Mechanical Keyboard Club!

[Dave :)]

Hello all,

Thought i should get in early and create a central hub for all us Keyboard enthusiasts to congregate.
For those who don't know what a mechanical keyboard is, here is a quick, very brief outline.

 

On a regular rubber dome keyboard, ones you generally find in Schools, work places etc, under each key is rubber dome. When pressed, this rubber dome is pressed down, making contact with the underlying membrane, transferring the electrical impulse through the circuitry and thus telling the computer what button has been pressed.

A mechanical keyboard, on the otherhand, doesn't have such a set up. Instead, underneath each key is an individual switch. When pressed, this switch is forced down, connecting the contact and transferring electrical impulse. The advantages of using a mechanical switch are quite strong, firstly it provides a much more tactile and wholesome feedback, good for telling the user when they have actuated the key. This allows the user, when they have got used to it, to type at a much faster rate as they know the feeling of when they have typed a letter, and thus can increase their word count. Also, mechanical keyboards allow for NKRO, or N-key roll over. Basically this means that the user can press down as many keys as they like, the computer will register all the key strokes. With a membrane board, there is a limit.

For a much more in depth talk, check out Linus' video on Mechanical keyboards.

There are many, many switch variants out there. However the ones you are most likely to come across are: Cherry MX switches. These come in a variety of names, denoted by their colour. Each switch feels slightly different, and provides the user with different reasons to use a switch.

Cherry MX Blues: Tactile, clicky. - Good for typing, not so much gaming.
Cherry MX Browns: Tactile, non-clicky. - Good gaming and typing due to their quietness, but still maintaining the tactile feedback (you can feel a bump when you press the key)
Cherry MX Reds: Linear, non-clicky - Good for gaming, similar to Membrane in linear motion; no bump as it's not tactile.
Cherry MX Blacks : Linear, non-clicky. - Similar to MX Reds, slightly heavier

There are many other variants of the Cherry MX line up, however these are the main constituents which filtrate into the mainstream market.

Simply post what Keyboard you're running, what switch type, TKL or not, and any other mods you've done to it.

Here is my Filco Majestouch 2 TKL:

 

 

Also, checkout the thread Introduction to Mechanical Keyboard by @Eschew

[ACK]

Nice Idea to create a thread for mechanical keyboards.

I believe it might be possible to have Linus or Slick create a sub forum for mechanical keyboard related discussion since they both are great fans of mechanical keyboards.

I am mostly a Cherry MX blue guy and I have a Das Keyboard Proffessional.

[Dave :)]

Nice Idea to create a thread for mechanical keyboards. I believe it might be possible to have Linus or Slick create a sub forum for mechanical keyboard related discussion since they both are great fans of mechanical keyboards. I am mostly a Cherry MX blue guy and I have a Das Keyboard Proffessional.

Hopefully that can happen! Obviously the forum is in early BETA, but yes, as you say they seem huge Mech. Keyboard fans.

Nice board, how do you find the blues? I had a blue board before, the sound eventually did me over, but i loved the typing feeling, hence getting browns :)

[REULINI]

Nice topic Dave! I'm currently using a Ozone Strike, MX Black. I've spoken about this brand (Ozone) to some people, but no one recognized it. Its pretty cool, no problems so far. I also prefer keyboards with no macro keys. My old one was a SteelSeries 7G and I bought it because it was one of the few with my layout (pt), but the keys would jump very easily upon its release. Not very cool when you rage :/

[Kumar]

Great idea!

Hopefully this can be the sort of place people can come when they're looking at going mechanical. I know I fount it hard to get good recommendations when I was first looking.

Looking at the shot of your keyboard made me look down at mine, and it definitely isn't ready for any glamor shots at the moment. I really don't know how you would keep those white keycaps clean!

I use a Ducky Shine with Cherry MX Browns.

Personally haven't tried Blues, but a friend of mine just got one, so I might go see if I like them.

[s0nrise]

I use a Corsair K90 with red switches.

There isnt a lot of choise were I live, so yeah, it also looks good with my setup

[culexor]

CM Storm Quickfire Rapid (Cherry MX Blue) w/ blank keycaps

Das Keyboard Model S Professional Silent (Cherry MX Brown)

[Skittles]

I've been using a Corsair K90 (reds for those that don't know), definitely better than a membrane keyboard and I'm not disappointed with it but I would preferably have something with blues, just didn't have a lot of options at the time.

[FloRolf]

I just got my qpad mk-85 Brown keyboard. I only have to get used to it cause its a big difference between this and my old office keyboard! :D But it rocks!

