Gaming Keyboard.

MadYaker

Im buying a new gaming keyboard and I'm looking for suggestions. I'm not prepared to spend more than €50, I want the keys to be nicely textured and thats about it. I don't care about special functions or extra keys or any of that stuff. Thanks in advance for any help

Skylinehead

Sidewinder X4 is probably your best shout at that price.

MadYaker

That one looks good.

I was also looking at this I have a 35% discount code so that brings the price to €51.99 with free shipping.

ZeroThreat

Skylinehead wrote: »

Sidewinder X4 is probably your best shout at that price.

Pity the german keyboard layout is difference, otherwise I could get it at €35 along with the rest of my stuff from hwvs..

Tij da feen

ZeroThreat wrote: »

Pity the german keyboard layout is difference, otherwise I could get it at €35 along with the rest of my stuff from hwvs..

About 40 quid from Amazon with free delivery.

Skylinehead

ZeroThreat wrote: »

Pity the german keyboard layout is difference, otherwise I could get it at €35 along with the rest of my stuff from hwvs..

It's £30 (€37) on Amazon, who I think do free delivery on everything over £25

uncle_sam_ie

Skylinehead wrote: »

Sidewinder X4 is probably your best shout at that price.

It's the one I'm using at the moment. Great for night gaming and well made. I'd recommend it too. I will be upgrading to a mechanical keyboard soon so will probably be putting this one up for sell on Advents.ie

Sarz91

I'm in the same position but to be honest I'm just going to use an old keyboard thats been lying up in the attic while I wait for this: http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/sharkoon-skiller-budget-gaming-keyboard-launched-22-06-2012/

N64

If you really are willing to spoil yourself, the logitech g510 looks good (I have one myself that I was able to get for about €55 :pac:)

I presume you could use that 35% discount code since its sold directly from logitech? so it would come to €84.

ED E

N64 wrote: »

If you really are willing to spoil yourself, the logitech g510 looks good (I have one myself that I was able to get for about €55 :pac:)

I presume you could use that 35% discount code since its sold directly from logitech? so it would come to €84.

Another 510 user here, its pretty great. Outclasses my shít rig.

ZeroThreat

Well between pc parts & screen I've spent almost €1800 now. I purchased the razer deathadder as my mouse, but haven't decided on a keyboard yet.

So the sidewinder x4 seems a bargain, but how good is it, should I go for the G510 (£69 at amazon), the razer black widow ultimate (£100), or the qpad mk-85 (£124).

As you can see the options keep getting more expensive!

ED E

Value option / deluxe option / Entry level mechanical(Noisy!)

ZeroThreat

Was looking at this listing of 'top 10 gaming keyboards 2011' on youtube

lol'd at one of the comments, basically rubbishing all the choices made :

'Firstly, get a mechanical keyboard.Once you try one, you'll know the difference.
Secondly, if you're going for a mechanical keyboard, avoid Razer, Corsair and the CM back-lit keyboards.All the mechanical back-lit keyboards are manufactured (the PCBs) by iOne, which is a **** company.Instead, go for the ones manufactured by Costar.(Filco, Realforce, CM rapid, Das, Cherry, WASD..)
Lastly, choose the right MX switch.I prefer the browns but i like the feel of the blues (p. preference).'


I'm not sure exactly what blue or brown MX switchs are yet...

poggy

ZeroThreat wrote: »

Was looking at this listing of 'top 10 gaming keyboards 2011' on youtube

lol'd at one of the comments, basically rubbishing all the choices made :

'Firstly, get a mechanical keyboard.Once you try one, you'll know the difference.
Secondly, if you're going for a mechanical keyboard, avoid Razer, Corsair and the CM back-lit keyboards.All the mechanical back-lit keyboards are manufactured (the PCBs) by iOne, which is a **** company.Instead, go for the ones manufactured by Costar.(Filco, Realforce, CM rapid, Das, Cherry, WASD..)
Lastly, choose the right MX switch.I prefer the browns but i like the feel of the blues (p. preference).'

