Mechanical Keyboard Club!

[KeithD]

Hey all,

 

I current have a Cooler Master CMStorm TK and am looking to upgrade. It's a decent keyboard, but I only bought it because it was a ridiculously good offer. I have a few requirements that I'd like for a new one:

 

- Preferably brown switches (what I'm used to), but open to suggestions. I don't care if it's Cherry.

- Must have a full layout, including numpad - my biggest gripe with my current one is that it is tenkeyless. 

- Backlighting of some sort - RGB would be cool but not a priority.

- Has to be black - although it's hard to find one that isn't.

- Wrist rest might be nice - although have heard that it can be good to get these aftermarket?

- Macro keys would also be a plus

 

My budget is $150. 

 

If this isn't the right place to ask, lemme know. Thanks!

 

[Add2017]

3 hours ago, KeithD said:

Hey all,

 

I current have a Cooler Master CMStorm TK and am looking to upgrade. It's a decent keyboard, but I only bought it because it was a ridiculously good offer. I have a few requirements that I'd like for a new one:

 

- Preferably brown switches (what I'm used to), but open to suggestions. I don't care if it's Cherry.

- Must have a full layout, including numpad - my biggest gripe with my current one is that it is tenkeyless. 

- Backlighting of some sort - RGB would be cool but not a priority.

- Has to be black - although it's hard to find one that isn't.

- Wrist rest might be nice - although have heard that it can be good to get these aftermarket?

- Macro keys would also be a plus

 

My budget is $150. 

 

If this isn't the right place to ask, lemme know. Thanks!

 

No offence but looking at your specs I would upgrade your GPU first (Mabey wait a few weeks as GPU prices are in the process of returning o normal at the moment) but for gaming a GTX 770 is rubbish

[Add2017]

8 hours ago, Add2017 said:

Ok thanks anyway

Just to let you know aleixexpress slls non back lit PTB keycaps with ninja text on them

[ADCBot]

16 hours ago, Add2017 said:

No offence but looking at your specs I would upgrade your GPU first (Mabey wait a few weeks as GPU prices are in the process of returning o normal at the moment) but for gaming a GTX 770 is rubbish

It's not that bad, I had an ASUS 770 for a while and I could still play newer games like Battlefield 1, Witcher 3, Overwatch and games like those at 1080p medium to high settings, with around 50-60+ FPS depending on the game.

[DatGPUtho]

I'm running the RGB version of the Corsair Strafe

[DatGPUtho]

I'd recommend the Corsair Strafe, pretty confident that it comes with everything You're asking for. I've had the red and the RGB versions and the customization of the lighting effects is pretty neat.

[Add2017]

On 15/07/2017 at 4:36 PM, ADCBot said:

It's not that bad, I had an ASUS 770 for a while and I could still play newer games like Battlefield 1, Witcher 3, Overwatch and games like those at 1080p medium to high settings, with around 50-60+ FPS depending on the game.

Ok I'm just saying it seems a quite low end GPU for someone with the money to upgrade from a mechanical keyboard to another mechanical keyboard, I have a k70 rib which is fantastic, however I find that the stock keycaps get a little oily after a few hours of use, however this may just be me as I have not heard anyone else complaining of that issue. Also the k95 or k95 platinum are both a little more expensive but have macros

[iFreilicht]

On 7/14/2017 at 9:27 PM, KeithD said:

Hey all,

 

I current have a Cooler Master CMStorm TK and am looking to upgrade. It's a decent keyboard, but I only bought it because it was a ridiculously good offer. I have a few requirements that I'd like for a new one:

 

- Preferably brown switches (what I'm used to), but open to suggestions. I don't care if it's Cherry.

- Must have a full layout, including numpad - my biggest gripe with my current one is that it is tenkeyless. 

- Backlighting of some sort - RGB would be cool but not a priority.

- Has to be black - although it's hard to find one that isn't.

- Wrist rest might be nice - although have heard that it can be good to get these aftermarket?

- Macro keys would also be a plus

 

My budget is $150. 

 

If this isn't the right place to ask, lemme know. Thanks!

