Gaming Keyboard

[smarteyeball]

My pleasure mate.

I've been an advocate about mech boards from the moment I used one.

I don't mean to poo-poo others choices either. Not everyone can afford the price of a 'gaming' keyboard. But when a backlit mech board is going for the same price as a Logitech, it's worth looking into mech.


As for switch types, there are four main Cherry MX switches. Blue, brown and red, black. The Blue and brown are 'tactile/clicky' switches. Tactile keys have a two step feel. 2mm press to actuate the key and 4mm to bottom out. You can 'feel' the keypress. Linear switches also have a 2mm actuation, 4mm bottom but there is no 'bump'.

Reds and Blacks are linear and feel most like a typical membrane deck. There is no 'bump' in mid actuation. They are all or nothing switches. Still with a 2mm actuation.

MX Blues: Favoured amongst typists and RTS, although you can play anything on a mech really. Is the most 'clicky' sounding.

MX Browns: The 'gateway' cherry switch. Is quieter and requires less force to actuate than blues. Good for everything. Typing. gaming etc. My personal favourite.

MX Red: Linear, very light actuation. 2mm actuation. Your fingers can dance on these. Unfortunately they can dance everywhere, which makes Reds unsuitable for some. I personally found them too light.

MX Black: Linear, heavy actuation. A good FPS switch. Typing, not so much as the blacks can be fatiguing after extended periods of use.


There is a switch out there for everyone.

 

[Britton30]

I think a new keyboard Guru badge is in order for Patrick.

What are rollover, stabilizer, and modifiers? Heck I have a very well used old Dell USB keyboard that misspells often.

 

[MrSH4RKYY]

I have the Razer black widow ultimate, If you're looking for a good keyboard you should get this one it has got a bit noise but it is really good most people like the sound of it but i am sure if you want to go old school there are alot of other makes that are mechanical

 

[ganjiry]

Cyborg v7 = very nice to use but ugly as hell and absolutely massive.

That was the last 'gaming' keyboard I had. Started playing up about 3 mths in. It was so ugly I liked it (it was an aesthetic choice to match my case+fans)


But didn't you notice the shocking lack of rollover? I couldn't strafe/crouch to the right because the d key wouldn't be registered. It took me a little while to cotton on what was up. I also found the macro keys awkward to reach and never really used them.

I did a shedload of research before I got into mech keyboards. Brands like coolermaster, roccat etc didn't even have a drawing on the board about mechs, let alone have one available.

There's a reason they are going mech now. Enthusiasts have spoken, companies realized they were missing out on the 'next' thing.

The only 'downside' to mech boards is sticking with one. I've got 5 and use three daily. They're fun to collect. And outside of gaming, they are enjoyable to type on. They may not make you an overnight typist, but your speed does improve.

Personally I have found I prefer MX Brown switches over the other cherry switches. I also prefer my Topre Realforce over Cherry switches. Either way, I love my decks and wouldn't go back to membrane.

The plus side is that there is plenty of choice now. They typically last longer too and can withstand a fair amount of punishment if you're heavy handed. Far more than normal boards do. Some of the hybrids (mech qwerty, membrane modifiers) have a bit of quality issues. Razer particularly. But others are getting better all the time.

When i bought my Roccat Isku i saw the Cyborg and vowed i would never own one as they were just sooo ugly. The Roccat failed so i returned n swapped it fro the Razor Lycosa which also failed and when i returned it they would not swap it for another Lycosa and the only board left instore was the v7 So i had to bite the bullet n go with it. Yeah the lack of rollover was pretty grim n strafing was impossible. Yup macro keys were in a rediculous place too. When i said it was really nice to use i should have been more clear. It was really nice to type on. My daughter has it now and it only just fits on her desk with an inch hangover each side lol.
My CM board has cherry red's which i really like the feel of, It took me a good while to get used to typing on it though. The keys springing back was proper odd at first. The only thing that bothers me with it is when in games where you need to hold the "w"key down for long time's as if you have weak wrist's for instance it can get tired quickly.

