** The Official OcUK Mechanical Keyboard Thread **

scorchisio said:
im in the market for a really quiet keyboard, so i can type late at night without anyone hearing it in the same room or next room. Whats the best type of switches or keyboard for this?
Click to expand...

Probably not a mechanical to be honest. If you do go mech, get some rubber o-rings to stick under your keys as they reduce the noise of bottoming out a lot.
 
The thread needs its own section. ;)

MX Browns aren't that loud if you use either:
  • O-ring Dampeners,
  • Touch typing,
  • Both.

With the touch typing, you can easily type without having any need of bottoming out the keys which is a lot quieter, and also gives a much nicer feel that any membrane board.


For the 106Key question. I have never came across one with the layout you have described, but I guess a 105 key layout is fine, such as on the "FKBN105M/UKB2" Filco MJ-2?
If you are looking specifically for that layout, make sure to look for an ISO keyboard :)

For Switches (I wrote earlier in the thread, so just to make sure you see..)
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 for FPS gaming, but still fine for typing on. There switches have the same force for the whole keystroke.

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 click when a dampener is used. The bump changes the activation force slightly, giving more feedback at the activation point.

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. The bump gives a little change in force, giving feedback at the activation point.

Hopefully you understand a bit more? :)
 
Last edited:
Ryan-3 said:
The thread needs its own section. ;)

MX Browns aren't that loud if you use either:
  • O-ring Dampeners,
  • Touch typing,
  • Both.

With the touch typing, you can easily type without having any need of bottoming out the keys which is a lot quieter, and also gives a much nicer feel that any membrane board.


For the 106Key question. I have never came across one with the layout you have described, but I guess a 105 key layout is fine, such as on the "FKBN105M/UKB2" Filco MJ-2?
If you are looking specifically for that layout, make sure to look for an ISO keyboard :)
Click to expand...

I've been touch-typing for at least 15 years and I still bottom-out my keys. Part of the problem is having to use a crappy dell keyboard on my work machine - gets you in the habit of hammering the keys. I have been considering to try and get a nice cherry red for work however.
 
When you next have an 'upgrade itch', treat yourself to a new keyboard and take the old one into work* ;)

*as long as its MX Blue for their annoyance!
 
Kamwah said:
Most people who go out of their way to buy a Mech keyboard do so for gaming purposes. The majority of typists have no idea there are different kinds of keyboards.
Click to expand...

HEY!
I'm a non-gaming, typist.
As a gamer I would happily use a mushy keyboard.
As a typist I insist on mechanical keys.
:p
 
Well my 2 local ASDA's didn't have any of the steelseries stuff in. Just gonna order online, anyone know what the steelseries sensei raw mouse is like? I need a new mouse as well :p
 
I don't understand the lack of backslash key and instead a wider left shift key on the majority of these keyboards. Does nobody use backslashes or pipes? I use this daily for administering unix environments and could no way do withtout this key.

As for this:

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 for FPS gaming, but still fine for typing on. There switches have the same force for the whole keystroke.

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 click when a dampener is used. The bump changes the activation force slightly, giving more feedback at the activation point.

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. The bump gives a little change in force, giving feedback at the activation point.
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot but unfortunately I've read this before and it still does not really mean a lot to me. The main reason is that I am unsure in the context of keyboards the definition of the following words used throughout all of these mechanical keyboard discussions:

Tactile
Bump
Actuation
Activation
 
jaybee said:
I don't understand the lack of backslash key and instead a wider left shift key on the majority of these keyboards. Does nobody use backslashes or pipes? I use this daily for administering unix environments and could no way do withtout this key.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure that's just the American standard keyboard layout. The backslash should be located elsewhere on the keyboard, maybe to the right, near the enter key.

jaybee said:
As for this:

Thanks a lot but unfortunately I've read this before and it still does not really mean a lot to me. The main reason is that I am unsure in the context of keyboards the definition of the following words used throughout all of these mechanical keyboard discussions:

Tactile
Bump
Actuation
Activation
Click to expand...

Tactile and bump mean the same thing.... it means that when you push the key down there is a slight resistance at some point during it's travel, resulting in a noticeable and satisfying "bump" once you get past it. It basically means your fingers can feel better that the key has indeed been pressed sufficiently far and results in (most would agree) a better typing experience. However some people find it worse for FPS games because it makes a key slightly slower to double-tap.

Actuation/activation is when the key actually sends the signal to the computer. This usually happens when the key is pressed halfway down.

My opinion:
Blues best for typing. However they're noisy and worst for gaming.
Blacks best for FPS games, worst feel for typing.
Reds are a light version of blacks. Easier to type with but some find them far too light and hate them.
Browns are a good compromise, good for typing and also good for gaming. Jack of all trades master of none. My personal favourite.

Generally if you're unsure which to go for, just get browns and you'll be happy.
 
Last edited:
Murray said:
Why are blues worst for gaming? Never noticed a problem gaming with mine :p
Click to expand...

It's completely dependent on the person, people just try and put popular opinion onto it instead of just describing the switches and letting someone pick their own. DSR exist for a reason.
 
Yeah. Thanks guys. I personally want to try them all. I'm most interested in the REDS and BROWNS.
As for backslash key. Yeah I want UK layout with proper long return/enter key, the hash key next to the right shift and the backslash next to left switch. This is really important for me.
 
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