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The Chatterbox => Computing => Topic started by: NewF on November 29, 2011, 08:00:33 PM
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http://store.razerzone.com/store/razerusa/en_US/pd/productID.169417900
Phenomenal. Eye loev eet!
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That was one of the ones that I was looking at before I wound up getting my Das. :]
And: uh oh, glossy finish. At least I know I won't be the only one that has to contend with OMG FINGERPRINTS EVERYWHERE :o Razer is really awesome when it comes to backlighting; I'll bet that thing looks gorgeous.
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Yeah, that's a pretty nice choice. Personally I'm still looking to either get a Das, or a Filco though, whenever I can afford it.
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If you're looking to improve your APM you might want to look into a keyboard that uses Cherry MX Black switches, like the SteelSeries boards. Those are linear switches, so you can double-tap like a maniac with them. The actuation point is in the same place as the release point, but there is no tactile bump or click.
If you want something between a gaming switch and a typing switch, get a keyboard that has Cherry MX Browns, like the Das Silent or the Filco. It has a tactile bump but no audible click, and the actuation point is slightly staggered from the release point. You can double-tap easily but not quite as well as with Blacks.
If you want something that's amazing for typing on, get something with Cherry MX Blues, like the Das Pro. You get the tactile bump and a satisfying click, with a noticeable difference between the actuation point and release points. Honestly, it works very well in games as well. I've played plenty of StepMania (and several other games) with my Das and it works quite well for that task. It would probably hurt a pro StarCrafter's APM, but it still works great for the rest of us. ;)
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Yeah man, it's pretty awesome looking...As for the fingerprints and what not, they were nice enough to add in one of those soft cloths that I can clean off the keyboard with to keep it nice and shiny/glossy, haha. I currently use it to clean off the keyboard AND my iPod, lol.
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There aren't any clicky linear ones are there? lol. I love the idea of having nice clicky keys, but not at the expense of the keys being harder to double tap/tap quickly, etc.
I was also looking at the Steelseries keyboards too, now that I think about it, lol. Originally I wanted a Steelseries Xai mouse with a G6V2 keyboard.
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Actually yes, razer offers one of those "Mechanical" clicky ones. My friend had them in his store, but I chose this one over it.
This one here, the "black widow"
http://store.razerzone.com/store/razerusa/en_US/pd/productID.211324200
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Actually yes, razer offers one of those "Mechanical" clicky ones. My friend had them in his store, but I chose this one over it.
This one here, the "black widow"
That actually uses the same Cherry MX Blues that the Das uses, so it's actually more suited for typing than gaming.
There aren't any clicky linear ones are there?
Sadly, such a thing wouldn't be possible. The thing that gives MX Blues that satisfying click is because the actuator for the switch actually consists of two segments. The top section pushes the bottom section down, and when the switch triggers it forces the bottom segment to bottom out. When you release the key, the top segment pulls the bottom segment back up. This gives it the loud click and is what causes the separation between the actuation and release points. It also gives the keyboard an absolutely incredible feel while you're typing.
I love the idea of having nice clicky keys, but not at the expense of the keys being harder to double tap/tap quickly, etc.
It's not as bad as you might think. My StepMania game has improved despite my keyboard having MX Blues. Rubber dome switches are similar to MX Blacks in that it's very easy to double-tap when you find the right floating point. Then again, I generally jackhammer keys and don't float them, since I find that to be far more accurate.
For what you're looking for, MX Browns would probably be your best bet. It gives you the tactile bump but still has a tight actuation/release window. The only real issue is that if you release the key too much you'll get stuck on the bump on the way back down and will bottom out again. That's really the only edge that MX Blacks have on them, and MX Blacks would likely not be very pleasant to type on for extended periods of time.
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You know, that's one thing I've noticed as well...When it comes to Stepmania, I preform so much better with a really "Clicky keyboard"...For instance, the main keyboard where I did the best was with one of those Dell "Quiet key" keyboards...Lol, those things were clicky and loud as fuck. And I played so well with them. I think I might end up getting one of those mechanical keyboards specifically for Stepmania and other music games, haha.
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Yeah, clicky keyboards gives you a better idea of when you're pressing the key. Most of my scores were done on a Logitech Elite, a keyboard the bottoms out pretty loudly.
Oh, also, I ended up buying my dad the Razer Lycosa as well! He lurves it. He's been wanted a backlit keyboard for a while and his other keyboard's been steadily failing for a while, so yay. I also picked him up a Razer Deathadder mouse, which works quite fantastically.
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Yeah, clicky keyboards gives you a better idea of when you're pressing the key. Most of my scores were done on a Logitech Elite, a keyboard the bottoms out pretty loudly.
Oh, also, I ended up buying my dad the Razer Lycosa as well! He lurves it. He's been wanted a backlit keyboard for a while and his other keyboard's been steadily failing for a while, so yay. I also picked him up a Razer Deathadder mouse, which works quite fantastically.
Fucking love my Deathadder. Got it cranked to 3500CPI and 1000Hz :P
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http://steelseries.com/products/games/world-of-warcraft-cataclysm/world-of-warcraft-cataclysm-mmo-gaming-mouse (http://steelseries.com/products/games/world-of-warcraft-cataclysm/world-of-warcraft-cataclysm-mmo-gaming-mouse)
The bulkier the better. :p It works far better with my Das than the G15, though. The G15 was so wide that it didn't give me much space for mousing -- I had to put the keyboard on top of the mouse pad. The Das is a baby in comparison.