 

If you like the aesthetic of the TK, what about the CM Masterkeys Pro L? Seems to have everything you want, and a good bonus over the Corsair Strafe is the standard bottom row, in case you ever want to get aftermarket keycaps.

 

Getting wrist rests aftermarket is mainly good because you have a lot more choice. If you get a board with a built-in wrist rest and you don't like it (for whatever reason), you can't easily swap it out. A lot of people also prefer the feel of wooden wrist rests over plastic ones, but that's just a matter of opinion. Aftermarket wrist rests can get a little expensive, though.

[mach]

Got a new toy today

 

Cherry MX Blue...click click click!!!

 

 

 

Together with it's big brother

 

 

The big brother is MX black. I love heavy keys but it's nice to have two types at the same time. Plus I have the flexibility of using the tenkeyless alone!! (which is most of the time lel)

[the pokemon kid]

Haven't been on here in a while however I see that Mechanical Keyboard chat is still going!

Here is my latest keyboard. Clueboard with DSA Dolch. Cherry clear stems inside Zealio Housings with 72g, 80g and 100g springs.

Clueboard by Mathew Teague, on Flickr

Clueboard by Mathew Teague, on Flickr

 

Clueboard by Mathew Teague, on Flickr

Then this is now my next project. This will be my Alps end game! I cannot wait for get this finished!

Some lovely, very clicky Amber Alps!

Amber Alps by Mathew Teague, on Flickr

Some 85cN SPRiT Gold springs. They match the weight of the Amber Alps, just a refresh of the old springs.

New Springs by Mathew Teague, on Flickr

The bottom housing, Click leaf, Slider and Top housing

Building new switches! by Mathew Teague, on Flickr
 

[iFreilicht]

3 hours ago, mach said:

Got a new toy today

 

Cherry MX Blue...click click click!!!

 

 

 

Together with it's big brother

[snip]

The big brother is MX black. I love heavy keys but it's nice to have two types at the same time. Plus I have the flexibility of using the tenkeyless alone!! (which is most of the time lel)

 

Cool, how did you get the camouflage print? Was it sold like that, did you get a vinyl wrap, was it painted?

 

6 minutes ago, the pokemon kid said:

Haven't been on here in a while however I see that Mechanical Keyboard chat is still going!

Here is my latest keyboard. Clueboard with DSA Dolch. Cherry clear stems inside Zealio Housings with 72g, 80g and 100g springs.

 

[snip]

Then this is now my next project. This will be my Alps end game! I cannot wait for get this finished!

Some lovely, very clicky Amber Alps!

 

Damn, what a board.

100g is pretty darn heavy, but I'm sure the bump must feel amazing. Do you have a KLE link showing which weights are on which keys?
 

The case is pretty cool as well, where'd you get that?  Any info on the Artisan? Why did you put it on ESC instead of where F5 is now?

 

About the Amber Alps, can you compare them to Gateron Greens by any chance?

[the pokemon kid]

18 minutes ago, iFreilicht said:

 

Damn, what a board.

100g is pretty darn heavy, but I'm sure the bump must feel amazing. Do you have a KLE link showing which weights are on which keys?
 

The case is pretty cool as well, where'd you get that?  Any info on the Artisan? Why did you put it on ESC instead of where F5 is now?

 

About the Amber Alps, can you compare them to Gateron Greens by any chance?

100g is pretty useful. I type quite heavy handed and it means that I hit all sorts of keys. 100g stops me doing that, especially on caps lock!

Here is a quite layout image:


The Case is made by Skully and its called the Clueboard. I bought mine through Massdrop but you can also get it through the Clueboard website.

 

The Artisan has been dubbed the Gauc cap. I bought it from Taobao and it was the best $5 I have ever spent!

I put it on the escape key as I only have one and it would look out of place on the right side on its own. It would make me buy another Artisan.

The Amber alps are much louder and way more tactile! The click leaf in a Amber is pretty solid which gives a great amount of tacility, however once it is pressed much like Topre, it just collapses.

[mach]

31 minutes ago, iFreilicht said:

Cool, how did you get the camouflage print? Was it sold like that, did you get a vinyl wrap, was it painted?

These filco are sold with the multicam pattern. 

