Mechanical keyboards anyone?

Post Reply New Topic

Just curious if there are any others that prefer mechanical keyboards. I type a lot for work so I am picky about keyboards and have tried pretty much every style I can find on the market.

My preferences in order:

Cheap rubber domes like what comes free with a desktop - Blah. OK at first if that, but not for long term use

Scissor switch boards - laptops, Apple keyboards - OK in a pinch. Short throw of the keys throws me off for speed and I get finger/joint pain if I use too long.

Alps switches - used a Matias Quiet Pro for quite a while but the key wobble and "crunchy" feeling got to me.

Buckling spring - good old IBM Model M or Unicomp, I really like using these but they are LOUD!!

Cherry switches - Tried every popular one made - prefer Ergo Clears by far followed by Browns, Clears, Reds, Blacks, Blues, Greens. Never tried white but they arent very popular.

Topre - current daily driver. Using a Realforce 87U Silent right now. Funny that is basically a rubber dome inside but feels so much better than any cheap rubber dome and lasts infinitely longer. Dont need to bottom out the board but that is hard to do on any Topre let along a light variable but I can bottom out much softer on Topre vs. a standard RD. Also have used a 55g and 45g uniform. Like all three but the variable silent is my current favorite. I also have a HHKB Pro but the key layout messes with me too much to use daily. Love the feel of it though so it sticks around.

So my two daily use boards are a Topre RF 87u/s and a vintage Cherry Corp modded to Ergo Clears. Like both pretty much equally but the Topre is much quieter so I tend to use it more since I work from home.

I have a IBM M, good keyboard but noisy, plus due to the key height I found it difficult swapping to another keyboard after typing a lot on it.

My favorite keyboard was the SGI granite, shame I spilt a can of beer on it !

I use them.

I have an old IBM Model M which is faulty (I partially repaired it. Needs more work). Currently I'm using a brand new Unicomp Model M which I bought last year.

Alps switches are fine. Don't mind them at all, but I think I prefer Cherry Blues. I have a Cherry G80-3000 which uses Blue switches which have a nice feel (clicky). The whole thing is a bit flimsy though, but that's not much of an issue. I'd like to try Cherry Browns at some point.

Rubber dome keyboards do vary a lot, and some are pretty good, but I'd go for switches/springs any day .

My absolute favorite is a Compaq keyboard from twenty years ago. I have never seen a more satisfying keyboard to use.

Several years ago, I bought a number of them on eBay. About half arrived broken, but I only needed about half as many as were in the lot anyway.

The butterfly keys in the Logitechs Dell ships with their XPS all in ones are nice, I took mine to work and since the Dell has Logitech's receiver built in I use it with the k350 'Wave' ergonomic keyboard I already had.

_________________
"Standing on a well-chilled cinder, we see the fading of the suns, and try to recall the vanished brilliance of the origin of the worlds."
-Georges Lemaitre
"I fly through hyperspace, in my green computer interface"
-Gem Tos

I don't need a keyboard, I have a mouse with 18 buttons-- it handles pretty much all my computer related tasks, except straight out typing, even then I'm using the copy/paste/delete/cut buttons on my mouse more than the keyboard it seems.

I did have one gaming keyboard a while back that was mechanical and the noise was damn near enough to give me a meltdown, so I vowed never to touch another one again.

I just go to newegg, find the most reliable cheapest keyboard from a manufacturer I know, because any keyboard in our house is susceptible to children/wife dumping their beverages on it, and rather than get mad, since it was so cheap, just say "oh well", it was only $15.

And yes it happens at work too, morons put their coffee cup with no lid right next to the computer that is running an important test. And yes, twice in my life, I have seen beverages, at work, by so-called adults, get dumped on keyboards or electrical equipment, this is not paranoia, it happens, and of course, the person that has to fix it is the one in the mirror.

And even the keyboards I use have been known to have pieces of fingernail in between the keys. Not saying how they got there, only that it happens.

I wish I knew enough about keyboards to even recognize all those different types listed in this thread. I thought that all keyboards were mechanical.

All I know is that I have a standard USB keyboard, and that I'm going to buy a SafeType when I have enough money because it allows me to type with my hands, wrists and arms in a more natural position.

As I am a writer, I have to type a large no. of pages per day. So I wanted to buy the perfect keyboard which helps me to type fast. At that point, my friend suggested me a website named keyboardbattle for online comparison among the best keyboards with their advantages and disadvantages. The comparison was so great that I didn't set aside any effort to pick my desired keyboard.