Oh, one little issue with the Das: no multimedia buttons. I'm spoiled by those bitches. Nothing that AutoHotkey (http://www.autohotkey.com/) can't fix. I just bound my media keys to Win+Shift+Z/X/C/V for previous, play/pause, next, and stop, respectively, plus Win+Shift+A/S/D for volume up, down, and mute. Works like a champ!
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I currently have the CM Storm Sentinel Zero G mouse, but I've been thinking on getting myself the Razer Mamba...6400 DPI sick looking mouse. I want eet!
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http://steelseries.com/products/games/world-of-warcraft-cataclysm/world-of-warcraft-cataclysm-mmo-gaming-mouse (http://steelseries.com/products/games/world-of-warcraft-cataclysm/world-of-warcraft-cataclysm-mmo-gaming-mouse)
The bulkier the better. :p It works far better with my Das than the G15, though. The G15 was so wide that it didn't give me much space for mousing -- I had to put the keyboard on top of the mouse pad. The Das is a baby in comparison.
Oh, one little issue with the Das: no multimedia buttons. I'm spoiled by those bitches. Nothing that AutoHotkey (http://www.autohotkey.com/) can't fix. I just bound my media keys to Win+Shift+Z/X/C/V for previous, play/pause, next, and stop, respectively, plus Win+Shift+A/S/D for volume up, down, and mute. Works like a champ!
I just use winamp's global hotkeys, and bind shift+ctrl+p for play/pause, and shift+ctrl+left/right for next/previous... my laptop has volume buttons so I don't need to bind that.
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I prefer to use AutoHotkey because that works system-wide. I can use the hotkeys in Zune, foobar, Media Player Classic, or whatever I want without having to configure each one. It basically outputs the actual media key so that it will literally work with anything that supports them.
Plus, I'm on a desktop, so having global volume controls is a must. I tried going without them and it's kind of inconvenient.
I can't say that I'm really upset for them not being included, though. Knowing Metadot they'd put their multimedia keys on MX Blues, too. :p
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Ahh, I don't use the other programs enough... And if I did, I do technically have media keys.... (fn+Home/PgUp/PgDn/End in that order above numlock / * -)
The vol buttons are right above that cluster and are actually extra non-keyboard keys.
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I hate to sound stupid, but what exactly are the benefits of a mechanical keyboard? I know jack shit about them, but I hate the fact that hitting more then 3 keys on this keyboard causes my shit to beep.
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Aside from n-key rollover, which many mechanical keyboards have (essentially, that lets you press all 104 keys at once with no beeps if you're plugged into PS/2), the main reason it because of the feedback that they offer. Rubber-dome and scissor-switch keyboards (the former being found commonly on desktops, with the latter being found most commonly on laptops and on some desktop keyboards) are usually cheaply made. The general feel of the keys typically doesn't lend itself to being good for fast typists, as you generally have to bottom out the keys and don't get very good feedback when they register. There are exceptions (my work keyboard is a rubber dome keyboard and it gives a fairly satisfying click when you press a key), but that is how it goes in most cases.
With mechanical switches, each key uses an actual microswitch, much like an arcade button. Rather than a flexible dome coming down and bridging an electrical contact, each key has its own reliable microswitch inside of the keyboard housing. One major advantage of this is that you can buy a new keyboard and, as long as it uses the same switch as your previous keyboard, the keys will feel about the same when depressed. Because of this fact alone, switch manufacturers are able to introduce things to make it easier to type using the keyboard. The most popular method is adding a small bump on the switch (which is on switches like the Cherry MX Brown), so that you can physically feel when the switch is actuated. This means that you can type without bottoming out the keys, which leads to considerably less stress and noticeably faster typing speeds. Other switches, such as the Cherry MX Blues, feature a two-segment switch design so that in addition to a tactile bump, the keys give a loud, satisfying click when you press them and take less force to push than most rubber dome keyboards.
I'm a fast typist, and simply switching to the Das Keyboard improved my typing speed. Because of how awful the keys on my old keyboard were, I also tend to do better at games -- particularly side-scrollers -- with this keyboard despite it being geared largely for typing.
And just to give you an idea of how clicky a Cherry MX Blue switch sounds, eye maed a vdieo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_jvwYaRFVE (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_jvwYaRFVE)
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Thanks a ton, that honestly explained things pretty nicely. It makes me want one now.
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Yes. Get one. They are awesome. And shiny. :D
As I mentioned in a previous post, if you want one that's quieter and is good for both typing and games, get one that uses Cherry MX Brown switches (such as the Das Keyboard Silent). They don't make the clicky noise that the MX Blues do, but as a result it's easier to float the key and do multiple taps with it while still keeping that tactile bump. Many mechanical gaming keyboards (such as the SteelSeries ones) use MX Black switches, which lack the tactile bump, and tend to be far less pleasant to type on. The loud and clicky MX Blues are difficult to float because the switch itself has two components, giving a noticeable gap between actuation and release. Then again, that's exactly what makes them the best switches to type on. :)
Long story short: if you don't want a specialty mechanical keyboard, look for one with MX Browns. That switch is pretty well-rounded.