PC Peripherals In the market for a mechanical keyboard

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rahul_hbo

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Hey guys so I'm currently looking for a new keyboard. Initially I wanted to get myself a Razer
Mechanical Keyboard, but after getting some negative feedback, I've decided to wait out a bit.

Now I'm looking at Cooler Master QuickFire with Cherry MX Red switches. If anyone has any
inputs regarding this keyboard, I would greatly appreciate it.

I currently use a membrane style iBall keyboard. It's about 5 years old, and while it functions
just fine, I feel like it's taking me a bit of effort while typing. I game a bit but comparatively I
type (touchtype) more than I game. And the reason I chose MX Red was because I don't fancy
too much of clicking noises when typing.

Budget: 6k max
 
These are what I suggest, @rahul_hbo --

TVS Gold Mechnical ~1500/- [available in both P/S2 as well as USB flavour]
Razer Black Widow ~3700/- [cheapest full featured backlit mechanical keyboard] Review: Razer BlackWidow Mechanical Gaming Keyboard -Destructoid / Razer BlackWidow Ultimate Stealth Edition Keyboard Review - Introduction / Razer BlackWidow Ultimate Stealth Edition Elite Keyboard Review | Hardware BBQ.
Cooler Master QuickFire RAPID ~5500/- [expensive and not really worth it; lacks a NUMPAD and not even backlit] Cooler Master Quick Fire Rapid – Cherry MX Black « XSReviews / CM Storm Quickfire Rapid Keyboard | Cooler Master,CM Storm,Quickfire Rapid,Keyboard,SGK-4000-GKCL1-US,Performance,Review,Austin Downing,Cooler Master CM Storm Quickfire Rapid Keyboard SGK-4000-GKCL1-US Performance Review by Austin Downing / CM QuickFire Rapid SGK-4000-GKCCK1-US Cherry MX Black Gaming Keyboard- Hardware BBQ
Corsair Vengeance K60 ~5800/- [a fully featured keyboard minus the back-lighting but comes with Corsair quality and after sales] HARDOCP - Introduction - Corsair Vengeance K60 Keyboard and M60 Mouse Review / Corsair Vengeance K60 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard | Corsair Vengeance K60,FPS Gaming,Mechanical Keyboard,CH-9000004-NA,Performance,Review,Joey Peng,Corsair Vengeance K60 FPS Gaming Mechanical Keyboard CH-9000004-NA Performance Review by Joey Peng.

I have been using the Cooler Master QuickFire RAPID [Cherry MX switches] and these are my observations --
  • really, really, inanely expensive for what is on offer;
  • no NUMPAD = FAIL; no back-lighting = PHAIL; no custom software OR macro system = Super PHAIL and it is expensive.
  • keys with metal spacers under them highly susceptible to "squealing" [especially SPACEBAR], gets irritating after some time.
  • did I mention it is EXPENSIVE.

Hope this helps and happy gaming, Cheerio!!

P.S. -- I have requested MOD's to shift this thread to the PC Peripherals section.
 
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Thanks for all the new info @ALPHA17. Repped.

I think I will go for the Corsair K60. But where can I buy it for 5800/- ? Most of the Indian online sellers have it listed in excess of 6500/-
 
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ALPHA17 said:
no NUMPAD = FAIL; no back-lighting = PHAIL; no custom software OR macro system = Super PHAIL and it is expensive
Click to expand...

What the hell? Numpad-less (tenkeyless) keyboards are designed for a niche crowd, those after minimalism. Backlighting isn't needed if you can touch-type, but that's just an opinion. As for 3, AutoHotKey.

To the OP, if you have deep pockets:
Filco Majestouch
Topre Realforce
SteelSeries 7G
SteelSeries 6Gv2

This site ships worldwide:
elitekeyboards.com - Products

And this is the de facto guide on mechanicals I once came across in another thread:
Mechanical Keyboard Guide
 
rahul_hbo said:
Thanks for all the new info @ALPHA17. Repped.

