Membrane Vs Mechanical: ROUND 2

[flare4000]

Just bought a cm storm trigger with brown switches and I pretty sure that I will never go back, but this topic is more about personally preference, personally I like the tactile feedback that mechanical keyboards can give you.

[Toaster]

I bought a CM storm Quickfire Rapid (Cherry MX Browns) and absolutley loved it. However when disaster struck and the connection to my coputer became unreliable and it had to be sent back, I had to go back to a crappy MS 600 membrane keyboard.

 

It was terrible, and I hated pretty much everything about it. It felt like you were typing on sponge and the keys were odd shapes. One good thing was how impact proof it was; surviving every one of my rage moments.

Weeks past due to complications with my replacement of the CM keyboard and I was looking at buying another Mech as a stand in until the replacement arrived. Then one day I was in my parents loft where I found a really old beige keyboard using a PS2 connection. Still covered in dust I plugged it into the port on the back of my MoBo's PS2 connector ("I do still like to see these" - sound familiar) and it worked! Moreover typing on it feels very "mechy" as the keys definitely have some clunk to them. It's still definitely a membrane (I took it apart as one of the rubber things had gotten dislodged) but for whatever reason feels really nice.

 

Should get my CM back in the next couple of days and I can't wait to compare them.

 

(PS2 keyboard's model is an A4Tech KeyEasy, which I found 1 128x128 picture of on google)

[brownninja97]

cmstorm trigger was the worst for me out of anything i had ever used. May sound extreme but it was one of them "al helll naarr" situations. Its like your cross your legs one way and the other way is just wrong

[SerMejong]

I have used a cheap membrane keyboard for years! For like 11 years lol. Since childhood, but when I bought a blue switched mechanical keyboard, the moment I used it ,  I was converted! haha, I knew I was destined to use mechanicals!

[Dido447]

There should be a " I have never tried a mechanical" option

[Cyanotical]

i think the biggest thing for me is the customization that you can do with mechanicals, you can solder on different switches, replace keycaps with everything from blank PBT to cast zinc, custom make frames, etc, these are not really things you can do with too many membrane keyboards, you are pretty much limited to what you get in the box

that limitation of having just another G15 makes membrane pretty meh

[t0wer]

Mice have mechanical switches, albeit their own kind of mousey ones.

they use microswitches.

 

I've been wanting to create a keyboard with microswitches for a while now.

I might give it a shot once I get my 3d printer in.

[ercineker]

honestly how in the hell did i manage to start this. I was thinking one or two replies

well Linus tweeted about it :) and added a pole :D 

[DAOWAce]

Membrane has one advantage that really screwed me up when I finally switched over to mechanical.

 

You can rapid activate the key by barely moving it when it's pressed down.

 

On a mechanical keyboard you have to bring the key up so it resets the mechanism then push it down again.  This results in more hand strain and less speed.

 

I don't really do that by habit anymore (it's been about half a year since I switched), though I miss the ability to.

 

Other than that, mechanical all the way.

 

Side note: G710+ has terrible build quality.  Shame that it's the closest to my old keyboard with a dedicated volume mute button.

[Scoop]

I voted for mechanical because i really like how they feel but there are a few things to consider. As living in the more eastern side of Europe (Romania) where salaries are not like they are in the west, we perceive price differences a bit differently. Problem is i can see a big difference between a 100$ mechanical with no multimedia keys and a 90$ full multimedia membrane keyboard from someone like Logitech and i kinda lean towards the feature full membrane (i like and use the dedicated multimedia keys). I know there's the Corsair K90 (but that has way too many buttons and is considerably more expensive) and the G710+ which again is considerably more expensive. I know to some 50$ is not a big difference but for some of us 50$ means 10% of your 500$ monthly salary (and that is a very decent salary here). So don;t be harsh on people who may not understand why you would want to spend over 100$ dollars on a keyboard that has nothing special except the switches.

[Villain]

Mechanical is in every way better than a membrane aside from the price. I paid $130 for mine, and I would do it again; because it feels so good to type on, and the sound of blues is just... incredible.

[cemc]

I bought a mechanical keyboard last year, a Mionix Zibal 60, because I heard Linus mentioning it a couple of times and I'm quite satisfied with it. The first day I actually felt my fingers get tired after using it for a while. Now I got used to it and I like it. I noticed I can type faster but I do more mistakes, too, like accidentally switching two characters when typing fast. Also noticed it a lot louder than any membrane keyboard, which in itself isn't a big deal, girlfriend doesn't like it though :)

I have one problem with it though. It's a frickin' pain to get in the BIOS. It just doesn't react to the 'DEL' key, although I'm pressing it like crazy. I think it initializes itself a bit slower or something. I keep an old membrane USB keyboard handy for when I need to enter the BIOS :)

 

At work I got a Microsoft Wired 600 and I really like it because of the low profile keys and it's really silent.

