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Keyboard Thread.

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Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci
There hasn't been any new keyboards recently, so I decided to share one of the more interesting keyboard that I own.

https://i.imgur.com/oDZeghy.jpg

This is a Japanese keyboard that I'm not sure what it's name is so I'm just gonna call it the Century keyboard since the manufacturing company is called Century.

What's interesting about this board is that it uses Alps style switches. Though they're not genuine Alps, they're Alps clones.



This is what the switches and the stabilizers looks like.
It took me 5 minutes to reattach the stabs back into it's original positions lol.

It also came in a very interesting looking box.

https://imgur-archive.ppy.sh/discord/786935303977435136-786935409942069288-Century_KB_3.jpg

Ngl I kinda like it lol.

Look wise, the board looks quite simple. Although the metal colored case looks funky.
The Japanese keycaps gives the board quite a nice look though imo.
Overall, it's not a bad looking board.

On to the build quality, it has a plastic case and a metal mounting plate. Although I thought the plate was plastic at first since the board itself is relatively light for a full size keyboard and it flexes a lot when you twist it.
I think the board is fairly decently built, although it feels a bit floppy.

The switches feels quite interesting. It feels nothing like any other MX type switches.
I first got this board a few years ago for $30 from a guy on a mechanical keyboard group online I'm a member of. It was brand new as well, so it was a pretty good deal I think.
At the time that I got this board, the only clicky switches that I've ever tried were MX blues and it's clones and the Alps clone switches on it blew my mind.
Compared to the Cherry MX blues on the keyboard that I was using atm, it's much more tactile, louder and higher pitched.
And when I say tactile, I meant tactile. It made the MX blues feel absolutely linear by comparison.
The only switches that are even more tactile that I've tried is probably Kailh BOX Jades and Navies.
It was much smoother than MX Blues too. Though it's not really a smooth switch I'd say.

The tactility was very satisfying. However, the switches feels a bit rough and unrefined.
I have not tried genuine clicky Alps switches yet so I can't compare these switches to those. However, compared to the genuine tactile Alps switches that I've tried, the Alps switches doesn't feel as rough, smoother and more comfortable to use. Though this comparison might not be fair since they're in 2 different categories of keyboard switches.

The Keycaps are made out of ABS and they are pad printed, so they're not of very good quality. I'd reckon the legends won't last very long if I were to use this board a lot.

This board uses the JIS layout, which could come with either an ISO enter key or a big ass enter key. Tbh, I'd prefer the big ass enter key better but this one comes with an ISO enter.
However, the backspace key is reduced to a single unit key to make place for the missing key, which makes it too small for my liking. And no, I can't get used to it. I need a full sized backspace in my life.
The spacebar was also shortened. This makes it harder to hit, although it's not too bad on this particular board. I've seen JIS boards with even smaller spacebars and those I can't stand using.

Overall, quite an interesting keyboard. The switches are satisfying but they're pretty rough feeling.
I'd love to use it more, but the single unit backspace key is a deal breaker for me, which is why I don't use it very often lol.

Also, here's a sound test.



Edit: For some reason some of the pics won't show up so I'll just post the links instead.
Last edited by Tad Fibonacci , edited 2 times in total.
Akumace1
328 posts
Joined April 2020
Akumace1
deleted
Last edited by Akumace1 , edited 1 time in total.
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci

Akumace1 wrote:

Tad. What is your opinion on Ahegao Anime keycaps?
Ngl, I'm kinda tempted to try them out for the memes.

But no, I'm not willing to throw away my humanity just yet.
Akumace1
328 posts
Joined April 2020
Akumace1
deleted
Last edited by Akumace1 , edited 1 time in total.
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci

Akumace1 wrote:

Tad Fibonacci wrote:

Akumace1 wrote:

Tad. What is your opinion on Ahegao Anime keycaps?
Ngl, I'm kinda tempted to try them out for the memes.

But no, I'm not willing to throw away my humanity just yet.
Very interesting. Mr Keybaord Expert, What is your opinion on curved keyboards?
By curved keyboards, if you meant ergo keyboards then I'm not a fan.
They're just too weird for me.

Also, I wouldn't call myself a keyboard expert. There are a lot of keyboard stuffs that I haven't experienced for myself.
I'm just a guy on the internet that likes keyboards to a concerning degree.
Last edited by Tad Fibonacci , edited 1 time in total.
abraker
Global Moderator
8,355 posts
Joined July 2014
abraker
what about a 103 year old keyboard?

Last edited by abraker , edited 1 time in total.
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci
I don't know much about type writers, but from what I heard Olivetti type writers are some of the best ones out there.

Also, I'm a bit disappointed that abraker doesn't use an IBM keyboard despite calling himself a mad scientist smh.
Winnyace
754 posts
Joined June 2016
Winnyace
what does the keyboard expert, Tad Fibonacci, think of scissor switches?
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci

Winnyace wrote:

what does the keyboard expert, Tad Fibonacci, think of scissor switches?
You mean the ones in laptops and chicklet keyboards?

Don't like em. They're quite tactile but the travel is very short and that in combination with flat keycaps doesn't provide a enjoyable typing experience imo.
I don't type very fast on them and they hurt my fingers if I type on them for too long.

Although, some people really likes them for some reason.
abraker
Global Moderator
8,355 posts
Joined July 2014
abraker
I have an IBM thinkpad I broke
Winnyace
754 posts
Joined June 2016
Winnyace

Tad Fibonacci wrote:

Winnyace wrote:

what does the keyboard expert, Tad Fibonacci, think of scissor switches?
You mean the ones in laptops and chicklet keyboards?

Don't like em. They're quite tactile but the travel is very short and that in combination with flat keycaps doesn't provide a enjoyable typing experience imo.
I don't type very fast on them and they hurt my fingers if I type on them for too long.

Although, some people really likes them for some reason.
yeah those.

I do want to try them out, especially with playing games. after some time, all of my membrane keyboards start to get loud. maybe I just press too hard on them or something.

abraker wrote:

I have an IBM thinkpad I broke
rip.... I heard those laptops are some of the greatest made and have good keyboards, at least the older models. I wonder how true is that statement
Last edited by Winnyace , edited 1 time in total.
Lapizote
121 posts
Joined January 2016
Lapizote
TIL thinkpads were sold by IBM before Lenovo started selling it.
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci

abraker wrote:

I have an IBM thinkpad I broke
That's not an IBM keyboard.
THIS is an IBM keyboard.



A keboard fit for any aspiring mad scientist out there.