I think a new keyboard Guru badge is in order for Patrick.

What are rollover, stabilizer, and modifiers? Heck I have a very well used old Dell USB keyboard that misspells often.

N-key rollover is the amount of keys that can be hit consecutively. A board with say 6 Nkey rollover will register 6 keys pressed at once. 0 Nkey rollover means more keys can be pressed at the same time. for instance if you mash your face into the keyboard it should register all the keys hit.

 

[paulpicks21]

hello,
i am having an acer aspire 5740
it haves a ati radeon 5650 hd graphic card
but it is not detected in device manager
please help me and when i check my screen resolution advanced setting it says
total graphic memory:- 131008
dedicated video memory :- n/a
system video memory :- n/a
please help me i download the driver from acer website but it dosen't work begging u help me :huh:

This is not the correct place to ask that question. This is a thread about keboards.

I suggest you start a new thread in the Graphics section - Graphic Cards - Windows 7 Help Forums

 

[JackALope52x]

That looks like an awesome keyboard but too bad I am a Razer fan boy. I am currently using the first generation Razer BlackWidow Ultimate Stealth Edition. The standard BlackWidow has Cherry MX Blues, which I can't stand, so I went with the Ultimate Stealth Edition because it has Cherry MX Browns, which I cherish.

It is hands down the best keyboard I have ever owned. I have dropped it, dropped things on it and have spilled water, Gatorade and beer on it and it still won't die. If it gets wet just unplug it, let it sit to dry out for a few days, plug it back in and you are good to go. The thing works like a champ!

 

[ganjiry]

It always pickles my how peeps think they will get a result by just jumping into a thread and ask a totally unrelated question.

Edit: Yeah those Black widow's are quite a popular board enit. I know a couple of peeps who sware by them.

 

[paulpicks21]

It always pickles my how peeps think they will get a result by just jumping into a thread and ask a totally unrelated question.

Edit: Yeah those Black widow's are quite a popular board enit. I know a couple of peeps who sware by them.

Me too mate, but such is life

 

[ganjiry]

It always pickles my how peeps think they will get a result by just jumping into a thread and ask a totally unrelated question.

Edit: Yeah those Black widow's are quite a popular board enit. I know a couple of peeps who sware by them.

Me too mate, but such is life

Yeah enit chap, There's always one

 

[smarteyeball]

only board left instore was the v7 So i had to bite the bullet n go with it.

That's similar to how I got mine except I was after a G1** whatever at the time and none were in stock.

My CM board has cherry red's which i really like the feel of, It took me a good while to get used to typing on it though. The keys springing back was proper odd at first. The only thing that bothers me with it is when in games where you need to hold the "w"key down for long time's as if you have weak wrist's for instance it can get tired quickly.

I found the Reds semi fatiguing for that reason too.

I think a new keyboard Guru badge is in order for Patrick.

What are rollover, stabilizer, and modifiers? Heck I have a very well used old Dell USB keyboard that misspells often.

N-key rollover is the amount of keys that can be hit consecutively. A board with say 6 Nkey rollover will register 6 keys pressed at once. 0 Nkey rollover means more keys can be pressed at the same time. for instance if you mash your face into the keyboard it should register all the keys hit.[/QUOTE]


Lol, ask the boss. I like the idea

Stabilizers are what's under the shift, Ctrl, Alt, caps etc. Some decks will use Cherry stabilisers, Costar and some hybrids use membrane

Modifiers are simply the F1-Pause/Break keys. Again, good boards use mech switches, others cheap out and stick with membrane.

It always pickles my how peeps think they will get a result by just jumping into a thread and ask a totally unrelated question.

How long should I cook chicken in the microwave for?

 

[ganjiry]

How long should I cook chicken in the microwave for?

:roflmao:

One thing i should mention about the CM quickfire pro. The power cord is detatchable and requires some force to connect it. Many people thought their board was DOA but they hadn't pushed the cable in till it clicked.
Just a heads up

 

[AstaLaVista]

thanks for the input smarteyeball, I'm learning about the benefits of mechanical and you have been helpful.

