The Oracle Answers

[bryanjeal]

Oh Mighty Keyboard Oracle,

I have lurked for a while, and now I am looking to get my first Mechanical Keyboard.

I think I have decided on Tenkeyless, PCB mounted keyboard (from what I gather it is easier to change switch types) with either MX Brown or MX Clear switches (from what I have read Ergo Clears seem to be the way to go - but I digress).

Backlight is nice but not needed. Removable USB cord is nice as I will use the keyboard at work and home until I can afford a 2nd keyboard (keyboard will be used for coding and gaming).

I am interested in the KBT Race Limited Edition (White or Black with White LEDs); however, I have two issues:

1. I am having trouble finding the KBT Race in stock (from a seemingly reputable place).
2. I live in Canada (shipping and exchange rates seem to push any keyboards I do find around the $200 mark - which I will spend if I have to, but I would like to keep it at a max of $150).

Please give me guidance on where to go/what to do from here.

NOTE: I have not used a mechanical keyboard in 2 decades, so I am not necessarily fixed on the MX Brown or MX Clear switches. I use a current gen Apple Keyboard now.

[bhtooefr]

Oh Mighty Oracle,

I require a keyboard with the following attributes:

Clicky+tactile switch, about 60-70 g peak force
Compact layout (something like the Poker would work great)
Bluetooth
Thin would be nice, too, but if it has to be MX Blues, it has to be MX Blues (I'm not expecting buckling spring)
Remapping would be really nice, because I intend on using it with an Android tablet. The current board I use with that tablet is the Logitech Tablet Keyboard for Android 3.0+. Better than the on-screen keyboard, but sure as hell not good.

Mighty Oracle, what might you suggest?

[kwago]

Oh Great Seer of Board-Based Peripherals,

Low-profile mechanical keyboards, which are known to be the lowest in the land?

[woody]

Low-profile mechanical keyboards, which are known to be the lowest in the land?

Cherry ML based are low profile.

[cookie]

Oh Mighty Keyboard Oracle,

Will the CM Storm Quickfire Rapid become the Filco Killer?
In other words would you prefere the CM Storm over the Filco and if not, why?

Mighty Oracle, thank you for the guidance!

[TheQsanity]

The Keyboard Oracle has decided: The Oracle is currently on a spiritual pelgrimage of moral significance to the Tibetan temple of Yag Po Tshor Ba 'Phrul 'Khor. The Oracle will return soon to duties at deskthority. In the meantime, questions in this thread can be freely answered by senior/knowledgable members.

Too funny! haha. Who came up with this Oracle? Best idea ever!

[ShuttleMunky]

Mighty Oracle!
I require your assistance with this keyboard. What is your input?
http://deskthority.net/keyboards-f2/wha ... t4073.html

[Ascaii]

Mighty Oracle!
I require your assistance with this keyboard. What is your input?
http://deskthority.net/keyboards-f2/wha ... t4073.html

What do more do you need? It is a regular model M in turtkish layout.

[blighty]

Oh Oracle (or whoever feels like chiming in),
Is there a Cherry MX 1800 model with 1.5 modifiers and NKRO (6kro over usb)?

[TheQsanity]

Oh, mystic Oracle, where can I purchase a keyboard with complicated alps keyswitches? Or the next best thing.

[TheQsanity]

Oh Mighty Keyboard Oracle,

Will the CM Storm Quickfire Rapid become the Filco Killer?
In other words would you prefere the CM Storm over the Filco and if not, why?

Mighty Oracle, thank you for the guidance!

It is cheaper, more competitive, and more easily acquired.

[EricDavidson]

Oh mightiest of Oracles!

I have found an even better keyboard than before, and again I have no idea who the manufacturer is. It looks like this with German layout:



It is sold here.

I wonder: Can you see in your holy coffe grounds wherefrom this cometh?

I hope you have a pleasant pilgrimage!

[madmalkav]

Oh, mighty Oracle, I summon your wisdom in my quite broken english to ask thee:

What keyboard should I buy, taking in account that I LOVE to type on a IBM M keyboard but:

- I need something more silent.
- It must be 6KRO at least. As far as I have seem, modding a 2KRO to 6KRO/NKRO requires more hardware hackery than I can do.
- I don't want macro keys, but I can stand them if they are not in the lateral of the keyboard.
- Preferably TKL.
- Any other extras -backlit, etc- will be desirable but I can't afford to expend a lot of money right now.

Also, what places are good for looking for second hand stuff apart from this forum an eBay.de -I'm from Spain and there is no good offers here, Ebay UK sellers doesn't like to send out of UK normally-.

Also, is there a listing with all the current Cherry models that says what switches they use and if they are 2KRO/6KRO/NKRO?

[Daniel Beardsmore]

@madmalkav — buckling springs have a unique feel not captured in any other board. There's nothing on sale that would replace the feel; this is true with most switches: they're all have a unique feel. The closest is probably a Topre Realforce, but keyboardco don't sell Spanish Realforce boards, or any all-55 cN boards. Personally, I find variable to be just fine, and the switches are smooth like BS, but an ergonomic weight and more tactile than BS. The Realforce series is 6KRO over USB, don't remember whether it does NKRO over USB, but the capacitive sensing technology is inherently NKRO.

Cherry MX Clear is relatively smooth and probably similarly tactile, and it's a lot stiffer, but it doesn't drop after the tactile point like BS; rather, the force rises steeply at the bottom, and the tactile point is just an "indication". If you like BS for its stiffness, Clears may suit you better, but the G80-3000 series is 2KRO. I would avoid any Cherry MX switch except Clear, because Black and Red are linear and the rest are very weak compared to BS.