Winnyace wrote:

yeah those.

I do want to try them out, especially with playing games. after some time, all of my membrane keyboards start to get loud. maybe I just press too hard on them or something.
For playing video games (or anything else really lol), I don't really recommend a chicklet switch.

If you an afford it then you should definitely go mechanical.
If not, then I suggest getting an old but tough rubber dome keyboard. Especially dome with slider keyboards. Those usually feel much better than normal rubber domes and their boards are also usually much more well built.
Some even have Cherry stems lol.
Winnyace
754 posts
Joined June 2016
Winnyace

Tad Fibonacci wrote:

If you an afford it then you should definitely go mechanical.
If not, then I suggest getting an old but tough rubber dome keyboard. Especially dome with slider keyboards. Those usually feel much better than normal rubber domes and their boards are also usually much more well built.
Some even have Cherry stems lol.
I don't really have the money and even if I had, most boards here have Outemu Blue switches which is a massive no. I have my computer where my parents sit and I also hate loud switches in general
Lapizote
121 posts
Joined January 2016
Lapizote

Winnyace wrote:

Tad Fibonacci wrote:

If you an afford it then you should definitely go mechanical.
If not, then I suggest getting an old but tough rubber dome keyboard. Especially dome with slider keyboards. Those usually feel much better than normal rubber domes and their boards are also usually much more well built.
Some even have Cherry stems lol.
I don't really have the money and even if I had, most boards here have Outemu Blue switches which is a massive no. I have my computer where my parents sit and I also hate loud switches in general
if by any chance that you had the budget and it's available in your country, consider getting a tecware phantom tkl. they sell variations with outemu browns or reds.
Phantonym
462 posts
Joined May 2019
Phantonym
Do 2-Key keypad counts?
I made it myself.

Yes, im poor lol
Last edited by Phantonym , edited 1 time in total.
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci

ChargeIon wrote:

Do 2-Key keypad counts?
I made it myself.

Yes, im poor lol
Well I don't think that this would count as a key'board' anymore.
But, the keypad you've made looks pretty chunky, so I'm guessing that it's heavier and better built than most Osu keypads that you could buy online. Which is good since the keypads that are too light slides and moves around a lot while being used and that's quite annoying.
Winnyace
754 posts
Joined June 2016
Winnyace

axl2468 wrote:

Winnyace wrote:

Tad Fibonacci wrote:

If you an afford it then you should definitely go mechanical.
If not, then I suggest getting an old but tough rubber dome keyboard. Especially dome with slider keyboards. Those usually feel much better than normal rubber domes and their boards are also usually much more well built.
Some even have Cherry stems lol.
I don't really have the money and even if I had, most boards here have Outemu Blue switches which is a massive no. I have my computer where my parents sit and I also hate loud switches in general
if by any chance that you had the budget and it's available in your country, consider getting a tecware phantom tkl. they sell variations with outemu browns or reds.
buy from Amazon is super expensive and sadly I don't have it available. maybe some day I'll buy one, but for now, I'm perfectly okay with what I have. I need a better computer anyway, not a mechanical keyboard.
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci
Haven't had any new boards for a while.
abraker said he'd post the 2 keyboards he found in a dumpster here but he's taking his sweet time doing it.

In the mean time, here's a typing demo of Kailh BOX Jades with SA keycaps.



These switches are extremely tactile. One of the most tactile switches I've ever felt. Although, for me they're a just too over the top with the tactility lol.
They feel really nice and satisfying though.

They're also very loud despite how it may sound on my phone's microphone.
abraker
Global Moderator
8,355 posts
Joined July 2014
abraker
I'll post it by 1/3
Winnyace
754 posts
Joined June 2016
Winnyace
since this is a keyboard thread, I guess we can talk about keyboard layouts. so, have you guys tried other keyboard layouts besides qwerty?
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci

Winnyace wrote:

since this is a keyboard thread, I guess we can talk about keyboard layouts. so, have you guys tried other keyboard layouts besides qwerty?
I saw a guy who brought his Dvorak keyboard with him during a meetup and got to try it.

Obviously I can't type sufficiently with it, and I can't be bothered to learn the layout.
I'm just too used to Qwerty.

Edit: Also, I don't really think that the speed improvement in typing would be worth it to learn Dvorak. If you can already type fast with QWERTY then I don't really think learning Dvorak would improve your speed by that much.
Not to mention the only good thing about Dvorak is with typing. Using it as a daily driver would suck since now the keys are in a different location, windows or even mac shortcuts are much harder to use.
For example Crtl C, v and z on Dvorak are very far from each other so you either have to reach further or have to use 2 hands in order to use them.

Not to mention gaming on that thing lol.
Last edited by Tad Fibonacci , edited 1 time in total.
Winnyace
754 posts
Joined June 2016
Winnyace
I see. since my typing speed is quite bad and I'm a massive hipster, I did try out Dvorak, but I got too used to Qwerty.
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci
Oh yeah, not to mention, you type quicker with Dvorak since it puts all the letters that are used the most in the middle row.
That works well in English, however if you translate that to other language, it doesn't hold up.

So yeah, depending on the language you type, it won't really be faster than QWERTY and might actually be even slower.
Last edited by Tad Fibonacci , edited 1 time in total.
Nikolai
589 posts
Joined December 2014
Nikolai
Current collection: OTD 360c, TGR Jane v2 ce, HHKB pro 1, FLX Virgo, Dolphin v3

I've owned like 20+ kustoms/customs in the past :)
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci

Nikolai wrote:

Current collection: OTD 360c, TGR Jane v2 ce, HHKB pro 1, FLX Virgo, Dolphin v3

I've owned like 20+ kustoms/customs in the past :)
Yeah, I wish I'm rich enough to own that many lol.
Nikolai
589 posts
Joined December 2014
Nikolai

Tad Fibonacci wrote:

Nikolai wrote:

Current collection: OTD 360c, TGR Jane v2 ce, HHKB pro 1, FLX Virgo, Dolphin v3

I've owned like 20+ kustoms/customs in the past :)
Yeah, I wish I'm rich enough to own that many lol.
Just gotta have connections to not worry about fcfs group buys or get in private ones :cool:
_ralsei
62 posts
Joined February 2020
_ralsei

switches: logitech gx blues
keyboard: logitech g pro
sounds:
Last edited by _ralsei , edited 1 time in total.
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci

_ralsei wrote:


switches: logitech gx blues
keyboard: logitech g pro
sounds:
Aesthetics wise, I think I like it.
It looks pretty clean, but the top bezel looks a bit out of place because of how thick it is.
But overall, not a bad looking board.