Don't thank him... all he has done is make us think about spending more money. Bad Smarte


Dang, its a good thing I don't do MP or you guys would pummel me to death with all them rollovers and macros and Nkey hits... it is giving me a headache just trying to assimilate all of this.

 

[Britton30]

Does my shirt make my wife look fat?

 

[ganjiry]

Does my shirt make my wife look fat?

:roflmao:

 

[smarteyeball]

Don't thank him... all he has done is make us think about spending more money. Bad Smarte

:roflmao:

(It's worth it though - 50 million keystrokes vs 5 million... )

it is giving me a headache just trying to assimilate all of this.

It may seem a lot to take in at first, but it makes sense pretty quickly.


For n-key rollover, think of it like this:

Membrane:
2 key rollover. Basically the third button you press is not registered. Some boards are unfortunate to have this around the WASD cluster

Mech USB:
6 key rollover. Can press up to 6 keys at a time. Perfect for everyday use/gaming

Mech PS/2:
Full key rollover. You can press all the buttons the same. MMO and RTS with lots of shortcuts benefit from more than 6 key presses at a time.

Try this test to see what keys fail to register.


As for noise mech boards make, especially the 'clicky' boards - some have reported that blues can irritate picky people ie work mates, house mates. Conversely other people love the sound. My wife loved hearing me type - tappity-tappity-tap. The louder the better actually.

 

[Dude]

Don't thank him... all he has done is make us think about spending more money. Bad Smarte

:roflmao:

(It's worth it though - 50 million keystrokes vs 5 million... )

it is giving me a headache just trying to assimilate all of this.

It may seem a lot to take in at first, but it makes sense pretty quickly.


For n-key rollover, think of it like this:

Membrane:
2 key rollover. Basically the third button you press is not registered. Some boards are unfortunate to have this around the WASD cluster

Mech USB:
6 key rollover. Can press up to 6 keys at a time. Perfect for everyday use/gaming

Mech PS/2:
Full key rollover. You can press all the buttons the same. MMO and RTS with lots of shortcuts benefit from more than 6 key presses at a time.

Try this test to see what keys fail to register.


As for noise mech boards make, especially the 'clicky' boards - some have reported that blues can irritate picky people ie work mates, house mates. Conversely other people love the sound. My wife loved hearing me type - tappity-tappity-tap. The louder the better actually.

Thank You sensei

 

[kbrady1979]

Anyone on the fence should just find one to try out. The main switches are Blue, Brown, Black and Red and all provide a different experience. I finally decided on a Max Keyboard Nighthawk X8 with Cherry MX Brown switches.....fully mechanical and backlit. Will never buy a membrane keyboard again. Brown switches are good if you do quite a bit of typing and gaming, and they aren't as loud as Blue switches. This keyboard also has full N Key rollover on USB which many keyboards don't do. A good mechanical keyboard is also built much better than others.......I feel confident I could beat a man to death with this one and it would still work! It was expensive, but will last longer than 10 regular keyboards.

 

[AddRAM]

I`m gonna try this one, pending a review by Ganjiry.

ROCCAT ISKU ROC-12-701 Black Keyboard - Newegg.com

 

[ganjiry]

The Isku is a deffinate no no in my books chap.
I found a slightly shorter version of the Quickfire pro Cooler Master Quick Fire TK SGK-4020-GKCR1-US Keyboard - Newegg.com but this one is fully backlit. You lose the keys between the main deck and num pad though. 0Nkey rollover
I've seen a lot of good review's on this too Cooler Master CM Storm QuickFire Rapid SGK-4000-GKCR1-US Black Keyboard - Newegg.com If you scroll to the bottom of the page it gives a discription of the different colour cherry switches.

 

[Stephanie]

For a Christmas present I was given a Razer Blackwidow Expert 2013 Mechanical Keyboard, I don't game much but I'm very happy with it