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Are mechanical keyboards worth it?

MikoKuch

This might be a pretty stupid question since mechanical keyboards are basically worshiped among PC enthusiasts, but hear me out:


 


Yesterday I was going through the mechanical keyboard section on the website of my local electronics retailer, and they had a new listing. It's called the FUNC KB-406 and had a very attractive price of 80€ compared to all the other 100€+ Corsair and Razer keyboards. It was a Cherry MX Red keyboard with red LED backlighting and very positive reviews, both from the website and from Linus and Tech Syndicate.


I'm seriously considering buying it because it's a fantastic offer, but I don't know whether I wanna spend 80€ on a keyboard when I can type and play games just fine on my cheap 5€ keyboard.


So, my question is for the people that own mech keyboards (preferably with Cherry MX Reds). Was it worth paying the premium price for a mechanical keyboard? What does a mechanical keyboard offer that a standard membrane keyboard doesn't?


I already did some googling but I'd prefer to have opinions of multiple people that have experience with mechanical keyboards.


Thanks in advance.


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This might be a pretty stupid question since mechanical keyboards are basically worshiped among PC enthusiasts, but hear me out:

 

Yesterday I was going through the mechanical keyboard section on the website of my local electronics retailer, and they had a new listing. It's called the FUNC KB-406 and had a very attractive price of 80€ compared to all the other 100€+ Corsair and Razer keyboards. It was a Cherry MX Red keyboard with red LED backlighting and very positive reviews, both from the website and from Linus and Tech Syndicate.

I'm seriously considering buying it because it's a fantastic offer, but I don't know whether I wanna spend 80€ on a keyboard when I can type and play games just fine on my cheap 5€ keyboard.

So, my question is for the people that own mech keyboards (preferably with Cherry MX Reds). Was it worth paying the premium price for a mechanical keyboard? What does a mechanical keyboard offer that a standard membrane keyboard doesn't?

I already did some googling but I'd prefer to have opinions of multiple people that have experience with mechanical keyboards.

Thanks in advance.

 

 

I love my browns. Membrane keyboards were not responsive enough for me. 

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Disclaimer: I hate reds, type on blues

 

Typing feels way more satisfying to me, the key being pressed down feels lighter and smoother,

 

They are so much more dependable, and robust

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You might wanna get one with brown switches if noise is a.problem, but mechanical keyboard s are a great buy. Get blue switches if you type a lot

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I love my mech keyboard, never looked back. I personally don't like the linear feel of MX Reds but with my Blues I feel so comfortable typing now (my wpm went up about 10wpm when I switched to mech) and I love the tactile feedback for touch-typing and gaming. They're expensive, but they should last you a very long time. Just do some research, find a switch you like and buy a reasonably priced KB with that switch. You can always return it if you don't like the experience :)

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I also changed to mechanical keyboard because membrane keyboard s strained.my fingers a lot

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but I don't know whether I wanna spend 80€ on a keyboard when I can type and play games just fine on my cheap 5€ keyboard

 

That's like saying you can play games just fine on a GT 210.

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-snip-

 

My only experience with mechanical keyboards was this one with mx blues at the parts store. My God was it satisfying to type on. So responsive and the keypress weight was just perfect. It's my next planned upgrade when I have the $$$

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I got mine a few months ago; think it's reds. Took awhile to get used to, but I by far and away love it more now. Far easier to clean (and it hasn't even been getting that dirty by comparison to begin with), and I guess the individual switches are replaceable in this thing if they need to be as well. With the amount of typing I do both as just regular typing & game playing, having this last for several years instead of the couple months I get out of something at Walmart (and also saving myself the inconvenience of having to rush for a new one in a bind), and I couldn't be happier with this mechanical.

 

It's definitely a lot louder, yea, but it doesn't bother me at all, and I live alone anyway.

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I hate reds, and anything with dampeners. I use blues and they're way better than anything. I have to go to school everyday and type on a shitty laptop keyboard and I want to die. So, moral of the story, don't get a mechanical keyboard. When you have to use a membrane you'll hate it.

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Just to give a example of how much of a change is it:

I bought my first keyboard

Then I switched from desktop to laptop

And now I have to buy a poker keyboard because the large one just doesn't fit on my desk anymore.

 

 

If you're a typist more than a gamer, don't go with red switches tho. They are very light and you will bottom them out even more than you would with a tactile switch. If you have a chance, just try them out in the shop.

 

 

And another anecdote:

Since I want to sell my old MX Brown keyboard, I asked a friend if she wanted to buy it, and she said 'no, I have some logitech keyboard that works just fine'

And then she tried it for literally five seconds and was really, really tempted.

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Reds are nearly the same as membrane. 

 

If you do get a mech, get browns or blues

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After switching, I am a firm believer that you should go with topre switches over cherry. May cost a bit more, but worth it in every way.

 

 

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Dont listen to these people saying "Get this switch that one is shit" 

 

Order something like this and find out yourself http://www.wasdkeyboards.com/index.php/wasd-6-key-cherry-mx-switch-tester.html

Or go to  a store and see what they are like

 

its all personal preference. 

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cmstorm sells a little thing that contains one of each type of mechanical switch (besides some obscure ones such as type heaven) for $15, you can see which one you like without going from a bias opinion, also i think cherry blue's (the cheapest) have worse of a response time but overall you will have to look up the specs yourself, personally i want a mechanical keyboard but they didn't have the one i wanted in stock and ended up getting a mad catz cyborg v.7, probably get one in a few years 

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Personally, I don't think mechanical keyboards give you any sort of advantage while gaming. But with typing, my wpm went up by a few words. I feel like gaming on mechanical keyboards are just for feel. I didn't see any sort of improvement after playing on a mechanical vs a membrane. There is a somewhat faster response time I guess... But honestly, I didn't notice it. My advice, go test out some mechanical keyboards in store and see if you like them. (I prefer Blue switches. I type a lot so I didnt really like the red switches. They tend to make me misclick while typing. just saying)

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This might be a pretty stupid question since mechanical keyboards are basically worshiped among PC enthusiasts, but hear me out:

 

Yesterday I was going through the mechanical keyboard section on the website of my local electronics retailer, and they had a new listing. It's called the FUNC KB-406 and had a very attractive price of 80€ compared to all the other 100€+ Corsair and Razer keyboards. It was a Cherry MX Red keyboard with red LED backlighting and very positive reviews, both from the website and from Linus and Tech Syndicate.

I'm seriously considering buying it because it's a fantastic offer, but I don't know whether I wanna spend 80€ on a keyboard when I can type and play games just fine on my cheap 5€ keyboard.

So, my question is for the people that own mech keyboards (preferably with Cherry MX Reds). Was it worth paying the premium price for a mechanical keyboard? What does a mechanical keyboard offer that a standard membrane keyboard doesn't?

I already did some googling but I'd prefer to have opinions of multiple people that have experience with mechanical keyboards.

Thanks in advance.

 

Don't listen to people saying "X keyswitch is better than X keyswitch" because it's entirely subjective. If you liked typing on reds then go ahead and buy one. It will likely outlast any rubber dome keyboard you've ever had and you'll enjoy typing on it all the more. Reds are the subjective best for gaming because of their low actuation point and linear travel.

 

Basically mechanical keyboards offer ten key at once actuation, a better typing experience for most depending on the switch and, well, a cooler keyboard.

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Was it worth paying the premium price for a mechanical keyboard?

 

You should find a store that lets you try a mechanical keyboard, and decide for yourself if you enjoy the feel of the keys. In my opinion, it is absolutely worth paying a premium for the feeling of mechanical keys, but some people don't care or actually like rubber dome keyboards.

 

If you can find a store with mechanical keyboards on display, key sampler kits exist that may give you a cheaper way to find out if you like the keys than simply buying the keyboard: http://www.maxkeyboard.com/max-keyboard-keycap-cherry-mx-switch-o-ring-sampler-tester-kit.html

 

I personally love the sound of mechanical keys—especially MX Blues, considered very loud keys. Not even the noise "issue" is objectively good or bad.

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