This is my issue. I really want a mechanical keyboard, but the amount of choice is insane, and the price difference between different ones are insane.
Sadly these days it's hard to separate fact from fiction when it comes to products.
All of this, and I have very basic requirements too (at least I think so). 70% keyboard layout, needs to be somewhat quiet, and I don't really want to pay an arm and a leg. Is there not a website where I can filter from many different keyboards so I can short-list what suits me best? I've not found any. The only places where I've been able to find quality information are Reddit and other similar communities, but they contain a barage of information and it's hard to find anything useful.
edit: I'd really like to not have to build it myself.
Not for everyone. For years I have preferred keyboards with Cherry MX switches, but I just buy fairly inexpensive ones used. Not really a rabbit hole at all.
> someone who has heard mechanical keyboards are cool but is daunted by doing any research into what mechanical keyboard options exist out there.
honestly I was into mechanical keyboards for a while, I put together a few kits, I bought into group buys on individual hand-crafted keys, group buys on keysets, and bought a HHKB to try topre switches. After a while I just stopped, because the scene is incredibly disorganized and constantly shifting (e.g., I was into mechanical keyboards for a year or two and /r/budgetkeebs didn't even exist, but lots of my friends still know me as the keyboard enthusiast guy so they always ask me where to get a keyboard). The barrier to entry is very substantial. There are a lot of people who would like a nicer keyboard who don't want to have to deal with that nonsense.
Take that whole concept, and now think about webcams. People have money to burn and spent a lot of time on video chat because of Covid. How many people sat around and did hours and hours of research to buy the perfect webcam? How many people heard the Logitech 1080p webcam (the C920x I think?) was pretty good, bought it, plugged it in, had a good product and literally never thought about it again? I'm willing to bet that second group is easily ten times as large as the first group. And alllllllll those people see "Logitech" and all they think is "it's a peripheral that will probably work well that I don't have to think about". That's an enormous market.
anyway I can't figure out if the MX means the switches have Cherry MX stems or not, which is annoying. Not something I would buy, but definitely a frustratingly underserved market segment.
> Not saying it will be for you, but discarding mechanical keyboards on base of what the pre-built market offers is not the best measure of things.
What about buying a single $25 off-brand keyboard with off-brand cherry MX keys and liking it well enough that I can't justify even considering a new keyboard with different switches that I might like more?
> Why do all keyboard projects either mindlessly adhere to antique conventions or hopelessly diverge into zaniness? Why is it so difficult to find a multi-platform split keyboard with no gimmicks, standard layouts, and sane defaults. I will buy a back-stock of 10 when I find it. The closest thing so far is the Mistel MD770 so I own 2 of them.
Try finding what you are looking for but with an ISO layout. Which is why I am thinking about buying a second Mistel MD770.
> I think peoples tastes have shifted to quality in more areas, because they can quickly google and see what the best looks like.
I've noticed that I do a lot more min/maxing. I'm always optimizing my purchases for the best available at the lowest cost. Which means hundreds of hours of research. Research which often makes no real difference in the end.
> but mechs are hard to find and expensive where I am.
Same, but you might want to look into "gamer keyboards", those are usually easier to find. I ended up buying one of those from Razer (this one: https://www.razer.com/gaming-keyboards/Razer-Huntsman-Tourna...) that serves the purpose just fine and I can't say I have any complaints. (Though I obviously have no point of reference on how it compares with other mechanical keyboards.)
Pretty sure I could shave off $50 of the price of a new one and resell it to some teenager if I ever wanted to.
More so than a membrane keyboard after 10 years? I would say the opposite, mechanical keyboards are easier to fix, and have resale value. I just bought a second-hand Ergodox as my first mechanical keyboard, it cost a bit more than my previous membrane one, but looks sturdier, and easier to fix with removable switches and keycaps.
> Absolute load of w**, designed to suck dollars out of nerds.
As a nerd, a scientist and an Engineer, I appreciate having options. Not a single device will fit everyone, and I would likely disagree with you on what is the best keyboard. And I spend a lot of time typing, so I find it important enough.
As someone quite new to all of this, I appreciate comprehensive guides being written on the topic.
> Me, or anybody who needs a no-fuss, one-shot, buy-and-use-it-till-it-dies type of consumer.
You can get a cheaper no-fuss mechanical keyboard from reputable brands with respectable components for far less than this logitech keyboard is being sold.
From the top of my mind, Akko keyboards are quite nice, and most of their products sell for $50 less.
