What Keyboard should I buy

[Smiles4Miles]

So I want a new keyboard. Ive tried the Amazon basics keyboard, red dragon keyboard with blue switches, k120, g213, and g710+ with romer g. I like the k120, g213, and red dragon. I wish the red dragon keyboard had more of a bump. I also want a mech keyboard. I would like it to be a nice bump that i can easily feel, like the g213. And quiet as well.

[seon123]

9 minutes ago, Smiles4Miles said:

g710+ with romer g. 

? The G710+ uses Cherry MX Brown switches. The G810 and G910 use Romer G switches. 

 

Do you have a budget? Is there a form factor you need? You could get something that uses Zilents. Those are very tactile and silenced, albeit quite expensive. 

[Fuzzleworth1]

If you like loud switches Razor is the brand for you. Do you have a budget and what location.

[Cereal5]

The G213 is a membrane keyboard, just fyi. The G710+ has Cherry MX Browns. They have a solid tactile feel with no click. I only have experience with cherry switches though, and the market seems to lean more and more to Romer G and Gateron Switches. I'm somewhat partial to Logitech, since they have amazing software. That said, I currently use a Glorious Keyboard (link here) with a custom switch layout.

[Smiles4Miles]

On 2/3/2019 at 11:15 PM, seon123 said:

? The G710+ uses Cherry MX Brown switches. The G810 and G910 use Romer G switches. 

 

Do you have a budget? Is there a form factor you need? You could get something that uses Zilents. Those are very tactile and silenced, albeit quite expensive. 

150 cad. No form factor

 

On 2/3/2019 at 11:17 PM, Cereal5 said:

The G213 is a membrane keyboard, just fyi. The G710+ has Cherry MX Browns. They have a solid tactile feel with no click. I only have experience with cherry switches though, and the market seems to lean more and more to Romer G and Gateron Switches. I'm somewhat partial to Logitech, since they have amazing software. That said, I currently use a Glorious Keyboard (link here) with a custom switch layout.

The g710+ i have at my house has no bump to it. And i know the g213 has membrane

 

On 2/3/2019 at 11:15 PM, Fuzzleworth1 said:

If you like loud switches Razor is the brand for you. Do you have a budget and what location.

I want quiet. 150 cad. Britsh columbia

[mxk]

Quiet? All mech keebs are kinda loud, but it's just the tactile clicky switches are the loudest. Really, if you want silence, you could get some elctro capacitive switches, but that's not cheap from what I remember. Usually people silence their keebs by using lubrication and O-rings (just rubber rings that dampen the sound).

[geo3]

@Smiles4Miles If those switches you tried don't have enough of a bump there are switches that cater to your tastes. Those being Cherry MX Clear, Outemu Sky v2.2, Zealios, Kailh(Box Brown, Box Burnt Orange, Pro Purple, Box Royal). These are not commonly available on most keyboards off the shelf.  If you not down for building a keyboard then my recommendation would be to get the hotswap GMMK  here. Then buy some one of those sets of switches to populate it with. 

 

Where to buy switches....

MX Clear: https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=851

Kailh: https://novelkeys.xyz/collections/switches

Zealios: https://zealpc.net/collections/switches/products/zealio

Outemy Sky: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Outemu-Sky-MX-Switches-teal-housing-5pin-OTM-62g-68g-Tactile-for-custom-mechnical-keyboard/32912644942.html

 

59 minutes ago, mxk. said:

Quiet? All mech keebs are kinda loud

This is not correct. Hollow plasticy mechanical keyboards are loud. 

[Smiles4Miles]

@geo3 Is there any retail store in canada I can try the MX clears or any of the other keyboard switches you mentioned?

[geo3]

1 hour ago, Smiles4Miles said:

@geo3 Is there any retail store in canada I can try the MX clears or any of the other keyboard switches you mentioned?

Don't know. I'm not from Canada. I doubt it. You can get a switch tester from Novelkeys with a sample of the switches. Though this would be a small additional cost.

[Dissitesuxba11s]

If you want a silent, tactile switch, the creator of the Outemu Sky switch has also made silent versions called Outemu Blue ICE Silent. He also sells thru r/mechmarket on reddit under the user name "hbheroinbob." He provides sample switches for free, you would just have to pay for shipping. Mayb if you contact him there, he might be able to help you out. I am not sure if he sells outside of the US that is not through AliExpress.

[Smiles4Miles]

On 2/4/2019 at 3:58 AM, geo3 said:

Don't know. I'm not from Canada. I doubt it. You can get a switch tester from Novelkeys with a sample of the switches. Though this would be a small additional cost.

Could you link one to me from newegg canada or amazon canada?

 

On 2/4/2019 at 8:06 AM, Dissitesuxba11s said:

If you want a silent, tactile switch, the creator of the Outemu Sky switch has also made silent versions called Outemu Blue ICE Silent. He also sells thru r/mechmarket on reddit under the user name "hbheroinbob." He provides sample switches for free, you would just have to pay for shipping. Mayb if you contact him there, he might be able to help you out. I am not sure if he sells outside of the US that is not through AliExpress.

What about the silent skys? Would those work?

[geo3]

2 minutes ago, Smiles4Miles said:

Could you link one to me from newegg canada or amazon canada?

No, they're made and sold by Novelkeys.  I mean newegg and amazon have switch testers, but they're the usual boring assortment of the same 4 Cherry switches you find on the majority of keyboards.  If you want the exotic switch options Novelkeys is the only place I know of that offers them all at once.

 

https://novelkeys.xyz/collections/switch-testers/products/4-slot-switch-tester

https://novelkeys.xyz/collections/switch-testers/products/12-slot-switch-tester

[Dissitesuxba11s]

29 minutes ago, Smiles4Miles said:

What about the silent skys? Would those work?

