Please spec me a new keyboard

strumpusplunket · 20 Dec 2019 at 21:37

My ten year old Logitech membrane keyboard is finally on its last legs. A few keys are starting to stick and produce unreliable inputs.

I think it could be time for me to try a mechanical keyboard. From what I've read I think brown switches would suit me best. I do a lot of typing but also play games (some fast paced shooters now and again but mostly rpgs).

I don't know very much about keyboard brands, but I do know I need a full keyboard including the numberpad. I don't need any fancy features, but would like backlit keys. Ideally I'd keep the outlay below £100 if possible. Any suggestions as to what I should be looking at?

wellibob · 21 Dec 2019 at 13:41

My advice is definitely test and try mechanical keyboards before dropping a large wedge of cash on one. I used membrane keyboards for 10 odd years and never had any issues typing or gaming. 3 years ago mechanical was all the rage. I got a brown cherry mx board. Was OK but was bulky compared to keyboards I'd used and the keys are, raised a lot higher than standard membrane. I aquired a corsair K70 red switch rgb and used it for nearly 2 years before deciding the looks and build simply don't fit well on my style of typing and gaming. Grabbed a low profile mechanical and it was better but in the end got myself a clone low profile mac type keyboard for £20. Suits me better. Try before you buy.

strumpusplunket · 21 Dec 2019 at 13:55

wellibob said:
My advice is definitely test and try mechanical keyboards before dropping a large wedge of cash on one. I used membrane keyboards for 10 odd years and never had any issues typing or gaming. 3 years ago mechanical was all the rage. I got a brown cherry mx board. Was OK but was bulky compared to keyboards I'd used and the keys are, raised a lot higher than standard membrane. I aquired a corsair K70 red switch rgb and used it for nearly 2 years before deciding the looks and build simply don't fit well on my style of typing and gaming. Grabbed a low profile mechanical and it was better but in the end got myself a clone low profile mac type keyboard for £20. Suits me better. Try before you buy.

I did go into our local purple shirt place to see if I could try out some keyboards, but they didn't have enough of a range to be worth even trying.

I don't really feel I'm having any problems with membrane keys, so I would probably be quite happy to stick with that. Tbh, keyboards are probably the peripheral I know least about. I've only used two in the past 15 years or so, and only replaced my last one because a BT engineer broke it by kneeling on it to access the phone point behind my desk about 10 or 12 years ago.

Where do people go to try out keyboards?

I just want something comfortable, low activation resistance since I use my pinky quite a lot in games, and comfortable to type on. I really don't want a giant RGB monster. I don't need any in-built display nonesense, nor macro keys. Just a nice, compact, and comfortable keyboard with a wrist-rest, number pad and backlit keys.

Ryan-3 · 25 Dec 2019 at 17:49

A lot of people like light switches when using them for the first time. For linear switches, Cherry MX Red, Logitech Romer-G or Razer Yellow. Tactile bump with Cherry MX Brown or Razer Orange.

I'd recommend a Logitech G413 for your first full-size mechanical keyboard. Has what you're asking for minus the wrist rest, of which there are many out there much better than what's normally included

I have five keyboards now..

and have gamed and typed on MX Brown, Black, Clear and Green, along with a G613 with the aforementioned Romer-G switches.
Of course, there are a huge number of Cherry copies out there, along with other types. But you don't need all that unnecessary info here.

strumpusplunket · 25 Dec 2019 at 21:41

Ryan-3 said:
A lot of people like light switches when using them for the first time. For linear switches, Cherry MX Red, Logitech Romer-G or Razer Yellow. Tactile bump with Cherry MX Brown or Razer Orange.

I'd recommend a Logitech G413 for your first full-size mechanical keyboard. Has what you're asking for minus the wrist rest, of which there are many out there much better than what's normally included

I have five keyboards now.. and have gamed and typed on MX Brown, Black, Clear and Green, along with a G613 with the aforementioned Romer-G switches.
Of course, there are a huge number of Cherry copies out there, along with other types. But you don't need all that unnecessary info here.

That looks like just what I want. Compact and solid, but with the number pad. Reviews looks good, too. Thanks.

Paul_RD · 29 Dec 2019 at 17:01

I am not a touch typist, I only use two fingers for typing and I tend to hit the keys quite hard. Also, I tend to use my computer in low light.
As such, my preference is for:

Cherry Black switches
Illuminated keyboard

Which means my preference is currently best served by the Ducky range of keyboards.
However, if you are a typist, you will probably prefer another Cherry key other than Black.
The Ducky keyboards may not be the cheapest, but I consider them to be very well made and reliable.

strumpusplunket · 30 Dec 2019 at 12:05

Paul_RD said:
I am not a touch typist, I only use two fingers for typing and I tend to hit the keys quite hard. Also, I tend to use my computer in low light.
As such, my preference is for:

Cherry Black switches

Illuminated keyboard

Which means my preference is currently best served by the Ducky range of keyboards.
However, if you are a typist, you will probably prefer another Cherry key other than Black.
The Ducky keyboards may not be the cheapest, but I consider them to be very well made and reliable.

As a left-handed mourse user, I use my pinky a lot on the number pad, so a high activation force would not suit me at all.

The price of the Ducky boards is a little off-putting, especially since I'm not 100% sure what I want from a keyboard in terms of switches yet. They do look nice, though.

Jay85 · 30 Dec 2019 at 14:14

I upgraded to a Logitech G513 Tactile switch keyboard. A really nice upgrade, sturdy and the key presses are spot on for me. a lot lighter than my previous red switches which i found to cause me some finger ache on prolonged use. I believe logitech uses their own proprietary switches as well. I had the chance to test the keyboard out before buying it at the purple place so knew it was right for me.

