Looking for recommendations: Power adapter, keyboard, USB hub

[Sarra]

First, I'm looking for a power adapter for my Steam Deck's dock. It's rated for 100w, with a USB C input. I'm currently using the deck's default power adapter, but I'd like to put that back in it's little bag and get a dedicated adapter for the dock. What I'm looking for: 100w, USB C, and a non-wall wart style (so, a box with a 2 or 3 prong power receptacle on a cord, not one with the prongs coming out the back).

 

Second, I'm looking for a USB hub, specifically for my dock as well. I'm hoping for USB 3.0 5gig, no ethernet adapter, no card reader, just one with a USB type A input (dock has two USB A 3.0 ports), and 2-4 USB A 3.0 outputs and 2-4 USB C 3.0 outputs, I'd prefer powered, but the dock should have enough output to power an unpowered dock.

 

Third, keyboard time. I've used Corsair K70's for... Uh... 15 years now? I have used them with MX Cherry Reds (no thanks), and MX Cherry Blues (yes, please!), but I really don't like iCue. I would like a clicky or tactile switch, with a 65% profile. I'd like a bluetooth wireless keyboard, but I'm not set 100% on that. Any suggestions? Budget is... Well... I'm willing to spend more for really nice keycaps (I got the Mint Green keycaps for my K70, and oh yeah, I love the color). I don't care about RGB, I generally just set them to static red anyway, but I do like backlit (I have difficulty seeing keys, the backlighting really does help).

 

Bonus, is the Razer Tartarus the only mechanical gamepad available? I have a Nostromo that's... Extremely long in the tooth, but it still works (yeah, I'm shocked as well, it still requires some ridiculously old version of Razer's software), but I wouldn't mind retiring it for a mechanical version.

[Sarra]

1 hour ago, lw88 said:

Only thing I can really help you with is the keyboard - get a Keychron K6 hot-swappable. That way you can try out different switches till you find one that you like.
Probably just get it with the cherry blues it comes with, then decide later on if you want to try a different switch. Most click jacket switches, which is the same way the cherry blue gets its click, are going to feel and sound exactly the same because they borrow the design straight from cherry. Your best bet is probably to go with a tactile like a durock t1 or boba u4.

Yeah, I'm fine sticking with MX Cherry blue.

[baronvonsatchel]

For a hub I use a TP-Link one with 7 type A ports and 2 more that are charging only. It has its own power adapter so it won't overload your dock. I think it cost about 30 bucks at my local computer store. No USB C built in, but A male to C female adapters are a dime a dozen. They won't hurt the data speed because it's all going back to a 3.0 type A connector anyway.

[Sarra]

4 hours ago, baronvonsatchel said:

For a hub I use a TP-Link one with 7 type A ports and 2 more that are charging only. It has its own power adapter so it won't overload your dock. I think it cost about 30 bucks at my local computer store. No USB C built in, but A male to C female adapters are a dime a dozen. They won't hurt the data speed because it's all going back to a 3.0 type A connector anyway.

I've got some USB C to C cables, and I'd rather use 'em. But oh well, I suppose I could go that route.

 

Still looking for a 100w USB C power solution. Or 65w, at the least. The 45w brick that comes with the Steam Deck is nice, but I only want to use it while traveling.

[baronvonsatchel]

6 minutes ago, Sarra said:

I've got some USB C to C cables, and I'd rather use 'em. But oh well, I suppose I could go that route.

 

Still looking for a 100w USB C power solution. Or 65w, at the least. The 45w brick that comes with the Steam Deck is nice, but I only want to use it while traveling.

I'm talking about an adapter for the port like this one I attached, which will let you keep using your C to C cables. Just beware some of the cheap ones on Amazon are only USB 2.0 speed (480Mbps vs 5Gbps).

 

For the power brick, if you don't want a wall wart but that's all you can find, why not just use an extension cable to get it away from the wall?

[Sarra]

33 minutes ago, baronvonsatchel said:

For the power brick, if you don't want a wall wart but that's all you can find, why not just use an extension cable to get it away from the wall?

