What's a good keyboard that wont empty my wallet?

[Ziggy]

I wanna get a new keyboard, but I really don't care to spend a whole lot of money on one.

I like to type fast, and I like my keyboard to feel good. I also like it to be as quiet as possible. It has to be wired, not wireless.

I'm very picky with they keyboard layout. It has to be the standard layout. No backwards L return key, number pad present, right-click key, Windows keys, no weirdly shaped or small/large keys than what's "normal," etc. No red WASD and arrow keys. No glowing keys. The only thing I want to light up is the lock buttons.

I was looking into mechanical keyboards, but I don't think I wanna spend ~$100 on a one. I was looking at the Das Keyboard 4, and I really like that way it looks, but yeah, it's about $170.

http://www.daskeyboard.com/images/slider/daskeyboard-4-professional-front-view.png

That's the exact layout that I'm looking for. Usually I don't like extra buttons and functions, but I like that it has two USB ports on the side, and I was thinking the volume control would actually be kinda nice.

Right now I have some Gateway pack-in keyboard that felt great when I got it, but it's at least 10 years old at this point. I have a brand new keyboard at work, and I realized how worn out my Gateway keyboard is now. It's loud, and it doesn't feel too nice anymore. This is what prompted me to want to replace it.

So would it be worth it to spend that kind of money on a mechanical keyboard? Is the price really justified? Or can some one recommend something that's more economic, but still doesn't suck. I'm mean, I can find any old $15 keyboard, but I'm done with letters fading off of keys and clunky feeling keys.

[aaron]

I wanna get a new keyboard, but I really don't care to spend a whole lot of money on one.

I like to type fast, and I like my keyboard to feel good. I also like it to be as quiet as possible. It has to be wired, not wireless.

I'm very picky with they keyboard layout. It has to be the standard layout. No backwards L return key, number pad present, right-click key, Windows keys, no weirdly shaped or small/large keys than what's "normal," etc. No red WASD and arrow keys. No glowing keys. The only thing I want to light up is the lock buttons.

I was looking into mechanical keyboards, but I don't think I wanna spend ~$100 on a one. I was looking at the Das Keyboard 4, and I really like that way it looks, but yeah, it's about $170.

http://www.daskeyboard.com/images/slider/daskeyboard-4-professional-front-view.png

That's the exact layout that I'm looking for. Usually I don't like extra buttons and functions, but I like that it has two USB ports on the side, and I was thinking the volume control would actually be kinda nice.

Right now I have some Gateway pack-in keyboard that felt great when I got it, but it's at least 10 years old at this point. I have a brand new keyboard at work, and I realized how worn out my Gateway keyboard is now. It's loud, and it doesn't feel too nice anymore. This is what prompted me to want to replace it.

So would it be worth it to spend that kind of money on a mechanical keyboard? Is the price really justified? Or can some one recommend something that's more economic, but still doesn't suck. I'm mean, I can find any old $15 keyboard, but I'm done with letters fading off of keys and clunky feeling keys.

do a search for the model number of the Gateway keyboard you have and see if you can find a NOS one?

[Luke]

Oh. Keyboard for a pc or laptop.

I was about to throw you a lot of suggestions on music keyboards.

[Fragems]

My favorite keyboard so far has been the Saitek Eclipse. It does have backlit keys but the light can be turned off or dimmed with the click of a button. After whats probably been 4-5 years and plenty of intense gaming it has held up very well. I have worn a considerable amount of paint off the A,S,D,C,V, Left Ctrl, space bar, and right shift though . They have been out of production for a while now though so about the only place to nab one is eBay.

Got mine during a black Friday sale on newegg ages ago for $20.

The "Cyborg" model they are making for Mad Catz right now is essentially the same thing just with a red light which in my opinion looks horribly annoying .

http://www.amazon.com/Mad-Catz-V-5-Keyb ... ek+eclipse

[Hobie-wan]

If you have time to poke around Goodwills and such, maybe you can score a Dell branded GYUM90SK one like I use. They're easy to spot from the end if you're looking at a shelf stacked with keyboards. They are PS2 plug though. It is noisier than a crappy rubber dome one, but only from the switches bottoming out, so loudness depends on how hard you press on the keys. I haven't found any more since that batch of them I sold a while back.

[isiolia]

So would it be worth it to spend that kind of money on a mechanical keyboard? Is the price really justified? Or can some one recommend something that's more economic, but still doesn't suck. I'm mean, I can find any old $15 keyboard, but I'm done with letters fading off of keys and clunky feeling keys.

You can get a mechanical for under $100 (the older model Rosewills, Cooler Masters, etc), or plenty of them for a good bit less than the DAS you linked. Or find used ones.

Personally, I think they're worth it. Most are simply a higher tier of product throughout, since the mechanism drives the base price up anyway.
Some of the bells and whistles may just be things you can ignore too. Different color WASD keys might be alternate keycaps that are included, lights can get turned off, etc.