 

Other than that I think if you give it enough time, you can get used to any keyboard, providing it doesn't suck. Like for example the build quality on the Arctic Cooling Arctic K381, which is just awful. At first glance it looks a little bit like an Apple keyboard, but it sure doesn't feel like one.

[Missioncode]

Got myself a IBM model M...and it is amazing so loud and clicky

[NinjaEwok]

I can't type on membrane keyboards anymore. I'm forced to use them at school and most of the time I don't hit the keys hard enough (mainly because I'm use to blues and mainly because all the keys stick on every keyboard in the school) or after a while my fingers get tired lol. I'll never go back

 

Yeah. Sucks 'eh?

[GamerDude]

I was somewhat skeptical about mech KB's, I couldn't understand what the hoopla was over mechs. Heck, there is even a mech KB club section in a local tech forum I go to. Fortunately, the gaming and peripheral shop I go to has a variety of mech KB for me to try, so I fiddled with red, blue and brown switches........and after a while, I concluded that red suits me best. Within a month or so, I dove right in the deep end of the pool and bought three mech KB's for my three systems. Started out with a CM Storm Trigger red and loved it, bought a cheap Armaggeddon Black Hornet (uses Cherry Red switches) and last, but not least, a Ducky Shine II 78 Version which replaced the Storm Trigger as the KB of choice for my main rig. Hell, I have a cheap fourth rig, and I'm trying to talk myself into justifying a fourth mech KB for it......and I'm eyeing a Ducky YOTD Cherry Brown (IIRC) that I had seen in the shop. So, yeah, certified mech KB nut job  I am!  ^_^

[mgsstar]

Mechanical all the way. Love the tactile and the sound produced by the Cherry MX Brown switches! :)

[BennyK491]

Bought a Rosewill RK-9000 with blacks on sale, about 3 months ago and now whenever I go to work and have to type on a membrane it just feels awful. I'm going to buy a couple with blues for me and a pharmacist coming off of wrist surgery just so I can work in peace.

[AmateurPCGuy]

All my life I've been using membrane switches... I haven't tried mechanical bat I am interested in getting one.

[Villain]

All my life I've been using membrane switches... I haven't tried mechanical bat I am interested in getting one.

 

Definitely do so. I didn't switch to mechanical until about a year ago and it took a few days to get use to it, but I was definitely pleased. Mechanical keyboard might be expensive, but it's kind of similar to monitors in the sense that  once you buy it, you will not need to buy another one for a really long time (unless you get a crappy one).

[GaZinggEr]

membrane is terrible on thin keyboards, the ones that are trying to immitate a laptop, membrane is not that bad on the thicker ones, the mechanical immitator keyboards with the large tall keys

[J4M35]

I would love to add my 2cents to this, but I have never had the pleasure of trying a mechanical keyboard, and all my gameing friends just have membrane keyboards. Buying one seems like an expsenive way to find out I might not like it, but one day I'll get one... One day...

[Lukiose]

I can never go back to a membrane.. The keys require too much effort to depress and tires out my fingers really quickly.

I'm already planning for my next mechanical keyboard and has started saving up for it.

YES, they are that good.

[Lukiose]

Definitely do so. I didn't switch to mechanical until about a year ago and it took a few days to get use to it, but I was definitely pleased. Mechanical keyboard might be expensive, but it's kind of similar to monitors in the sense that  once you buy it, you will not need to buy another one for a really long time (unless you get a crappy one).

But when you start using mechanical keyboards, you will have the urge to try more :P

[GamerDude]

But when you start using mechanical keyboards, you will have the urge to try more :P

Oh, that's all so true! ;)  I got my first taste of mech with a CM Storm Trigger Cherry Red, got an Armaggeddon Black Hornet Cherry Red, and scored a hard to get Ducky Shine II 78 Version. Now, I'm thinking of replacing that Armaggeddon with a Ducky YOTD KB :wub: ....it never ends! :D

[Lukiose]

Oh, that's all so true! ;)  I got my first taste of mech with a CM Storm Trigger Cherry Red, got an Armaggeddon Black Hornet Cherry Red, and scored a hard to get Ducky Shine II 78 Version. Now, I'm thinking of replacing that Armaggeddon with a Ducky YOTD KB :wub: ....it never ends! :D

I'm waiting for the full-black body Trigger to come out! It looks so pretty 'drools'