keyboard Mechanical keyboard suggestion?

[WannaBeTechGuy]

CQ, CQ,

to keep it short: 

• quite 
• RGB(just to set it to low single-color tee-green)
• I don't game, my main usage is code, design, and drawing.
• I would like it not to be in your face design.
• I don't care for the 100% keyboards, but the number pad is a must
• budget 80-90Euros

I'm writing my dissertation and getting frustrated with the force I need to hit the key while typing. my fingertips would appreciate your suggestions.

Thanks 

 

[Agall]

51 minutes ago, WannaBeTechGuy said:

CQ, CQ,

to keep it short: 

• quite 
• RGB(just to set it to low single-color tee-green)
• I don't game, my main usage is code, design, and drawing.
• I would like it not to be in your face design.
• I don't care for the 100% keyboards, but the number pad is a must
• budget 80-90Euros

I'm writing my dissertation and getting frustrated with the force I need to hit the key while typing. my fingertips would appreciate your suggestions.

Thanks 

 

Suggestion, backlit keyboards are overrated when you've got the glow of a monitor the whole time. My recent keyboard, I chose hot swappable keys over RGB and I don't regret it. Outside of fancy rainbow stuff, its not necessary if you're a sufficiently skilled typist who doesn't need to look at the keyboard.

[191x7]

58 minutes ago, WannaBeTechGuy said:

CQ, CQ,

to keep it short: 

• quite 
• RGB(just to set it to low single-color tee-green)
• I don't game, my main usage is code, design, and drawing.
• I would like it not to be in your face design.
• I don't care for the 100% keyboards, but the number pad is a must
• budget 80-90Euros

I'm writing my dissertation and getting frustrated with the force I need to hit the key while typing. my fingertips would appreciate your suggestions.

Thanks 

 

HyperX Alloy with Aqua switches.

[alyen]

What are you using now?

 

I mainly stay with full size keyboards. since the layout is always the same. There are difference configurations with less keys, but the problem I find is when I change keyboards some of the keys like page up/down, home/end and other keys can be in different places. It gets annoying if I keep press the wrong keys for shortcuts or need to reassign keys.

[WannaBeTechGuy]

1 hour ago, Agall said:

Suggestion, backlit keyboards are overrated when you've got the glow of a monitor the whole time. My recent keyboard, I chose hot swappable keys over RGB and I don't regret it. Outside of fancy rainbow stuff, its not necessary if you're a sufficiently skilled typist who doesn't need to look at the keyboard.

hi Agall, 
I don't usually look at the keyboard but at some point of the day, I start looking down. but I would be willing to give up on RGB for a hot-swappable, but I thought hot-swappable keyboard would increase the price of the product, no?

[Agall]

1 minute ago, WannaBeTechGuy said:

hi Agall, 
I don't usually look at the keyboard but at some point of the day, I start looking down. but I would be willing to give up on RGB for a hot-swappable, but I thought hot-swappable keyboard would increase the price of the product, no?

 It depends, I had to go to a custom keyboard company to get what I was looking for. I imagine being in the EU, you could find Cherry branded office keyboards that aren't RGB for pretty cheap. My suggestion is mostly in case you find something you really like at the price point you're looking for but it doesn't have RGB, being that I don't think its a useful feature outside of aesthetics.

 

The argument against that being "but I'm able to see the keys better in the dark" is easily countered by the fact that you shouldn't be sitting in a dark room with a bright monitor glow and by the nature of being at a computer, you have a monitor beaming right at your keyboard. Also the necessity for backlighting is overcame by typing skills.

 

Just something to consider since it can expand your options, wasn't something I had a strong opinion on until I lived it again, since the last non backlit gaming keyboard I had was like 2015.

[WannaBeTechGuy]

1 hour ago, alyen said:

What are you using now?

 

I mainly stay with full size keyboards. since the layout is always the same. There are difference configurations with less keys, but the problem I find is when I change keyboards some of the keys like page up/down, home/end and other keys can be in different places. It gets annoying if I keep press the wrong keys for shortcuts or need to reassign keys.