[Dim]

CM Storm Trigger with blues

[Dim]

^I totally wrote about three sentences and they got dumbed down :C

Good features:

- USB hubs for wired mouse

- Beautiful red LED

- Amazing sound

- Comfortable wristrest

[Money]

Fantastic idea for a topic and nice layout on the post. :)

I have a Black Widow non-ultimate with its strange Blue switches. Hahah. If I were to upgrade what would you guys recommend? I like the blue switches for sure. And I need a num pad.

[nillas12]

Awesome. Hopefully one of you can help me. I have a g15 v1, but its slowly dying on me. So I want a new keyboard. Needs to be Cherry MX browns. Any recommendations?

Also budget is whatever.

[Dave :)]

Fantastic idea for a topic and nice layout on the post. :) I have a Black Widow non-ultimate with its strange Blue switches. Hahah. If I were to upgrade what would you guys recommend? I like the blue switches for sure. And I need a num pad.

Depends what you want really, backlit? Macro keys?

Awesome. Hopefully one of you can help me. I have a g15 v1' date=' but its slowly dying on me. So I want a new keyboard. Needs to be Cherry MX browns. Any recommendations? Also budget is whatever. [/quote']

Same as above, what's your preference for board, tenkeyless? Macro keys? Backlit?

For both of you, i could suggest looking at Ducky Shine II

[nillas12]

Good suggestion. Hopefully I can find a company that has one (NCIXcom doesn't as far as I can tell), that will also ship to Denmark. Getting niche, elite products here in Denmark is very hard, since there isn't really any firms that does that. But thank you for the help.

[Money]

Backlit and macro keys couldn't matter less to me! Hahah

[Dave :)]

Good suggestion. Hopefully I can find a company that has one (NCIXcom doesn't as far as I can tell)' date=' that will also ship to Denmark. Getting niche, elite products here in Denmark is very hard, since there isn't really any firms that does that. But thank you for the help.[/quote']

Yeah i know what you mean. From NCIX i can recommend Steelseries 6GV2 and the CM Storm Quick Fire Rapid, both are great boards which are in stock.

Backlit and macro keys couldn't matter less to me! Hahah

Ha ha, ok. As well as Ducky, have a look at Filco, they are pretty expensive, but they are worth it. Along with that, WASD is another good choice to look at. DAS, Logitech G710+, all great choices. Take your pick really. :)

[nillas12]

Ok, so I did a bit of detective work, and managed to find a danish store which has the Ducky Shine (not 2). What is the difference between the Ducky Shine and the Ducky Shine 2?

[Dave :)]

There aren't huge design differences at all, mostly minor tweaks. I believe the SHINE II has more variety of backlight colours, etc. I would go for the Shine I if that's what you can find. :)

[nillas12]

Sounds good. I will look around a bit more, and if I don't find a Ducky Shine 2, I will grab a Ducky shine. Thanks for the help.

[Dave :)]

Alright, good luck! :)

[MiracleMan]

Does anyone know a shop where i can get the Ducky G2pro with international shipping?

I have a Steelseries 6GV2 at this time, and its a really awesome keyboard but i want a second one with blue switches and without number pad.

[sasparilla]

CM Storm Quickfire Rapid (Cherry MX Blue) w/ blank keycaps Das Keyboard Model S Professional Silent (Cherry MX Brown)

May i ask where to get the blank keycaps? Looks great.

I first wanted to buy the qf rapid since it is built by the same OEM that builds Filcos, but i hated the branding so much i ordered a Majestouch 2 tenkeyless with Cherry MX Blues.

If anyone is interested i will once it arives post some pictures and thoughts of someone, who never had a mechanical keyboard before.

[Dave :)]

CM Storm Quickfire Rapid (Cherry MX Blue) w/ blank keycaps Das Keyboard Model S Professional Silent (Cherry MX Brown)

May i ask where to get the blank keycaps? Looks great. I first wanted to buy the qf rapid since it is built by the same OEM that builds Filcos' date=' but i hated the branding so much i ordered a Majestouch 2 tenkeyless with Cherry MX Blues. If anyone is interested i will once it arives post some pictures and thoughts of someone, who never had a mechanical keyboard before.[/quote']

I got my blank keysets from WASD KEYBOARDS. Great service, fast and good shipping ( all the way to the UK ), also very competitive prices.

[Kilowatts]

Oh yes, this is a good thread. I've been trying a lot of different mechanical keyboards to find my favorite. I started with a Razer Black Widow Ultimate but sold that for a few reasons. Then went to the Corsair k60 with reds which was alright for a bit but ended up not liking all that much. Currently using a Ducky with blacks. I'm liking it but I think I need to buy a true MX blue keyboard and really like this Ducky so if I can find a place that has MX blue Ducky keyboards in-stock ever I might pick one up.