• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Mechanical Keyboard recommendations for a first timer?

TaySan

Banned
Back in June, I ordered a Ducky Shine 7 Blackout(Cherry Brown switches) from MechanicalKeyboards.com in anticipation for next-gen and the RTX 3090 release and it's been pushed back ever since and now pushed back again to September 10 I'm getting tired of waiting for this so I canceled and got a refund. Any good recommendations for anything that's similar and available now? I want to have something in time for the RTX 3090 release and right now i just have a cheap membrane keyboard a friend bought for me. lol
 

Jooxed

Gold Member
I use this inexpensive one and really like it , though the space bar is a little sensitive.


2LkLLVI.png
 

Kadve

Member
I use this inexpensive one and really like it , though the space bar is a little sensitive.


2LkLLVI.png

That has presumably Kailh or some other clone though. When it comes to keyboards always go for recognized brands with proper cherries if you don't want it to break in 5 years. (in-house brands from recognized manufacturers such as steelseries and Logitech also tends to be good). It's also probably linear rather than the tactile browns you where otherwise gonna get.

Hard to give recommendations nowadays though as there are so many different switches with different fells right now compared to say, 10 years ago. But if you still want tactile stuff go for whatever "brown" one you can find as long as it's proper browns or manufacture equivalent as mentioned above.

The only real tips i can tell you is to stay away from those "speed" switches. Those are awful if you're gonna do other stuff than gaming.
 
Last edited:
I wouldn't get a Das Keyboard. Bad customer support from personal experience

Razer is not good but that's me talking out of my ass
 
Last edited:

TaySan

Banned
Deciding now between
and

Both look pretty dope and high quality.
 

888

Member
I have a few in the house.
Logitech G910
Logitech G710+
Razer Cynosa V2 (Actually a Membrane board but has a good feel)
Razer Blackwidow Elite

If I had to pick one at the moment I would lean Blackwidow for a more tactile feel, comes with usb passthru as well as headphone passthru, includes a soft wrist rest. The G910 is on my main pc tho, it’s quieter with their switches but still has a good feel.

Best Buy has the Blackwidow Elite for $99 this week.

If you need a quiet board stay away from Greens and Blues, consider browns and romer g keys.
 

JBat

Member
I've had a Logitech G710+ for about 6 years and couldn't be happier with it. Though I don't remember pay as much as it seems to be retailing for right now
 
Goto a store and try out the various type of switches first.

Cherry MX
red: very light linear switch. Very easy to bottom out.
black: heavier version of red
brown: has tactile feedback
blue: the "clicky" switch. Good for typing if you can get used to it. It is very loud and potentially annoy anyone in the same room.

The Kailh switches are bascially knockoffs of the Cherry MX switches. Brands such as Razer uses Kailh to lower cost. (In Razer's case, they also collaborated with Kailh to make switches exclusive to Razer.)

Logitech uses Romer-G switches as well as ones that mimics Cherry MX switches.
 

Blond

Banned
I would seriously order a Red Dragon and see if you like it before investing more. They're enough to see if you like the feeling, they're really different from a membrane.
 

Amory

Member
I use cherry blues now that I work from home (much too loud for the office). While I enjoy the clicky goodness and it's certainly nicer to type on than a membrane keyboard, it's not the revelation I expected.
 

lachesis

Member
I've been using a Filco Majestouch N-key Rollover for past... decade or so. Love typing on this keyboard, and also has 10 keys that I use quite often for doing my work & home spread sheet or bankings or whatnot. I don't normally use keyboard/mouse when I game on PC though - but I love the retro 108 key simple layout with nothing too outrageous like LEDs or whatnot. Simple, elegant & functional - which is the most important thing when I look for a keyboard.

I think this keyboard uses Cherry MX brown.

Although my PC definitely needs some upgrading - I don't think I need upgrade my keyboard at all.
 

rofif

Can’t Git Gud
I wish membrane keyboards were back. Mechanical keyboards drew it all good rubber domes out of the market and these were cheaper and quiet
 

Max_Po

Banned
You should join Reddit's mechanical keyboards and find a deal there. I recommends Vortex Race 3 over that fucking $40 clone garbage someone posted.
 

decisions

Member
That has presumably Kailh or some other clone though. When it comes to keyboards always go for recognized brands with proper cherries if you don't want it to break in 5 years. (in-house brands from recognized manufacturers such as steelseries and Logitech also tends to be good). It's also probably linear rather than the tactile browns you where otherwise gonna get.

