What have I got myself into...

[RobS101]

For many a year I have been a user of apple keyboards. I used to work for their tech support team, so even though im a PC man at home(mainly due to gaming) I always had apple USB keyboards, most recently the alluminium wired one as my dekstop keyboard.

Recently the caps and L shift keys have started to fail, so i made a decision to buy a new keyboard. Now i spend vast majority of my time at work like most, so i figured id buy the same crappy HP 'Standard' PS2 keyboard i use at work to make it all the same for me, this is when I stumbled upon problem 1.

NKO, or the lack of. I am an avid gamer, and a left hander, so use the arrow keys for movement and the keypad for ancilaries. Now on the new HP keyboard, i cannot press UP, KP_0 and LEFT or RIGHT at the same time, which means I cant sprint and strafe at the same time, or drive a vehicle and boost in Battlefield 3 at the same time.

This is a problem, and lead me to start trying to find out why. Read up on NKO etc, realised what I had was not going to cut the mustard and proceeded to look for an alternative.

I now find myself on the edge of a precipice, i am easily 'engrossed' in a topic/subject and the whole Mechanical keyboard and swapping custom keys and different switches etc is very very enticing.

So i need help basically. Do I :

a) Buy a menbrane gaming keyboard that supports 6NKO and walk away
b) Jump in and buy a mechanical keyboard and embrace Full NKO and cool custom keycaps, while spending a ton of money.

If b), i really like the style and build looks of Filco keyboards, but think I would love the red switches, so it appears im screwed. Living in the UK, are their any other 'plain/stylish' designed keyboards with red switches available to me?

Cheers for the long read,

Rob

[webwit]

We will suck your soul. And wallet.

[webwit]

Just buy a Filco with UK layout with brown or red switches and get it over with. If it turns out you really don't care for it, sell it on this forum and cut your losses. But you'll probably love it and use it for years.

[RobS101]

haha this is what i was fearing/hoping in equal measures lol

Don't think Filco do a Red switched UK layout full keyboard at the moment, I had not considered Brown switches up to now, does the click they have not get in the way of gaming?

[webwit]

That's the blue switch, which is more of a switch for typing, not gaming. The brown switch is light and tactile and not clicky. Personally I think it's a great middle ground switch. You might like the reds as many do, but also dislike them for being too light.

[Gilgam]

Buy a filco, or a G80-1501 from Germany, they are full NKRO, and you can switch the switches to move from blues to ghetto red (a red like combo), it'll a good start at a low price(PS2 though).
Then if you love and found your best switch, buy a filco. Red switches must come, one day... (only ansi layout at the keyboard company).

Brown is nice, a bit of tactility (a small resistance during the course of the key, and light).

[Half-Saint]

Funny thing a "medical" board should have NKRO. Didn't know the doctors played games

[cmh]

I would go with a Filco, especially if you love how they look. The quality is very good compared to some of the other cherry MX keyboards I've owned. I actually really think you will like brown switches for gaming, especially in RTS games where I think they are one of the best feeling switches.

[RobS101]

thanks for all the responses, looks like when i get paid im buying a Filco Majestouch-2 UK layout in Black with Brown switches

Cheers for all the help, hope its as good as i think its going to be

[Gilgam]

Funny thing a "medical" board should have NKRO. Didn't know the doctors played games

You can't imagine what doctors do but i was surprised too.