Yea, they should. They are just the Outemu Silent stem on the Outemu Sky housing.

[Smiles4Miles]

3 minutes ago, Dissitesuxba11s said:

Yea, they should. They are just the Outemu Silent stem on the Outemu Sky housing.

How would i do that? Im not a know it all about keyboards sorry.

[Dissitesuxba11s]

2 minutes ago, Smiles4Miles said:

How would i do that? Im not a know it all about keyboards sorry.

You don't have to do that, you can just buy the Outemu Blue ICE Silent switches that I mentioned above. The are like the Outemu Silent Sky but with the original housing. To order them, check out this reddit post. You will have to contact Paul aka hbheroinbob to see if he sells to Canada.

[Smiles4Miles]

23 minutes ago, Dissitesuxba11s said:

You don't have to do that, you can just buy the Outemu Blue ICE Silent switches that I mentioned above. The are like the Outemu Silent Sky but with the original housing. To order them, check out this reddit post. You will have to contact Paul aka hbheroinbob to see if he sells to Canada.

Ok. How do i contact him on reddit? Never posted there or gone there.

[Dissitesuxba11s]

1 minute ago, Smiles4Miles said:

Ok. How do i contact him on reddit? Never posted there or gone there.

Give me a sec. Let me save you the hassle, and I'll ask him if he even sells to Canada.

[seon123]

4 minutes ago, Dissitesuxba11s said:

Give me a sec. Let me save you the hassle, and I'll ask him if he even sells to Canada.

The title of the Reddit post has [US-CA] in it. 

[Dissitesuxba11s]

2 minutes ago, seon123 said:

The title of the Reddit post has [US-CA] in it. 

He is based in California so I think that means US, California, at least going by the other US posts. I asked just to make sure.

[Smiles4Miles]

On 2/4/2019 at 6:18 PM, Dissitesuxba11s said:

He is based in California so I think that means US, California, at least going by the other US posts. I asked just to make sure.

Ok thanks.

Any response?

[Dissitesuxba11s]

1 hour ago, Smiles4Miles said:

Any response?

Yup, he said he does ship to Canada.

 

PLEASE READ THE WHOLE THING.

Now, what you need to do is make a Reddit account, go to his profile (linked here --> hbheroinbob), go to the right, and under his profile click More Options. Then click send message. On your message you would need to include the information he asked in this reddit post; quoted below for convenience.

Quote

When sending PM with order requests, please include country/state, and email address - necessary to send you an invoice.

For the email address, it has to be one that is associated with a Paypal account. I know it is a hassle, but doing it through Paypal insures you in case something goes wrong. For the order request, it would depend on how many you would need. I copied the rates/cost of each switch part below. For a whole switch, it would add to USD$0.55 each at a quantity of 110 (USD$60.50 total plus shipping). I chose 110 switches since I assumed that you would want a full size 108 switch keyboard and two extras just in case. The spring weights would be your choice.

 

Quote

Silent tactile stems (with bumpers / no pretravel)

• 1-99 $.30/ea

• 100-299 $.25/ea

• 300+ $.21/ea

Blue ICE base - $.22/ea

Switch top - Clear (with-slot) or (no-slot) - $.08/ea

Springs (62g, 68g, 75g) - free with purchase of base + stem + top

• Qty 1-99 $.06/ea

• Qty 100+ $.05/ea

 

Another thing that you can do before pulling the trigger is to get a sample pack of switches that he offers. He gives these out for free and all you have to do is pay shipping. Look at this reddit post to find out how to get a sampler. You will still need to make a Reddit and Paypal account. Getting this sampler might also help you choose the spring weights.

[Smiles4Miles]

@Dissitesuxba11s Ok thanks. I want a new keyboard in about a month seeing as I am still saving. Plus I need a keyboard base and so on. So thank you. I will remember the info and write it down somewhere until I go to buy it.

[Dissitesuxba11s]

1 minute ago, Smiles4Miles said:

@Dissitesuxba11s Ok thanks. I want a new keyboard in about a month seeing as I am still saving. Plus I need a keyboard base and so on. So thank you. I will remember the info and write it down somewhere until I go to buy it.

Glad to help. No need to write it down. This thread will not get deleted, and since it's your thread you can simply go back to it through your Activity. 

 

One thing you can do for the base (and if you are up for it), you can take one of your other keyboards that have mechanical switches that you don't like, and swap the switches. You can check the post below on what is needed to do it. You would need to get a soldering iron anyway if you want to make a custom keyboard, unless you buy a hot swap keyboard.

 

 

 

[Smiles4Miles]

On 2/4/2019 at 8:39 PM, Dissitesuxba11s said:

Glad to help. No need to write it down. This thread will not get deleted, and since it's your thread you can simply go back to it through your Activity. 

 

One thing you can do for the base (and if you are up for it), you can take one of your other keyboards that have mechanical switches that you don't like, and swap the switches. You can check the post below on what is needed to do it. You would need to get a soldering iron anyway if you want to make a custom keyboard, unless you buy a hot swap keyboard.

Dont have a mech keyboard. The g710 is my stepdads, and red dragon with the blues is my friends. Ill buy a hot swap keyboard then. Thx!

 

Also, is there a prebuilt keyboard where i dont have to do anything to it just plug it in and play with the outemu blue ice silent or silent skys?

[Dissitesuxba11s]

7 hours ago, Smiles4Miles said:

Also, is there a prebuilt keyboard where i dont have to do anything to it just plug it in and play with the outemu blue ice silent or silent skys?

Unfortunately not. They are boutique switches meant to be bought and installed into an empty PCB/keyboard.