It's going into the back of my UPS, but yeah, I was thinking about grabbing some little 3" or so power extension cables and just doing that. I just don't have the physical room for the power bricks, they keep blocking adjacent outlets. o.x

[baronvonsatchel]

7 minutes ago, Sarra said:

It's going into the back of my UPS, but yeah, I was thinking about grabbing some little 3" or so power extension cables and just doing that. I just don't have the physical room for the power bricks, they keep blocking adjacent outlets. o.x

I had the exact same problem with my UPS, I ended up getting a cheap power strip with a 3ft cord and no surge protection (which is fine because the UPS handles that already) to connect all my chunky power bricks.

[Sarra]

1 hour ago, baronvonsatchel said:

I had the exact same problem with my UPS, I ended up getting a cheap power strip with a 3ft cord and no surge protection (which is fine because the UPS handles that already) to connect all my chunky power bricks.

Yeah, some of the crap I have to plug in have stupid huge power bricks. o.x I'll just get some short extensions and run each one off the UPS like that.

[rice guru]

How about keychron q2 or v2 if you want to save money with gateron blue. Which is a little better than cherry blues.  The caps are not bad in the. But if you wanted to you can go full custom with them and I can point you to some nice affordable keycaps

[Sarra]

18 hours ago, rice guru said:

How about keychron q2 or v2 if you want to save money with gateron blue. Which is a little better than cherry blues.  The caps are not bad in the. But if you wanted to you can go full custom with them and I can point you to some nice affordable keycaps

I'm probably going to get new keyboards for both of my desktop machines, so price isn't that big of an issue. I can get a nice one for the deck, and over time, step down my older keyboards from my gaming PC and server. I think I'm going Ducky, but I'm not 100% yet.

[rice guru]

5 minutes ago, Sarra said:

I'm probably going to get new keyboards for both of my desktop machines, so price isn't that big of an issue. I can get a nice one for the deck, and over time, step down my older keyboards from my gaming PC and server. I think I'm going Ducky, but I'm not 100% yet.

Yeah the newer Ducky's aren't bad . Their trying somewhat hard to keep up with the competition but I personally can't help but think their a bit outdated considering how fast the keeb market moves

[Sarra]

Just now, rice guru said:

Yeah the newer Ducky's aren't bad . Their trying somewhat hard to keep up with the competition but I personally can't help but think their a bit outdated considering how fast the keeb market moves

You say that, yet, I'm using two keyboards that are basically refreshed models from 2012.

 

I generally get peripherals, and just keep using them until they wear out, break, or, in this case, I really want to completely redo my entire setup.

[rice guru]

2 hours ago, Sarra said:

You say that, yet, I'm using two keyboards that are basically refreshed models from 2012.

 

I generally get peripherals, and just keep using them until they wear out, break, or, in this case, I really want to completely redo my entire setup.

Sorry I wrote my previous comment from a somewhat begginer keyboard enthusiast but also enthusiast of other hobbies perspective. The keeb market has a lot of things an enthusiast can care about but others won't. A newer ducky mechanical keyboard like a One 3 has some stuff that I look for that the ducky one 2 the older model doesn't. More notably hotswap pcb. Which allows any user to swap their keyboard from say anice tactile to a clicky or linear if they so wish to swap. All without needing any tools aside from a keycap puller and a switch puller which to me these days is near essential for any board over a $100 u less if course and enthusiast wants to make their life harder or have specific modifier needs and chooses to go with a soldered pcb. In the price range that a ducky one 3 sits at these days it's not a bad board really solid pbt keycaps and very good plastic build quality, I Tend to rate ducky higher than most gaming brands like Corsair or razer anyway. But if you explore the custom market a little bit and spend just a little bit extra you can get a really solid custom. With all new bells and whistles like gasket mount , knobs , qmk programming , better stabalizers. But all for that requires a lot more time and effort. But an enthusiast may care more about things like sound , and switch feel than someone who isn't really into the hobby. At the end of the day a keyboard is meant to be pressed and put text on a screen everything else is extra bullshit.

