Need help with picking out a (Mechanical) keyboard...

[Pyroven]

When I say 'help', I mean a sort of SOS type help.

I feel like I'm drowning in options for a keyboard to choose.


The things would like to find in a keyboard are:

Mechanical - Obviously

Tenkeyless - Because I don't have much desk space. However I would then also hope that there is some form of independant Num Pad that I could buy, for when I need it.

Backlighting - Not 100% necessary but it looks nice and would be good for late night gaming.

Media Keys - Not 'Function + F1' type media keys

UK Layout - American layout, to be frank, is awful. However it seems like every keyboard I go to look for, even some from UK-based retailers, are US layout. If someone knows a good UK layout one with just 2/3 of the other things I need I would be eternally grateful.


I do not care about in-built USB hubs in the slighest, nor do I care for audio jacks.

So can someone please find me a keyboard close to these requirements? I have been looking but I feel Like I have been going round in circles.

My budget is £100.


Things I have been loking at already include: Mad Catz STRIKE 3/4/5,Matias Mini Quiet Pro
,Ttesports Poseidon Z and some others

[Muirium]

Welcome to DT. Good to see you've settled on Tenkeyless, the right choice! Seeing as it's a decent match, I'll point you to the Ducky Shine 3:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showprodu ... ubcat=2706

And, more informative I hope, a big old review I wrote of mine, explaining a lot of the details about caps and stabs and so on that we forever go on about around here:

http://deskthority.net/review-f45/ducky ... t7130.html

But here's one feature to add to your list: have you thought about switches? Most new mechanical keyboards use the Cherry MX family, where each colour means a different feel of switch. My Shine 3 is MX red which means light and linear: no bump or click.

http://deskthority.net/wiki/Cherry_MX#T ... n_variants

It's hard to choose a switch without trying them first. This is where testers come in, so you can try before you buy. CM does a good one, which you can get discounted from the price of one of their keyboards. Their Quick Fire Rapid is a solid entry level TKL that's well within your price range, but with no backlighting.

http://www.cmstore.eu/cm-storm/keyboard ... ch-tester/

Meanwhile Matias make their own switches and are quite different to all the MX based boards.

[Pyroven]

Welcome to DT. Good to see you've settled on Tenkeyless, the right choice! Seeing as it's a decent match, I'll point you to the Ducky Shine 3:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showprodu ... ubcat=2706

And, more informative I hope, a big old review I wrote of mine, explaining a lot of the details about caps and stabs and so on that we forever go on about around here:

http://deskthority.net/review-f45/ducky ... t7130.html

That looks like exactly what I am after!

But here's one feature to add to your list: have you thought about switches? Most new mechanical keyboards use the Cherry MX family, where each colour means a different feel of switch. My Shine 3 is MX red which means light and linear: no bump or click.

http://deskthority.net/wiki/Cherry_MX#T ... n_variants

To be honest, I am not really all that worried about the switch type. I have been using a £5 Tescos squidgey keyboard for about a year now so anything is welcome. If I had the choice though, I'd like something that responds quickly and has slight click (Essentially whatever is best for gaming) - could you reccomend one for that? I was thinking MX Blue but I remember hearing in the past that it wasn't the best for gaming.

It's hard to choose a switch without trying them first. This is where testers come in, so you can try before you buy. CM does a good one, which you can get discounted from the price of one of their keyboards. Their Quick Fire Rapid is a solid entry level TKL that's well within your price range, but with no backlighting.

http://www.cmstore.eu/cm-storm/keyboard ... ch-tester/

Sorry, but I don't have the money. Which sounds ridiculous, but I just don't have the money to be spending on stuff like that.

[RadikulRAM]

MX blues, the switches I'm currently using, aren't the best for gaming. That doesn't make them bad at all, they're still great.

I went from a MX red to blues, and in theory reds are better. In practice however it's a bit different, with blues you know for sure that you did press the damn key.

With reds, you can only tell if your character doesn't move, or if an ability doesn't go off.

That said, I don't think I ever missed a keystroke with reds or blues.

However key spamming is slower with blues, it's fast enough for bunny hopping and fast enough to spam abilities in league of legends, but I don't think it'll be good enough for games were you need to spam so fast. (Like starcraft 2 pro players do, 200 actuations a minute?)

Honestly go for whichever you enjoy, I got bored of the reds quick, and the blues I still enjoy 2 years later.

Oh and the key tester is good because "As an added bonus, any purchase of a CM Storm Key Tester instantly provides a € 13,95 discount to your purchase of a CM Storm mechanical keyboard from our store."

Meaning if you buy that, to try switches, then a keyboard from them, it's the same as getting the tester for free.