Mechanical Keyboard Autism Thread - Because Cherry MX switches get you laid.

[melty]

I need a gaming keyboard. Is the Corsair K95 RGB Platinum XT a good choice? I like the macro buttons, I want RGB lighting and something that's more responsive. I just currently use a random keyboard I got for free.

 

[Orange Rhymer]

I need a gaming keyboard. Is the Corsair K95 RGB Platinum XT a good choice? I like the macro buttons, I want RGB lighting and something that's more responsive. I just currently use a random keyboard I got for free.

I like my K70, K95 seems like the spiritual successor. So, Yeah.

However, I typically dislike macro buttons. Also, I loathe the RGB backlight gayness. Also, the Corsair Cue drivers are the first to break/drop with ANY Winblows issues.
Overall it's a win, but I did have a rando complete breakdown. I disassembled and cleaned, ended up having to disable all the extra Corsair buttons.
There was no liquid spill, not really dirty. Just oxidizing solder bridges. Fixed with a cleaning/deoxit. But I lost the extra keys that I liked.

Be a little cautious with Corsair. They aren't as good as people scream. I have had an issue with EVERY Corsair product I purchased.
It's Chinese shit, but at the top of the shit-pile.

 

[stupidpieceofshit]

I need a gaming keyboard. Is the Corsair K95 RGB Platinum XT a good choice? I like the macro buttons, I want RGB lighting and something that's more responsive. I just currently use a random keyboard I got for free.

Ducky in my experience offer good keyboards and from what I have seen is often cheaper then the "big gaming names".
Won't get macro keys, but nothing autohotkey or (When I had a job that had me doing a shit ton of repetitive stuff) a streamdeck can't fix.

 

[melty]

Ducky in my experience offer good keyboards and from what I have seen is often cheaper then the "big gaming names".
Won't get macro keys, but nothing autohotkey or (When I had a job that had me doing a shit ton of repetitive stuff) a streamdeck can't fix.

Thanks, the Ducky One 2 RGB TKL actually looks really perfect. I decided to buy a mouse with a bunch of extra buttons instead of macro buttons on the keyboard. Edit: I went on and bought the Ducky keyboard after reading and watching reviews.

Be a little cautious with Corsair. They aren't as good as people scream. I have had an issue with EVERY Corsair product I purchased.
It's Chinese shit, but at the top of the shit-pile.

That's good to know. I bought the Corsair Schimitar Pro mouse, I hope it's OK.

 

[stupidpieceofshit]

Thanks, the Ducky One 2 RGB TKL actually looks really perfect. I decided to buy a mouse with a bunch of extra buttons instead of macro buttons on the keyboard. Edit: I went on and bought the Ducky keyboard after reading and watching reviews.

That's good to know. I bought the Corsair Schimitar Pro mouse, I hope it's OK.

It is decent but I didn't use it much (way better then the logitech MMO mouse). Depending on your use of macros / what you need might be perfect for you. I ended up going back to my G502 and using a streamdeck.

 

[e-gf]

I made the mistake of going to the mechanical keyboard reddit and there's a huge rabbit hole that doesn't seem to lead me anywhere helpful.
I just want a clicky keyboard (browns or blues are good) without backlighting for preferably <$200. I don't know if I'm autistic enough to pay for custom keycaps and switch them myself, but I really like the design of keys like this and this. Also a number pad would be helpful since I use it often for my job, but TKL is okay too. Any suggestions?

 

[Orange Rhymer]

I made the mistake of going to the mechanical keyboard reddit and there's a huge rabbit hole that doesn't seem to lead me anywhere helpful.
(...deleted for brevity)

You just described all of Reddit.

 

[Kosher Dill]

I just want a clicky keyboard (browns or blues are good) without backlighting

The GMMK which I plugged upthread, its backlighting can be turned off.

WASD keyboards are the most professional-looking without DIY customization, and don't have backlighting:

WASD V3 104-Key Doubleshot PBT Black/Slate Mechanical Keyboard

Doubleshot PBT Keycaps - Doubleshot molding provides extremely durable and seamless legends- 99.9% anti-microbial coating- Includes extra Black/Slate Esc Key

www.wasdkeyboards.com

They're somewhat more expensive though and use those inconvenient wire stabilizers rather than Cherry ones.