I'm not sure exactly what blue or brown MX switchs are yet...

http://www.overclock.net/t/491752/mechanical-keyboard-guide
This is a good guide to start, have a black widow my self MX blues. They are loud but i dont really mind the noise.

ED E

Fluffy88 wrote: »

If response times and comfort are big issues then you definitely need to checkout some mechanical keyboards, they are simply better. Here is a nice video of someone who can speak and get his point across a little better than me http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHnMcFGkGcA
For gaming generally people like Black or Red switches as they allow for faster key presses.

^ Watch the video.

Fluffy88

Blues, Browns, Blacks and Reds are the most popular and widespread mechanical key-switches which are all made by Cherry.

A quick over view of the different switches is
Blues are for typing, clicky & tactile
Browns are like blues but less clicky. They are good for typing but are also good for gaming.

Blacks are non-clicky & non-tactile. These are good for gaming, better than browns but not so good for typing.
Reds are like blacks, but even less tactile and require less force to make them register a keystroke(actuate).

Tactile means the key gives a little bump when it actuates. All these switches actuate before they 'bottom out' so the key press will register before the key is fully depressed, so you don't actually have to push the keys fully down when using them.

Sorry very, very brief overview, read this article if you really want to know about mechanical switches
http://www.overclock.net/t/491752/mechanical-keyboard-guide

EDIT: I need to get myself a mech keyboard so I can type faster :P

uncle_sam_ie

I got my mechanical Qpad MK-85 yesterday with the red switches. I'm liking the keyboard and glad I chose one with backlighting. I played a bit BF3 last night and it felt a lot more comfortable and hitting the keys is more defined. I can see this helping with hand fatigue during long MMO gaming sessions. Did the mechanical red switches improve my gaming performance? No, not really. I still sucked. But man, I love typing on this. If you do a lot of typing for school or work then I definitely recommend going mechanical. You will notice the difference straight away.

ZeroThreat

uncle_sam_ie wrote: »

I got my mechanical Qpad MK-85 yesterday with the red switches. I'm liking the keyboard and glad I chose one with backlighting. I played a bit BF3 last night and it felt a lot more comfortable and hitting the keys is more defined. I can see this helping with hand fatigue during long MMO gaming sessions. Did the mechanical red switches improve my gaming performance? No, not really. I still sucked. But man, I love typing on this. If you do a lot of typing for school or work then I definitely recommend going mechanical. You will notice the difference straight away.

I thought the blacks and reds weren't that great for typing though

Personally, I think I'd go middle of the road for multipurpose pc, ie browns.

Was look at the das keyboard model S over at amazon, only problem is the 'ultimate eu' description, I suspect none of them on offer there are UK layout..:(.

uncle_sam_ie

ZeroThreat wrote: »

I thought the blacks and reds weren't that great for typing though

Personally, I think I'd go middle of the road for multipurpose pc, ie browns.

Was look at the das keyboard model S over at amazon, only problem is the 'ultimate eu' description, I suspect none of them on offer there are UK layout..:(.

I've only had experienced the red switches. I think all of the switches are good for typing. It's just a lot of people find the blues better because of the tactile feed back. The black less so because they have no feed back and the actuation force is the highest make them fatiguing when typing for long periods. It's a pity we can't try out the different switches somewhere before we buying. I think there is a place in London you can go. If you ever get the chance to go over.

uncle_sam_ie

You can get your Das Keyboard from here http://www.getdigital.de/products/Das_Keyboard_Model_S_Professional shipping I think is 18 euro. They are very good keyboards but they have no backlighting. Which was a must for me.

ZeroThreat

uncle_sam_ie wrote: »

You can get your Das Keyboard from here http://www.getdigital.de/products/Das_Keyboard_Model_S_Professional shipping I think is 18 euro. They are very good keyboards but they have no backlighting. Which was a must for me.

