Tell me about mechanical keyboards, meaning computer keyboards (for PC) with more expensive independent switches in the keys, and having a different feel.
I am not playing computer games. I’m typing text or programming. I dislike the cheezy, cheap feel of the keyboards they hand out at work, and came across mechanical keyboards on Amazon. I hear they feel better but might also be a little noisy (which could be OK). But some of the things I read say they are “gaming keyboards” and I don’t know what’s up with that – I don’t want it to automatically start playing Space Invaders. If it has special weird features like automatically user-adaptive repeat rate that turn themselves on and make my computer funny and I can’t figure out how to turn them off, I’m going to hate it.
Visit Geekhack or Deskthority for a plethora of information on mechanical keyboards of all shapes and sizes.
There are different types of switches with their own physical properties, and the only way of knowing what’s right for you is to experiment. You can hit up ebay for used or broken keyboards so you can sample their switches on the cheap. Otherwise, experimenting can be prohibitively expensive!
The anti-ghosting stuff people are talking about is due to a limitation in how keyboards use USB to communicate to the motherboard. Typically this limits you to a few keys pressed at any given time, and there are some clever hacks on “gaming” keyboards to get by this. If you’re typing, even at high speed, this will not be an issue for you.
AFAIK, they all used to be mechanical until fairly recently. I used an old IBM PS/2 interface mechanical keyboard for 13 years until it quit interacting correctly with newer PCs whose PS/2 stuff is more of an afterthought.
Personally, I don’t like the feel of the cheaper, lighter membrane keyboards either, but they do seem to be quite a bit more reliable and durable than the mechanical ones.
FWIW, I like typing on really nice laptop keyboards with scissor switches (like on a Thinkpad) but hate the old Model M buckling spring switches.
Before writing my thesis proposal, I splurged on a Das Keyboard Model S. It has the “cherry brown” switches, so it’s got a nice tactile feel to the keys but isn’t noisy. I was initially a little underwhelmed, since it’s just a keyboard that’s a bit nicer and more solid than the scissor-switch keyboard I was using previously. But after a few weeks of very heavy use, working on said thesis proposal, I really came to love it.
I now really hate the cheap membrane keyboard I type on at work, and when I can afford to splurge again I’ll buy another Cherry Brown keyboard for the office.
That said, I’m not sure the Das Keyboard has much to recommend it over any other mechanical keyboard with the same switches, and it’s on the more expensive side at $110. If you’re willing to shop around and wait for a good deal, you can get a mechanical keyboard with any of the common switch types for around $75 with an additional $15-$25 rebate.
That’s groovy! I need to get one, as I have not had the opportunity to fondle any red or blue cherries. Out of context that would be a very interesting statement :eek:
I wish someone had a full range of mechanical switches like that; not just Cherry. White Alps are particularly fun to type on, even though I can’t stay away from my model M for more than a few hours.
