unf wrote:

smaka knows more about keyboards than all other reviewers combined

don't be such an ignorant prick when YOU asked for help

I asked for suggestions of keyboards with reasons behind it, not attitude and condescension when I disagree with your opinions.

He gave his input and I'm glad he did, but I didn't appreciate his tone telling me how inexperienced I am with high quality components because I didn't share his opinions.

ell wrote:

I think you should consider a tenkeyless keyboard, it's hard to comfortably fit a 45 cm mouse pad and a keyboard in front of you as it is. I've been very pleased with my Filco Majestouch 2 MX Black keyboard of that format so far, but I don't have much to compare with. Still, it's a nice, sturdy no-nonsense keyboard and it has n-key rollover. http://www.diatec.co.jp/en/FKBN88MUKB/FKBN88MUKB01.jpg

Thanks for the suggestion, going without the numpad is something I've been considering since there are a lot more options if I can live without it.

NeoRussia wrote:

You won't find a keyboard that uses brown switches and has backlighting. If I wanted brown switches I'd get one of these http://elitekeyboards.com/products.php?sub=leopold . If backlighting is a must your only good choice would be the blackwidow ultimate. The ultimate is way overpriced compared to the standard version, but unless you're willing to get over not having a backlit keyboard then you have no choice.

http://www.cmstorm.com/en/products/keyboards/Trigger/

Brown keys + backlighting

Guan wrote:

http://www.cmstorm.com/en/products/keyboards/Trigger/

Brown keys + backlighting

Hey thanks for the suggestion, this is actually an extremely viable alternative. I didn't see this keyboard when I was looking at this website before.

shock- wrote:

I asked for suggestions of keyboards with reasons behind it, not attitude and condescension when I disagree with your opinions.

You ask for advice, and then you disagree while not having personal experience to base your opinion off of. That's the issue.

P.S. I have a cooler master mechanical keyboard (quickfire rapid) and it is fantastic. Far higher quality then any Razer product I have used.

Freakin wrote:

You ask for advice, and then you disagree while not having personal experience to base your opinion off of. That's the issue.

P.S. I have a cooler master mechanical keyboard (quickfire rapid) and it is fantastic. Far higher quality then any Razer product I have used.

Just because I disagree doesn't mean I haven't taken it into consideration. I'm basing my opinions on the boat-loads of first hand experience I've been reading. People who own the exact keyboards I'm looking to buy, writing their opinions of it. I trust those reviews more than a mechanical keyboard connaisseur who can only speculate on products they haven't used personally.

I'm not looking for speculation in this thread. I'm aware of the problems that the old Black Widow has, but I have to take into account that Razer would more than likely have fixed some of these issues before releasing a new model. They have a new coating on the keycaps, a new coating on the keyboard itself, new switches, and for all the googling I've done I've seen nothing but good reviews of the new model thus far.

As for the cooler master keyboards, I'll have to look into that Trigger model some more, it seems to be the equivalent of the Stealth.

I'm still up in the air about whether I even need the macro keys. They would be convenient for random things, but completely nonessential.

You seem to be defending Razer pretty hard yourself without actually experiencing it.

CheaP wrote:

You seem to be defending Razer pretty hard yourself without actually experiencing it.

I agree, but I feel that I'm defending it only to the point of keeping an even playing field. There's no reason to knock razer off the table just because of issues from other products. If there was an equal amount of negative feedback for the Stealth that there was for the original Blackwidow, then I would agree that Razer put out another shit product. But there's no sense in jumping to that conclusion.

Zakirll wrote:

Here's a really good option for people who want a tenkeyless and don't lights.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Noppoo-Choc-Mini-NKRO-Mechanical-Keyboard-Cherry-MX-Red-/250888280157?pt=PCA_Mice_Trackballs&hash=item3a6a1b585d#ht_6173wt_1163

This looks great actually, thanks for the suggestion. Tenkeyless, plate mounted, good keycaps and cheap to boot.

gr1m wrote:

Zakirll wrote:

Here's a really good option for people who want a tenkeyless and don't lights.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Noppoo-Choc-Mini-NKRO-Mechanical-Keyboard-Cherry-MX-Red-/250888280157?pt=PCA_Mice_Trackballs&hash=item3a6a1b585d#ht_6173wt_1163

This looks great actually, thanks for the suggestion. Tenkeyless, plate mounted, good keycaps and cheap to boot.

