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Kick Ass Keyboards
Medium Dave
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I just bought and put together a new computer. Yay! It's looks and runs awesome but I feel I need a better keyboard.
Is there anything to these expensive keyboards with cool bells and whistles, or am I better off sticking with my bog standard current board?
Is there anything to these expensive keyboards with cool bells and whistles, or am I better off sticking with my bog standard current board?
Medium Dave on
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I personally have a slightly older G15 gaming keyboard, and I absolutely love it. Being able to macro commands to 15 unique keys (with 3 keysets) is a great feature.
I know it depends on the games you play for how much you get out of one, but for me, the 75 bucks or so that it cost me was worth every penny.
http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/gaming/ProductDetails.aspx?pid=102
The only drawback is the lack of flip feet on the underside. I used a strip of foam to elevate the back of mine.
I love it.
The one downside I can say to my G15, which I believe they fixed with the newer models, is the responsiveness when typing quickly, Double tapping a key while typing and the likes, is somewhat less responsive than I would have expected from a high end keyboard. I type fast (80+ wpm) so maybe that has something to do with it, but for me I do have issues with me hitting a key twice, or moving on to the next key with a space in between and it not recognizing every keystroke.
Do you mean this one? http://www.logitech.com/en-us/keyboards/keyboard/devices/4740
I love that shit. Played around with one in a store and it feels so nice to type on. And it looks and fgeels pretty damn nice, too. Gotta get one right quick, for my new computermotron...
It is a nice keyboard though, but I wouldn't pay more than $40 for it. I don't play any MMOs so that might have something to do with the macros, I just don't see them ever being useful, even in an MMO.
Battle.net
Basically a Model M with native USB support.
Mechanical keyboard with the pure joy of being able register every input. I also like how they've removed the lower left windows key so I don't inadvertently hit it while wads and crouching.
There is the cheaper model 6gv2 which does not come with a rest and lacks USB/mic/speaker ports. Really simple desgin no led or macros or any of that other stuff just s pure keyboard.
"I think I can comment on this because I used to live above the Baby Doll Lounge, a topless bar that was once frequented by bikers in lower Manhattan."
"I think I can comment on this because I used to live above the Baby Doll Lounge, a topless bar that was once frequented by bikers in lower Manhattan."
I had this keyboard and I hated it. That touchpad thing in the top right was wiggy as fuck. It would keep activating on its own, and cycling through music randomly. And whenever that happened it minimized everything else. I threw it away.
I have a DASkeyboard because they have a nice minimalistic look.
I had one of those keyboards, you can get them right here and they are awesome as fuck. They're the mechanical kind and while they're a bit louder than other keyboards they're totally awesome. I don't ever really have anything to type except shit on forums and occasionally IRC but I was coming up with reasons to type just so I could use that keyboard, like reinstalling Typing of the Dead. I am going to buy another once I build my new computer.
edit: Pollo, I didn't notice any difference in gaming, other than pressing the keys felt really nice. I seriously can not state how much I loved the tactile feedback on that thing. I was so sad when I eventually ruined it with beer.
We bought one of those for a friend whose old keyboard sounded like "a horse chewing on toffee" over Skype, as another friend put it. Now we barely hear him type at all. I myself am using the first revision G15, and while the macro keys were very useful in WoW, I haven't used them for any other game since. It's a nice keyboard with a good feel, though, and I like typing on it.
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yeah they are, most modern mechanical keyboards register with only 50% travel, meaning faster response than dome keyboards that require you to down far enough that the dome indents and contacts the base.
Also I think mechanicals have less resistance because with dome keyboards the pre assure increases then falls off then increases again and they still end up having you bottom out, unlike a mechanical key board. DekuSticks link has a mech keyboard intro sticky that will lead you through why mechanical key boards are better, and also explain why my apple keyboard(2010 wifi) felt nicer than all my other keyboards prior to going mechanical.
Also gaming mechanical keyboards will have the ability to register more than even 10 key presses, so no more of this strafing in an fps and the keyboard beeping and locking up because i'm moving diagonally and reloading.
"I think I can comment on this because I used to live above the Baby Doll Lounge, a topless bar that was once frequented by bikers in lower Manhattan."
(IBM mechanical keyboards do use a buckling spring which is different to modern cherry switch mechanicals such as razor black widows or steal seriers mech keyboard. Old Apple key boards are similar to the new cherry switch mechs but used a diffrent switch manufacturer. So mech keyboards have been around since the 80s
"I think I can comment on this because I used to live above the Baby Doll Lounge, a topless bar that was once frequented by bikers in lower Manhattan."
6 and 7 are their mechanical keyboards
http://www2.razerzone.com/resellers/user/
Razor's black widow is their take on modern mechanical keyboards.
Also old IBM or lexmark keyboards or manufactured now Unicomp keyboards. IBM spun off their keyboard manufacturer and named it lexmark who then sold it to some of the workers who now manufacture under Unicomp. link to their online store on page one.
"I think I can comment on this because I used to live above the Baby Doll Lounge, a topless bar that was once frequented by bikers in lower Manhattan."
I've got the Microsoft Natural 4000 linked earlier in the thread at work, and for typing, it is really nice. Probably wouldn't be as nice for gaming, but the keyboard itself is quality.
I have many many keyboards in my household, and I choose that above all.
we also talk about other random shit and clown upon each other
If you're talking to me, apparently I do, according to Overlock's guide :P. I switch between "MX clears" in my office, rubber top in my home, and scissor switches in my laptop. Which is funny, because I hate my office keyboard because it's so crammed with gunk and rather worn out.
I'm using a Microsoft Wireless Desktop 5000, which is decent enough and incredibly convenient (it has really long range consisdering it's not bluetooth). Plus, if something goes wrong with the internals, Microsoft will send you another one for free.
This can't be stressed enough. I know there are companies that have excellent products, but whenever a MS peripheral has broken on me, they've been absolutely excellent in replacing it for me. MS Explorer mouse wire broke? Sent me a free replacement. I later got curious and spliced the wire and then had two working. :P Wife's notebook wireless mouse acting up and the battery compartment got busted enough that the contacts don't stay together? Sent a newer bluetrack model for free.
The only time they've failed me is with my Trackball Explorer. They just don't make any trackballs anymore so they can't replace it. They were kind enough to offer a refund if I sent it in to them, but I decided to instead open it up, rewire it, and get it working again myself. It's that good.
This microsoft keyboard is on it's way out, the switchs are getting worn out. I'l probably buy a mechanical one since I'm programming now and thus spend a lot more time typing.
Yeah, I don't expect Microsoft to replace my Sidewinder FF2, since they stopped making them years ago, but Microsoft is extremely generous with PC hardware replacements--especially since they don't seem to ask for you to send the broken one back. On the other hand, MS used to make top-notch peripherals (joysticks, wheels, etc.), and still do (Xbox 360 controllers) which could compete with Logitech, Saitek and Thrustmaster. They just don't make as much as they used to.
They still make a wide range of mice and keyboards though, but I think they're generally marketed for home office use, not gaming.
!vote
Love the logitech illuminated.
http://www.clickykeyboards.com/ is apparently the place to go for original Model M Keyboards. That's where I got my USB converter for mine.
http://pckeyboards.stores.yahoo.net/index.html is (I think) the keyboard produced by the original factory that made the Model M, so you can get it with windows keys and usb connectors.
One note for gaming - only the last generation of Model M Keyboards seemed to allow for more than 5 keypresses at a time, which means that complicated gaming is best left to the new keyboards or later 90s Model Ms.