I could really use some other opinions here...I’m at a conflict

[Zeke_]

So I’m in desperate need of a new keyboard, I’m currently using a 3 year old AULA dragon tooth 2 that only cost me like 20 bucks. So I was looking in to getting a new keyboard and I’ve decided that RGB is a must have. However, I also live in an environment in which mechanical switches would be a bother so I’m looking for something quiet as well. I was looking into 2 keyboards in particular being the Razer Cynosa Chroma and the Corsair K55 but I’m honestly not quite sure what I need. I want a good quality product that I can rely on as a daily driver, I need something quiet and RGB, however I feel very limited because mechanical switches as amazing as they are, aren’t really an option for me as they are too loud for where I live and they also cost a lot more especially with RGB and I’m not sure if I could even afford one anyways. I’m just kind of at a loss ya know? Any and all advice or feedback would be awesome. 

[Oryzaki]

3 minutes ago, Zeke_ said:

So I’m in desperate need of a new keyboard, I’m currently using a 3 year old AULA dragon tooth 2 that only cost me like 20 bucks. So I was looking in to getting a new keyboard and I’ve decided that RGB is a must have. However, I also live in an environment in which mechanical switches would be a bother so I’m looking for something quiet as well. I was looking into 2 keyboards in particular being the Razer Cynosa Chroma and the Corsair K55 but I’m honestly not quite sure what I need. I want a good quality product that I can rely on as a daily driver, I need something quiet and RGB, however I feel very limited because mechanical switches as amazing as they are, aren’t really an option for me as they are too loud for where I live and they also cost a lot more especially with RGB and I’m not sure if I could even afford one anyways. I’m just kind of at a loss ya know? Any and all advice or feedback would be awesome. 

I use corsair keyboards so this is definitely biased but go with the k55 

[Fatlooser123]

I'd too say the corsair k55

[Zeke_]

3 minutes ago, Fatlooser123 said:

I'd too say the corsair k55

So I noticed that you have the K55? What do you think of it overall?

[Christophe Corazza]

16 minutes ago, Zeke_ said:

I need something quiet and RGB, however I feel very limited because mechanical switches as amazing as they are, aren’t really an option for me as they are too loud for where I live

 

Have you considered sound dampeners? These are soft rubber O-rings that can be installed onto every single keycap stem to cushion the landing of the switch by stopping the key stroke just short of the point of bottoming out.

 

Something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Dampers-dampener-Switches-Mechanical-Keyboard/dp/B00HPQQLXM

Although thetre are a lot more different brands/options available

[Zeke_]

Just now, Christophe Corazza said:

 

Have you considered sound dampeners? These are soft rubber O-rings that can be installed onto every single keycap stem to cushion the landing of the switch by stopping the key stroke just short of the point of bottoming out.

 

Something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Dampers-dampener-Switches-Mechanical-Keyboard/dp/B00HPQQLXM

Although thetre are a lot more different brands/options available

Never even heard of them to be honest, I will definitely take a look

[Christophe Corazza]

Just now, Zeke_ said:

Never even heard of them to be honest, I will definitely take a look

 

Cherry sells them as well, but at a more premium price off course.

[Spotty]

I'd avoid the Razer keyboards. Razer's warranty period is only 1 year for their keyboards, and Razer isn't exactly known for their sturdiness and reliable build quality.

My Corsair K70 has been a good bit of kit so far, so I'd also recommend the corsair keyboard over the Razer one.

 

[RobFRaschke]

I have the Cynosa Pro, it's not a quiet board. It's not cherry mx blue loud(maybe brown loud, if not quite, but louder than any cherry mx red or silver board that I've tried), by any means, but it's not nearly as tactile either. I actually find it to be a great middle of the road that works extremely well for me when typing. It's actually what I'm currently typing on. The keys are stiff enough that they have feel to them and the keycaps have very little wobble to them. The keystrokes are a touch on the long side, and spongy at the bottom, but I'm incredibly picky. I also like that my only backlighting is on the keycaps, not all around the keys, that's excessive and distracting to me, but I like being able to see keys in the dark. Unfortunately, when typing quickly, it can regularly come across a bit dim-witted. Spaces will occasionally hit in the wrong spot, shift won't stay in the "activated" zone in the keypress quite long enough and it's just a hair undersized from my last two keyboards, but they were both very odd exceptions of boards, not the kind of thing you run across every day.

 

My long lost typing love was an older ergonomic keyboard from Belkin, with lightly tactile, but very positive mechanical switches that served me for almost a decade before three switches failed almost simultaneously, and they directly board mounted switches, so it was dead. I should have really started cannibalizing other less used switches to keep it alive, but alas, it's gone.

 

More recently I've been using a pair of keyboards off and on, with neither quite hitting the spot for me. The first is a logitech multimedia keyboard that I went to directly after my mourning period over the belkin. It was absolutely just a membrane board and the keypress was short, fast and responsive, but every kind of mushy and with very limited key rollover. The second I picked up after I just couldn't take the multimedia keyboard anymore in heavy daily use and light, off hours gaming. An original logitech g710. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that board, except I just could never quite get along with the cherry mx blues. The feel was fine, if a bit long in the press, but the pitch and volume of the click drove me insane on that board. I may have even been able to get along with the 710+ with the cherry mx brown switches to eliminate the audible switch click, but I didn't, so now I'm back to a membrane board and I'm happy for the time being.

 

I guess all this useless info culminates in a significant question stemming from a bit of a vague point in the OP. You stated " I also live in an environment in which mechanical switches would be a bother" however there are very significant differences in the sound profiles of different mechanical switches. Just inside the cherry mx line, there are four weights, linear and tactile switches and tactile with a click, not including the less common switches. Matias has three switches, loud tactile, quiet tactile and really quiet linear, and so on. And they all have very different sounds and volumes to them. Here's a video to demonstrate the different keys with and without o-rings.

 

 

 

[Fatlooser123]

50 minutes ago, Zeke_ said:

So I noticed that you have the K55? What do you think of it overall?

You defenetly don't see its a 50$ keyboard by first looks, its hard and plasticy no brushed metal like in more expensive ones. It's pretty lightweight but doesn't feel hollow or bendable inside. It comes with a soft plastic wrist rest its not as comfortable as premium ones but its ok, it has rubber "feet" so it doesn't slide and its adjustable. You have 6 adjustable macros, doesnt require drivers. It has 3 adjustable rgb zones. And its really adjustible for a 50$ keyboard it has hybrid keys which means its quite but feels like a mechanical keyboard. It also has some multimedia keys which is nice.

[Zeke_]

8 hours ago, Fatlooser123 said:

You defenetly don't see its a 50$ keyboard by first looks, its hard and plasticy no brushed metal like in more expensive ones. It's pretty lightweight but doesn't feel hollow or bendable inside. It comes with a soft plastic wrist rest its not as comfortable as premium ones but its ok, it has rubber "feet" so it doesn't slide and its adjustable. You have 6 adjustable macros, doesnt require drivers. It has 3 adjustable rgb zones. And its really adjustible for a 50$ keyboard it has hybrid keys which means its quite but feels like a mechanical keyboard. It also has some multimedia keys which is nice.

About how long have you had it?

[Fatlooser123]

1 hour ago, Zeke_ said:

About how long have you had it?

About 2 months.