Paul_RD · 30 Dec 2019 at 17:17

strumpusplunket said:
The price of the Ducky boards is a little off-putting, especially since I'm not 100% sure what I want from a keyboard in terms of switches yet. They do look nice, though.

One option you could try - you can get testers that contain a selection of Cherry MX keys so you can have a go at actuating the different key types.
Another option - see if you can get your hands on one in a shop or try one that you know someone has - even if it's Cherry Blacks which you possibly don't want, it would assist you in eliminating/confirming any key types that you don't want.

Nexus18 · 30 Dec 2019 at 17:35

wellibob said:
My advice is definitely test and try mechanical keyboards before dropping a large wedge of cash on one. I used membrane keyboards for 10 odd years and never had any issues typing or gaming. 3 years ago mechanical was all the rage. I got a brown cherry mx board. Was OK but was bulky compared to keyboards I'd used and the keys are, raised a lot higher than standard membrane. I aquired a corsair K70 red switch rgb and used it for nearly 2 years before deciding the looks and build simply don't fit well on my style of typing and gaming. Grabbed a low profile mechanical and it was better but in the end got myself a clone low profile mac type keyboard for £20. Suits me better. Try before you buy.

Yup somewhat same scenario here.

Mechanical is nice but I much prefer low profile/minimal quiet keyboards, wouldn't change my logitech k780 for a mech. again, although it would be nice to have some RGB goodness again!

strumpusplunket · 6 Feb 2020 at 22:07

The board I got in the end is a (US layout) Redragon K582 Surara RGB with red switches.

Well, first thing I did was to change the RGB settings to give one solid colour for the backlighting. Couldn't stand it looking like a set of Christmas lights on my desk.

So, my impressions:
I'm typing a bit faster, but also making some more mistakes. Faster I think because the keys just feel better to press. I feel my fingers are really dancing around the keys. I am really impressed by the difference and was a bit concerned that red switches might not feel the best for typing. But it feels a lot better than the softer, mushier membrane feeling on my last board. I'm making more mistakes I think largely because the keys were more spread out on my G15. I'm sure I'll get used to it.

Gaming is... fine. Can't say it's any better or any worse in all honesty.

The main things I'm liking apart from the nicer feel of typing are the general build quality and the compact size. It's a cheaper mechanical keyboard, but solid and heavy. And sooo much smaller in terms of desk footprint! My G15 was absolutely huge by comparison. I've got so much room on my desk now!

It is a bit high, though, and didn't come with a wrist rest so I think I will have to buy one. I've seen the Razer and Asus ROG wrist rests recommended on here so will have to have a look out. Ideally I think it would feel better if it were lower profile, but hopefully a good wrist rest will solve that issue.

Leaving it in UK input is fine actually. I am only missing the backslash and tube thing keys (without using the ASCII shortcuts or switching to US input in Windows) and I almost never use either anyway so no big deal.

All in all I'm very happy with this new keyboard. A bit curious about how different brown switches might feel, but I think the switches can be swapped over so I might see if I can get a few browns to try out.

Also it is a little bit noisy because I am bottoming out the keypresses when typing. I've tried not doing so, but it is going to take some getting used to. Maybe I need some O-rings as well.

Thanks to everyone who gave input into this thread (and my thread asking about using a US layout in the UK!)

danlightbulb · 21 Feb 2020 at 13:27

Just a quick q on mechanical keyboards. When it says uk layout in the sales particulars, does this mean it has the inverted L shaped return key? All the images of keyboards on OCUK seem to show the straight return key. Thanks.

strumpusplunket · 21 Feb 2020 at 18:47

danlightbulb said:
Just a quick q on mechanical keyboards. When it says uk layout in the sales particulars, does this mean it has the inverted L shaped return key? All the images of keyboards on OCUK seem to show the straight return key. Thanks.

Yeah, I think so. That always seems to be one of the defining features for differentiating US and UK layouts.

Also you can identify the US layout because the shift input on 2 will be @ rather than the " that the UK layout will have, and on 3 a US board will have # and a UK one will have £. There will be a \ and | key above the return key in US layout as well.

The US style return key is actually something I really like about having a US layout keyboard. It's so easy to reach with the right pinky from the home row of keys. Now I'm used to my US layout keyboard at home, when I go to the office these days and use the UK layout keyboard on my desk I find myself missing the return key a lot and I find it more of an uncomfortable stretch to get to.

danlightbulb · 21 Feb 2020 at 19:27

@strumpusplunket i see, thanks. All the photos of mechanical keyboards on the OCUK site seem to be US layouts then. It would be nice if they could include photos of uk layouts.

CuriousTomCat · 5 Mar 2020 at 12:56

danlightbulb said:
@strumpusplunket i see, thanks. All the photos of mechanical keyboards on the OCUK site seem to be US layouts then. It would be nice if they could include photos of uk layouts.

Those are the manufacturers marketing photos, hence the US layout. OCUK can't be expected to open every keyboard to photograph it. Whoever buys a keyboard with broken seals on the box will complain that it's a used keyboard.

I've seen several posts in these forums where people complain about receiving a product with broken seals and then accusing OCUK of selling used products as new.

danlightbulb · 5 Mar 2020 at 13:49

CuriousTomCat said:
Those are the manufacturers marketing photos, hence the US layout. OCUK can't be expected to open every keyboard to photograph it. Whoever buys a keyboard with broken seals on the box will complain that it's a used keyboard.

I've seen several posts in these forums where people complain about receiving a product with broken seals and then accusing OCUK of selling used products as new.

Fair enough. Dont you think the manufacturers should supply UK outlets with UK photos?