Hard to give recommendations nowadays though as there are so many different switches with different fells right now compared to say, 10 years ago. But if you still want tactile stuff go for whatever "brown" one you can find as long as it's proper browns or manufacture equivalent as mentioned above.

The only real tips i can tell you is to stay away from those "speed" switches. Those are awful if you're gonna do other stuff than gaming.

In 5 years??? Cheap mech boards can require maintenance in a few months, or come with some problems that will require some fixing like double inputs.

I wouldn’t recommend them. As far as I know Keychron is the cheapest good option for mechanical keyboards, going as low as $70. Otherwise you’ll be spending in the $120-200 range, but you will be getting a good board with decent warranties (Razer, Das, Logitech, etc.).
 

Ovek

7Member7
Xtrfy-K4-RGB-Retro-Gaming-Keyboard_1600x800-01-1024x512.jpg


Xtrfy K4 it comes in various colours the above pic is Retro and uses Kailh Red switches which are a thousand times better than the awful Cherry (imo all Cherry keys are shit) red equivalent. They also dampen the space, backspace and return keys which makes typing on it significantly better but that's a matter of taste.

It also manages to do RGB without awful shit software if that type of thing floats your boat.

It's not just a great "gaming" keyboard it's just a great keyboard.
 

God Enel

Member
Deciding now between
and

Both look pretty dope and high quality.

Yo dude are you 12? The colors give me cancer.
 

DeaDPo0L84

Member
I'm late but I personally love this one. I've only ever used 3 so I don't have tons of experience but this one has held up perfectly for me. Really comfortable,well built, spacious for my bigger hands,and feels really nice whether playing a game or browsing.

 

V4skunk

Banned
If i'm paying +150 for a keyboard i want some good artwork on it. Not some boring black keyboard
If I'm paying £150 I want an aluminium chassis.
Full led lights are also good, especially if each key is individually back lit.
I couldn't care less about artwork. Or having a flimsy plastic keyboard.
 

TaySan

Banned
If I'm paying £150 I want an aluminium chassis.
Full led lights are also good, especially if each key is individually back lit.
I couldn't care less about artwork. Or having a flimsy plastic keyboard.
Which looks like this has it all other than LED lights.
No LED is meh, but i can live without it.
 

Clarissa

Banned
Back in June, I ordered a Ducky Shine 7 Blackout(Cherry Brown switches) from MechanicalKeyboards.com in anticipation for next-gen and the RTX 3090 release and it's been pushed back ever since and now pushed back again to September 10 I'm getting tired of waiting for this so I canceled and got a refund. Any good recommendations for anything that's similar and available now? I want to have something in time for the RTX 3090 release and right now i just have a cheap membrane keyboard a friend bought for me. lol

I'm using the ducky shine 7 as well and it's really good. Get the Brown switch one.

It feels the best and most balanced. It isn't too clicky or too soft to touch.
 

TaySan

Banned
I'm using the ducky shine 7 as well and it's really good. Get the Brown switch one.

It feels the best and most balanced. It isn't too clicky or too soft to touch.
Man, I really wanted that keyboard so bad. :( But the wait was killing me and I had no idea when I was ever getting it. Hoping this one is a good alternative.

At least CS was fast to refund me. :)
 
Last edited:

TaySan

Banned
Te7OWYz.jpg


0JszEna.jpg



Look what arrived at my doorstep! :) Typing on this thing feels like a night and day difference from my membrane redimp keyboard. I can actually feel and hear every keypress. Also, this board is heavy.
 
Last edited:

Terce

Member
Durgod K320 is a good budget TKL and generally easy to order off amazon. It doesn't have the flash RGB crap but is really solidly built and the software is decent for setting up macros.
 

Ovek

7Member7
Te7OWYz.jpg


0JszEna.jpg



Look what arrived at my doorstep! :) Typing on this thing feels like a night and day difference from my membrane redimp keyboard. I can actually feel and hear every keypress. Also, this board is heavy.

Varmilo keyboards are great what switches did you get?
 

teezzy

Banned
4370907_sd.jpg


8888071913502


I own both the Corsair RGB Strafe and the Razer Blackwidow Chroma (Mercury White)

I've considered getting something more boutique but I'm a big fan of these and really am unsure of the differences between these and a more niche brand. I almost dont buy the hype tbh.

I alo need rgb, and a numpad at this point. Both have very different switches. I use the loud one at the office because I'm an asshole
 
Top Bottom