Build quality wise, not much to talk about. Metal mounting plate yadi yadi yada.
It's what you'd expect from a standard mechanical keyboard.

The keycaps looks fine. Although it uses a square looking font so it doesn't look as good as a normal font. Well, at least it doesn't use a cyber font and try to be hip and cool.
But from what I see, they looks like your standard lazered keycaps so they won't last very long I reckon.

I did a quick Google search for the switches since I've never heard of them before. But I think it's just another Cherry MX blue clone.
Assuming they're like Cherry blues, I think they're not bad but I don't really like them. The tactility is a bit on the weaker side and the sounds that those switches produce is pretty unpleasant.
They sound plasticky, rattly and high pitched.
They're the type of switches that you can instantly recognize through voice chats and such lol.

By the look of it, this board uses the German layout or the QWERTZ layout. It also uses an ISO enter key. I personally likes ISO enters better than ANSI enters since I sometimes miss while trying to hit the enter key while using ANSI enter. Although, ISO keyboards usually shortens the left shift key to make space for the missing key. And since I type exclusively with the left shift, this would be an disadvantage for me. But yeah layout is subjective, even more so than switch feel so I won't lower it's score for that.
I think the better way to do it would be putting the missing key where the windows key would be, or to split the right shift key and put it on the right of the right shift.

Overall, an okay keyboard. 5.5/10
Penguin
323 posts
Joined August 2013
Penguin
I noticed something very odd with my GMMK while playing osu today. I noticed that while my RBG is on, I have a weird chord splitting effect, as if my polling rate is really trash. I then tested it without RGB on, and the effect is gone.

these pictures are from the first 100 combo of the same map.
RGB on


RGB off


for some reason, the RGB on this keyboard seems to affect the polling rate somehow? it's very odd. As soon as I turned my RGB off, I instantly got a lot better acc on ColdTooth's new map. went from high 97% - low 98%, all the way up to 99%+ acc.
Last edited by Penguin , edited 1 time in total.
Lapizote
121 posts
Joined January 2016
Lapizote

Penguin wrote:

I noticed something very odd with my GMMK while playing osu today. I noticed that while my RBG is on, I have a weird chord splitting effect, as if my polling rate is really trash. I then tested it without RGB on, and the effect is gone.

these pictures are from the first 100 combo of the same map.
RGB on


RGB off


for some reason, the RGB on this keyboard seems to affect the polling rate somehow? it's very odd. As soon as I turned my RGB off, I instantly got a lot better acc on ColdTooth's new map. went from high 97% - low 98%, all the way up to 99%+ acc.
i remember someone on G&R posting something similar.

community/forums/topics/1154270
Last edited by Lapizote , edited 1 time in total.
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci

Penguin wrote:

I noticed something very odd with my GMMK while playing osu today. I noticed that while my RBG is on, I have a weird chord splitting effect, as if my polling rate is really trash. I then tested it without RGB on, and the effect is gone.

these pictures are from the first 100 combo of the same map.
RGB on


RGB off


for some reason, the RGB on this keyboard seems to affect the polling rate somehow? it's very odd. As soon as I turned my RGB off, I instantly got a lot better acc on ColdTooth's new map. went from high 97% - low 98%, all the way up to 99%+ acc.
Welp, another reason to not use RGB lol.
Meguro
557 posts
Joined June 2017
Meguro
finally, a proper mech keyboard to post here. It's a Fuhlen M87S TKL Keyboard

Last edited by Meguro , edited 3 times in total.
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci

Meguro wrote:

finally, a proper mech keyboard to post here. It's a Fuhlen M87S TKL Keyboard

Aesthetics wise, it looks okay I suppose.
I like the shape of the case. Looks pretty non aggressive and clean.
The lock lights on the right side of the board looks a bit out of place though, I don't know how I feel about that.

Build quality is similar to most keyboards posted in this thread. About what you'd expect from a modern mechanical keyboard.

The keycaps from what I found are made out of ABS doubleshot, so they're very durable and the legends will never fade away. However, the font they used for this board is fuck ugly.
It's a combination of the cyber gamer font and the stenciled font.
It kinda ruined the board sleek aesthetics imo.

Switches wise, from what I found it only comes will Cherry MX blue clones. I'm not sure which manufacturer made them but tbh it doesn't really matter much since they feel virtually the same and they all sound very annoying. You can recognize their infamous sound from a mile away.

The board is pretty meh, but I guess on the bright side, it's dirt cheap. You can get it for only $30 from the sites that I've found them on. So I guess that's the board's biggest strength, although you don't get a lot of choice in switches.

Overall, an okay keyboard. 5/10

PS: I've also noticed the scroll lock and pause break buttons are damaged and warped. Looks kinda like cigarette marks to me. Although this isn't inherent to the board so I'm not gonna lower it's scores because of that.
Hydreigon
274 posts
Joined February 2020
Hydreigon
aight tad, how would you rate my new keyboard

look, it has lights now
Last edited by Hydreigon , edited 1 time in total.
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci

Hydreigon wrote:

aight tad, how would you rate my new keyboard

look, it has lights now
Hmm I can't find the exact model on Google so I'll need additional info before I judge it.
ninore
Beatmap Nominator
483 posts
Joined January 2020
ninore

Tad Fibonacci wrote:

Hydreigon wrote:

aight tad, how would you rate my new keyboard

look, it has lights now
Hmm I can't find the exact model on Google so I'll need additional info before I judge it.
probably a standard rubber dome keyboard
looks like it's made of plastic
i think it's just one of those cheap "gamer" keyboards
you can judge by that i suppose
Hydreigon
274 posts
Joined February 2020
Hydreigon

Tad Fibonacci wrote:

Hmm I can't find the exact model on Google so I'll need additional info before I judge it.
https://www.fantech.com.ph/product/fantech-k511-hunter/
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci

Hydreigon wrote:

Tad Fibonacci wrote:

Hmm I can't find the exact model on Google so I'll need additional info before I judge it.
https://www.fantech.com.ph/product/fantech-k511-hunter/
Goddamn, a fullsize keyboard that weighs only 600 grams.

Aside from the obnoxious lights, I don't see anything special about it.