 

 

[Sarra]

14 minutes ago, rice guru said:

Sorry I wrote my previous comment from a somewhat begginer keyboard enthusiast but also enthusiast of other hobbies perspective. The keeb market has a lot of things an enthusiast can care about but others won't. A newer ducky mechanical keyboard like a One 3 has some stuff that I look for that the ducky one 2 the older model doesn't. More notably hotswap pcb. Which allows any user to swap their keyboard from say anice tactile to a clicky or linear if they so wish to swap. All without needing any tools aside from a keycap puller and a switch puller which to me these days is near essential for any board over a $100 u less if course and enthusiast wants to make their life harder or have specific modifier needs and chooses to go with a soldered pcb. In the price range that a ducky one 3 sits at these days it's not a bad board really solid pbt keycaps and very good plastic build quality, I Tend to rate ducky higher than most gaming brands like Corsair or razer anyway. But if you explore the custom market a little bit and spend just a little bit extra you can get a really solid custom. With all new bells and whistles like gasket mount , knobs , qmk programming , better stabalizers. But all for that requires a lot more time and effort. But an enthusiast may care more about things like sound , and switch feel than someone who isn't really into the hobby. At the end of the day a keyboard is meant to be pressed and put text on a screen everything else is extra bullshit.

 

 

Yeah, I've got a MX Cherry Red and MX Cherry Blue keyboard, both side by side, and I vastly prefer the Blue.

 

Mostly, I want to get a nice, 60 or 65% keyboard, and just go nuts with keycaps, maybe in the future do some different switches, but I don't find myself wanting anything besides blues. I tried Razer keyboards in the past, but... The 3 I ended up trying all were either DOA or had severe problems. Then again, I also got a Steelseries keyboard that had some problems... I finally returned the second one of those, plonked down another $30, and got my first K70, which lasted about a year before a Mt Dew spill killed it. And I got another one.

 

I generally don't kill boards anymore, though, I have entirely stopped being a slob at my desk and eat food at the food eating table instead of my desk.

 

I just swapped out a M65 for a Glorious D- Wireless, and I'm really liking the change, so I think it's time to remove iCUE from my system and maybe upgrade my Nostromo to something newer, maybe an Azeron.

[rice guru]

3 hours ago, Sarra said:

Yeah, I've got a MX Cherry Red and MX Cherry Blue keyboard, both side by side, and I vastly prefer the Blue.

 

Mostly, I want to get a nice, 60 or 65% keyboard, and just go nuts with keycaps, maybe in the future do some different switches, but I don't find myself wanting anything besides blues. I tried Razer keyboards in the past, but... The 3 I ended up trying all were either DOA or had severe problems. Then again, I also got a Steelseries keyboard that had some problems... I finally returned the second one of those, plonked down another $30, and got my first K70, which lasted about a year before a Mt Dew spill killed it. And I got another one.

 

I generally don't kill boards anymore, though, I have entirely stopped being a slob at my desk and eat food at the food eating table instead of my desk.

 

I just swapped out a M65 for a Glorious D- Wireless, and I'm really liking the change, so I think it's time to remove iCUE from my system and maybe upgrade my Nostromo to something newer, maybe an Azeron.

Yeah unfortunately the reason I got into the hobby is I was tired of cherry MX switches as to me they all kinda lacked the amount of tactility or smoothness I wanted and go into trying more enthusiast recommended switches like gateron ink backs , c3 tangerines, and holy pandas and for a time the only boards who made swapping switches easy were more enthusiast brands. I just generally stay away from. bigger gamer brands for the most part not because their products are bad I just try to keep my desk gamer logo free

[Sarra]

8 hours ago, rice guru said:

Yeah unfortunately the reason I got into the hobby is I was tired of cherry MX switches as to me they all kinda lacked the amount of tactility or smoothness I wanted and go into trying more enthusiast recommended switches like gateron ink backs , c3 tangerines, and holy pandas and for a time the only boards who made swapping switches easy were more enthusiast brands. I just generally stay away from. bigger gamer brands for the most part not because their products are bad I just try to keep my desk gamer logo free

My K70's sit so far under my desk that I can't see the logos anyway.