Yeah, just realised about no backlighting, guess I'll have to continue my search for the perfect mechanical keyboard :pac:

Maybe I'll take a look at the qpad ones...

uncle_sam_ie

I'm happy with the Qpad so far. If you want it with brown switches though you'll have to order it direct from their website http://www.qpad.com/. If you want something a bit cheaper this one seems good. http://www.scan.co.uk/products/coolermaster-cm-storm-trigger-mechanical-gaming-keyboard-with-backlit-brown-cherry-switch-keys

ZeroThreat

Mk85s on amazon will work out about €160 after converting & changing to Irish VAT rate, while direct from qpad site €150 & €20 shipping (and I get to choose the colour switches wanted), so ordering exact one of choice from qpad for maybe €10 more is a no-brainer.

Someone described qpads as 'entry level mechanical' in the thread earlier if I recall, wouldn't like to see the midrage prices then.

Watched that ncix review someone linked. The corsairs aren't even fully mechanical, they're only hybrids, and don't seem that great tbh.

uncle_sam_ie

The Corsair keyboards aren't bad. I actually like the K60 better with the those rubbery curved orange keys that come extra. If it had backlighting I might have gone for it. The hand rest looks kinda lame though.

ZeroThreat

This filco looks to be one of the best quality mechanical keyboards, albeit without backlighting...

http://www.keyboardco.com/keyboard_details.asp?PRODUCT=932

But with cheapest deliver option it still totals £142.38 :eek:

Wierd thing is the keyboard was a slightly cheaper price on amazon, but when I went to pre-confirm order to see what total would work out at, the delivery charge added brought it to exactly £142.38 :cool:

I also notice some items seem to recalculate vat @ the Irish rate when you go to checkout, yet for this one it didn't (I bought a monitor earlier in the week and it recalculated total price with higher Vat rate)

uncle_sam_ie

I say the Filcos are probably better quality but with less features. I did here they are bringing out a back lit one next year though If your buying from Amazon make sure the keyboard has a UK layout. I was reading some of the comments on Amazon were people got caught out with German layouts.

ZeroThreat

uncle_sam_ie wrote: »

I say the Filcos are probably better quality but with less features. I did here they are bringing out a back lit one next year though If your buying from Amazon make sure the keyboard has a UK layout. I was reading some of the comments on Amazon were people got caught out with German layouts.

Well I'd love the look of the keyboard late at night http://www.corporate.qpad.se/modules/news/index.php?storytopic=11 I'll probably order the mk-85 direct from qpad, €149.90 + shipping of €20.

Price converted to euros on amazon is about €165 and not sure if you'd even get correct key layout.

I have no experience of actually using a mechanical keyboard to know if I'd prefer red or brown switches though, is there any store in dublin where you can test a non-tactile vs tactile??

titan18

I have the Sidewinder mentioned. It's a decent keyboard for what you pay imo. Obviously not as good as a mechanical keyboard but not really at the same price either.

Also, have the Logitech diNovo Edge for when I get lazy and want to sit back. Brilliant keyboard imo, but it's quite expensive

NTMK

ZeroThreat wrote: »

Well I'd love the look of the keyboard late at night http://www.corporate.qpad.se/modules/news/index.php?storytopic=11 I'll probably order the mk-85 direct from qpad, €149.90 + shipping of €20.

Price converted to euros on amazon is about €165 and not sure if you'd even get correct key layout.

I have no experience of actually using a mechanical keyboard to know if I'd prefer red or brown switches though, is there any store in dublin where you can test a non-tactile vs tactile??

Pc world usually have the Razer black widow (not the Stealth) ultimate (blue) and may have a steelseries 6gV2/7g (Black).

uncle_sam_ie

NTMK wrote: »

Pc world usually have the Razer black widow (not the Stealth) ultimate (blue) and may have a steelseries 6gV2/7g (Black).

I looked at the Razer but, I question the quality of Razer products.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_-MTaFbQvc
I've bought a Razer mouse last year and sent it back because it was defective.The replacement was also defective. I ended up just getting my money back.

ZeroThreat

uncle_sam_ie wrote: »

I looked at the Razer but, I question the quality of Razer products.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_-MTaFbQvc
I've bought a Razer mouse last year and sent it back because it was defective.The replacement was also defective. I ended up just getting my money back.

Hopefully that wasn't the deathadder one, cos it's included in the HWVS shipment on the way to me atm..:(