** Best Mechanical Gaming Keyboard **

For light keypresses you want either red or brown. I'd recommend a Filco Majestouch 2 TKL with browns which is what I use however it costs a little over your budget. With that in mind the CM Storm Quickfire rapid with red switches would be my 2nd choice reccomendation (and it is a LOT cheaper and not really any worse).

I would avoid black switches since they are much heavier to press than reds and browns. Blues also have a high actuation force.
 
All this talk of USB - surely PS/2 is the way forward if you're going to blow a load of cash on a keyboard?
 
I've started using my QPAD MK-85, really nice :)
I also play BF3 and its my first step into mechanical, yes its pricy but it will outlive you. There is also a cheaper version I think MK-50?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=KB-003-QP

I got my MK85 when it was on special @ 99.99 :D

Edit: Ah ok so the MK80 has Blue's the MK85 has Reds, the MK50 has Reds but no backlighting, booo
 
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R.P.L said:
All this talk of USB - surely PS/2 is the way forward if you're going to blow a load of cash on a keyboard?
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nope! usb 2.0 fully invalidates every pro of ps/2, and then adds a bunch of other things like power efficiency, hotplugging, power for backlighting, and widespread availability. ps/2 is better than usb 1.1 and poorly implemented usb 2.0, and most keyboards are usb 1.1 which is why ps/2 is still used at all. when usb 2.0 becomes the norm, we'll see better input lag via usb as well as full nkro over usb. and those are the only reasons people use ps/2 anyway
 
PorkPieCat said:
nope! usb 2.0 fully invalidates every pro of ps/2, and then adds a bunch of other things like power efficiency, hotplugging, power for backlighting, and widespread availability. ps/2 is better than usb 1.1 and poorly implemented usb 2.0, and most keyboards are usb 1.1 which is why ps/2 is still used at all. when usb 2.0 becomes the norm, we'll see better input lag via usb as well as full nkro over usb. and those are the only reasons people use ps/2 anyway
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uhhhhh... no, PS2 has 2 advantages over USB:

1) when a key is pressed it sends an interrupt to the CPU. This means that the CPU recieves the information (near enough) instantly, rather than only at set intervals determined by the polling rate (1000Hz IIRC) like it is on USB. The main advantage is that this frees up CPU time (albeit only a small fraction). The second result is that there is 0 input lag, or rather as close to 0 as we'll ever get, and certainly faster than USB can ever be.

2) n-key rollover. Which can only be implemented in USB via complex circuitry which increases the price and failure potential of the board.

These are both inherent to the way the two interfaces are designed and no revision of USB is going to change that.
 
xtremedetailz said:
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
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I've just bought a G110 to replace my mechanical keyboard (Qpad MK-50)...
 
Stinger53 said:
people use ps/2 because of the key recognition. usb can only take about 4-6 keys ps/2 can take up to 20
from what i've gathered
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USB can go to NKRO, though the keyboards that have it are limited and more expencive. Most USB keyboards stick to 6KRO, though keyboards like the K series from Corsair have 20, which is more than most people will use.

SheepBeast said:
uhhhhh... no, PS2 has 2 advantages over USB:

1) when a key is pressed it sends an interrupt to the CPU. This means that the CPU recieves the information (near enough) instantly, rather than only at set intervals determined by the polling rate (1000Hz IIRC) like it is on USB. The main advantage is that this frees up CPU time (albeit only a small fraction). The second result is that there is 0 input lag, or rather as close to 0 as we'll ever get, and certainly faster than USB can ever be.

2) n-key rollover. Which can only be implemented in USB via complex circuitry which increases the price and failure potential of the board.

These are both inherent to the way the two interfaces are designed and no revision of USB is going to change that.
Click to expand...

There is also the fact that drivers play a part in NKRO over USB, which can also be slightly iffy, it depends who you buy from.

Also, great choice by OP, it is a really great keyboard.
 
SheepBeast said:
uhhhhh... no, PS2 has 2 advantages over USB:

1) when a key is pressed it sends an interrupt to the CPU. This means that the CPU recieves the information (near enough) instantly, rather than only at set intervals determined by the polling rate (1000Hz IIRC) like it is on USB. The main advantage is that this frees up CPU time (albeit only a small fraction). The second result is that there is 0 input lag, or rather as close to 0 as we'll ever get, and certainly faster than USB can ever be.

2) n-key rollover. Which can only be implemented in USB via complex circuitry which increases the price and failure potential of the board.