I ran through several keyboards while playing FFXI - wore certain keys smooth, that kind of thing. Had a Saitek break on me, had a Razer pieceofcrap, some cheapo HP and Logitech ones. The WASD Keyboards model 1 I have was relatively pricey, but I'd have gone through 2-3 rubber dome keyboards by now, and this is still great. The key caps aren't even faded.

Noise is partly a matter of switch type. Some have an audible click no matter what. Others, a good deal of the noise is from bottoming out the keys, which you'll do less of once you acclimate to it (or can mitigate by installing rubber o-rings).

There's also the more subjective of comfort and such. They have a generally lighter feel, and are easier to type on in my opinion. Partly though, that's something I think you don't notice until you've gotten used to a mechanical then go back.

[Ziggy]

do a search for the model number of the Gateway keyboard you have and see if you can find a NOS one?

I've actually been doing that periodically for the past 5 or so years. I haven't seen any NOS in recent months though, just used ones.

Thing is, they're not anything amazing. They just feel pretty good when new and the letters haven't worn off the keys in the slightest. There's a million $15 keyboards like that though that I suppose I could get. I was just thinking about possibly getting something of better quality. I guess that's why I never picked up a spare, because I'm always going back and forth whether to get something else. For example, the Das Keyboard (though I don't think I'd ever spend that much on a keyboard).

I have a Lenovo all in one at work and the keyboard actually isn't bad at all.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Lenovo-54Y9 ... 43c88e4fe9

Since they're pack-ins, you can find them new for cheap all day long. I was considering just getting one of those. I know that the letters wont fade off, but I'm not sure how long before the keys start feeling not new.

http://www.amazon.com/Mad-Catz-V-5-Keyb ... ek+eclipse

I can't tell you why, but I hate the way gaming keyboards and computer towers look. They all have to be alien shapes and emit red or blue lights. When I built my current PC, it took me a while to find a good quality case that looked normal and not like an alien spaceship.

Oh. Keyboard for a pc or laptop.

I was about to throw you a lot of suggestions on music keyboards.

Nah, I'm all set. I got one of these back in February.

If you have time to poke around Goodwills and such, maybe you can score a Dell branded GYUM90SK one like I use. They're easy to spot from the end if you're looking at a shelf stacked with keyboards. They are PS2 plug though. It is noisier than a crappy rubber dome one, but only from the switches bottoming out, so loudness depends on how hard you press on the keys. I haven't found any more since that batch of them I sold a while back.

Yeah, I forgot to mention, it could be PS/2 or USB. My Gateway keyboard is PS/2. When I built my current tower, I made sure to pick out a mobo that had a keyboard PS/2 port (they were already being phased out at that point). Though I'd rather go USB. Just in case my next keyboard lives on to my next PC (or at least next motherboard) which probably wont have PS/2.

[Ziggy]

So would it be worth it to spend that kind of money on a mechanical keyboard? Is the price really justified? Or can some one recommend something that's more economic, but still doesn't suck. I'm mean, I can find any old $15 keyboard, but I'm done with letters fading off of keys and clunky feeling keys.

You can get a mechanical for under $100 (the older model Rosewills, Cooler Masters, etc), or plenty of them for a good bit less than the DAS you linked. Or find used ones.

Personally, I think they're worth it. Most are simply a higher tier of product throughout, since the mechanism drives the base price up anyway.
Some of the bells and whistles may just be things you can ignore too. Different color WASD keys might be alternate keycaps that are included, lights can get turned off, etc.

I ran through several keyboards while playing FFXI - wore certain keys smooth, that kind of thing. Had a Saitek break on me, had a Razer pieceofcrap, some cheapo HP and Logitech ones. The WASD Keyboards model 1 I have was relatively pricey, but I'd have gone through 2-3 rubber dome keyboards by now, and this is still great. The key caps aren't even faded.

Noise is partly a matter of switch type. Some have an audible click no matter what. Others, a good deal of the noise is from bottoming out the keys, which you'll do less of once you acclimate to it (or can mitigate by installing rubber o-rings).

There's also the more subjective of comfort and such. They have a generally lighter feel, and are easier to type on in my opinion. Partly though, that's something I think you don't notice until you've gotten used to a mechanical then go back.

Thanks. Yeah, I've been reading a lot about mechanical keyboards and how they can be a lot better to type on, which is why I'm considering one. I've been looking at some on NewEgg that are sub $100, Corsair, Rosewill, etc. And yes, I've seen that some have the different color WASD and arrow keys that you can swap.

[Hobie-wan]

Yeah, I forgot to mention, it could be PS/2 or USB. My Gateway keyboard is PS/2. When I built my current tower, I made sure to pick out a mobo that had a keyboard PS/2 port (they were already being phased out at that point). Though I'd rather go USB. Just in case my next keyboard lives on to my next PC (or at least next motherboard) which probably wont have PS/2.

There are adapters too. I haven't had to look for one yet since even the mobo I bought the other month for my new PC had an either/or kb/mouse PS/2 port.

[Cronozilla]

I use $12 keyboards ...