[VirtualNinja]

On 15/07/2017 at 5:27 AM, KeithD said:

Hey all,

 

I current have a Cooler Master CMStorm TK and am looking to upgrade. It's a decent keyboard, but I only bought it because it was a ridiculously good offer. I have a few requirements that I'd like for a new one:

 

- Preferably brown switches (what I'm used to), but open to suggestions. I don't care if it's Cherry.

- Must have a full layout, including numpad - my biggest gripe with my current one is that it is tenkeyless. 

- Backlighting of some sort - RGB would be cool but not a priority.

- Has to be black - although it's hard to find one that isn't.

- Wrist rest might be nice - although have heard that it can be good to get these aftermarket?

- Macro keys would also be a plus

 

My budget is $150. 

 

If this isn't the right place to ask, lemme know. Thanks!

 

From my experience avoid Corsair, my 2nd K70 RGB is in for RMA for the dreaded double typing that's a common issue (Both were RMA'd for the  same thing).

 

Replaced with a Razer Chroma RGB but that induced arm pain, followed by a CM masterkeys pro s (Brown). Personally I use a gel wrist wrest and it is by far better than any included wrist wrest.

[YellowMenace]

I got another mechanical keyboard the other week.

I've been using a Razer Blackwidow X Chroma TE (a mouthful, i know) and being that I've only used clicky keyboards like it, I wanted to try something linear. Local stores like microcenter have a good variety of keyboards on display, and I always could never get myself to like cherry reds. They always had a very scratchy, plastic-y feel to them that really took away from the feel of it.

Looking on forums, I learned about Gateron switches, and they looked just like what I was after, but hardly any keyboards had them in reds or blacks. Finally came across the James Donkey 619 for $40, so i jumped on it. TKL, gateron reds, doubleshot ABS caps, amber lighting, removable cable, metal top plate, etc.

The memes were right, they are smooth and buttery.

It's not replacing my Blackwidow X, but it's a very nice alternative to switch to every so often.

Also, hinting from my username, I do very much like the amber lighting, it's not neon or anything like that, it's nice and warm.

 

Now, a question for the thread because I don't feel this warrants its own thread.

Anyone know where to get enclosures/housings for a keyboard like this?
I've seen DIY keyboards with the same layout, and so it's not the only one out there. I'm not a fan of the whole "floating key" look, so I want to put this thing into a frame and mod the hell out of it. The Razer's too expensive for me to actually mod and not kick myself for.

[katoptrys]

I finally got my first Mechanical Keyboard today! 

I got myself a used Razer Blackwidow Tournament Edition Chroma (but it could pass for new and I paid half the price I would have paid for a new one)

 

It is weird, going from laptop keys to mechanical keyboard, but it's nice. Also the tenkeyless is something I need to get used to but not all that difficult

[screenkiller]

Hi guys ,

 

In the market for a pretty high end RGB 10keyless keyboard.

I've been eye balling some duckys and coolermaster masterkey series keyboards.

also liking the logitech G pro TKL. 

 

To me top priority is build quality. You guys have experience with either of them?

[kelvinhall05]

12 minutes ago, screenkiller said:

Hi guys ,

 

In the market for a pretty high end RGB 10keyless keyboard.

I've been eye balling some duckys and coolermaster masterkey series keyboards.

also liking the logitech G pro TKL. 

 

To me top priority is build quality. You guys have experience with either of them?

I have a Cooler Master Masterkeys Pro S with MX Browns, and I love it. The only thing I don't like is that the soft-touch plastic is VERY "sensitive" to fingerprints and dust and whatnot.

[screenkiller]

1 hour ago, kelvinhall05 said:

I have a Cooler Master Masterkeys Pro S with MX Browns, and I love it. The only thing I don't like is that the soft-touch plastic is VERY "sensitive" to fingerprints and dust and whatnot.

Yeh i've heard that the keycaps are meh. 

Im considering getting the keyboard and replacing the caps later down the road.

[Aytex]

1 minute ago, screenkiller said:

Yeh i've heard that the keycaps are meh. 

Im considering getting the keyboard and replacing the caps later down the road.