3/10

Edit: Even though I rated this board the same score as your last keyboard, I think your last board is a better board overall since it looks less obnoxious.
Last edited by Tad Fibonacci , edited 1 time in total.
Nuuskamuikkunen
1,266 posts
Joined March 2013
Nuuskamuikkunen

Hydreigon wrote:

aight tad, how would you rate my new keyboard

look, it has lights now
Oh boi seemingly I'm not the only one that has his desk covered in a sheet of a similar pattern.
abraker
Global Moderator
8,355 posts
Joined July 2014
abraker
Logitech G710+:





Corsair K95 RGB Platinum:

Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci

abraker wrote:

Logitech G710+:

Well, about time you post those keyboards.

Aesthetics wise, the board doesn't look very good tbh.
I found that it costs over $200 brand new, but it looks kinda like a cheap membrane gamer keyboard not gonna lie. It doesn't have that premium look that other keyboards at that price point has.
The shape of the case looks really weird and reminds me of rubber domes in the 90s when they were trying to design boards that looks different and came up with fuck ugly keyboard case shapes.
The huge amount of buttons everywhere makes the board looks busy also. Normally, I love boards with lots of buttons, but this one looks kinda too busy and cramped. Not very elegant.
The G710+ logo on top of the nav keys in white font looks pretty obnoxious also.

Build quality wise, from what I found, is the same as most modern mechanical keyboard. Not excellent, not horrible.

I can't find anything about the keycaps, but they looks like lazered caps to me.
They also use a squared off gamer font which looks pretty ugly. But at least they aren't as ugly as those cyber fonts that every one and their mother used back in the 2010s.

Switches wise, again I can't really find much about which switches that they can come with. But I have managed to find 2 versions of the board, one uses Cherry MX blues and the other Cherry MX browns.
You can tell by the colored bezel section on the left.
Well about Cherry MX browns, in short, they're dog shit.
Feel wise I actually prefer a rubber dome board over Cherry MX browns. At least rubber domes are actually tactile.
The tactility on MX browns are literally weaker than the haptic feedback you get on your mobile phones I found. Yes, their tactility is weaker than the fake tactile feed back that your phone can provide you.
So I guess Cherry MX Browns are for people that hates tactility but doesn't want to use a linear switch.

This board comes with a lot of media keys, which can be quite useful tbh. Especially the volume wheel on the right.
It also has 6 programmable macro keys. That are advertised as can be programmed "on the fly".
If the advertisements were to be believed, then that's a pretty solid feature.
Macros are really nice to have, both in gaming and for work.
But I'm still pretty skeptical about it, since there are so many boards with macro functions that are advertised as can be programmed "on the fly" actually requires you to have their dedicated app installed and running in the background to use the macros.

Overall, a pretty overpriced but fairly ugly board.
5.5/10
Last edited by Tad Fibonacci , edited 1 time in total.
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci

abraker wrote:

Corsair K95 RGB Platinum:

Aesthetics wise, I think this board looks okay.
It has that edgy gamer look to it. A bit showy, but overall not a bad looking keyboard.

Build quality wise, again, typical for modern mech keyboards.

The keycaps are made out of ABS plastic, coated in black paint and then lazered.
This makes for very sharp legends on the keycaps, but those caps are not very durable and can wear down after only a few weeks of use.
They also attracts dirt, dusts, hand oil and fingerprints like crazy, making the board looks pretty disgusting pretty quick, only after a few hours of use.
The spacebar is textured for some reason, I have no idea why it's the case since I don't think fingers slipping off spacebars is a huge problem.
Guess they're just there for aesthetics purposes.

Switches wise, these boards can either come with Cherry MX Browns or Cherry MX speed silver.
Although you said that the switch stems has a white/grey color in the VC so I guess that this board in particular is using speed silver switches.
They're light linear switches with a higher actuation point than normal switches.
The actuation point is at 1.2mm instead of 2mm like most other MX switches.
The travel is also shortened from 4mm of normal Cherry MX switches to 3.4mm.
The weighting is still the same as cherry MX reds, around 45g of actuation.
All these factors for a very hyper active switch that can actuate with just the weight of your finger.
I already have so many mistypes while using Cherry MX reds, so I definitely cannot use these switches.
Even while playing video games, I keep pressing buttons when I don't mean to and it takes a while before I can get used to it. Though I still didn't like them.
Typing on them is a nightmare, my average typing speed on them is like 40 to 50 wpm because of all the mistakes I keep getting because of how hyper active they are.

Features wise, this board has a volume wheel and some media buttons, which are pretty nice tbh.
It also has 6 macro buttons, however they cannot be programmed on the fly.
You'll need the app to assign macros to them. But at least you don't have to have the app in the background to use the macros.
However, their app, "iCue" I think it's called is fucking dogshit.
It's several hundred Mbs of storage space and it drains CPU while running in the back ground.
Worst yet, it disables all Corsair devices if you shut it down, and you have to unplug and replug your device to use them again.
I used to have a Corsair mouse and I was using that mouse while I borrowed a Corsair board to use and that app drives me fucking insane.
I uninstalled that app after a few days.

Overall, an okay keyboard.
5.5/10
Last edited by Tad Fibonacci , edited 1 time in total.
Penguin
323 posts
Joined August 2013
Penguin
I bought some glorious pandas a while back when they were on back-order and they finally arrived today! I only bought a 36-pack since these switches are damn expensive, so I only installed them for the letters and a few mods. I didn't lube them up because I am lazy. Maybe sometime in the future.

I haven't used them for too long yet, but all I can say so far is that I enjoy tactile switches a lot more now. The only type of tactile switch that I had used before this were Gateron browns, and oh boy, they were shit. It is a night and day difference between browns and pandas. Browns essentially feel like linears, but sticky. "Real" tactile switches are actually what they say they are... tactile.

Overall, I'm really enjoying these new switches. I really want to buy and try out so many more switches now.

abraker
Global Moderator
8,355 posts
Joined July 2014
abraker
Dell SK-8110. Haven't used it for a while and didn't bother cleaning for the pic, so ignore that. It has a PS/2 end which should tell you how old it is lol.

Penguin
323 posts
Joined August 2013
Penguin
Pack it up boys, we've got a winner.
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci

Penguin wrote:

I bought some glorious pandas a while back when they were on back-order and they finally arrived today! I only bought a 36-pack since these switches are damn expensive, so I only installed them for the letters and a few mods. I didn't lube them up because I am lazy. Maybe sometime in the future.

I haven't used them for too long yet, but all I can say so far is that I enjoy tactile switches a lot more now. The only type of tactile switch that I had used before this were Gateron browns, and oh boy, they were shit. It is a night and day difference between browns and pandas. Browns essentially feel like linears, but sticky. "Real" tactile switches are actually what they say they are... tactile.