HI Alyen,

I don't know, I use whatever generic keyboard I have in the office and the keyboard of a ThinkPad. I'm not attached to a specific layout. every PC in our lab has a different layout, German, British, US. we have it all. I prefer to use the US one, but that is beside the point. what I'm trying to say is I can adapt to a new layout. I don't like the 100% one and if the number pad was not important I would have said I would go for a 60% one. but I need a number pad, so I would be happy with anything that is between a 100% and 60% with a number pad.

[WannaBeTechGuy]

3 minutes ago, Agall said:

 It depends, I had to go to a custom keyboard company to get what I was looking for. I imagine being in the EU, you could find Cherry branded office keyboards that aren't RGB for pretty cheap. My suggestion is mostly in case you find something you really like at the price point you're looking for but it doesn't have RGB, being that I don't think its a useful feature outside of aesthetics.

 

The argument against that being "but I'm able to see the keys better in the dark" is easily countered by the fact that you shouldn't be sitting in a dark room with a bright monitor glow and by the nature of being at a computer, you have a monitor beaming right at your keyboard. Also the necessity for backlighting is overcame by typing skills.

 

Just something to consider since it can expand your options, wasn't something I had a strong opinion on until I lived it again, since the last non backlit gaming keyboard I had was like 2015.

I get your point. thanks for sharing your experience
to be honest I don't want to spend time looking at keyboards as I'm a bit tight on time with my dissertation, so do you have companies in mind that I can look at that would align with what you said?

[GarlicDeliverySystem]

2 hours ago, WannaBeTechGuy said:

• quite 
• RGB(just to set it to low single-color tee-green)
• I don't game, my main usage is code, design, and drawing.
• I would like it not to be in your face design.
• I don't care for the 100% keyboards, but the number pad is a must
• budget 80-90Euros

• Quiet is more a function of the switches, not so much of the whole keyboard. Yes, certain materials and keycaps amplify sound more or make it 'clacky', but getting silent switches is the main factor to go for here.
• wired or wireless?
• ISO or ANSI layout?

Whatever you get, I would suggest to go with something that has hotswap sockets for the switches. Means you can easily replace them yourself once one breaks or you think they are too loud or not to your liking.

 

My usual go to recommendations:

• https://www.keychron.com/products/keychron-k10-pro-qmk-via-wireless-mechanical-keyboard
• https://www.keychron.com/products/keychron-v6-qmk-custom-mechanical-keyboard
• https://www.keychron.com/products/keychron-v5-qmk-custom-mechanical-keyboard
• https://akkogear.eu/collections/1800-compact-keyboards
• https://akkogear.eu/collections/100-full-size-keyboards

If you get a barebones, you will need to get switches and keycaps separately. Assembly is usually rather simple, just plug everything in. Yes, you can get into modding, lubing etc. but with most kits nowadays and pre-lubed switches this isn't really worth it most of the time imho.

 

[Agall]

4 minutes ago, WannaBeTechGuy said:

I get your point. thanks for sharing your experience
to be honest I don't want to spend time looking at keyboards as I'm a bit tight on time with my dissertation, so do you have companies in mind that I can look at that would align with what you said?

Not familiar enough with the European market to make a good call. I got mine from WASD Keyboards but that's a Californian company, so shipping to Europe would probably make the $200 USD price tag far higher.

 

Maybe see if you can find a Cherry G80-3815LWAUS-2 at a local online retailer.

CHERRY Keyboard - G80-3815LWAUS-2 - Keyboards - CDW.com

 

Not sure if CDW.com is in the EU, but Cherry is a German company, so I wouldn't doubt if you could find this keyboard even cheaper. Cherry MX silent reds are called 'pink' and are the same keys I use. Definitely a solid key switch with light force and silent, considered an improvement over red's which were the gaming keyboard standard switch for a decade.

[saintlouisbagels]

22 minutes ago, Agall said:

Not familiar enough with the European market to make a good call. I got mine from WASD Keyboards but that's a Californian company, so shipping to Europe would probably make the $200 USD price tag far higher.

