Good keyboard under £100? Between mechanical quality and chiclet style?

[husseinHr]

I don't like how big the keys are on mechanical keyboards and I prefer chiclet or smaller keys in general. The Lenovo laptops have awesome keyboards. But I like the build quality you can get with standalone mecha keyboards. I want to be able to type and float on the keyboard like I can on the laptop keyboards. Volume buttons do matter to me unless it's almost equally easy to reach them with the Fn key. So what can I do? Not sure about how to choose a keyboard at all. I know very little about them. 

 

I've heard of low profile mechanical switches and think they might be a good idea. What do you think? Idk. I'll leave this to your advice.

 

And if you could link me a site or channel or something of someone who reviews all the keyboards like Rocket Jump Ninja reviews mice, then I'd be very happy! 

 

EDIT: backlight is essential! and the keyboard should be good for gaming... I don't know if there are keyboards that aren't good for gaming, but hey. some people seem to suggest so in reviews. 

[SupaKomputa]

You must feel it before buying, it feels a lot different with chiclets keyboard.

Typing on a chiclet feels faster and lighter compared to mecs, but mecs offered durability & clicky satisfiying feel.

The best chiclet keyboard i've tried so far is apple wired keyboard (no longer sold).

[GoldenLag]

take a look at the surface keyboard. its afaik the surface keys from the laptop on  a standalone keyboard. its not the cheapest keyboard by far and i think its slighyl above your budget

[husseinHr]

I've looked at the Razer Ornata Chroma (£80 on Amazon) just now and it seemed really promising until I heard about the noise! My room is next to my parents' room so a constant extremely loud clicky noise from the keys would not be a good thing. Are there any more quiet alternatives? This is one of the things I didn't really like about mechanical keyboards, at least when I'm with family.

[nox_]

6 minutes ago, lw88 said:

Yeanah don't get memchanical, you don't get anything better than a standard rubber dome and you pay mechanical prices.

 

Low profile mechanical switches are usually just as awful (like cherry ML).

 

That said I don't know what your budget is so I can't really recommend a board. Whatever you get, buy something with a metal backplate.

It's in the title.. under £100. 

[nox_]

17 minutes ago, lw88 said:

Then I guess what we need is a preferred switch.

 

Linear? Tactile? Clicky? Buckling spring?

He is looking for quiet keyboard, so not clicky I guess. If OP finds Razer Ornata Chroma  extremely loud,which is not the loudest board out there, I think mechanical boards are out of  question, because even silenced switches are not that quiet when compared to membrane.. 

[markr54632]

What about the Lenovo thinkpad keyboard? It is literally a standalone keyboard off of a thinkpad and it's under budget.

[Guest]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01ITE941Y/?tag=pcp0f-21

[00RaZoR11]

On 1/3/2019 at 9:26 AM, husseinHr said:

I've heard of low profile mechanical switches and think they might be a good idea. What do you think? Idk. I'll leave this to your advice.. 

I believe the Tesoro Gram Spectrum Agile series qualify as low profile mechanical. It has media control, lighting and macros. My only problem with these is that they don't use cherry switches.

[seon123]

2 hours ago, 00RaZoR11 said:

I believe the Tesoro Gram Spectrum Agile series qualify as low profile mechanical. It has media control, lighting and macros. My only problem with these is that they don't use cherry switches.

Why would it be a problem that they don't use some of the most mediocre and overpriced switches on the market?

[00RaZoR11]

14 hours ago, seon123 said:

Why would it be a problem that they don't use some of the most mediocre and overpriced switches on the market?

Alright then, lighten me up please. All I see in shops in my country are cherrys, kailhs (and razers), and unique stuff like the tesoro laser switches. I bet everyone would be thankful to hear which switches are worth their price

[seon123]

4 hours ago, 00RaZoR11 said:

Alright then, lighten me up please. All I see in shops in my country are cherrys, kailhs (and razers), and unique stuff like the tesoro laser switches. I bet everyone would be thankful to hear which switches are worth their price

While brands like Kailh and Gateron have improved their switches over the last few years, since they came to market, Cherry hasn't. So you have less variety, and less smooth switches. All with the price tag of a decent switch. 

What switches are worth it, depends on personal preference.