I'm looking for a keyboard for gaming. Id like one that is backlit. Preferably quiet doesnt have to be silent.
How cheap we talking $80 ? $50 ? $10 ?
As cheap as i can go and still get a quality item with the options i would like. But i was thinking around 30-80 dollars.
good starting plac, something like the Logitech G110 or Microsoft Sidewinder X6, and go search around, see what you like
The logitech seems nice.
eaby.com
ibm model m
if you cant find one in your price range, just type in mechanical keyboard. see what comes up. dont get put off by the white boards that look like they are form the early 90's.... they are the best. they wont break. ever. and they are built with quality.
i went from using a (shitty) razer lychosa to this beauty.
I pretty much need one that is backlit. For whatever reason i either need to turn all the lights on in the room or have the curtains wide open and have at lease one light on or i cant see the keys.
I would HIGHLY recommend the CM Storm Quickfire Rapid. I bought one with black switches a couple of months ago, and it's the most satisfying and accurate experience I've had yet on a keyboard (granted I haven't used any of the super high end mechanical keyboards). For 80$, I don't think it gets much better than this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823129007
I would recommend the black switches but some people don't like the resistance of it, if that's the case I'd suggest red. But it's personal preference, they offer it in red, blue, black, and brown.
As for backlit keys, I'd honestly just try getting used to not needing that, once you start buying keyboards with backlights, your venturing into the area of the market where they're just selling things that look cool, sometimes at the sacrifice of performance.
Once again this is personal preference, maybe you would prefer looks over performance!
Razer Blackwidows (new ones) go for quite cheap, but beware of the iOne quality and it's prone to break faster than other keyboards. Another one would be the Cooler Master Quickfire Pro/TK. You should also check out Ducky Shines, but they're a bit more expensive.
Please note that these all of the ones I mentioned are inferior to some non-backlit keyboards, but since that's what you need for some reason, you'll have to deal with it.
If you have a choice of Cherry MX switches, you should make the decision based on this(for gaming): Red > Black > Brown > Blue.
Avoid Microsoft, Logitech and every Razer keyboard other than the blackwidow at all costs.
one thing to remember that a lot of people seem to forget is that you dont absolutelty need a mechanical keyboard. dont get me wrong theyre really nice and you should really check them out but theyre not a necessity as some people seem to belive. Mechanical keyboards provide you with an amazing lifespan and durability (Ive had mine for years with no issues at all and i abuse the shit out of mine) and a fantastic sound (to many people, myself included, the sound the keystrokes make is worth the $100 pricetags alone) but on the other side of things theres little to no advantage to using them over any other keyboard as far as gaming performance goes (some people might argue that the distance for keystrokes can be less for mechanical keyboards and therefore youll have better reaction time but its at most its a couple of microseconds) and also theyre are very expensive. but again you get what you pay for. $80 mechanical witll last you 10+ years (im not joking ive had mine for a looooooong time and its not looking like its going anywhaere anytime soon) or a $40 other slop thatll last 2 years then youll have to buy a new one. (to a lot of people $40 every two years, thats a little over 5 cents a day, is a bit easier to swallow than a single $80 drop.)
sorry for hte paragraph but i figured itd be better that you know what your paying for.
Getting a rubber dome keyboard is fine as long as you don't pay $10+ for it.
The CM quickfire mechanical series of keyboards are probably the best you could get in terms of price/performance for a cheap mechanical keyboard. I don't know about back lighting on the models though. I think if you can spare $110 the corsair k90 is a great option. If the CM boards aren't backlit then buy a black widow, that's the next best thing.
I use the Saitek Eclipse II. Been using it since 2007 with no issues.
http://www.amazon.com/Saitek-Eclipse-Backlit-Keyboard-PK02AU/dp/B000H6AY6M
Microsoft Sidewinder X4 is probablly the best price:performace ratio for under $50. Comforatble, 18 programmable macros (6 x 3 profiles), backlighting. It's rubber dome, but it WILL last longer than the "2 years" people ar stating above. Had mine for 4, and it's still like new.
go mechanical no excuses
no i deffinately agree i was just thinking about getting the sidwinder X4 myself for a sideproject rig (im deffinately not going to spend $80 on a keyboard for this project) the reviews are fantastic and ive never heard any complaints about it from anyone i know who owns one (and i know a few) other than of course "its not a mechanical" (whcih as far as im concerned isnt a complaint)
but why though? Ive heard no reasoning as to spend that much amount of money on a keyboard other than "they last forever" and "they sound pretty" which is all fine but if neither of those points matter to the person whats the reason to spend $80+ on a keyboard. I loved my mechanical but other than the sound I saw no real difference between them and rubberdomes. dont get me wrong im not saying there isnt a reason i just dont know one and would like to be more well informed for future posts.
why?
because they are awesome and they last long and they are more sensitive so you can type faster and for the amount of money a good mechanical keyboard is like buying 2 crap membrane keyboards i just got the coolermaster storm trigger brown
thank you someone supporting their argument with actual facts. (them being awesome is really more of an opinion but ill still take that over "just because") and theyre actually true facts as well mechanical keyboards on average last around 3 or 4 times longer than a decent membrane keyboard. they also can be much more sensitive than membranes. that doesent explain why theyre an aboslute must have. (as many people in this forum post have made it seem)