Author Topic: Need your advise on a new keyboard  (Read 3403 times)

Offline Morpheus

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Need your advise on a new keyboard
« on: May 01, 2024, 08:24:20 PM »
I am in love with using Microsoft's Ergonomic Keyboard. Do any of you guys know of the best place to purchase a new keyboard?
thank you. <S>
Morph
« Last Edit: May 01, 2024, 08:28:06 PM by Morpheus »
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Offline uptown

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Re: Need your advise on a new keyboard
« Reply #1 on: May 01, 2024, 08:37:50 PM »
How much money you looking to spend? I know Newegg has some junk one's for 60 bucks. Check TigerDirect too.

I'm looking for one myself. :salute
Lighten up Francis

Offline Vulcan

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Re: Need your advise on a new keyboard
« Reply #2 on: May 01, 2024, 10:49:38 PM »
I am in love with using Microsoft's Ergonomic Keyboard.

Weirdo!

Offline Morpheus

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Re: Need your advise on a new keyboard
« Reply #3 on: May 03, 2024, 06:58:17 PM »
Weirdo!

I've learned throughout the years that it really doesn't matter what bar it is you go to... Behind each and every door there's always a Jerkoff.
If you don't receive Jesus Christ, you don't receive the gift of righteousness.

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Offline jigsaw

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Re: Need your advise on a new keyboard
« Reply #4 on: May 03, 2024, 11:44:21 PM »
Not an ergonomic/split design like the M$ one but I've been fairly happy with a K70 RGB MK.2 for a while.  I like the Blue Cherry keys.

Sidenote.... prior to thie K70 I went through several generations of the Razer Black Widows but 1) I got tired of their software screwing up (would randomly start spamming a key like you were holding it down).  and 2) They kept tweaking the physical features to the point where I didn't like them any more.

Offline Easyscor

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Re: Need your advise on a new keyboard
« Reply #5 on: May 08, 2024, 10:54:00 PM »
I am in love with using Microsoft's Ergonomic Keyboard. Do any of you guys know of the best place to purchase a new keyboard?
thank you. <S>
Morph

I've tried about every keyboard there is, from the Microsoft desk hogs and Logitech crap to the Razors and Redragon, Redragon being my favorite standard low-profile ten-key setup. Saw my son's European ergo with detachable wrist rest last week, a nice out of the box unit with lowprofile keycaps and mechanical switches. I think it had good RGB. I'll ask him about that and the brand name and link next time I talk to him.
That said, I went with the Keychron Q14 Pro (Alice Layout) with the ten-key on the left so it isn't between the alpha keys and my mouse. They also offer the standard layout Q13 Pro but both are "95%" w/o the standard block of Del,Ins,PgUp,PgDn, etc. One of my biggest grips, and favorite feature with the Keychron is the requirement you use QMK/VIA which uses web browser Chrome for it's UI (not really a problem if you're happy to spend the time programing your custom key mapping, including things like the print-screen key :furious) and the south facing RGB lighting.
For $20 I bought a full set of low profile keycaps to replace the "pudding keycaps" to improve the handling but no one offers keycaps with the letters etched for south facing RGB lighting. Yes, I'm one of those people who like to modify hardware to my tastes.
Since you love the Microsoft's, you might like the Keychron but DO NOT buy unless you're willing to tackle the QMK/VIA + Chrome hoops you must jump through to have a customize and forget keyboard.
I think I'll be talking with my son this weekend or at the latest the following weekend so wait if you have any doubts. Decent ergo keyboards very hard to find but knowing about the Keychron offerings at least gives you another option.

Link to the Q13 Pro: https://www.keychron.com/products/keychron-q13-pro-alice-layout-qmk-via-wireless-custom-mechanical-keyboard
It took about 2 weeks delivery to San Francisco. I love their brown switches but switches are a very very personal thing.
Easy in-game again.
Since Tour 19 - 2001

Offline Easyscor

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Re: Need your advise on a new keyboard
« Reply #6 on: May 12, 2024, 03:36:56 PM »
https://perixx.com/collections/keyboards

Perixx keyboards are apparently available from Amazon as well.

