Help me buy a keyboard

Beck

So, my keyboard of five years is finally dying on me, and I'm having a hard time finding a new one. I tried looking at futureshop, and other stores in my area, but they really only stocked Microsoft curve keyboards, which I absolutely despise. I was just wondering if you guys may have a favorite, or know of an easily recommendable keyboard.

I do have a few requirements:

Must be a USB Keyboard.
Must be wired.
I would prefer the price to stay under $80 Canadian, preferably closer to 60.
I don't do the ergonomic thing.

That's about it...Thanks a lot for your input, I appreciate it!

Brodo Faggins

If those are your only requirements, just go into a Best Buy and find the cheapest one you can. The majority of keyboards these days use USB, so your options will be excellent.

Angel_of_Bacon

If you want a tank of a keyboard, you might want something like this:
http://pckeyboards.stores.yahoo.net/customizer.html

It's the same design as the old IBM model M, just a different color and USB compatible. It's heavy, it's loud, the keys click, it sure as hell isn't ergonomic and it doesn't have a bunch of extra buttons on it. But the reputation for them (although maybe the quality has gone down since the design was sold to Unicomp from IBM, I dunno), that they will last forever, and take a beating like a champ. I had one on an old 486 and never had problems with it, I wish I knew where it was now.

Next time I buy a keyboard that's what I'm going to get- with the last two keyboards I' bought I tried to cheap out on and get the cheapest one I could find at Best Buy- first one I got had some stupid power button on it that hard shut down my computer immediately if I accidentally touched it, which I ended up taping plastic bottle caps over to prevent. The one I've got now is a Logitech something or other that has this stupid F Lock button and a bunch of other worthless shit on it, which is now starting to crap out on me.

EDIT:
This was the first keyboard:

Do not get this keyboard, seriously. It was a GE "power saver" or some crap like that, not worth the $10 or however much it cost.

Jimmy King

Yep, that Model M clone is an excellent choice if they're anything close to as awesome as the originals.

If you're not looking for that sort of thing, I'd try to find a more basic Logitech. Their hardware is generally decent, but like with most keyboards these days, most of it is filled with useless shit buttons. I would avoid the cheapest keyboard you can find route. I've done that a few times. Sure, the keyboards have continue to work for a couple years, but they are miserable to use. The keys feel very spongy, there are a few keys that have to be hit just right or they won't work, etc.

Beck

Angel_of_Bacon wrote: »

If you want a tank of a keyboard, you might want something like this:
http://pckeyboards.stores.yahoo.net/customizer.html

It's the same design as the old IBM model M, just a different color and USB compatible. It's heavy, it's loud, the keys click, it sure as hell isn't ergonomic and it doesn't have a bunch of extra buttons on it. But the reputation for them (although maybe the quality has gone down since the design was sold to Unicomp from IBM, I dunno), that they will last forever, and take a beating like a champ. I had one on an old 486 and never had problems with it, I wish I knew where it was now.

Next time I buy a keyboard that's what I'm going to get- with the last two keyboards I' bought I tried to cheap out on and get the cheapest one I could find at Best Buy- first one I got had some stupid power button on it that hard shut down my computer immediately if I accidentally touched it, which I ended up taping plastic bottle caps over to prevent. The one I've got now is a Logitech something or other that has this stupid F Lock button and a bunch of other worthless shit on it, which is now starting to crap out on me.

Oh, wow, that thing is amazing. I actually forgot to mention I would like to have a few multimedia keys, but that thing takes me back. I'm pretty sure I had the keyboard it was modeled after.

Right now I'm looking at this keyboard, it seems a little fancy with the programmable keys on the left side, but it sounds solid. I haven't gotten anywhere near buying something yet, though, so I'm still very open to any suggestions. And I'll be wary of a keyboard with a button that turns my computer off...Seriously, I don't really know anyone who needs that kind of "convenience."

Murphy

I have a cheap USB keyboard that I bought at NewEgg for like, $4. It works perfectly. I can't find the brand, but I'm sure you can find something that will meet your needs there.

BoomShake

I've been using a Saitek Eclipse and loving it. Sturdy, solid build, backlit keys, volume buttons, nice tactile feel when typing, wired, usb.

Artereis

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823109148

That right there is probably the most comfortable keyboard I've used. If mine were to suffer some horrible fate, I'd go right back out and buy another.

contraband

What is the purported reasoning behind the shitty Logitech "f-lock" keys? Never understood it, never liked it, as all it did was fuck me up.

RandomEngy

I've had my eye on the Dell W7658 slim USB keyboard. It essentially has no edges so it fits in a box nicely if you need to take your computer somewhere and doesn't take up much room on the desk. Plus it's cheap and when I tried it out last year at PAX it seemed pretty solid.

Lewisham

Beck wrote: »

I don't do the ergonomic thing.

If you spend more than three hours at your computer a day, you should seriously consider this. It feels weird at first, but so much more comfortable when you get it. Anything that keeps RSI away is A Good Thing.

Akilae729

RandomEngy wrote: »

I've had my eye on the Dell W7658 slim USB keyboard. It essentially has no edges so it fits in a box nicely if you need to take your computer somewhere and doesn't take up much room on the desk. Plus it's cheap and when I tried it out last year at PAX it seemed pretty solid.

They have these keyboards in my computer labs on campus, and I must say that they suck the ass. If you are used to having a keayboard that has a little heft to it, it makes typing rather akward.

Linoleum Caesar

If you don't mind (or would even prefer) laptop keys you might want to take a look at the Logitech Ultra-X and Ultra Flat keyboards.

They're comfortable, simple (no F-lock bullshit) and very cheap (got mine for 18 euros). I've used one for a few years now and I never saw any reason to "upgrade". The only thing that I'd like is buttons for 'next track' and 'previous track' but you can reprogram other buttons to work with global hotkeys in Winamp.

Burning Organ

I got a plain "Classic" keyboard from Logitech for 8€ and it works wonders. Easy to stain, but I don't mid that.