

Why You Should Buy a Mechanical Keyboard - greenjellybean
https://themechanicalkeyboardreview.com/why-to-buy

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johntaitorg
I had a mechanical (Steelseries 7G) keyboard and I detested it. Indestructible
lump that properly belongs to a point of sale terminal. Really harsh and
unpleasant bottoming out of keys.

I'd like a Realforce one day though.

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hcarvalhoalves
I see a lot of talk (hype?) about this, but I've used IBM keyboards in the
past and I don't miss it. Am I the only one who actually prefers low-profile
keyboards like the Mac/MacBook ones?

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andrewf
I'll take either a mechanical or a chiclet (like the Apple ones) keyboard over
squishy rubber domes.

I personally think the chiclet boards have a lot in common with the mechanical
ones - there's a very nonlinear resistance and it's pretty clear when you
have, versus haven't, activated a key. I don't find many mechanical
aficionados agree :)

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johntaitorg
I don't like the low profile keyboards on most laptops now. I bought my own
refurbished Lenovo Thinkpad X201 mainly for its fantastic keyboard, and I also
requested and got a Lenovo T440 for work which has a different but still
excellent keyboard.

Many cheap rubber dome keyboards are of course horrible, but some are pretty
good. I use a Dell somethingorother at home, and its very good. I also use a
cheap Lenovo SK 8825 and there's nothing wrong with it at all.

Cherry switches seem to have an industrial heritage, and they seem to have
been adopted by the type of gamer who likes to treat their keyboard like a
Hyper Sports cabinet. Indeed, the red switch was created for gamers.

The switches don't provide much of a typing experience, unless you like the
feeling of a key slamming onto a hard surface. Which you can mitigate by using
O rings to try to retrieve the rubber dome feel.

Here's a quick <del>keycap</del> recap on the Cherry switches. \- Blacks.
Heavy duty basic linear switch used in Carphone Warehouse POS terminals,
Police keyboards, and Steelseries G series. Guaranteed cramps. \- Red. "Fast"
version of Blacks, for FPS gamers. Unsuitable for any typing. \- Brown. Like a
version of Reds with a bit of grit on the stem to act as an "early warning
alarm" so you can hopefully avoid the painful bottoming out. \- Blue. Makes an
artificial "click" halfway down the stem to fool your brain that you're using
a good keyboard. Highly antisocial - favoured by people who plant leylandiis
at the bottom of their small gardens.

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cyberjunkie
I think the one big reason to use one that is missing, is that they are
reliable as hell. The texture and the feel of it doesn't go away, not nearly
as quickly as the membrane ones.

The $20 one I've been using has been with me since 2007. It's a TVSE Gold. The
one I had with my 386 lasted me around 11 years. It's the lack of the
connector that forced me to go PS2. Probably replaced 4-5 keyboards in those
4-5 years.

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jqm
Does anyone have any a recommendation? I've been wanting to get a mechanical
keyboard.

~~~
jestar_jokin
Unicomp ([http://www.pckeyboard.com/](http://www.pckeyboard.com/)) produce
modern IBM Model M keyboard, with real buckling spring tech. Mine's been
working beautifully for 8 years now. It is _loud_ though, you won't make
friends from the noise levels. I did have some issues with the quality of the
caps, some of the function keys get stuck due to the tight fit between the cap
and the bezel, but you can probably file down the bezel or the cap. My model
doesn't have media keys, which sucks.

Anyway, if you want to feel like you're writing on a mechanical device, it's
fantastic, and when you're in the zone you get that audial and tactile
feedback to say "Yes! You're winning!".

I need to find a keyboard I can use at work, one with tactile feedback but a
lot quieter.

