Best Gaming Keyboard?

Rezident

Rezident

Rezident

Soldato
Joined
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My trusty Saitek Eclipse II is dying and I need a replacement. Must have backlit keys (different colours is a plus). I like the look of the Razer keyboards but the Logitech G19 also looks pretty good. Any recommendations?
 
I really like my X4, does the job nicely and doesn't cost the earth. My friend has a Razer and the keys have started to wear away already - something to bare in mind.
 
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LiE said:
I really like my X4, does the job nicely and doesn't cost the earth. My friend has a Razer and the keys have started to wear away already - something to bare in mind.
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What's the x4?

I was reading here:
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18249238
that the Razer mechanical keys would last longer?

Originally Posted by morguk View Post
What's good about a mechanical keyboard? I've never looked into it. How does it work differently?
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Rubber dome uses a large rubber sheet with domes (you probably know what this is if you've ever taken apart your keyboard to clean it). A mechanical switch keyboard uses individual mechanical switches for each key.

In regards to what is better about them... they'll last for years without the key pressing action deteriorating over time, which is the most common problem with rubber domes after just a few years. If you're using a keyboard a lot to type, you'll end up with deterioration of the membrane occurring much more quickly.

Most keyboards originally were mechanical switch. The most famous being the IBM buckling spring type, which people still laud as the best keyboard ever made. Rubber dome type keyboards came about by companies cheaping out on the production of keyboards.
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LiE said:
I really like my X4, does the job nicely and doesn't cost the earth. My friend has a Razer and the keys have started to wear away already - something to bare in mind.
Click to expand...

The keycaps? I wouldn't be surprised since the keycaps are clear, coated in some kind of finish and then the legends lasered out of them. It's definitely not one of the best ways to go about making long lasting keycaps with a solid feel.
 
To the OP. If you want a gaming keyboard and are willing to pay the price, I would recommend the Razer Black Widow Ultimate over the Logitech G19. You just can't beat the superior build quality and superior tactile feel of a mechanical switch keyboard compared to a rubber dome. If, as pointed out, keycap wear is a concern, finding replacement keycaps should be a piece of cake as Cherry MX stems are a universal fit and keycaps on blue stem boards will fit on red stems will fit on black stems, clear stems, orange stems, etcetera. So long as they're the MX switch type. And you can get some great replacement caps, using superior methods of manufacturing like double shot injection moulding and in funky colours.

Another recommendation if you're not willing to spend 120+ on a keyboard would be the SteelSeries 7G for £90. (Which also uses black MX switches).

Ultimately keyboards aimed at "gamers" however contain a lot of marketing spiel to sell gimmicks. With things like "gaming optimised" and "anti-ghosting". So long as the keyboard has 6 key rollover, it'll be more than enough for any modern game. The X4 however uses some neat Microsoft technology to provide up to 20 or more simultaneous key presses over USB (the USB interface is usually what limits USB keyboards to 6 key rollover as opposed to no key rollover achievable over PS/2).
 
The Microsoft SideWinder X4 gets recommend quite often on the forums and can be bought for £30-£40!

I'm going for this on my new build when I get round to it.
 
Brian8bit said:
...Ultimately keyboards aimed at "gamers" however contain a lot of marketing spiel to sell gimmicks. With things like "gaming optimised" and "anti-ghosting". So long as the keyboard has 6 key rollover, it'll be more than enough for any modern game...
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Many thanks for the detailed reply. I only play FPSs and I presume rollover is pressing keys at the same time so how important is 6 key rollover in FPSs? I've never seen a keyboard (even my ancient, grey block that came with my dad's old olivettii) that couldn't recognise a few keys pressed simultaneously in games.

One review of the Black Window states:
the keyboard is NOT NKRO. And I don't mean not NKRO as in, because it's USB it can only to 6+4 keys. No. I mean, there are no diodes on the board, so key combos are blocked by the controller instead of by the USB protocol. So you will run into combinations that get blocked at only 2 keys, meaning this is just 2-key rollover. One such combination is Z+X+C, which screwed me up because I use those keys for both emulators and music games. Not that I couldn't find a new cluster of keys to use, but it's just something that I wouldn't want to have happen immediately after spending $130 on a keyboard.
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As long as I can run and strafe and jump it'll do me but should this be a cause for concern?
 
Rezident said:
Many thanks for the detailed reply. I only play FPSs and I presume rollover is pressing keys at the same time so how important is 6 key rollover in FPSs? I've never seen a keyboard (even my ancient, grey block that came with my dad's old olivettii) that couldn't recognise a few keys pressed simultaneously in games.
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Yes, key rollover is how many keys you can press at the same time. There's 2, 4, 6 and N. 2 key, 4 key, 6 key and No key. The number of keys pressed does not include modifiers (I think, not altogether sure). 6 key is the limit to what you can pass over the USB interface before the actual USB interface starts causing problems with multiple keys being depressed. Usually symptoms are that keys fail to register. Though the X4 as I mentioned does use some nifty tech to combat the 6 key limit of the USB interface. PS/2 allows N key rollover, provided the keyboard itself is capable of NKRO.


Rezident said:
One review of the Black Window states:


As long as I can run and strafe and jump it'll do me but should this be a cause for concern?
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Run, strafe and jump shouldn't be a problem, unless you're using Z,X and C for those particular functions :P If it is a worry, I'd recommend looking for more reviews on the BWU to see just how common the problem is. But, if it's a dodgy controller then I would suspect the entire product line using that controller is going to have that problem.

Razer tout the board as "gaming optimised" which means, if the board is 2 key roll over, they've tried to combat key rollover problems at the controller and it hasn't been successful if things like ZXC combinations are dropping key strokes.
 
hmm, ok I'll hold off until I've done some more reading.

Also for X4 fans, X4 is out of stock is the X6 similar (and better?)

Cyborg V5 (and V7) looks like the replacement for my Eclipse, lots of good keybords, decisions decisions.
 
Oh ok, I just assumed the X6 was an updated version of the X4 :confused:

This is far more complicated than I expected for a keyboard! I suppose it's good that we've got a lot of choice and there's a lot mroe competition for decent Gaming keyboards than there was when I got my Eclipse II.

I think I'll do some in depth research into the top contenders and post my findings. Thanks again for all the suggestions.
 
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