 

[stupidpieceofshit]

I made the mistake of going to the mechanical keyboard reddit and there's a huge rabbit hole that doesn't seem to lead me anywhere helpful.
I just want a clicky keyboard (browns or blues are good) without backlighting for preferably <$200. I don't know if I'm autistic enough to pay for custom keycaps and switch them myself, but I really like the design of keys like this and this. Also a number pad would be helpful since I use it often for my job, but TKL is okay too. Any suggestions?

Ducky the One 2 has models with no back lighting and are well under 200 bucks

https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=3483

 

[Orange Rhymer]

Ducky the One 2 has models with no back lighting and are well under 200 bucks

https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=3483

I just realized...
The 21st century is defined by:
How much will you pay for what you used to get for free?
edit: sorry, got the feels...

 

[melty]

I made the mistake of going to the mechanical keyboard reddit and there's a huge rabbit hole that doesn't seem to lead me anywhere helpful.
I just want a clicky keyboard (browns or blues are good) without backlighting for preferably <$200. I don't know if I'm autistic enough to pay for custom keycaps and switch them myself, but I really like the design of keys like this and this. Also a number pad would be helpful since I use it often for my job, but TKL is okay too. Any suggestions?

What do you mean, you're not going to custom build your own 60% keyboard? How are you ever going to get any upvotes?

Just found this and thought it was very reddit:

 

[stupidpieceofshit]

I just realized...
The 21st century is defined by:
How much will you pay for what used to be free?

Although that is true to an extent, IBM model Fs and Model Ms (now seen as a golden standard) were the cheap keyboards of their days (for IBM, there were shit keyboards back then too, such as the IBM Jr and the mini/micro computers from Europe). You often still get free keyboard (and mice) with PCs now, it is just often they are shit, and most people will accept shit. People who spend a lot of time on a keyboard (programmers, authors, etc) that feels better to type on, be it mech, ergonomics, beam springs, etc.

Games(tm) will go for these type of keyboards too because unlike the cheap shit (well even premium rubber domes like beam springs and Torpe (maybe?), the boards the keyboards can only support (most commonly) 3 or 4 key presses at the same time, most Mechs can do way more if not (in theory) Unlimited.

 

[proxy]

I made the mistake of going to the mechanical keyboard reddit and there's a huge rabbit hole that doesn't seem to lead me anywhere helpful.
I just want a clicky keyboard (browns or blues are good) without backlighting for preferably <$200. I don't know if I'm autistic enough to pay for custom keycaps and switch them myself, but I really like the design of keys like this and this. Also a number pad would be helpful since I use it often for my job, but TKL is okay too. Any suggestions?

https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=4912

Heres one that I recommend, though, it does come with backlighting, you can always just turn it off when you want to. I also just recommend Varmilo keyboards all together, as they are quality keyboards. Though, if you decide to get a tkl, you could always get the numpad seperate, with something sort of like this.

https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=4934

Granted, a bit pricy, but still under $200.

 

[FuckedUp]

I noticed I type nearly as fast as normal when very drunk and don't make many mistakes, so I decided to be less cautious while typing sober and what do you know, I'm hitting 120+ WPM with ease.

 

[Just Some Other Guy]

I was going to splurge a little and get a Corsair mechanical, until I realized I don't even use macro buttons and shit. Spent the same money and got a Ducky Shine 7. Thing is built like a tank and feels like a night and day difference from my cheap Havit mechanical keyboard.

 

[Xarpho]

So my favorite size is actually 65%, and really the main difference between that and a 60% board is the arrow keys. Some people prefer to create a layer so they can use the arrow keys by holding a function key and pressing alphanumeric keys. If you like that (you end up saving a lot of back-and-forth movement of your right hand), or you spend most of your time using programs that don't require arrow-key input, you'll never miss them.

The rest of what you're giving up:

• Function keys
  • I can't think of any common functions (at least from the programs and operating systems I use) that you'd use function keys for that you can't achieve equivalently using other shortcuts. Example: "F5" is a synonym for "refresh", but you can also just hit "Ctrl + R" in any Chromium browser. In rare cases when you need to use function keys, it's not that bad to just press, say "Fn + 7" than pressing "F7".
• Ins/Del/Home/End/pgup/pgdn
  • You can either use alternatives or you can access these keys with a layer.
• Numpad
  • Why do you need this? Are you unable to touch type the number keys above the letters? Are you a data entry clerk at a temp agency?