Overall, I'm really enjoying these new switches. I really want to buy and try out so many more switches now.

Noice.

Yeah, although I haven't tried Glorious pandas before, if they're anything like Holy Pandas then yeah, they're much better than Gat browns.
They're at least are actually tactile.

Although, I guess almost anything would be better than MX brown switches lol.

Also, I heard that T1 switches and Oreo switches are Holy Panda types switches as well, but they're no where near that ridiculously expensive.
You can get some of those to fill in the spots where you're using Gat browns to try them out to see if you like them.

abraker wrote:

Dell SK-8110. Haven't used it for a while and didn't bother cleaning for the pic, so ignore that. It has a PS/2 end which should tell you how old it is lol.

Looks like an old rubber dome keyboard to me. Nothing special about it.
The dirt and dust isn't inherent to the board and I'm sure it can be cleaned up quite easily.

You think you could get the lowest ranking with that? Hah!
You underestimate me abraker.

I've tried boards that are actual piss shit fucking wank stain before.

3/10
Last edited by Tad Fibonacci , edited 1 time in total.
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci
Also, even though I grouped all rubber dome office keyboards into one ranking, I'm sure not all of them are the same.

For example, I've experienced using a really bad one in my previous part time job.
It was just like any other rubber domes but the stabilized keys are so poorly stabilized. They bind all the fucking time and it's infuriating to type with that board.
Even the spacebar - which usually would be the most stable key, isn't stabilized properly and binds just like the others. It fucking drives me insane typing on it.
My boss even asked me why was I typing so slowly since I wrote in my CV that I can type in English relatively quickly lol.

So yeah, if you want your board to score lower, you'll gonna have to give more reasons why I should rank it lower than others since I can't really come and feel each and everyone's keyboard.
abraker
Global Moderator
8,355 posts
Joined July 2014
abraker
if you think that was my actual attempt, that was just me testing the waters. The one next is gonna be the real deal. Tune in next week.
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci
Hmm interesting.
Ashton
2,028 posts
Joined February 2016
Ashton




https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/797724597721890818/797724639782371328/video0.mov


Edit: second photo not showing so here is link https://imgur-archive.ppy.sh/discord/797724597721890818-797725051825684521-image0.jpg


It was like a 20 dollar blue swotch keyboard my brother bought me for christmas like 3 years ago
Last edited by Ashton , edited 2 times in total.
Ashton
2,028 posts
Joined February 2016
Ashton
Also, it is 1am and i didnt have sleeves to cover my noodle arms sorry you had to see that. I was also scared to type so sorry I typed so slow :(


Could I also get a seperste rating for my diy uwu pencil holder?
Last edited by Ashton , edited 2 times in total.
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci

Ashton wrote:





https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/797724597721890818/797724639782371328/video0.mov


Edit: second photo not showing so here is link https://imgur-archive.ppy.sh/discord/797724597721890818-797725051825684521-image0.jpg


It was like a 20 dollar blue swotch keyboard my brother bought me for christmas like 3 years ago
Goddamn, please clean your keyboard from time to time.

Aesthetics wise, it looks okay I suppose.
A bit generic looking though, but it doesn't look too try hard and is clean looking enough I suppose.
I really don't like the logo on top of the nav keys though, it kinda ruins the clean looks a bit.

Build quality wise, again nothing special.
Metal mounting plate, braided cable.

On to the switches, this board is using MX blue switches. I'm not sure which manufacturer made them but they're all very similar so I guess that doesn't really matter.
Imo MX blue switches feels fine, but they're not excellent. And they have a horrible sound.
They're very high pitched, plasticky and extremely loud.
Their sound is kinda notorious at this point and you can recognize them from any typing video or on voice chats.

The keycaps looks fine. They use a normal font so that's good. But some of the fonts are huge, not sure what's up with that.
I don't know what they're made of but since this looks like a back lit keyboard, and from their looks, I'm guessing they're lazered ABS.
In my experience, those kinds of caps are not very durable, they also gather dirt, dust and fingerprints really quickly, just from mere hours of use.

I guess this board's biggest strength is it's cheap price. $20 is really cheap for a mechanical keyboard.

5/10

Edit:

Ashton wrote:

Could I also get a seperste rating for my diy uwu pencil holder?
I won't rank it as this is a keyboard thread but it looks okay.
Last edited by Tad Fibonacci , edited 1 time in total.
Ashton
2,028 posts
Joined February 2016
Ashton
I havent cleaned it wver sjnce I got it...
Penguin
323 posts
Joined August 2013
Penguin
my mic has really bad reverb

Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci

Penguin wrote:

my mic has really bad reverb

Sounds pretty nice and thocky.
I bet it'll sound even better with SA caps on.

Although, why is the video in my name?
Penguin
323 posts
Joined August 2013
Penguin

Tad Fibonacci wrote:

Sounds pretty nice and thocky.
I bet it'll sound even better with SA caps on.
yeah, I really want to get a nice set of SA keycaps for that reason. They would probably look silly on my raised switch board, but I don't really care.

Tad Fibonacci wrote:

Although, why is the video in my name?
:^)
abraker
Global Moderator
8,355 posts
Joined July 2014
abraker
and now the keyboard you were waiting for. The Omnitech Flexible Keyboard

Penguin
323 posts
Joined August 2013
Penguin
abraker, you forgot to clean your boogers off the desk..
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci

abraker wrote:

and now the keyboard you were waiting for. The Omnitech Flexible Keyboard

Oh god. What cursed being have you bring to this land?
Please Lord have mercy upon my soul.

On to the review:

Aesthetics: It has the same aesthetics of a water balloon, or a condom. It's up to you to decide if that's good or not.

Build quality: What fucking build quality? From the pictures, I'm guessing that it's a membrane inside of a rubber condom. Although, I guess it'll be quite tough since there isn't really anything to break.
So, for build quality, I'll give it a "Actually, surprisingly tough. But at what cost?"

Switches: Yeah, if you think a rubber dome keyboard was bad, then imagine typing on this piece of dogshit. Surprisingly, I have actually seen a board that is just like this but had a different color and as you'd expect, the key feel is fucking trash. It's like pressing on dense rubber nipples. Just imagine having to write an essay with that thing.