These are both inherent to the way the two interfaces are designed and no revision of USB is going to change that.
Click to expand...

uhhhhh... no to you too ^^

thing is you can get nkro over usb 1.1 and keyboard makers sometimes use strange methods like registering the keyboard as multiple peripherals to allow this. however when properly implemented, usb 2.0 keyboards have the potential to reach nkro without input lag or problems otherwise. as for failure potential, i think you could say ps/2 port pins are pretty fallible too. as for cost, i'd pay more for a keyboard that was better in every way.

ps/2 is only theoretically better than usb. however i can tell you from testing (and with corroborating evidence from more knowledgeable wikis and people, well, from the the now dead geekhack) that ps/2 requires at the very least 2ms per keystroke. this is because keyboards send 2 bytes of data per keystroke, or 3 depending on which key you're pressing. each byte takes a little over a millisecond to transfer over ps/2, thus making the total lag of ps/2 2ms per key minimum. some keys take 5ms because they send 3 bytes - one extra byte that is needed for compatibility with older OSes. examples include the arrow keys.

usb 2.0 (not 1.1) can poll at 1000hz natively (without hacks) under windows and can therefore send the same 2 bytes every millisecond. moreover with usb's increased bandwidth, it literally does take 1ms, not 1.x ms per byte of data. in practice this means usb1.1 < ps/2 < usb 2.0. ps/2 is only thought to be faster than usb because of myths and incorrect knowledge, no doubt worsened because there's only a handful of usb 2.0 keyboards even out there. once usb 2.0 becomes the common interface, ps/2 will no longer have any advantages. ps/2 interrupting the cpu directly is a myth. both protocols go through chips (super i/o for ps/2, and southbridge for usb) that then send the info to the cpu, and neither takes a millisecond longer than the other at this stage, despite usb taking an extra step via drivers in os. the only siginificant time to consider then is 1ms (usb 2.0) vs ~2.2ms/5ms (ps/2), and 1ms is definitely better. usb 1.1 which polls at 8ms+ intervals, regardless of binterval in the descriptor, is of course the worst.
 
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PorkPieCat said:
uhhhhh... no to you too ^^

thing is you can get nkro over usb 1.1 and keyboard makers sometimes use strange methods like registering the keyboard as multiple peripherals to allow this. however when properly implemented, usb 2.0 keyboards have the potential to reach nkro without input lag or problems otherwise. as for failure potential, i think you could say ps/2 port pins are pretty fallible too. as for cost, i'd pay more for a keyboard that was better in every way.

ps/2 is only theoretically better than usb. however i can tell you from testing (and with corroborating evidence from more knowledgeable wikis and people, well, from the the now dead geekhack) that ps/2 requires at the very least 2ms per keystroke. this is because keyboards send 2 bytes of data per keystroke, or 3 depending on which key you're pressing. each byte takes a little over a millisecond to transfer over ps/2, thus making the total lag of ps/2 2ms per key minimum. some keys take 5ms because they send 3 bytes - one extra byte that is needed for compatibility with older OSes. examples include the arrow keys.

usb 2.0 (not 1.1) can poll at 1000hz natively (without hacks) under windows and can therefore send the same 2 bytes every millisecond. moreover with usb's increased bandwidth, it literally does take 1ms, not 1.x ms per byte of data. in practice this means usb1.1 < ps/2 < usb 2.0. ps/2 is only thought to be faster than usb because of myths and incorrect knowledge, no doubt worsened because there's only a handful of usb 2.0 keyboards even out there. once usb 2.0 becomes the common interface, ps/2 will no longer have any advantages. ps/2 interrupting the cpu directly is a myth. both protocols go through chips (super i/o for ps/2, and southbridge for usb) that then send the info to the cpu, and neither takes a millisecond longer than the other at this stage, despite usb taking an extra step via drivers in os. the only siginificant time to consider then is 1ms (usb 2.0) vs ~2.2ms/5ms (ps/2), and 1ms is definitely better. usb 1.1 which polls at 8ms+ intervals, regardless of binterval in the descriptor, is of course the worst.
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Wow very informative post, thanks for clearing a few things up :)

I for one cant use PS/2 anyway as the Maximus V Gene doesnt have the port so im stuck to USB.
 
just bought a Corsair K90 (uses the MX Red switches) to replace my old Logitech G11 keyboard.
Really like the feel of a mechanical key's/keyboard but it took me a couple of days to get used to the "noise". No regrets so far.
 
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