 

Maybe see if you can find a Cherry G80-3815LWAUS-2 at a local online retailer.

CHERRY Keyboard - G80-3815LWAUS-2 - Keyboards - CDW.com

 

Not sure if CDW.com is in the EU, but Cherry is a German company, so I wouldn't doubt if you could find this keyboard even cheaper. Cherry MX silent reds are called 'pink' and are the same keys I use. Definitely a solid key switch with light force and silent, considered an improvement over red's which were the gaming keyboard standard switch for a decade.

I would second @Agall's recommendation.

A quiet, 100%, mechanical keyboard is going to be far too expensive unless you're proficient with solder/desoldering.

100%/96% keyboards are uncommon. Quiet switches have to be aftermarket, which adds on ~$50-$80 for JUST the switches.

If you find a very cheap 100% keyboard it will be $50-$90 minimum, and it will likely NOT have a hot-swappable PCB, which means you need soldering skills to replace switches.

[WannaBeTechGuy]

@Agall@GarlicDeliverySystem@saintlouisbagels

 

I want to thank you for all the help, I'm grateful you are taking the time answer my question.

 

I have been doing through your recommendation, I was about sold on the "9009 Retro 3098B" until the price jumped by 30$ at the checkout, but I stumbled by Epomaker RT100 review on ShortCircuit. its hot-swappable, runs with and without cable, has a number pad, 96%, the keys seem quite, a bit off budget at 110Euros but i like it

 

all that said, I wanted to ask if I'm missing something about Epomaker RT100 that I should consider.

 

 

[Agall]

13 minutes ago, WannaBeTechGuy said:

@Agall@GarlicDeliverySystem@saintlouisbagels

 

I want to thank you for all the help, I'm grateful you are taking the time answer my question.

 

I have been doing through your recommendation, I was about sold on the "9009 Retro 3098B" until the price jumped by 30$ at the checkout, but I stumbled by Epomaker RT100 review on ShortCircuit. its hot-swappable, runs with and without cable, has a number pad, 96%, the keys seem quite, a bit off budget at 110Euros but i like it

 

all that said, I wanted to ask if I'm missing something about Epomaker RT100 that I should consider.

 

 

If the short right shift doesn't bother you, then it looks good. Some of those specific choices can be harmless or detrimental, probably the best way to determine whether that one will is see how far you use the right shift key. If you're mostly using the left edge of it, then you'll probably not notice it.

 

Outside of that, I'm not picky on the 'features' of a keyboard, more of its functional design and layout.

[GarlicDeliverySystem]

7 minutes ago, WannaBeTechGuy said:

I have been doing through your recommendation, I was about sold on the "9009 Retro 3098B" until the price jumped by 30$ at the checkout, but I stumbled by Epomaker RT100 review on ShortCircuit. its hot-swappable, runs with and without cable, has a number pad, 96%, the keys seem quite, a bit off budget at 110Euros but i like it

Yeah, that happens a lot. I've been there plenty of times, paying like 50% or more extra for shipping, taxes/VAT (21% here, damn), import fees etc. It can really sour the experience when you see a great deal or want to treat yourself to something nice and shiny, only to see the final price go up significantly at checkout.

 

Seems to be a decent keyboard for the price, looks like there are quite a few options for switches as well, though they appear to impact the price (G Pro yellows being ~15EUR more expensive?! You can get a full set for ~24EUR at e.g. keychron.de).

 

The only negative I can really see is that it is not easy to take apart due to using plastic clips instead of screws. It is a shame, but apparently great budget 100% or 90+ % boards made of metal are rare and still expensive. something to do with the max. part size on most common milling machines apparently.

1 minute ago, Agall said:

If the short right shift doesn't bother you, then it looks good. Some of those specific choices can be harmless or detrimental, probably the best way to determine whether that one will is see how far you use the right shift key. If you're mostly using the left edge of it, then you'll probably not notice it.