What you gain:

• Less of a reach to your mouse/trackball/touchpad/other input device and more room to move it around (if that's a mouse or something)
• Easier to set up multiple workstations (by workstation I just mean a monitor + keyboard + mouse) in a small area if you're into that. It's much harder when you're working with a full-size keyboard that's wider than your monitor.
• Force yourself to learn the ergonomic way of doing day-to-day tasks (ex: using ctrl + F to refresh webpage, using ctrl+n/p/f/b in emacs instead of arrow keys)
• Can (reasonably) position your keyboard so the center of the keyboard is in line with the center of your monitor. That way you aren't reaching way to the left/right just to type.

Is this a joke or was your friend joking with you? That wouldn't really be a reason to get a 60% keyboard because the keys/spacing are always going to be the same size. If you have small hands, you could effectively achieve the same thing as owning a 60% board by boycotting the number pad and function row.

Half of the "what you're giving up" sounds like written by bugmen who think that printers are obsolete as a concept. At least when the original Macintosh had a keyboard that was missing all that, it was with a design philosophy in mind that the GUI and mouse would largely replace the missing functionality...and in the end, they ended up making extended keyboards a few years later anyway.

 

[Pissmaster]

So my favorite size is actually 65%, and really the main difference between that and a 60% board is the arrow keys. Some people prefer to create a layer so they can use the arrow keys by holding a function key and pressing alphanumeric keys. If you like that (you end up saving a lot of back-and-forth movement of your right hand), or you spend most of your time using programs that don't require arrow-key input, you'll never miss them.

The rest of what you're giving up:

• Function keys
  • I can't think of any common functions (at least from the programs and operating systems I use) that you'd use function keys for that you can't achieve equivalently using other shortcuts. Example: "F5" is a synonym for "refresh", but you can also just hit "Ctrl + R" in any Chromium browser. In rare cases when you need to use function keys, it's not that bad to just press, say "Fn + 7" than pressing "F7".
• Ins/Del/Home/End/pgup/pgdn
  • You can either use alternatives or you can access these keys with a layer.
• Numpad
  • Why do you need this? Are you unable to touch type the number keys above the letters? Are you a data entry clerk at a temp agency?

FN key assignments differ between keyboards, especially on laptops, and I'd rather just have the extra row of function keys rather than a shitload of chords unique to the keyboard.

I miss not having Del/PgUp/PgDn on my MacBook, and Home + End being mapped to Cmd + Up & Down just isn't as convenient.

Numberpads are for chads and women do not respect men who don't have numberpads. They see your small keyboard and immediately know you have a small dick and then they laugh and tell jokes to one another about how your dick stretches from A to Z on your tiny keyboard

 

[Affluent Reptilian]

Re Corsair chat - don't they have non-standard keycaps, so refreshing a keyboard once they get shiny is hard? Particularly annoying when a lot of their keyboards come with ABS keys and not PBTs (although I suppose they sell their own PBTs).

 

[⠠⠠⠅⠑⠋⠋⠁⠇⠎ ⠠⠠⠊⠎ ⠠⠠⠁ ⠠⠠⠋⠁⠛]

Force yourself to learn the ergonomic way of doing day-to-day tasks (ex: using ctrl + F to refresh webpage,

If you used a full-size UniComp, you'd be able to find the R key on your keyboard repeatedly.

Half of the "what you're giving up" sounds like written by bugmen who think that printers are obsolete as a concept.

Exactly. If I can't use the 'Print Screen' key to run a quick draft of the documents I typed in WordStar for my boss to review before doing the high-resolution dot-matrix print, I'll be fired.

 

[ditto]

Half of the "what you're giving up" sounds like written by bugmen who think that printers are obsolete as a concept. At least when the original Macintosh had a keyboard that was missing all that, it was with a design philosophy in mind that the GUI and mouse would largely replace the missing functionality...and in the end, they ended up making extended keyboards a few years later anyway.

Fun Fact; The first Macintosh keyboard had special icons instead of labels for every non-character key. Like the GUI, everything was supposed to be represented symbolically. The second Mac which had the traditional labels.

(Also, fuck the consoomerst bugmen that appeared with their mac collections when I was trying to find this image.)