The only saving grace of this keyboard that I can think of is that it's quite a tough motherfucker since there isn't really anything to break. Although shit, I still can think of a purpose for it. For example, in industrial environments where there are lots of dirt, dust and debris, this board would work really fine. And since it's covered by a condom, it should be water proof as well. It can also be cleaned quite easily, just run tab water on the fucking thing.

2/10

Edi: Also, I've edited Axl's keyboard's score since I don't think it deserves to be that low and certainly don't deserve to have to same ranking as this piece of shit.
Last edited by Tad Fibonacci , edited 3 times in total.
Meseta
113 posts
Joined March 2019
Meseta

Corne2Plum3 wrote:

This isn't my exact laptop but the keyboard look like this:
yoo, this is my pc LMFAO
abraker
Global Moderator
8,355 posts
Joined July 2014
abraker
I have now achieved both the highest and lowest rating lmao

@penguin that's no booger. That's an onion.
Last edited by abraker , edited 1 time in total.
Lapizote
121 posts
Joined January 2016
Lapizote
damn it abraker, you stole my place as having the lowest ranking keyboard
Last edited by Lapizote , edited 1 time in total.
ghoulybits
78 posts
Joined January 2017
ghoulybits


This is definitely not a good gaming keyboard but it's a lot better than my laptop keyboard. It's a Logitech K120 that I remembered was festering in the back of my closet. I haven't really modified it in any way.

Here's what the keyboard sounds like.


Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci

ghoulybits wrote:



This is definitely not a good gaming keyboard but it's a lot better than my laptop keyboard. It's a Logitech K120 that I remembered was festering in the back of my closet. I haven't really modified it in any way.

Here's what the keyboard sounds like.


Looks like a generic rubber dome keyboard to me.
It sounds pretty loud for a rubber dome though, and it's pretty rattly too.
The shape of the case is pretty ugly also.

3/10
Penguin
323 posts
Joined August 2013
Penguin
rubberdome and fake gaming keyboards = 3/10
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci

Penguin wrote:

rubberdome and fake gaming keyboards = 3/10
I think that's a fair score for them.
Although I'm sure some are better than others, I can't really go and feel each individual board to rank them higher or lower than each other.
So I based this score ranking on a generic rubber dome keyboard since that would be the score that I'd rank them at most of the time.

So since this way of ranking is inherently flawed, though idk how else I'd rank boards and give a fair score without trying them out for myself. So don't feel bad if I rank your score lower than what you expect your board to be at.
Afterall, it's only my opinion and that isn't absolute either. I'm wrong about things all the time and my opinion about things do change through time as well.

And whether a keyboard is good for you or not largely depends on you, your taste and bias so my opinion shouldn't matter too much.
Penguin
323 posts
Joined August 2013
Penguin
I found a picture of my first mech keyboard I bought back in 2014. Unfortunately, I spilled water on it a few years ago and it died. It was a great keyboard while it lasted. It was also extremely crusty because I rarely cleaned it in the 5+ years I owned it.

CM Storm QuickFire TK w/ Cherry Reds
Last edited by Penguin , edited 1 time in total.
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci

Penguin wrote:

I found a picture of my first mech keyboard I bought back in 2014. Unfortunately, I spilled water on it a few years ago and it died. It was a great keyboard while it lasted. It was also extremely crusty because I rarely cleaned it in the 5+ years I owned it.

CM Storm QuickFire TK w/ Cherry Reds
Oh yeah, I had the same keyboard but with Cherry MX blues instead lol.

I loved that keyboard layout.
I still have it actually and it still works. Though the N key doesn't register half of the time.
pentaqola
43 posts
Joined May 2018
pentaqola
i am 100% sure if i present my keyboards i would get absolutely annihilated.

cuz man i got one of those stupid ass flexible keyboard that got the p key broken from my dog so i had to use tissue and rugby to get that fixed up... kind of

and the rest of my keyboards are literally sorta flat

edit: realized i made a mistake plus forgot to put whatthefuck i edited, hooray
Last edited by pentaqola , edited 2 times in total.
Penguin
323 posts
Joined August 2013
Penguin

pentaqola wrote:

i am 100% sure if i present my keyboards i would get absolutely annihilated.

cuz man i got one of those stupid ass flexible keyboard that got the p key broken from my dog so i had to use tissue and rugby to get that fixed up... kind of

and the rest of my keyboards are literally sorta flat
post it pls :)
pentaqola
43 posts
Joined May 2018
pentaqola

Penguin wrote:

pentaqola wrote:

i am 100% sure if i present my keyboards i would get absolutely annihilated.

cuz man i got one of those stupid ass flexible keyboard that got the p key broken from my dog so i had to use tissue and rugby to get that fixed up... kind of

and the rest of my keyboards are literally sorta flat
post it pls :)

here you go... in all of its unholy glory at my kitchen

the rest will have to wait cuz i don't have time to take images of them, plus my place might have a blackout at 6 am for twelve hours
Last edited by pentaqola , edited 1 time in total.
Penguin
323 posts
Joined August 2013
Penguin
abraker has a nearly identical keyboard lmao

pentaqola
43 posts
Joined May 2018
pentaqola
lMAO DEADASS-

its just missing the number pads, plus the p key is practically looking like an arm with a cast on it

i did however somehow manage to play platformer games with that thing, gotta say my arms feel fucked after using it
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci

Penguin wrote:

I found a picture of my first mech keyboard I bought back in 2014. Unfortunately, I spilled water on it a few years ago and it died. It was a great keyboard while it lasted. It was also extremely crusty because I rarely cleaned it in the 5+ years I owned it.

CM Storm QuickFire TK w/ Cherry Reds
I was tired so I didn't wrote a review on this board when I saw it so I'm gonna do it now.

Overall aesthetics: It looks pretty try hard and gamery. Although I really like the layout of this keyboard. It makes the board looks quite nice and it's a very usable layout. It's also very reminiscent of the old AT keyboard layout and since I love the vintage aesthetics, I really like this layout.

Build quality: Pretty standard. Metal mounting plate with a plastic case. Nothing too spectacular.

Switches: Cherry MX reds have a pretty nice light weighting. However, I find it to be too light for myself since I get a lot of typos using them.
Tbh, cherry switches are pretty mediocre and overpriced. For linears, Gaterons are much better, smoother and Gateron yellows comes with a better mid weight weighting as well, so I'd much rather having other kinds of switch other than Cherries on this board.

Keycaps: The keycaps on this board are lasered ABS so they're not very durable and they'd wear pretty quickly. Not to mention those kinds of caps attracts dirt and dust like crazy so the board would look pretty disgusting pretty quick. They also use a hideous font to boot.
I'd definitely swap out the keycaps on this board.

