I recently built my dream desktop and so I'm looking for a good keyboard to replace the old Dell that was lying in the basement. I have had a MSI GS70 laptop for at least a year and I LOVE its keyboard. It was low profile, has a number pad, and had a satisfying silent actuate similar to mechanical browns just with no give before actuating. What I want to know is if anyone knows of a keyboard like this for desktops? The only ones I can find (like steel series Apex) are all membrane. If I have to I wouldn't mind going with something like this but something like the GS70s' (also from steel series) keyboard would be great.
How low profile do you want it to be? Island/Chiclet style or just low profile "normal" keyboards?
Afaik there are no island style keyboards with mechanical switches. It's an "either....or...." situation (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong but I just haven't encountered a keyboard that combines both).
The lowest profle mechanical keyboards I've found are the Cherry MX 3.0 and 6.0 (not sure if the later is even out yet but it's going to be expensive and the 3.0 doesn't have backlighting). Of course you can modify every keyboard to shorten the overall key travel distance (o-rings) or buy low profile keycaps (this might be very expensive since mechanical keyboard + keycaps).
For non-mechanical: I've been using a MS Sidewinder X6 (there's also the X4) for a couple of years now. I too like low profile keys but it has rubberdomes. The Cougar 200K could be more up your alley since it has scissor switches, just like laptop keyboards have but without island style keys. And then there's the Steelseries Apex series you already mentioned. The Logitech Illuminated and Fujitsu KB410, KB900 and KB910. Oh, and there's the Razer Deathstalker which has island style keys.
Other than that I don't know of any low profile keyboards except the usual office keyboards
Something like this?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823114046&cm_re=razer_keyboard-_-23-114-046-_-Product
I do like some of these suggestions, so thanks for them. I think what I was trying to describe from what you were saying is a chiclet/scissor keyboard. Although a brown mechanical MX 3.0 might be up my ally too. I also did see that razer, that's what I was looking for... but I'm not sure about it after I saw some connection complantes. This is a good start though so thanks.