence why I bought the Corsair K90 because its built in aluminium and its mechanical, but little did I know that the software was poorly made and well some buttons stopped working after I got a BSOD. I saw 1 store selling Ducky but they look like !"#¤%& to be honest. Had a razer lycosa once and yes did not really like it

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Those 3 shops are the ones I use, they should be linked to the keyboard section so hopefully you could take a look based on the images or if you use google translate, I use Rainmeter so I could live without the media buttons, but quality & mechanical is a most

essenbe said:

I have the G510 qnd love it. It can record macros and has multimedia functions (which I don't use) If this one broke today, I would buy another. If I am not mistaken, they made a Call of Duty version, but I have the regular version. If you watch the video in the link, there is Windows 7 software available for it. That is an older video.

Read some of the reviews on newegg and they all say that the drivers crash everytime you put the computer to sleep or hibernate, I use power saving mode all the time would that mean that the drivers would crash then too or is it possible this have been fixed?

linnemeyerhere said:

I can't speak to these gaming versions of Logitech or a true mechanical keyboard, but I can tell you that I'll never purchase other than a Logitech. Over the years I've owned and purchased too many to count and they have all performed well with the last two illuminated boards being standouts for function and quality.

I have used one of their ergonomical keyboard once back in the days and it was nice, but after starting using this mechanical keyboard it feels so weird not using one, but if I can't find a good mechanical keyboard I will get a logitech since I havent had any issues with the keyboard when I was using it

smarteyeball said:

Andreas W said:

I am quite the quality guy myself, hence why I bought the Corsair K90 because its built in aluminium and its mechanical, but little did I know that the software was poorly made and well some buttons stopped working after I got a BSOD.

The K90 is a 'hybrid mech' board. The qwerty keys are Cherry MX Reds - but the rest of the keys, macro etc, are not. They're standard rubber domes.

The BSOD was probably caused by the software. Have you tried uninstalling/reinstalling + drivers to see if you can the functionality back?

I saw 1 store selling Ducky but they look like !"#¤%& to be honest.

lol, admittedly they - and other models - are quite plain by comparison, but the most important thing is that they are solid and reliable. The Ducky Shine (the backlight model) actually looks a lot better in person.

Hell my Topre Realforce (one of the best typing decks, looks like a plain early 90's keyboard . But personally I prefer quality over aesthetics. )

And since you like the feel of the K90 which uses the linear MX RED switch, I've tried to focus on the RED switch. The MX Black is also linear, but it 'feels' a lot heavier and there's a fair chance you wouldn't like the feel as much.

The only other switch I'd recommend would be the MX Brown. It's tactile instead of linear (you can feel the bump) and little more 'clicky and noiser' than the REDS, but it's the closest in 'feel' to the Reds in terms of lightness.

And I guess you want a full sized board and not a TKL (Ten Key Less - no num pad)

ie:
Red Switch
WEBHALLEN.com - Ducky Shine Mech Red - Nordiskt (Cherry MX Red / Rd LED)

Brown Switch
WEBHALLEN.com - Ducky Shine Summer Edition - Nordiskt (Cherry MX Brown / Grn LED)

Red - Good board but the key cap lettering apprently wears off quickly
WEBHALLEN.com - Zowie Celeritas Nordic Layout -Cherry MX Red






**
Red - but Steelseries aren't as good as the others.

WEBHALLEN.com - SteelSeries 6G v2 (Nordisk) - Limited Red Edition

There's also the CM, but it has Cherry Black.

The 2nd link didn't seem to have much and the third link kept timing out on me.

but quality & mechanical is a most

Unfortunately a lot of the 'cool' looking boards come with a bit of a quality compromise (like the K90 for example).

However, you can always buy custom keycaps to add a personal customization to them. ie I replaced my Filco Ninja's keys with yellow keycaps and the end result makes it look pretty cool.



Whichever way you go, enjoy.

Wow, just wow. And yes I did noticed that later on with the K90 it felt quite annoying when typing and then I had to press the numbers or esc button felt really weird, and yes most likely the drivers that caused it, and I never knew you could buy new keycaps for a keyboard. And this K90 would be my first "mechanical" but the feel so damn nice to type on so I will look into those Ducky keyboards and google the various keys. And do you know if the letters on the Ducky keyboards are etched or if they are like the other keyboards like a sticker type?

smarteyeball said:

The Ducky Shine uses Laser Etched ABS keycaps, so no stickers :)

(There are basically two types of keycaps ABS and PBT. It's the polymer used. PBT keycaps are more resistant to wear and tear. Depending on model, some non- back lit ABS keycaps can develop a 'shine' over time where the lettering can wear off. However both my Duckys (one Shine and one non-backlit) are still as fresh as the day I got them.)

ABS or PBT keycap replacement is quite common and for the most part, they are universal in the fact that they will suit and fit most Cherry Switches. However, I'm not sure about non-english keycap availability. But if you're a good typist - you can always get blank key caps


As I said, since you liked the feel of the K90 - stick to MX Reds, although you can't go wrong with MX Browns if you have to settle for non-red. A slightly different feel, but still nice. Good for both typing and gaming.

I will definetly read up about the brown and red a bit more, and that they are etched is nice and not sure if its the red mx or this keyboard but its quite sensitive sometimes you dont need to hold them down a lot and sometimes the buttons get "jammed" or something so it just keeps on typing. But I got some homework to do and read up and I need to get a mail back from Corsair about this refund first also so I got time to read. But I will get back to you later and let you know what I think about the keyboard.

Oh and is there like a online store where you buy your keycaps would like to take a look at it if possible.

smarteyeball said:

Andreas W said:

I will definetly read up about the brown and red a bit more,

This is one of the better, more in depth guides that can explain things better than I can:

Mechanical Keyboard Guide

There's another good site geekhack.org that is where the real 'hard core mech enthusiasts' hang out - but unfortunately that site is down for the moment.

not sure if its the red mx or this keyboard but its quite sensitive sometimes you dont need to hold them down a lot

MX Reds have a very light actuation, so it really doesn't take much pressure at all to activate a key. (I found them a little 'too light' for my personal tastes. But everyone has different preferences)

and sometimes the buttons get "jammed" or something so it just keeps on typing.

That would be a fault of your K90 and not the switch type. So it's not a 'normal' thing for Reds, or any Cherry switch, to get stuck and repeat :)

Oh and is there like a online store where you buy your keycaps would like to take a look at it if possible.

I'll give you a link to the store I've used. As for Sweden, I don't know mate. Your best bet would be to ask on OCN or geekhack (when it comes back online). Alternatively, there is also ebay.

Accessories - Parts and Add-ons for keyboards | AusPCMarket Australia Pty Ltd

There is a lot more different sets availble, but that should give a quick example.

(I've also got the translucent WASD and Arrow keys on my Ducky Shine - looks pretty good.

I read that guide once and I am getting quite used to having to order things from USA and such we are missing a lot of things like customized parts for computers. And the blue WASD keys look kinda sweet, will definitely save that site because I belive its going to come in handy later on.

I have ordered the red mx ducky keyboard going to stick with red for now and later on hopefully more mechanical keyboards will be available here in sweden when it gets time to exchange that keyboard