Being a small keyboard, does it have the tendency to move around more during gaming because it's much lighter weight?

shock- wrote:

CheaP wrote:

You seem to be defending Razer pretty hard yourself without actually experiencing it.

I agree, but I feel that I'm defending it only to the point of keeping an even playing field. There's no reason to knock razer off the table just because of issues from other products. If there was an equal amount of negative feedback for the Stealth that there was for the original Blackwidow, then I would agree that Razer put out another shit product. But there's no sense in jumping to that conclusion.

Why defend a product? I have used a blackwidow, I know many people who own a blackwidow, every person who has tried a blackwidow and then tried a filco, leopold, etc. has commented on how much better they feel. You want specific measurements? They don't exist. I can tell you that the keycaps on the blackwidow feel like ass compared to any other of the keyboards I've used. Can I prove it? Nope.

Why take a chance on the stealth? Maybe they've improved quality, maybe they haven't. What I DO know is that the keyboards I'm suggesting are going to be fantastic! How do I know that? Because I've tried them and because people who I know have tried them. Best part about buying a something that isn't a razer mechanical, it's a LOT easier to sell and only take a small loss if you don't like it. Good luck trying to unload your razer mechanical if it turns out to be subpar.

You have many proven options, if you want to risk your money then feel free.

A TKL mech keyboard is still heavier then a full rubber dome keyboard. Plus mine has rubber on the bottom. Doesn't move a bit.

shock- wrote:

gr1m wrote:

Zakirll wrote:

Here's a really good option for people who want a tenkeyless and don't lights.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Noppoo-Choc-Mini-NKRO-Mechanical-Keyboard-Cherry-MX-Red-/250888280157?pt=PCA_Mice_Trackballs&hash=item3a6a1b585d#ht_6173wt_1163

This looks great actually, thanks for the suggestion. Tenkeyless, plate mounted, good keycaps and cheap to boot.

Being a small keyboard, does it have the tendency to move around more during gaming because it's much lighter weight?

They have pretty good rubber feet. I have a smaller KBC poker and it doesn't move around at all.

Zakirll wrote:

Why defend a product? I have used a blackwidow, I know many people who own a blackwidow, every person who has tried a blackwidow and then tried a filco, leopold, etc. has commented on how much better they feel. You want specific measurements? They don't exist. I can tell you that the keycaps on the blackwidow feel like ass compared to any other of the keyboards I've used. Can I prove it? Nope.

Why take a chance on the stealth? Maybe they've improved quality, maybe they haven't. What I DO know is that the keyboards I'm suggesting are going to be fantastic! How do I know that? Because I've tried them and because people who I know have tried them. Best part about buying a something that isn't a razer mechanical, it's a LOT easier to sell and only take a small loss if you don't like it. Good luck trying to unload your razer mechanical if it turns out to be subpar.

You have many proven options, if you want to risk your money then feel free.

The thing is, everything I've read so far has said that it HAS improved in quality. They have a new rubberized coating on the kaycaps, so it wont feel like the original, especially with the new switches and matte base. I would take a chance on it because if it is in fact up to par with the other brands, then I would prefer to have it because I think it looks nicer than the other brands, but I'm not making the decision on looks alone.

The whole point of this thread is for me to find viable alternatives that don't lack the features I want. I made this thread because I'm aware of the Razer issues, and I want to learn about keyboards I've never heard of or never found. Right now, the Ducky Shine doesn't look like I'd enjoy it, regardless of how amazing its build quality may be. The CM Storm Trigger looks to be the closest viable choice for what I'm looking for.

