Hi! I've been wondering what sort of mechanical keyboards are good/bad. Been in the market for one that's MX Blue, but have only really found Cooler Master ones and haven't heard good things about some of them. Any recommendations?
Get a Corsair K70 or a Razer Blackwidow, those are the two best ones I'd say. I own the razer, and it's awesome to type on it. Hell, I'm enjoying it right now. Anyway they're both pretty reliable, however I can only speak from experience with the razer. I spilled a sugary drink on it once, and all I had to do was take it apart and clean it out, and dry it out. Worked just fine after that, and hasnt had a problem since.
I have a Razer blackwidow ultimate 2014 and its awesome. My only complaint after using it for almost a year would be the loudness. At first I liked it, but it just got annoying after some time. So, IMO, you should get the stealth version. Also, don't get the chroma version unless you REALLY need the RGB lighting, I think it's just a waste of money.
I would not recommend razers stealth models, they are closer to an mx red than an mx brown with little distinguishable feel to them. personally a user of mx browns as I dislike the loudness of blues. With a metal backplate and no dampeners in my quickfire tk it's already noisy enough
I have K65 corsair aaand honestly i dont like it that much, i got it from my gf so i dont want to trade it. The software is bad and the promised 16.8m lights are not good and they make the lights flicker so much. The red switches are not my liking. If i could change my keyboard i would go maybe with Das keyboard, logitech or steelseries maybe even razer.
Ducky makes a nice keyboard imo. I own the ducky mini but seeing others with the bigger duckys makes me want to get another. If you want to go cheaper then the CM Storm Quickfire TK might be something you would be interested in. I've only seen people talk good of Cooler master boards so idk about that bit.
IBM Model M here. Buckling springs are loud as hell and also awesome. I think you can still get new keyboards with them, can't remember the name of the company selling them though.
i have a model f. i love it, but cant use it b/c din. i have a din to ps/2 but it doesnt seem to work for the model f. I also have a alps something or other dell keyboard, types nice, except the space bar is broken. I also have a cherry mx blue keyboard from 1989 on a bondwell b200, but it wont read discs.
Ducky are kinda expensive but also very good quality. I have a 60% ducky with MX greens and I love it. Others hate it because it is small and has some keys on a second layer and they think that is too confusing to have to press for example the arrow keys you need to press the 'fn' button. I don't have an issue with it asside from not really being good at touch typing on a regular keyboard and this one is a tighter layout so I do make a lot of typos. My brother has a full size ducky with MX browns and it is also good aside from the port on the keyboard being a bit wonky probably from being handled poorly. Another good company for mechanical kbs is WASD you can customize pretty much every aspect of the keyboard and they have all the kinds of switches you could imagine. My buddy bought one from them with MX Blues and it's a solid kb. I've also heard good things about corsair but have never used them so idk how they compare to the ones I mentioned.
Get a WASD Code or V2 if you can afford it. The Code is backlit, the V2 has lots of options. Great choice of switches too.
I quite like the Corsair STRAFE RGB with Cherry Silent switches. Used one in a best buy and it's pretty nice.
I have a Max Keyboard Nighthawk x7, with MX Blues and white leds, It is a really nicely made keyboard with a headphone and mic jack pass through, a 2x usb hub, and programmable macro keys. But if I was able to go back and buy it again I wouldn't, I would probably buy a Ducky or Das instead. The only problem I have had with mine is that the led's don't turn off with the computer, I have to manually turn the brightness down when I put my computer to sleep or turn off. I would suggest a Ducky, Das, WASD brand keyboards, not any of the gaming brands like Corsair, Razer, Cooler Master, ect. since "gaming" branded products are usually lower quality and the same price or more than the non gaming branded products. I have friends who have had "gaming" branded mechanical keyboards like Razer and other brands that feel cheap and that have had problems from day one like led lighting flickering, or leds not diffusing evenly, key strokes not registering, and just flat out failures with in a year.
I still think mechanical keyboards are overrated. I've used them, and they're not in the least bit bad... but they're nothing peticularly special about them. I use an $8 junker office keyboard, featuring the most mundane in membrane sensors and plastic caps. Somehow I beat that sucker to the tune of 45 WPM, at which point the racket of plastic on plastic clacking is quiet loud. On a mechanical keyboard, specfically some Corsair RGB keyboard with MX browns, they're just as loud and depress all the same. This, this is best keyboard I've used (and own): the wired Apple keyboard from 2007. It's some sort of membrane keyboard, but it has mechanical posts, so the key caps have linear motion yet there is very little travel distance (better IMO) and it's very quiet. Response is very quick, and it looks so good. So, just as Bluescreen recommends a Model M, I recommend an Apple Model A1243. Good stuff.
Stay away from anything Razer. I've heard their older boards with MX switches are good, but their Kalih (MX knockoffs) have bad quality control and don't feel as nice. I originally had a BWU 14 with the Kalih switches. Literally the next day I returned it for a K70 (Reds, non-RGB) that I've had since. Some of the switches felt different from each other and some of the caps weren't even the same height. I'd like a Model M or something like a Pok3r that's smaller than what I have now as a secondary keyboard. Someday.
