(Mechanical) keyboards: getting started
Welcome to the world of mechanical keyboards! Mechanical keyboards offer many advantages over the standard "rubber dome" keyboards (which tend to make up the vast majority of keyboards out there).
These advantages include:
- A more comfortable and enjoyable typing experience
- Better precision in gaming
However, mechanical keyboards vary greatly regarding overall feel, build quality and price.
Feel and build quality
One of the things you'll realize when you dive into the world of mechanical keyboards is that the "feel" of these keyboards varies greatly depending on how the keyboard is made. Feel is not only how the keyboard "feels" to the touch while typing, but also how it sounds (the pitch, volume, tone, etc.) The following factors affect "keyboard feel":
It's also worth mentioning that despite all these factors and research and force graphs, keyboard "feel" is very subjective. In the end you'll only know if you'll like typing on a particular keyboard until you actually physically try it.
Price ranges
Mechanical keyboards vary greatly in price. As the demand for mechanical keyboards appears to be growing, the number of choices for mechanical keyboards is growing too. The general price ranges tend to be:
- $30 - $100
- Typical keyboard brands: Used IBM Model M, Noppoo, Unicomp
- $100 - $300
- Typical keyboard brands: Topre, Das Keyboard, Deck, Filco, Leopold, Ducky, Happy Hacking Keyboard
- $300 and up
