Mechanical keyboard buyers advice

[Kaspertechgeek]

So I'm considering buying a new keyboard. For the moment I have this Roccat Isku FX wich is a 'normal keyboard'. Is a mechanical keyboard worth the upgrade and what are the advantages/disadvantages? What do I have to watch out for and are there any differences in the feeling of different switches? :blink:

[TheMechEngineer]

I got a Ducky mechanical keyboard for $150 a while ago, and it was so loud and I hated it so much that I'm nervous to buy a new keyboard.

You gotta be real careful and do your research with mechanical keyboards in particular, because I didn't and it was a bad idea.

[Praesi]

I switched from a normal Keyboard to the G910. Its so awesome. Never want go back to rubbish Keyboards. Cant explain the feeling, but yes, its absolutly worth it.

There are alot of different types, so look out for what you like before buy one.

[Kaspertechgeek]

I switched from a normal Keyboard to the G910. Its so awesome. Never want go back to rubbish Keyboards. Cant explain the feeling, but yes, its absolutly worth it.

There are alot of different types, so look out for what you like before buy one.

Ok, so better go to a shop and test some out.

[Pepi28]

I switched from a normal Keyboard to the G910. Its so awesome. Never want go back to rubbish Keyboards. Cant explain the feeling, but yes, its absolutly worth it.

There are alot of different types, so look out for what you like before buy one.

What type of Cherry keys are in your G910? Does it even come with different types of cherry keys?

[Praesi]

What type of Cherry keys are in your G910? Does it even come with different types of cherry keys?

None. They use the new Romer G. They are a bit like the brown cherry mx, but

they are more silent and need 45g preasure. The LED´s are inside the Buttons, so no light anywhere else. Only the Letters ect. are shining.

[JebKerman]

What type of Cherry keys are in your G910? Does it even come with different types of cherry keys?

Romer-G (aka Omron, not cherry), perform very similarly to MX browns but function differently iirc. LTT has a couple of videos regarding it:

[Pepi28]

Romer-G (aka Omron, not cherry), perform very similarly to MX browns but function differently iirc. LTT has a couple of videos regarding it:

 Thanks for the links and the info. I have been looking into upgrading to mechanical too. Have been using the cooler master devistator storm bundle for a while now, but ever since i tried a mechanical keyboard at a store i was hooked. 

[olbaze]

Two anecdotes on mechanical vs membrane:

1. My older sister, after using my PC for a few hours during a visit, commented on how comfortable it is to write on my mechanical keyboard.
2. I cleaned my mechanical keyboard the other day, forcing me to use my membrane keyboard for a number of hours. That was not nice.

Now that that's out of the way: Getting a mechanical keyboard makes most sense if you spend a lot of time typing on your keyboard. One of the biggest motivators for getting my keyboard two years ago was that I was typing a lot of essays at the time. Since I hadn't used a mechanical keyboard, I went for the cheapest one I could find, a SteelSeries 6Gv2.

 

To answer your questions:

• There's a whole bunch of different switches and they each do different things. Primarily, the switches are either linear or non-linear. This just means that either there is a tactile bump that you can feel while pressing down, notifying you that the key has been actuated prior to being fully pressed down, which is one of the features of mechanical switches. Beyond that, there's the "heaviness" of the switch, basically how much force is required to press the key down. I have seen some people say that their fingers get fatigued after writing on one of the heavier switches for an extended period of time. The most common switch types are: Non-linear Blue and Brown and linear Black and Red. Difference between Blue and Brown is Blue has an audible click when it actuates, whereas Brown just has the tactile bump. Black and Red switches do not have the tactile bump, with Black being the heavier of the two switches. Some people make an argument that Reds are the best for pure gaming as they are the lightest and linear, making it easier to spam a key, with Blues and Browns being the best for touch typing as you can increase your typing speed by not bottom out the keys.
• The biggest thing to watch out when shopping for a mechanical keyboard would be the layout. Mechanical keyboards are very durable, so buying new keycaps is a big appeal of owning one. A lot of manufacturers (gaming peripheral companies mostly) have all kinds of custom layouts that make it impossible or very difficult for you to buy a new set of keycaps that cover all the keys on your board. This is especially true if you happen to use a non-US layout.

[Kaspertechgeek]

 

Two anecdotes on mechanical vs membrane:

1. My older sister, after using my PC for a few hours during a visit, commented on how comfortable it is to write on my mechanical keyboard.
2. I cleaned my mechanical keyboard the other day, forcing me to use my membrane keyboard for a number of hours. That was not nice.

Now that that's out of the way: Getting a mechanical keyboard makes most sense if you spend a lot of time typing on your keyboard. One of the biggest motivators for getting my keyboard two years ago was that I was typing a lot of essays at the time. Since I hadn't used a mechanical keyboard, I went for the cheapest one I could find, a SteelSeries 6Gv2.

 

To answer your questions:

• There's a whole bunch of different switches and they each do different things. Primarily, the switches are either linear or non-linear. This just means that either there is a tactile bump that you can feel while pressing down, notifying you that the key has been actuated prior to being fully pressed down, which is one of the features of mechanical switches. Beyond that, there's the "heaviness" of the switch, basically how much force is required to press the key down. I have seen some people say that their fingers get fatigued after writing on one of the heavier switches for an extended period of time. The most common switch types are: Non-linear Blue and Brown and linear Black and Red. Difference between Blue and Brown is Blue has an audible click when it actuates, whereas Brown just has the tactile bump. Black and Red switches do not have the tactile bump, with Black being the heavier of the two switches. Some people make an argument that Reds are the best for pure gaming as they are the lightest and linear, making it easier to spam a key, with Blues and Browns being the best for touch typing as you can increase your typing speed by not bottom out the keys.
• The biggest thing to watch out when shopping for a mechanical keyboard would be the layout. Mechanical keyboards are very durable, so buying new keycaps is a big appeal of owning one. A lot of manufacturers (gaming peripheral companies mostly) have all kinds of custom layouts that make it impossible or very difficult for you to buy a new set of keycaps that cover all the keys on your board. This is especially true if you happen to use a non-US layout.

 

Thanks for this very informative comment! You hepled me out!