Its a great keyboard, i've defiantly had a fun experience using it.

 

RGB diodes have smooth transitions and doesn't have problems like the corsair keebs.

 

Its a plastic build  and little heavy but its pretty nice. I would grab pbt blanks or something  

[yajae M31]

Hi, 

 

so...at first you all should know that i'm completly new in this topic. I never desinged a keyboard and i never used "keyboard layout designer" .

 

 Today I desinged me first keyboard using "keyboard layout editor" ( Here's the link :http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/#/gists/ec54cf8d48a7ca382dd105346329dade )

 

What do i have to do next, in order to get a keybaord like this ? 

Sorry, i feel like this is the dumbest question ever, but as i said before i have absolutely no experience wit this topic.

 

 

[lsstefan]

Greetings.

I own a Zalman K500 keyboard.

 

But as in read in a lot of complaints, some keys start to fail after a while. My key is the E. I used it to strafe right in WoW... Imagine dodging some fire and E has a brain fart and the char stops moving...

So I want to replace it, mainly with another mech keyboard. I still press it like a maniac, but I like the sound of it.

The only issue is the F keys HAVE(!!!!!!!) to be above the 1 2 3. All my spells are between 1-4, F1-4, alt+1-4, alt+F1-3. If I shift the F keys to the right, it's going to be harder...

Any recommendations?

 

PS: I've been thinking hard and I guess I could get used to them a little to the right because I use F3 and F4 more rarely than F1 F2, but they need to be close to the 1-4 at least.

eg:

This is a bad keyboard for me.

 

Thank you for the help.

 

EDIT:  I don't need it to be flashy and don't want to spend more than 100$ on it.

[iFreilicht]

Sorry guys, been very busy lately. I'll try to help everyone best as I can!

On 25/07/2017 at 10:28 PM, Yellow Screaming Madness said:

I got another mechanical keyboard the other week.

I've been using a Razer Blackwidow X Chroma TE (a mouthful, i know) and being that I've only used clicky keyboards like it, I wanted to try something linear. Local stores like microcenter have a good variety of keyboards on display, and I always could never get myself to like cherry reds. They always had a very scratchy, plastic-y feel to them that really took away from the feel of it.

Looking on forums, I learned about Gateron switches, and they looked just like what I was after, but hardly any keyboards had them in reds or blacks. Finally came across the James Donkey 619 for $40, so i jumped on it. TKL, gateron reds, doubleshot ABS caps, amber lighting, removable cable, metal top plate, etc.

The memes were right, they are smooth and buttery.

It's not replacing my Blackwidow X, but it's a very nice alternative to switch to every so often.

Also, hinting from my username, I do very much like the amber lighting, it's not neon or anything like that, it's nice and warm.

 

Now, a question for the thread because I don't feel this warrants its own thread.

Anyone know where to get enclosures/housings for a keyboard like this?
I've seen DIY keyboards with the same layout, and so it's not the only one out there. I'm not a fan of the whole "floating key" look, so I want to put this thing into a frame and mod the hell out of it. The Razer's too expensive for me to actually mod and not kick myself for.

What you're searching for is a "high profile" case for a TKL board. The problem with TKLs is that they are not built to any particular standard, unlike 60% which all have the same mounting holes for the case, so you might indeed have to do some modding.
 

Some good cases can be found here: https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/index.php?l=search_list&s[match]=all&s[search]=TKL&s[title]=Y&s[short_desc]=Y&s[full_desc]=Y&s[cid]=44&s[subcats]=Y&s[mid]=0

 

The ones from TEX are very highly regarded for their quality. However, be warned that your keyboard might not fit them, even with extensive modding to the plate. It looks like the top row on your board is closer to the alphanumeric row than usual, so the keys will not fit through the gaps in the case.

 

On 26/07/2017 at 5:29 PM, screenkiller said:

Hi guys ,

 

In the market for a pretty high end RGB 10keyless keyboard.

I've been eye balling some duckys and coolermaster masterkey series keyboards.

also liking the logitech G pro TKL. 

 

To me top priority is build quality. You guys have experience with either of them?