I actually have this board myself but with Cherry MX blues instead.
Maybe one day, I'll swap out the Cherry blues for like Kailh BOX jades or something since I really like the layout of this keyboard.

I'll give it a 5.5/10.
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci

pentaqola wrote:


here you go... in all of its unholy glory at my kitchen

the rest will have to wait cuz i don't have time to take images of them, plus my place might have a blackout at 6 am for twelve hours
Congratulations, you've managed to beat abraker's score for the worst keyboard here.

It's the fucking same keyboard but I think it's missing lock lights since I don't see them anywhere. I might be wrong and it might actually have lock lights though.
It also has arguably a worst layout than abraker's board, being a 75% instead of a full size.

1.8/10

Edi: Also, I'm surprised you're able to play any kind of video games on that thing. Honestly, that's quite impressive. Props to you Penta.
Last edited by Tad Fibonacci , edited 1 time in total.
abraker
Global Moderator
8,355 posts
Joined July 2014
abraker
Damn now I need to beat that somehow
Serraionga
11,487 posts
Joined November 2014
Serraionga

Penguin wrote:

abraker has a nearly identical keyboard lmao

salvador dali's keyboard
pentaqola
43 posts
Joined May 2018
pentaqola
the only way to beat me now is if someone has the same thing, but even more keys are missing...

just like this

good thing no one has that type of keyboard but in roll-up form

its just going to be part of your imagination for now
Lapizote
121 posts
Joined January 2016
Lapizote

pentaqola wrote:


here you go... in all of its unholy glory at my kitchen

the rest will have to wait cuz i don't have time to take images of them, plus my place might have a blackout at 6 am for twelve hours
i just noticed the cd-r king logo on the left - that already speaks a lot on the shit quality of that keyboard.

i remember buying a pair 20 peso (around 0.5 USD) earphones from there since I didn't have much at the time. It broke within a week or two lol
Nikolai
589 posts
Joined December 2014
Nikolai
Hydreigon
274 posts
Joined February 2020
Hydreigon

Nikolai wrote:

so this is what a pro ctb player's keyboard looks like
Nikolai
589 posts
Joined December 2014
Nikolai

Hydreigon wrote:

Nikolai wrote:

so this is what a pro ctb player's keyboard looks like
yes
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci

Nikolai wrote:

Hmmmmmm

Aesthetics wise, I'm embarrassed to admit that I kinda like it.

Build quality wise, looks like a plastic POS.

The switches are scissor chicklet switches, they're quite popular on laptop due to them being very low profile, but on a full sized keyboard, I fail to see the point of using them.
They're completely flat and has almost zero travel distance, so they hurt my fingers if I were to have to use them for an extended amount of time.

I like the animu girl on it though.

2.5/10
abraker
Global Moderator
8,355 posts
Joined July 2014
abraker
Ok so this is my make it or abrake it moment. I have a laptop from my college days I use as a multimedia station. Going up to it to use it was annoying, so a while back I found a solution: Why not use my phone as a remote control? Yes, I am able to use mouse and keyboard using an android app called Unified Remote. That said, please rate my keyboard:

SPOILER
Last edited by abraker , edited 2 times in total.
keremaru
228 posts
Joined November 2017
keremaru

abraker wrote:

Ok so this is my make it or abrake it moment. I have a laptop from my college days I use as a multimedia station. Going up to it to use it was annoying, so a while back I found a solution: Why not use my phone as a remote control? Yes, I am able to use mouse and keyboard using an android app called Unified Remote. That said, please rate my keyboard:

SPOILER
upside-down image
yes quality
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci

abraker wrote:

Ok so this is my make it or abrake it moment. I have a laptop from my college days I use as a multimedia station. Going up to it to use it was annoying, so a while back I found a solution: Why not use my phone as a remote control? Yes, I am able to use mouse and keyboard using an android app called Unified Remote. That said, please rate my keyboard:

SPOILER
I've already stated that I don't rank laptop and phone keyboards.

You'll have to try better than that, Brakey.
abraker
Global Moderator
8,355 posts
Joined July 2014
abraker
huh im not sure how that image became upside down. It was ok when I posted.


@Tad when did you say that? It's not in the initial post unless 2am is making me blind
Last edited by abraker , edited 1 time in total.
ClevelandsMyBro
880 posts
Joined April 2018
ClevelandsMyBro

abraker wrote:

@Tad when did you say that? It's not in the initial post unless 2am is making me blind
community/forums/topics/1190055?n=6
https://osu.ppy.sh/community/forums/topics/1190055?n=59
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci

abraker wrote:

huh im not sure how that image became upside down. It was ok when I posted.


@Tad when did you say that? It's not in the initial post unless 2am is making me blind

Tad Fibonacci wrote:

nedd83 wrote:

tad, rate my mobile keyboard too, please.

no/10

Tad Fibonacci wrote:

Corne2Plum3 wrote:

Rate my mobile keyboard then
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pQTXJ_YuGrInC37mv_BFY2GYDZOwOCpA/view?usp=drivesdk
No, thank you.

Tad Fibonacci wrote:

Corne2Plum3 wrote:

This isn't my exact laptop but the keyboard look like this:
Well, I don't know enough about laptop keyboards to rate them properly, sorry.

But most of the time they're just rubber domes with scissors or butterfly looking pieces of plastic on them.
I have yet to tried a laptop keyboard that I thought was good yet. They're all very shallow and flat and some even hurts my finger tips after typing on them for a while.
A full travel keyboard would be much better imo.

Though this is all subjective. I know people who really like laptop and chicklet keyboards and swear by them.

Tad Fibonacci wrote:

ClevelandsMyBro wrote:

does laptop counts?
Well, I don't think I'm qualified enough to rate laptop keyboards so no, sorry.
Here are some posts I found regarding the matter.
But I guess I haven't made it clear in the thread yet so I'll edit it in.
abraker
Global Moderator
8,355 posts
Joined July 2014
abraker
thank you

ok so time to make a custom keyboard using paper, graphite, and I need to figure out how to do usb processing using paperclips. brb
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci

abraker wrote:

thank you

ok so time to make a custom keyboard using paper, graphite, and I need to figure out how to do usb processing using paperclips. brb
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci
So I've been using these Feker Panda switches for about a week now and here's what I think about them.