[barkweed]

Omnipotent Oracle (or who it may concern),

I seek a usb-connected numeric keypad with Cherry MX Blue (or Clear or Ergo Clear) switches. Is the US-only (?) Adesso AKP-220B my only option?

[madmalkav]

Thanks for your reply Daniel. Really informative

Spanish layout is not need: as far as it is ISO it would be ok, I can even go with those keyboards with blank keys if the layout is "correct".

Too bad the G80-3000 is just 2KRO.

As I'm in a serious price constraint the Topre stuff is clearly out of my reach. I think I will try to hunt for a cheap second hand Raptor K1 or Quickfire Rapid for testing other type of mechanical keyboards and see how they fell.

[Icarium]

Thanks for your reply Daniel. Really informative

Spanish layout is not need: as far as it is ISO it would be ok, I can even go with those keyboards with blank keys if the layout is "correct".

Too bad the G80-3000 is just 2KRO.

As I'm in a serious price constraint the Topre stuff is clearly out of my reach. I think I will try to hunt for a cheap second hand Raptor K1 or Quickfire Rapid for testing other type of mechanical keyboards and see how they fell.

If it's just about the sound you could try a floss mod on your Model M.
In my opinion all clicky boards are very loud and the non-clicky boards are far less tactile and feel quite different.

[madmalkav]

About the 6KRO requeriment, my girlfriend bought me a Razer Nostromo so I -assume- will play on that an not the keyboard. So I got a cheap G80-1800 on eBay Germany to start my travel among the different switches

[Daniel Beardsmore]

In my opinion all clicky boards are very loud and the non-clicky boards are far less tactile and feel quite different.

Topre 45 g switches are much more tactile than MX blues.

I'm really looking forwards to getting my Matias Quiet Pro to see whether Matias have pulled off a switch that's clean and smooth (like blue Alps) but tactile and not clicky.

[urbanus]

If it's just about the sound you could try a floss mod on your Model M.

Agreed. And put a rubber mat underneath it: that decreases the sound further. That's what I do at work, and it's barely any louder than everyone else's rubber domes when they bottom out.

[bajarwas]

Dear Mechanical Oracle i am in need of your wisdom

this will be my first mechanical keyboard and i can not decide for one or another

here are my priorities

1 Silent
2 comfortable to type on (for a programmer)
3 Spanish layout (not vital but nice to me since i am a Spanish speaker)

my options are:

Import

anything up to 100-120 usd including shipping

from pchome
(Cherry)Cherry original mechanical keyboard G80, 3800 (Tea-axis) Brown-Cherry
(Ducky)Ducky DK9087G2 Pro Brown-Cherry MX ABS keyboard

from cm store
QuickFire Rapid Mechanical Gaming Keyboard - Spanish ISO Layout Keyset Brown-Cherry

or maybe you can recommend another withing the price range

And in my country

Steelseries 6Gv2 Black-Cherry
Tt eSPORT Meka Spanish Version Black-Cherry


i hope you can help me to decide

Code: Select all

Hola Mundo!

[Vierax]

Code: Select all

Hola Mundo!

Welcome here, hombre

I really don't know anything about Alps but, according to Daniel B, a Ducky KB is not a good advice (bad quality). If you want something quiet and robust there is the Matias Quiet Pro but it's over 120 bucks and there is no native Spanish layout.
Cherry G80 series are not so bad but if you want something as quiet as possible, you should consider to add O-Rings on MX keys and avoid clicky switches of course.

If you have no possibility to test different switches to see which fits the best to you, you can have more information here http://deskthority.net/wiki/Main_Page and you can think about a real comparison by searching here http://deskthority.net/try-before-you-buy-f29/

[bajarwas]

Thank you Vierax

Shipping from USA to my country is 40+ USD
Shipping from pchome is just 20 USD on items under 3 Kg

I think i will have to chose something from pchome only

[madmalkav]

There is a german store that have some interesting stuff but can't recall the URL.

Also, there is a guy in the Spanish Language thread that have two CM Quickfire Rapid in spanish layout and perhaps will sell one od them.

[Daniel Beardsmore]

1 Silent

There's no such thing as a silent keyboard. All you can do is decide how much noise is too much noise. From what I can tell, the Matias Quiet Pro has a similar sound to a rubber dome board. Not silent, but definitely not loud: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZaWLiQRJKQ
It's very tactile, and Alps and Alps-style boards are a bit of an acquired taste I think – not sure I'd describe them as "comfortable". The only truly comfortable switch is Topre, but you pay a lot for it. Topre is also very quiet.

You can't get a Cherry G80-3000 board with MX browns — if you don't want the keys to click, it's MX black or MX clears only, neither of which is a good all-round recommendation (they're both very stiff). This is a pity, as the G80-3000 is PCB mounted, and the PCB flex deadens the sound a lot. The CM Storm QuickFire Rapid has filled the vacancy of a cost-effective board with MX brown, but it's not PCB-mounted, so you don't get the dampened sound and comfortable soft landings of a Cherry board.

Otherwise, as Vierax suggests, it's going to be O-rings if you want to bring a mechanical down to office keyboard noise level. Standard plate-mounted Cherry MX-based boards are relatively noisy — non-clicky ones are going to sound like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dR2fD5VEJX4 (that's exactly what mine sounds like, and as you can tell, it's not particularly loud, but it's a very sharp sound)

[webwit]

Silent keyboard!

[Daniel Beardsmore]

Eek.

[bajarwas]

thanks for your help guys

[kbdfr]

Another silent keyboard


http://celluon.com/products.php

[Daniel Beardsmore]

You're saying that it works if you just motion your fingers in the air over the projections?

Learning to not bottom out a projection keyboard, now that would be a challenge!