** Best Mechanical Gaming Keyboard **

Soldato
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Right guys after playing BF3 in my G110 i have come to the conclusion that i am in need of a mechanical keyboard as i am having to really press the buttons for sprinting and such.

Im new to this mechanical keyboard thing and would like to know which is the best one for gaming ?

Was looking at the Corsair K60-K90 as i like the look of the Aluminium but not really fussed.

Help would be much appreciated
 
Need to know your budget and whether you want the bells and whistles.

Red Switches are usually said to be best for FPS games.

Filcos with Red Switches came into stock with the UK Supplier in the past month. Other than that the QPad MK85 is a really good keyboard.
 
The Corsair K90 is a good option ( although not fully mechanical ), or you could get a Filco. If you fancy spending a bit more you can't go wrong with the Qpad MK85. Probably the best mechanical keyboard on the market at the moment. Nice light touch cherry red switches and great backlighting too.
 
Do you want backlighting and tenkeys?

If you don't, but want a good quality keyboard, I would got for either this or this.

Whats the difference between the 2 ?

Not fussed about lights of anything just a good feeling keyboard that works :) Ive always had Logitech.

Also what are the MX black switches like as i read online that reds are the best .. Is that true ?

Thanks
 
The Corsair K90 is a good option ( although not fully mechanical ), or you could get a Filco. If you fancy spending a bit more you can't go wrong with the Qpad MK85. Probably the best mechanical keyboard on the market at the moment. Nice light touch cherry red switches and great backlighting too.

Cant find any filco's in UK but seen someone said the CM Rapid one is the same keyboard but different branding.
 
Black switches are the best for FPS gaming. I have the Steelseries keyboard I linked to.

Some find them harder to type on as the key will register a press only about 2mm down, rather than at the bottom like a normal one. You may make a few typing errors for a while until you get used to it.

I love mine.
 
Cant find any filco's in UK but seen someone said the CM Rapid one is the same keyboard but different branding.

Oh well if you're not bothered about backlighting then just get the CM rapid or the Steelseries mentioned above, and save yourself some pennies. Not sure on this, but don't think the CM rapid is the same as the Filco.
 
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There is no one best mechanical keyboard - theres a range of good ones tho.

While cherry MX black switches are IMO the best for FPS gaming for general useage they are not good.
 
ooooh its defo between the 2 you mentioned now...

But which one.. Any ghosting on either ? Any have better features than the other ?

Whats the build quality like on them ? and do they both use the same switches ?

Sorry for all the questions but im new to Mech keyboards
 
Your OP complains about having to press buttons quite hard if I'm not misunderstanding. Black keys have the same actuation force as rubber dome.

The CM Storm is a good keyboard. I would steer clear of Steelseries, they're overpriced.

Go for red switches, they're the best for FPS and only bad for general use if you tend to misstype.
 
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Your OP complains about having to press buttons quite hard if I'm not misunderstanding. Black keys have the same actuation force as rubber dome.

The CM Storm is a good keyboard. I would steer clear of Steelseries, they're overpriced.

Go for red switches, they're the best for FPS and only bad for general use if you tend to misstype.

Now you have done it, i have found the CM Rapid with red switches in the UK but they are not due untill mid August.

Are the blacks sooo much worse than the reds?
 
ooooh its defo between the 2 you mentioned now...

But which one.. Any ghosting on either ? Any have better features than the other ?

Whats the build quality like on them ? and do they both use the same switches ?

Sorry for all the questions but im new to Mech keyboards

They are both rock solid. The weight of them when you first pick it up is quite something compared to a normal one.

If you want an easier button push go for the CM Storm with the red switches, as stated above. This should see you good. :)

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=KB-007-CM&groupid=702&catid=23&subcat=2107
 
the cm quickfire pro has inferior build quality to the quickfire rapids.

in good news, cm qfr in mx reds have come out for the uk market and will be available in a couple of months' time. i would call it the definitive gaming keyboard on the market right now, with only a single flaw - this being usb 1.1 rather than usb 2.0, therefore not supporting genuine 1000hz polling or full usb nkro (but very very few keyboards are usb 2.0, and therefore all the marketing about 1000hz polling rate is bs anyway). nonetheless the build quality is magnificent (i own one) and the mx reds should be amazing for gaming and typing. i own blacks but if i'd waited 2 weeks i would have seen the red release and gotten that instead. blacks do suck for typing, and fighting games are a bit of a chore, but fps is nice. i'd wait for the reds though...
 
The difference between the switches are you get Linear and Tactile switches with different actuation forces.

In FPS games you want it to be Linear and as long as you're not fumbling all over your keyboard you should go with the lower actuation force which are Reds.
 
the cm quickfire pro has inferior build quality to the quickfire rapids.

in good news, cm qfr in mx reds have come out for the uk market and will be available in a couple of months' time. i would call it the definitive gaming keyboard on the market right now, with only a single flaw - this being usb 1.1 rather than usb 2.0, therefore not supporting genuine 1000hz polling or full usb nkro (but very very few keyboards are usb 2.0, and therefore all the marketing about 1000hz polling rate is bs anyway). nonetheless the build quality is magnificent (i own one) and the mx reds should be amazing for gaming and typing. i own blacks but if i'd waited 2 weeks i would have seen the red release and gotten that instead. blacks do suck for typing, and fighting games are a bit of a chore, but fps is nice. i'd wait for the reds though...

Thanks, the newer ones with the cherry reds look to have red backlighting to.

I will just get a normal one tomorrow until the newer one comes out in 4 weeks time then sell this one on :)

Are they only USB 1.1 ? Sounds like really old tech.
 
MX Browns. Browns are probably the best compromise. They are good for gaming and general typing. There is a group of people who pass around a bag of switches. MX Red/Blue/Black/Brown/Clear and some other mechanical switches. May be worth looking into:

http://deskthority.net/try-before-y...g-version-2-conus-europe-worldwide-t2983.html

The "try before you buy" bag contains:
Cherry :
MX/Red
MX/Blue
MX/Brown
MX/White
MX/Clear
MX/Black
ML
MY
M7

Alps :
Tactile Black
Tactile Orange
Tactile White
Clicky White
Clicky Blue
Clicky Grey
Tactile Cream

Non standard switches:
Topre 55 grams
IBM Model M/F
KPT
Futaba
Monterey Blue
Acer Black
Acer White

There is also a selection of Keycap materals and lettering.

Short review of each Cherry MX switch (Not mine, taken from some forum)

Cherry MX Blue
Clicky and loud if many (one switch in this case has a pleasant click)
Almost unnoticeable tactile feedback when typing fast (this is what a touch typist does)
I found it just a little bit heavier than the MX Red
Excellent choice if you don’t work in a silent environment
Not for gamers

Cherry MX Red
Linear and very light
Smooth key travel with no tactile feedback
Very easy to bottom out, resulting in a loud keyboard
In my opinion, not good for heavy text processing and touch typists, very good for gamers in search for a lightning fast keyboard

Cherry MX Black
This is a heavy switch
Linear with no tactile feedback
Smooth key travel with increasing resistance, resulting in a much silent keyboard
Hard to bottom out
Not good for heavy text processing and touch typists, but very good for gamers who are slamming the keys during gamens

Cherry MX Brown
This switch is almost identical to the blue
Has a small tactile feedback, but no click
It’s an all around switch

In reality, the only way to really decide on what to get is to try them. I know people who like MX Blacks and dislike MX Browns. Yet people who prefer the opposite.

Big thread here, lots of discussion and opinions: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18299334
 
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