To me, all of these keyboards are a risk. The Stealth seems like the least risky of the Razer keyboards at the moment, so I'm keeping it on the table. I don't see why that's such a problem. If I was dead-set on getting it, I wouldn't have made this thread.

razer makes good mice, thats about it, and even then my mouse4/5 buttons both broke on my first deathadder within a few months.
Lycosa has had problems since day one, keys getting stuck, keyboard not working until restart are both problems, wouldnt trust keyboards from them.

downpour wrote:

razer makes good mice, thats about it, and even then my mouse4/5 buttons both broke on my first deathadder within a few months.
Lycosa has had problems since day one, keys getting stuck, keyboard not working until restart are both problems, wouldnt trust keyboards from them.

I've had a deathadder for well over a year now, and it's still working perfectly for me. My lycosa was also shitty with those same problems, but they said that a batch of them were malfunctional and they replaced it for free when I emailed them because of the 1 year warrantee.

So far it seems like the worst thing I've heard about the Razer keyboards is that after a year or two the keycaps will wear down or flake off. I feel like that will happen to every keyboard after extended use (maybe not the flaking off), but I have no problem spending 5 bucks to get replacement keycaps once every year or so. I know for a fact that replacements exist that fit the BW.

And while I may not need to do that with other keyboards, a lot of mechanical keyboards out there are just damn ugly to me. There are not a lot of options for good looking keyboards. I'm going to see this keyboard every single day for years, so I want it to look nice as well as work correctly.

shock- wrote:

gr1m wrote:

Zakirll wrote:

Here's a really good option for people who want a tenkeyless and don't lights.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Noppoo-Choc-Mini-NKRO-Mechanical-Keyboard-Cherry-MX-Red-/250888280157?pt=PCA_Mice_Trackballs&hash=item3a6a1b585d#ht_6173wt_1163

This looks great actually, thanks for the suggestion. Tenkeyless, plate mounted, good keycaps and cheap to boot.

Being a small keyboard, does it have the tendency to move around more during gaming because it's much lighter weight?

I was reading a Geekhack user review of it and the guy weighed the board and saw that it weighed almost as much as a full-sized Ducky mechanical (i.e. for its size it's very heavy and solid). Almost guaranteed to be heavier than any non-mech.

http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Island:13825

so I went to a local used hardware store and found 2 mechanical keyboards for 3$ each. Can anybody identify these? Specifically the one with the funky keys whose original function I cannot even guess. Both seem solidly constructed, barely used and are very tactile and audiable.

http://i.imgur.com/m5UMJ.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/ZM1MD.jpg

I think the first one is an IBM model? Not too sure :x

Yeah the first one looks like a rebranded Model M, no idea on the other one, seems there are a lot of old speciality mechs around, like this guy whose keycaps are apparently doubleshots -- http://www.ebay.com/itm/Refurbished-CHERRY-Keyboard-Credit-Card-Reader-G81-7910HPBUS-2-/370540782746?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5645f3a49a

Funky keys is a video editing board.

Cool stuff! Any product info on the bottoms of the boards? That'd be the easiest way to identify the boards.

the digital one doesn't have anything other than DEC-2000 and the SN, the "video editing board" just has a bunch of serial numbers and IDs. None of these give hits on google.

Purple backlight:SPOILER

KBC/KBTalking Pure

not sure if want

god that pure looks sexy

Yeah it does. I could do without the purple backlighting, though.

Considerably cheaper than an HHKB, too, although quite hard to find by the looks of it.

Wow if I didn't need a full layout I would love to get that. I dig the purple LEDs

that back lighting looks sick

Neorussia: first one looks like an IBM model M

I have a razer blackwidow and I can tell you now it is utter shit. A bunch of my keys feel different (some make louder sound and feel more tactile while other keys are not by a significant amount). My spacebar is completely fucked up because the two plastic junks on the bottom came off. To top it off the keyboard gets dirty as fuck because of its glossiness, and I'm a clean person. This keyboard drove me to the point where I just gave up and let it collect all that bubble and dust shit it attracts. The only reason I am still using it is because I want to give myself a legitimate reason to buy a new one like when it breaks to be more conservative even though I guess the product I bought was already fucking broken.

I keep looking down ;_;