I think I will go for the Corsair K60. But where can I buy it for 5800/- ? Most of the Indian online sellers have it listed in excess of 6500/-
Click to expand...

$$ rates I thought it will be cheaper on ground, Sire. Well that leaves you only the Razer Black Widow.

GunsNRoses said:
What the hell? Numpad-less (tenkeyless) keyboards are designed for a niche crowd, those after minimalism. Backlighting isn't needed if you can touch-type, but that's just an opinion. As for 3, AutoHotKey.

To the OP, if you have deep pockets
Click to expand...

I have read the over-clock.net article, Tater Tot has several such articles that are really worth a whole Sunday afternoon by themselves [per article]. Obviously OP has done homework on his end so it is a little redundant to mention this article; still can clarify a lot.

I don not think OP has deep pockets that is why he mentioned his budget.
rahul_hbo said:
Budget: 6k max
Click to expand...

And finally for my opinions on the STOM Quicfire RAPID; I am supposed to be reviewing it and again I am putting forth my thoughts --
  • the elusive NUMPAD is not a half decent excuse [whether you call them Minimalist OR LAN gamers], I am a gamer and I miss my Razer Lycosa [this also includes back-light as I am not a touch typist]. Dammit the keyboard lacks an OPTION button.
  • "squealing" keys tell you the amout of time this keyboard can take punishment. Very disappointed this started after ~2 -->3 days of heavy usage.
  • AUTOHOTKEY thanks for that; again Cooler Master is being damn lazy to roll out a half-decent driver for this keyboard and well I am not happy.
  • Also where are the keys that I can macro; although I am not an MMO-RPG person and I have a LOGITECH G300 that can bail me out.

We are entitled to our own schools of thought and this is sincerely what I think about the QuickFire RAPID -- simply not worth ~5500/-. The Razer Black Widow will be a better deal.
 
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I tried out the Razer Mechanical couple weeks back. I believe they have the Cherry Blue ones and found the clicking quite loud for my taste. Couldn't care less about backlighting or macros as I touchtype and don't play any MMO's.
@ALPHA17 - I actually found an online retailer selling for 6.1K. But I've more or less made up my mind to get the K60 as long as it is below 6.5K. So please do let me know if the decision is sound. I might be going to buy it later in the evening from S.P road bangalore.
 
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rahul_hbo said:
@ALPHA17 - I actually found an online retailer selling for 6.1K. But I've more or less made up my mind to get the K60 as long as it is below 6.5K. So please do let me know if the decision is sound. I might be going to buy it later in the evening from S.P road bangalore.
Click to expand...

Let us see the online retailer; a sale link OR page is enough.

Getting it in person is still the best though. But pricing can be a downer; so weigh in the entire scenario and let us see. Cheerio!!
 
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Yep, @Jakob just posted the link.
@ALPHA17 - I have decided upon either the Corsair k60 or the Razer Stealth edition with Cherry Browns.
I heard the browns are suitable for both typing and gaming. And I would be buying this in
person from a brick-n-mortar store. So will definitely be testing both before buying.
 
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In my opinion, the Razer Blackwidow has all you need in a mechanical keyboard. The typing sound will grow on you. Here's a little genuine celebrity sponsorship: :P

 
^LOL, took the test. Got around 80 wpm with quite a few mistakes with my current keyboard.
I can really feel the extra effort it is taking me to press every character.

I could go out and buy the razer in a jiffy, but the current one's in the market have Cherry Blue
switches and I really hate the noise they create. Waiting to see if anyone is stocking the stealth
edition. Apparently they only sell those through the razer online store in the US.
 
Unfortunately, the choice for Indian customers while looking for a mechanical keyboard is quite limited. They are usually overpriced in India, and are hard to get in retail. I had a tough time explaining to my not so knowledgeable friends what is so special in my 5.6k Razer BlackWidow Ultimate. Anyways, I can give you a short impression of my BlackWidow.

