cheap mechanical keyboard for

[FreeHugs]

My dad needs a new keyboard.

Which switches are the best for typing?
What keyboard do you recommend? (it shouldn't be too expensive)

 

thanks

 

edit: oops, seems like the title is missing "my dad"

[miyabwah]

according to typing enthusiasts, blues are best for typing, but it's personal preference. i personally like the quickfire tk, because I own one.

[PillowSmoke]

Yea i'm with Lanoi get the Quickfire TK, it's pretty good.

 

Edit: What's your budget for the keyboard?

[Bluethulhu]

Browns are my personal favorite for typing.

[Witt]

I agree with Bluethulhu, browns are my favorite for typing to. I've tried blues, but I personally don't like them.

[Vitalius]

Look at my signature. Specifically this section:
 

Monoprice Blue Switch Mechanical Keyboard

1. First Impressions
2. Disassembly
3. In-Depth Review 

The Monoprice Blue Switch Mechanical Keyboard is $58. It's the cheapest Cherry MX keyboard you can get AFAIK.

[FreeHugs]

the price should be under 80€ (about 80-90$ because buyng anything tech related in Austria is expensive)

but the more i get the price down, the happier i am. It was hard enough to convince my dad that keyboars are worth more than 15€

it doesn't need to be anything fancy...

[zxcvbnmmssdh]

Quickfire TK is very good. Ask him if he wants clicky or not.

[ygohome]

The Quickfire TK is a good choice in that it has backlighting, is available in various Cherry MX switches, is a 75% size (not super wide), and it can be found at a nice inexpensive price.

 

That said, these compact TK layouts are kindof bogus.  With numlock enabled, the arrow keys are not usable.  Unless you want to toggle the numlock on/off whenever switching between using the numberpad vs arrows.  Fullsize keyboards have dedicated arrow keys in addition to the arrows shared on the numpad.  A fullsize keyboard user can easily use the numeric TK, jump to using the dedicated arrow keys to navigate cells in a spreadsheet or entries in a ledger, and jump back to the numperpad.  A compact TK layout, like on the Quickfire TK, does not have those dedicated arrows keys, and that is their disadvantage compared to a fullsize.

 

Most people won't use the numeric TK on this layout for the reason described above.  I mean, who would want to use a TK to efficiently enter numbers, only to require you to move your hand from the keyboard and navigate the ledger or spreadsheet via the mouse or toggle the NumLock to use the shared arrow keys?  Nobody would, that would be very inefficient and against the purpose of having the convenience of the TK.

 

So, if  your dad won't need or want a TK then I recommend the Quickfire TK.

[ManOfDisguise]

just dont go for linear swiches(for example reds). go for blues or browns.(choose by sound, if u dont mind it being loud go for blues if u want it more quiet go for brown)