I had consided ordering one myself until I realized the part my son pulled off of his wasn't the wrist rest but a lifting block under the wrist rest.
Still, it's a different version from the MS unit.
Easy in-game again.
Since Tour 19 - 2001

Offline TryHard

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Re: Need your advise on a new keyboard
« Reply #7 on: May 26, 2024, 08:10:36 PM »
Unicomp model M.
The M1 Garand of typing implements ;)

https://www.pckeyboard.com/page/SFNT

Offline Meatwad

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Re: Need your advise on a new keyboard
« Reply #8 on: May 27, 2024, 06:24:32 AM »
I found a pile of the mechanical clicky keyboards that I saved that were going to be thrown away that have the big 5 pin din connector on them
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Offline TryHard

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Re: Need your advise on a new keyboard
« Reply #9 on: June 11, 2024, 07:47:39 PM »
I found a pile of the mechanical clicky keyboards that I saved that were going to be thrown away that have the big 5 pin din connector on them

What brand do those happen to be? If they're original IBM model F with those connectors they are actually quite valuable.

Offline Meatwad

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Re: Need your advise on a new keyboard
« Reply #10 on: June 11, 2024, 09:54:27 PM »
They arent IBM branded, but oddball brand keyboards
See Rule 19- Do not place sausage on pizza.
I am No-Sausage-On-Pizza-Wad.
Das Funkillah - I kill hangers, therefore I am a funkiller. Coming to a vulchfest near you.
You cant tie a loop around 400000 lbs of locomotive using a 2 foot rope - Drediock on fat women

Offline Meatwad

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Re: Need your advise on a new keyboard
« Reply #11 on: June 12, 2024, 06:18:36 AM »
Too late to edit. Some were magitronic and mitsumi keyboards
See Rule 19- Do not place sausage on pizza.
I am No-Sausage-On-Pizza-Wad.
Das Funkillah - I kill hangers, therefore I am a funkiller. Coming to a vulchfest near you.
You cant tie a loop around 400000 lbs of locomotive using a 2 foot rope - Drediock on fat women

Offline Easyscor

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Re: Need your advise on a new keyboard
« Reply #12 on: June 12, 2024, 07:17:41 AM »
Nice to see this thread still lives after more than a month.
Morpheus (OP), what board did you finally go with?

I’m liking my Keychron Q14 Pro a lot. It was expensive, on par with a quality high end joystick or throttle but it should last the rest of my days.  So here’s an update.

The keyboard must weight around 6 or 7 lbs. So it’s not moving without effort. None of that lite weight plastic, it’s an all-metal case.
I was hesitant to use VIA to reprogram some of the keys but I’m so glad I did.
I was able to program 4 of the keys near the numeric key pad as follows:
NumLock, reprogramed as the [Equal =] key. Only Apple includes [=] as part of their 10-key on full size boards.
The 3 unassigned keys along the top of the 10-key, I set as [Backspace], [Up Arrow], and [Print Screen].
The dedicated RGB on/off key became [End] as I use it often.
Since I still use the function keys occasionally with AH, I am not willing to mess with the function (F#) / media keys so missing [Insert] and the [Pause/Break] keys.
Since I haven’t written a line of code in a decade or two, I don’t miss them. Otherwise, I have all the functionality of my Redragon plus more.
When wearing a VR headset without pass-through, the split design makes finding the home keys much easier.

Watching YouTube videos of people building keyboards from scratch (crazy I know lol) is what prompted me to switch out the standard keycaps for low-profile caps except for the home keys until I get reacclimated to the split key layout again.

Btw, for anyone looking for a regular quality low-profile gaming keyboard at a decent price, I have been impressed with Redragon.

@TryHard. I like that it’s US made. If they made a low-profile Q14 I’d give them closer look.
Easy in-game again.
Since Tour 19 - 2001