The Blue switches are noisy, but that doesn't bother me so much. I was apprehensive about the noise as well, but have got used to it. Typing comfort is much much better than any of the so called gaming keyboards from MS or Logitech. The cons, it is a standard sized board with numpad and an extra row of macro keys. The result is that the keys are more closely packed than a normal keyboard. This will result in some wrong keypresses and will take some time to get used to. As for gaming, the arrow keys are NOT anti ghosting, so you will not be able to use up, right and left arrows together. This was the point I pondered on for the longest time, but I game on WASD so decided to get the board.

The few other boards available in India are either horribly overpriced (Steel Series) or have some features missing like no numpad, no Windows key on the left etc. I felt the Razor BlackWidow, with all it's deficiencies, ticked the most boxes, so went ahead with it. So far, I am happy with it.
 
#rahul_hbo #Alpha17 Well, some real love towards Quick Fire Rapid, eh! Let me just update you guys on the keyboard products from Cooler Master. The Quick Fire Rapid was the first keyboard that came from Cooler Master. This keyboard was made for LAN gamers with the idea of creating a smaller, compact keyboard that's easy to lug around. In the mechanical world, tenless keyboards have a separate place. There are people who swear by this form factor! We tried to use this as the base for building a compact keyboard. And there lies the problem - you will either like it or you won't. As for the squeaking, the keyboard that is with you Alpha is a pre-production sample, there were lubrication issues, we sorted them out in the retail units.

Rahul, i would suggest you to have a look at the new Quick Fire Pro! It fixes every shortcoming of the Quick Fire Rapid - it has numpad, selective backlight and also a great build quality. Importantly, the pricing is very aggressive, it retails for lesser than the Quick Fire Rapid. We will be introducing another keyboard tomorrow, the Trigger, which will be the flag ship mechanical keyboard from Cooler Master. Check the out the details on CM Storm » Startpage website.

If you have any queries, or want to have a demo of the product before you buy them, do let me know i will try my best to arrange the same. My details i have sent you as PM

Cheers!
Sanket
 
ALPHA17 Coolermaster @everybodyElse

Thank you all for the inputs. I went ahead and got myself the CM Storm QuickFire Rapid for 5500/- from the distributor directly.

Some initial thoughts:
* I don't use the numpad a lot but I did notice it missing when I went to enter my year of birth during account creation on a forum :/
* Backlighting was not a necessity for me. So don't feel like I needed it.
* I do hate half a dozen logos slapped across the keyboard. (Atleast let me have a spare WIN logo key instead of the coolermaster one's)
* This keyboard is using the Cherry Red switches. I was hoping to get myself Browns but I'm beginning to think Reds were the ones for me after all. Probably because I used to bottom out always when I was using my membrane keyboard.
* OPTION KEY. Dear lord.. who made the decision to omit this? I'm sure I will miss that key. They could've added the fn key by shortening the right shift key. I have a hackintosh so I'm pretty sure I will have to sacrifice one modifier key. :(
* I will probably be using this keyboard even at work, so the small form factor is definitely a plus.

I got a one year replacement warranty. So overall a good investment. Albeit pricey.

Final verdict: Although I have used it for only about an hour, I can feel it's a very decently built keyboard. Really wish they'd included the option key though. If I had to do this all over again, I might have given the K60 another thought. (which costs a bit more) But for now, I think this keyboard will do. :) Kinda like the extra space I have on my desk due to the lack of numpad.

p.s : CM storm trigger was priced around 7500/-. It used Cherry blacks which I din't fancy much. I saw online retailers listing it for 9k I believe.

p.p.s: Thank you coolermaster for giving me the distributors contact info. They were kind enough to let me test both keyboards.

p.p.p.s: Something so obvious that had went over my head.. why two win keys? CM could've easily taken the right one out and added an option key.
 
Dear Rahul,

Thank you for your initial feedback. I'm going to share the same with our Product Team in Taiwan. The Quick Fire Rapid and all other CM keyboards carry Two years warranty! please do note this.

Dear Mods,

Can we have a poll to understand the Cherry switch preference amongst fellow enthusiasts? It can be a general poll asking which Cherry switches we prefer, Blue, Black, Brown or Red. This will help us understand consumer preference and make such product available in India. Thank you in advance.

Cheers

Sanket
 
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