This is one I found out the hard way. Got a really cheap ~67% board for fun and just modding, plus testing switches and seeing how I like the layout in general. Found I always pressed the up-arrow when using right shift... so that now excludes me from most 96% or 98% boards, as well as most small boards.

 

[saintlouisbagels]

45 minutes ago, WannaBeTechGuy said:

@Agall@GarlicDeliverySystem@saintlouisbagels

 

I want to thank you for all the help, I'm grateful you are taking the time answer my question.

 

I have been doing through your recommendation, I was about sold on the "9009 Retro 3098B" until the price jumped by 30$ at the checkout, but I stumbled by Epomaker RT100 review on ShortCircuit. its hot-swappable, runs with and without cable, has a number pad, 96%, the keys seem quite, a bit off budget at 110Euros but i like it

 

all that said, I wanted to ask if I'm missing something about Epomaker RT100 that I should consider.

 

 

Good find.

The Sea Salt Silent Switch appear to be proficiently quiet. These are also the switches used in the ShortCircuit video.

 

[WannaBeTechGuy]

Happy New Year,

@Agall@GarlicDeliverySystem@saintlouisbagels

 

I want to thank you for your help. I'm writing to you using the RT100.  it feels great and sounds cozy. 

its my first mechanical one so I'm not used to how responsive it is and I'm registering unwanted strokes while typing but I will get used to it in time. the shift key is not great. although I use the left side of it most of the time sometimes I do extend hitting both shift and up thus highlighting the raw above. but since I write while looking at the screen it has not caused me major problems.

what I find it hard to get used to is the missing home and end keys. I'm surprised how much I reach to them and they are not there. I seems to have unknowingly become a 100% keyboard user. oh well ...

 

All in all, I'm enjoying my new keyboard very much and want to thank you again for your help.

[GarlicDeliverySystem]

Happy New Year to you, too! @WannaBeTechGuy

 

I am glad you enjoy your new keyboard!

As with most things, it can take a minute to get used to. If it still feels too light to the touch or you keep making mistakes, you can always look for stiffer switches and put them in. That is the advantage of a hotswap keyboard, after all.

 

But give it a few days/weeks and see, welcome to the hobby

[WannaBeTechGuy]

On 1/1/2024 at 9:25 PM, GarlicDeliverySystem said:

Happy New Year to you, too! @WannaBeTechGuy

 

I am glad you enjoy your new keyboard!

As with most things, it can take a minute to get used to. If it still feels too light to the touch or you keep making mistakes, you can always look for stiffer switches and put them in. That is the advantage of a hotswap keyboard, after all.

 

But give it a few days/weeks and see, welcome to the hobby

 

sorry to open this thread again, but I wanted to ask if it is normal to see sparks when typing on my keyboard. 

does not happen all the time and at first I thought I was imagining it but now I'm sure. I just wanna ask if it is normal because I don't see people talking about it. and if it is not normal do you know how I should go about it?

[GarlicDeliverySystem]

No, sparks are definitely not normal and you should contact the vendor/manufacturer asap.

Apart from the LED Backlight nothing should make any light when you use a keyboard.

[saintlouisbagels]

Kind of sounds badass though.

The way you sometimes see a spark when you plug in a charging brick... but it happens at every keypress? That's cool as hell. Someone needs to program that as an LED light effect.

[WannaBeTechGuy]

10 hours ago, saintlouisbagels said:

Kind of sounds badass though.

The way you sometimes see a spark when you plug in a charging brick... but it happens at every keypress? That's cool as hell. Someone needs to program that as an LED light effect.

If it was on porpoise then yes it would be badass but it's an unintentional badassness.

 

No, not with every key stroke. It happen every now and then.

 

 

19 hours ago, GarlicDeliverySystem said:

No, sparks are definitely not normal and you should contact the vendor/manufacturer asap.

Apart from the LED Backlight nothing should make any light when you use a keyboard.

I sent them an email as you recommended. They asked for a video. I will try to film it at night as it will be more pronounce.