You'd need to be completely, utterly clueless to go to Logitech for a mechanical keyboard. The faintest of Google searches would lead you to established products which are both cheaper and better.
> I don't get who this product is for, other than maybe someone who has heard mechanical keyboards are cool but is daunted by doing any research into what mechanical keyboard options exist out there.
Me, or anybody who needs a no-fuss, one-shot, buy-and-use-it-till-it-dies type of consumer.
I don't care about changing switches. I don't care about DIY. While I'm perfectly capable, I don't want to spend time on that. I want something works well, and equipped with a well known 2.4GHz receiver which can work with any OS, incl. firmware updates.
I need to do my daily work with it. Not fiddle with keys, caps, boards, firmware and soldering iron.
I'll be seriously considering this. If it's adequately close to MX Browns, I'll get one.
> So I'm not alone. I really can't understand the appeal of a mechanical keyboard.
You feel when the key was pressed . All new keyboards that you find in stores are horrible. Pressing on their keys is like pressing on a mat. Why do i always have to look on the screen to see if the press was registered ?
A hobby as in building and customising keyboards. If I want a mechanical keyboards I'll spend weeks researching various pcbs and kits, looking at keyswitch datasheets and listening to recording of sounds they make, choosing keycaps with perfect font, color and manufacturing process. Don't get me started on keyboard cases...
>parts + labor costs £700 for a keyboard. I bet the part costs £70.
Lol, why? I have expensive keyboards and they are nowhere near that much for a single key. Is there any other keyboard on the planet that has such expensive keys (except maybe that one with OLEDs on every key)?
What are they sprinkling these things with to make people parrot such tripe?
> When I went to test out the keyboard I was horrified.
Really though? I prefer a particular type of keyboard but I could easily get by using the absolute worst $10 garbage keyboard too. The vast overwhelming majority of computer users are using terrible keyboards with Dell and HP logos on them. Is it maybe possible that you're 'can't evening' a tiny bit?
> If you shared a lab with 30 people banging on Model Ms you'd agree.
What if you shared a lab with 30 Selectric typewriters or couple line printers? I did. People complaining about the "noise" from Cherry clears and similar are over-reacting.
> you just like them
I do! And you don't! and guess who's keyboard it is? This is why I'm testy. People like different things. When that happens: mind your own business and cope.
It's no more inconvenient for you to hear my (not that loud) "silent" cherry clears than for you to impose on me to have to type on a keyboard that doesn't work for me.
And we can all agree that the guy that cooks fish in the microwave is our shared enemy.
> I don't get who this product is for, other than maybe someone who has heard mechanical keyboards are cool but is daunted by doing any research into what mechanical keyboard options exist out there.
I agree. For this price you could buy a great keyboard from Vortex with swap able keys .. which click the way you like it.
In my case, I don't. I'm typing this right now on a Northgate OmniKey Ultra [1] that was bought circa. 1991 (sometime late 1991). I've got a second identical to it at work as well, but the second one was purchased circa. 1995. Myself, if there is anything I despise it is the low throw, chick-let style keyboards, so I'd be almost opposite you there.
The reality is, to each his own. Different people will have different opinions on mechanical vs. non-mechanical keyboards.
Mechanical keyboard communities are 110% all about aesthetics. For most it is far more important how the keyboard looks than anything else, the comes how it feels and sounds and somewhere very far comes actual functionality and even further ergonomics.
Obviously there is nothing wrong with this, but it makes sourcing split mechanical keyboards hard and expensive.
Good luck. I've kinda wished there was some company that would sell custom keyboard where you could have switches in new places. But unfortunately, "custom keyboard" almost always means custom keycaps, and keyboard fads seem to mainly be about having fewer and fewer keys.
Pretty soon, I'm sure we'll see minimalist keyboards with only one key where you have to type in scan-codes manually in binary, Morse-code style.
I've dreamed about having a custom keyboard with two leap keys (but spaces on the outer ends of the spacebar instead of the middle) and a couple custom shift keys.
This is my issue. I really want a mechanical keyboard, but the amount of choice is insane, and the price difference between different ones are insane.
Sadly these days it's hard to separate fact from fiction when it comes to products.
All of this, and I have very basic requirements too (at least I think so). 70% keyboard layout, needs to be somewhat quiet, and I don't really want to pay an arm and a leg. Is there not a website where I can filter from many different keyboards so I can short-list what suits me best? I've not found any. The only places where I've been able to find quality information are Reddit and other similar communities, but they contain a barage of information and it's hard to find anything useful.
edit: I'd really like to not have to build it myself.
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