Gaming Keyboard

  • Thread starter Thread starter Kyo
  • Start date Start date

Kyo

Kyo

Kyo

Soldato
Joined
11 Oct 2003
Posts
9,242
Hi

Was wondering if someone could give me some advice on gaming mechanical keyboards. Currently using an old keyboard from my 1st dell machine for the last 15 years. Love it :D

I mostly game so was wondering if there any advantages with having something like a Razer BlackWidow. I didnt realise there so complicated as there quite a number of different "switches" you can use?? No idea really :confused:

Any advice and opinions would be helpful. Also good recommendations also welcome.

Thanks
Kyo
 
Switches
Linear: MX Red and MX Black. Reds have a light feel to them, and Blacks need a bit extra force to press them. I find the reds are a little lighter than my membrane board, where as the blacks are a little heavier. Best switch type for FPS gaming, but still fine for typing on. Reds are associated with typing errors, where some people (limp wristers :p) say the blacks give fatigue.

Click: MX Blue. Have a very nice feel, with a noticeable bump before actuation, then a click as they are pressed. Best for typing, but are nice for gaming. They are loud!, but are silenced to a quieter click when a dampener is used.

Tactile: MX Brown, no click, and slightly lighter than my membrane board. Have a little bump at actuation that isn't felt when bottoming them, but is when typing. The best all-round key, and my personal favourite.
Click to expand...

I posted this in the mechanical keyboard thread. Hopefully it will help you to decide on what you are after, as each switch does seem to be personal preference.
 
Thanks for replies and feedback.

It really only sparked my interest when i saw a few going on MM. Never really thought of it much until now. My budgets around £30-£60, i reckon i missed a few deals but some of backlight ones around around £100+ :eek:
 
I love the blues myself, my Qpad MK80 has broken in nicely now and it feels great to type on, so much so that when I had to type on someone's membrane keyboard it felt incredibly spongy and imprecise - no going back once you've got one :D
 
The keyboard I currently use in the Microsoft Sidewinder X4. I'd recommend that as it's not too expensive whilst looking and feeling very impressive. Macro keys are also included to bind key combinations, etc.
 
Kyo said:
Thanks for replies and feedback.
My budgets around £30-£60, i reckon i missed a few deals but some of backlight ones around around £100+ :eek:
Click to expand...

Mechanicals are generally a lot more expensive due to the switches compared normal keyboards.

Hence the price however you should be able to pick up a Cooler Master CM Storm Quick Fire which comes with all switch types for £50-60. Can't post a link but search around on the usual places. Even try the overclockers B-stock mechanical keyboards sometimes show up there relatively cheep.

But the Cooler Master CM Storm Quick Fire is a great keyboard been using one for a good years now with no problems. In my switch choice of Brown.

*on a side note, best thing aside from typing on a mechanical keyboard is you can easily remove the caps for cleaning it. No more "deck chair" supports made of fiddly plastic.
 
Last edited:
cypto said:
But the Cooler Master CM Storm Quick Fire is a great keyboard been using one for a good years now with no problems. In my switch choice of Brown.

*on a side note, best thing aside from typing on a mechanical keyboard is you can easily remote the caps for cleaning it. No more "deck chair" supports made of fiddly plastic.
Click to expand...


Thanks going to check it out. Was hoping to get keyboard with some backlighting of blue to match all my current kit :)

That is really good know about cleaning as they can get quite mucky. Remote means you can take the keys off right??

Ghosting - do mechanical keyboards ghost any more or less than the current cheapo regular one that i use.
 
Last edited:
The QPAD MK80 that I use has full n-key rollover and no ghosting when used with the PS2 plug and 6 key rollover when used with just the USB. I think most of them are the same as this.
 
Filco Majestouch-II user here. Got the MX-Browns version and I find them really comfortable for all types of jobs. I did go to a shop and try a few keyboards first mind.
 
Sidewinder X4 if you manage to ignore the inevitable (and borne out) chant of MECHANICAL OR GO HOME in any keyboard discussion no matter if the budget is £10.

Going up from that the TTesports Challenger Pro is pretty cool, as are a fair few other membrane ones. Notably the Logitech G110 I think.

Ultimately as long as a keyboard has decent key rollover, if it's membrane, then they're much of a muchness in terms of performance (bar terrible key layouts that you occasionally get), so your main worry is appearance and build quality.
 
Blue - Best for typing, audible click
Black - Best for gaming, no click
Red - Joint best for gaming, no click, lighter keystroke than blacks (Some people say it's too light)
Brown - Half way between typing and gaming, audible click, but not as loud as blue.

I like the browns.
 
You can get a SteelSeries 6G v2 for less then £50 at a certain supermarkets website. I have one and very happy with it has mechanical black switches and very well built, doesn't come backlit but if you know where they keys are don't know why you would need it to be.

Edit* It's pretty loud when typing btw.
 
Last edited:
rids57 said:
The QPAD MK80 that I use has full n-key rollover and no ghosting when used with the PS2 plug and 6 key rollover when used with just the USB. I think most of them are the same as this.
Click to expand...

This one really has caught my eye. Looks really nice :D Quite a few references for different types of switches. Should all MK-80's not come with the same type??
 
I think the idea is that you get to pick by your switch preference, the rest of the housing is the same no matter which you select. I went with the blue switches because I wanted it mostly for typing but although the key clicks are quite loud while typing I don't even notice them while gaming.
 
Tute said:
Filco Majestouch-II user here. Got the MX-Browns version and I find them really comfortable for all types of jobs. I did go to a shop and try a few keyboards first mind.
Click to expand...

Filco MJ-2, TKL here with MX Browns. Being 'tenkeyless', the extra space is very nice. This thing is absolutely solid, and being NKRO, you can type with your face.

"jhgfc768u96 y54r3e2wq1a"
 
Word of warning if youre buying a blue switched mech. If you double tap fast enough, the blue switches wont actually register the second click as it needs to return to its original position first due to the click mechanism.
Tried my friends Blackwidow and although it was better than a rubber dome, I ended up leaving as most of my double (or more) clicks werent registering.

Most gamers like to use Browns or Reds. If you want a stiffer feel like rubber domes then Black is an option.

Red and black are "gamer switches" but brown is between gaming and typing. Is silent with a bump that you can feel but doesnt need to have been released for double taps to register.

Some good mechanicals are: Too many filco ones to list, Ducky Shine 1 & 2, Corsair K70, Mionix Zibal 60, MK-80 & MK-85 and Steelseries 6G. Forgot to mention the CM Storms.

If backlighting isnt an issue then obviously there are cheaper versions for you.
 
The only real way to decide is to find somewhere where you can try all four types. As WuMyster says, with the blues if you double tap fast enough there can be issues. However, you must have to double tap extremely quickly because no matter how many times I tried I couldn't get it to happen. Maybe I just have a heavy touch or something, I never sit with any key partly depressed. Saying that, I don't play any twitchy FPS games that require superhuman reflexes so I've never had any issues.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom