Best products from r/Keyboard

Thanks a lot for taking the time to reply.

I've finally picked up an Anker Ultra Compact Bluetooth Keyboard in the end.

It's absolutely perfect. Feels just like the Apple keyboard. The keys are slightly harder to press but it's a joy to use everyday. It's super slim, and the battery life looks good. I've had it for two weeks and it didn't ask for a charge yet.

The only thing that bugs me is that for some reason, it disconnects for a few seconds every 20 to 25 minutes. It's just three to five seconds, so it doesn't bother me THAT much, but it's a bit weird.

You can pick up reliable rubber dome boards for less than that. Save the money and put it towards a keyboard you'll love.

Not the dream keyboard, but the one that you love to use until you can justify the dream keyboard.


Reliable rubber domes: One two


Save to buy one of these: One two


Tell yourself that one day you'll pick up one of these: cherry 6.0

Or maybe something else is the dream keyboard.

Hahaha, I got you. Perhaps the Corsair Gaming K55 RGB Keyboard? It is a membrane-style keyboard (not mechanical) but it will also be quieter than a mechanical. It is a $50 keyboard with nice-looking RGB (three zone) backlighting. (The three zone means there are three zones where you can pick what color you want it to be, so it can be three different colors, pulse colors, all solid red like you want, etc. And it has six vertical G keys on the left side for macros. It also has the dedicated media buttons you requested. I would like a scrollable volume knob (the K55 has just buttons) but it seems a simple cheap little volume knob is sadly quite rare these days. It also comes with a plastic wrist rest, but I like to use my own longer wrist rest. Oh, it looks like a keyboard engineer designed it, so that's something.

http://www.corsair.com/en-us/k55-rgb-gaming-keyboard-na

https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Gaming-K55-Keyboard-Backlit/dp/B01M4LIKLI

Idk how flexible your budget is but iv got a few ideas off of my recent shopping list.

1. Corsair K55 RGB Membrane (not mechanical but i got it 2 or 3 days ago and swear by it its a terrific buy for the price IMO ) $66
   
   2.HyperX alloy FPS $116
   
   
2. Logitech G810 $121
   
   
3. Logitech G413 $108
   
   Again sorry if these are way out of your range but these were really good prices imo but id be happy to reccomend some cheaper ones.

i don't see why you would want that but if you do, just buy a regular mechanical keyboard like the hyperx alloy elite or something ( it doesn't matter as long as the keyboard has cherry mx or gateron switches) and put these on. It is very easy to put them on if you buy a keycap puller which costs like 5$. Just put the keycap puller on the keycap and pull. Then you just press the new keycap in place

https://www.amazon.com/HyperX-MOBA-Gaming-Keycaps-Upgrade/dp/B0743YSX36/ref=pd_bxgy_147_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B0743YSX36&pd_rd_r=QKHFEGWHHC9Q64RJQEY0&pd_rd_w=f7FSo&pd_rd_wg=c6Nvh&psc=1&refRID=QKHFEGWHHC9Q64RJQEY0

If you are willing to spend a little more, this is probably the type of thing you really want.
https://www.amazon.com/Rosewill-Mechanical-Keyboard-RK-9000V2-BR/dp/B00S5E4LX0

Pay attention to which switches you are getting if you work in a shared space. Blues may not be popular with others in the room due to the clicking. I've worked with a typist who made reds loud AF by slamming each key at top speed, and case/caps matter a lot for sound, but the clicks are a love it or hate it thing that I've seen most people keep away from in shared office spaces. If you love it then go for it, just be aware of your surroundings.

I would submit that, as a CS student, a board with programmable firmware and custom layers is a neat project that can help you keep your hands near the home row for less strain over the course of your career, but it can also be a major distraction, so there's no harm in starting off with something simple and plain while you build your skillset.

Understandable. Here's what I'd recommend. Spend $3-10 dollars at your local Microcenter or comparable computer shop, and try out a cheap membrane keyboard. Doesn't have to be great. What you need to ask yourself once you get it is - does this cheap membrane offer improvement in your speed and accuracy?

If so, then pursue high-quality membrane keyboards. They'll likely still be a fair bit cheaper than mechanical keyboards. Or if you're willing to spend a ton (and seem to favor membrane), then you could consider Topre keyboards. HHKB2 seems to be a favorite. But they start at $225 and go up from there.

Let me know if you make any breakthroughs.

Edit: There are a few other Topre-based keyboards for sale, doesn't have to be HHKB. FYI.
Edit2: For non-Topre, regular membrane, you could potentially check out this option: https://www.amazon.com/Happy-Hacking-Keyboard-Lite2-Black/dp/B0000U1DJ2 but I would recommend the cheap membrane test first.

Yeah I saw a G.Skill ripjaw that had MX SPEED switches on it for $85 while having full rgb but now I saw the Red Dragon K550 YAMA which is exactly like a Corsair K70 RGB with more Macros so I’m tempted to buy that even though the reviews aren’t amazing (3.8/5)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YMDYMYQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_nQMXAbF6WBGAJ

https://www.amazon.com/Inland-Converter-Keyboard-Mouse-08315/dp/B000A6R5DY

I went ahead and snagged that one cause it worked the best. No restarts or drivers needed. They let me try all of them in stock at microcenter. I think you're right about the built-in usb ic as well since this was the only active converter they had.

What's the misinformation you've already encountered (so that commenters not perpetuate frustration points)? Hopefully this won't be one of them. Are you using an active PS/2 to USB convertor vs. a passive passthrough adapter? https://www.amazon.com/Perixx-Adapter-Keyboard-Interface-PERIPRO-401/dp/B008DFVQFW/ (I'm assuming the "Built-in USB IC" in the description means it has the active circuitry to translate PS/2 protocol to USB.)

Based on the well articulated list of your needs/wants in a keyboard/mouse, plus your very specific budget, I can only recommend you [THIS] (https://www.fractuslearning.com/2014/05/15/best-keyboards-for-kids/).

EDIT: [HERE] (https://www.amazon.com/Childrens-Fun-Keyboard-Mouse-Combo/dp/B000VR2OG0/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8) is the ergonomic version. You can tell it's ergonomic because of the bottom curve.

Browns are pretty decent for gaming. If your budget is under $100, you can go check out the wiki on /r/mechanicalkeyboards - over there you'll find every element you'll need to know for buying a new mech keyboard. Alas, I would suggest something like this ; https://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-MasterKeys-Mechanical-Keyboard/dp/B072C516B9/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1522917362&sr=1-1&keywords=coolermaster+cherry+mx

This looks like something you'd want to check out. If it's not, you'll find a bunch more options searching "black wired chiclet keyboard" on Amazon.

Any reason you are looking for a rubber dome TKL?

There are mechanical keyboards that are getting pretty cheap these days.

Here is a TKL Blue Switch keyboard for $35: https://www.amazon.com/TOMOKO-Mechanical-Keyboard-Water-Resistant-Anti-ghosting/dp/B01DBJTZU2

Don't listen to these assholes. I don't get the amount of smugness that a lot of mechanical keyboard people have. I'm in the same situation as you, just want a high quality scissor switch keyboard with nkro. and I'm using a logitech K740 right now and it has the problem you mentioned where lshift + space + w doesn't register which is a problem..

I found this one https://www.amazon.com/Cougar-Membrane-Backlit-Keyboard-KBC200-WXNMB/dp/B00TA4H2X0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1501725641&sr=8-1&keywords=cougar+200k but according to reviews they don't hold up very well (keys popping off after a while) so I'm still looking around for a good scissor switch keyboard