 

All of those are pretty good. If you want superb quality you'll have to go for a custom board, but that's out of the question unless you're ready to invest a few hundred bucks

Addressing the keycap concerns that others have voiced, you should consider the Ducky One TKL RGB as it has doubleshot caps instead of laser etched ones. In general that's a board you can't go wrong with.

 

On 26/07/2017 at 7:47 PM, yajae M31 said:

Hi, 

 

so...at first you all should know that i'm completly new in this topic. I never desinged a keyboard and i never used "keyboard layout designer" .

 

 Today I desinged me first keyboard using "keyboard layout editor" ( Here's the link :http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/#/gists/ec54cf8d48a7ca382dd105346329dade )

 

What do i have to do next, in order to get a keybaord like this ? 

Sorry, i feel like this is the dumbest question ever, but as i said before i have absolutely no experience wit this topic.

 

 

 

There are a few ways. Looking at your layout, the easiest would be to get a Filco MiniLA Air and then just get new keycaps.

 

For a fully scratch-build board, I'd use lasergist. You can build the plate and case using their service. Then you can handwire the board (which is not too hard even if you're new to soldering) and program it yourself. You can get a good overview of everything here, specific tutorials for everything can be found on the internet, pretty sure you'll find something on youtube as well if you're more of a watcher than a reader.

 

To get the exact keycaps you want, you'll have to take a look at WASD keyboards' and maxkeyboard's custom keycaps offerings. The quality of the caps is pretty bad for my taste (way too thin plastic), but the printing is good and they're the only way for completely custom printed caps. Other than that, you can always check out geekhack or /r/MechanicalKeyboards to get info about group buys for aftermarket keysets. Those are very expensive, but also extremely high quality.

 

On 30/07/2017 at 7:22 PM, lsstefan said:

Greetings.

I own a Zalman K500 keyboard.

 

But as in read in a lot of complaints, some keys start to fail after a while. My key is the E. I used it to strafe right in WoW... Imagine dodging some fire and E has a brain fart and the char stops moving...

So I want to replace it, mainly with another mech keyboard. I still press it like a maniac, but I like the sound of it.

The only issue is the F keys HAVE(!!!!!!!) to be above the 1 2 3. All my spells are between 1-4, F1-4, alt+1-4, alt+F1-3. If I shift the F keys to the right, it's going to be harder...

Any recommendations?

 

PS: I've been thinking hard and I guess I could get used to them a little to the right because I use F3 and F4 more rarely than F1 F2, but they need to be close to the 1-4 at least.

eg:

This is a bad keyboard for me.

 

Thank you for the help.

 

EDIT:  I don't need it to be flashy and don't want to spend more than 100$ on it.

That's an interesting requirement. I don't know of any TKL other than the K500 that has the F-keys set up like this. But, at your budget, there's a very good 75%, the Nopoo Choc Mini. That should fit your bill nicely.

[the pokemon kid]

Here is my most recent board guys! Just finished and took it along to our UK Mechanical keyboard meetup!

Amber Alps Build by Mathew Teague, on Flickr

 

Amber Alps Build by Mathew Teague, on Flickr

It took a long time to get all the parts together for this but I think it has come out really well! The Amber alps are just like clicky Topre, which is glorious!

[Kawaii Koneko]

I'm using the Corsair K70 RGB with Cherry MX Reds.

 

Honestly, it is my first mechanical keyboard so I can't compare it to much but I'm glad I didn't cheap out on my first one and went with one that has a proven track record. I decided to put gaming first so I went with the Reds. I also do productivity work on my gaming PC but I figured I would just get used to typing on it. It only took me a few days to really get used to it. I was making typos at first but now Reds feel very natural to type on. 

 

The build quality on it is excellent and there is no excess fluff, except arguably the RGB. I only bought the RGB model because it was on sale but now I've actually grown to appreciate having backlighting. I matched the color to the light on my Logitech G502 mouse and it really adds nice ambience. Plus, it makes typing by the monitor glow at night easier.

 

I really love that volume knob as well. It just has a nice feel to it lol.

 

Overall, it is a very clean, utilitarian, and sexy keyboard. None of that "gamer look" that is I equate with vehicle rice, except for your computer lol.