They feel, sound and look a lot like Holy Pandas. That much is obvious I guess since they're HP clones.
I currently don't have a board with Holy Pandas, so I can't compare the 2 side by side atm. However, from what I tried of Holy Pandas, I'd say they're very similar.
These Feker Pandas gives you the same experience that Holy Pandas would provide you.
So I'd say that if you want to try out Holy Pandas, but doesn't want to make a huge investment. After all, $1 a swicth is quite expensive, you could get these instead and try them out to see if you like them or not.
If you like these Feker Pandas, you'll like Holy Pandas. If you don't like the Fekers, then you won't like Holy Pandas because the feeling that they provide are very similar.

Since these Fekers are cheap clones, there are some draw backs that I found while using them.
They're factory lubed, just like Holy Pandas. However, the factory lubing is extremely inconsistent.
When I first opened one to see if they're factory lubed or not, I thought they weren't since I couldn't see any lube in that one. But the second one I opened was drenched in lubricant.
The application was pretty inconsistent also, some were lubed on the slider, some has lube on top of the slider, some has springs that was drenched in lube etc. Although I heard that Holy Panda's factory lubing weren't any better either.

The switches themselves were pretty inconsistent also.
I found that some bottom housing and slider combination made the switches feel less tactile, and sometimes even down right linear. Although that problem is quite easily solved, I just switched the parts around again and they'd feel tactile again, so even though it's a problem, it's not that bad, especially if you want to relube them, you'll have to open them up anyways. Which I did, I lubed them with Krytox 205g0. I was about to film them as well, but I found that the housings were really tight, so I decided against it.

Overall, I think they're pretty good for the price. They're quite cheap, only slightly more expensive than Gateron Yellows. A pack of 110 switches only costed me around $30 or so. Although I can't compare these Fekers to HP side by side atm, however the feel of these Fekers are not dissimilar enough to Holy Pandas that I can differentiate them from one another without trying them side by side. It's like trying Cherry MX with other MX clones, they're different, but not dissimilar enough that you can tell which is which in a blind test. And considering the price difference between the 2, that's quite impressive.
Although I think the Fekers have a different sound to Holy Pandas though. But I'm not quite sure since the boards that I've tried the Holy Pandas on are different from the boards that I have, not mentioning the keycaps. Although the type of sound that they make are similar, I think it's just the pitch that are different.
Yukiumi
13 posts
Joined August 2019
Yukiumi
This is my keyboard, it's a SteelSeries Apex 7 TKL With Red Switches. (German Layout)
My keyboard is kind of dirty because I'm too lazy to clean it most of the time, but I like it a lot.

I love that Bongo Cat on the OLED Screen owo

Winnyace
754 posts
Joined June 2016
Winnyace
nice bongo cat and nice Misaki there son
Yukiumi
13 posts
Joined August 2019
Yukiumi

Winnyace wrote:

nice bongo cat and nice Misaki there son
poggers thx
it's a collab with my mates
Last edited by Yukiumi , edited 1 time in total.
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci

Suwumi wrote:

This is my keyboard, it's a SteelSeries Apex 7 TKL With Red Switches. (German Layout)
My keyboard is kind of dirty because I'm too lazy to clean it most of the time, but I like it a lot.

I love that Bongo Cat on the OLED Screen owo

Aesthetics wise, it looks pretty nice and clean. I like it.
It's identical to abraker's board but just TKL instead of being fullsize.

Build quality isn't that much different either. It's pretty standard for a modern premium mechanical keyboard.

The keycaps looks pretty nice. They use a normal font and the letters are in the top left of the caps AS IT SHOULD BE, instead of being in the middle like most other backlit keyboards.
One interesting thing to point out that this board is using the German ISO layout, evident by the QWERTZ layout.
Although the caps looks nice, they're not very high quality. They're the same as the caps on the pro version that abraker uses. They're lasered so they don't lasts long, and they attracts fingerprints and dirt like crazy.
For a board that costs $140, I think it's unjustifiable that they don't put proper keycaps on this board.

The switches are Steelseries branded switches, although I think they're made by Gateron if I'm not mistaken.
I heard that they're smoother than Cherry MX reds (Which is to be expected, any other clones out there are better than Cherries) and about on par, if not slightly smoother than Gateron red switches.
Which is nice and all, but I think they don't really offer anything special, especially if you consider the price and if you look at the pro version which offers you their Hall effects switches which are excellent.
For $140 I think the Razer Huntsman TE would be a better choice. They comes with Razer optical switches, which are very smooth and they have doubleshot PBT keycaps.
Although I guess you don't get the novelty OLED screen that you'd get with the Steelseries.

Speaking of the screen, I think it's pretty cool.
You can play basic animations on it, draw stuffs on it or make it display computer or in-game stuffs.
Although, I don't think it really serves any practical function. It's more of a novelty thing than anything really.
The info display sounds good, until you realized that when you're gaming, or just using your computer, you don't really look at your keyboard. Not to mention that the screen sits flat on the board, so it's partially concealed by the keycaps.
To me at least, I don't think it really justifies the cost of this board, compared to it's other competitors which offers you better switches and keycaps at the same price point.

Overall, It's a pretty okay keyboard. However, compared to other boards at the same price point, I think it's not that great. And compared to the Pro version of the same keyboard, the gap is even bigger. Although, the pro version is $70 more than this board, so I guess it's not fair to compare this board with that.

6/10
Winnyace
754 posts
Joined June 2016
Winnyace
is building your own KB worth it in your eyes, Tad?
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci

Winnyace wrote:

is building your own KB worth it in your eyes, Tad?
For me, yes.

But it depends on you if you think building one for yourself is worth it or not.
Usually when building one for yourself, you get to choose the elements and combinations of a keyboard that you like that isn't available pre built.
For example, most pre build keyboards only use Cherry MX or it's other red, brown and blue clones. And the boards that comes with different switches are very obscure and/or costs a lot more.
So if you're building a keyboard for yourself, you get to choose what the layout is, what the switches are, if your switches are going to be lubed or not, the keycaps etc. And you can also choose the budget for them as well, especially now that there are lots of cheap and mid budget keyboard kits available. So custom keyboards aren't that expensive as they were anymore.

But on the flip side, they require time and effort. Although building one is not hard at all, especially now when hotswap is really popular. You don't even have to solder, just plug the switches in and it just works. The most painful step is probably lubing switches since it takes a lot of time. And if you're a beginner, you're bound to overlube switches or lube them unevenly etc. But hey, you can choose to not lube them. But some of them gets much better if you do lube them though.

Edit: And yeah, you appreciate something more if you've put effort into it and making it work, rather than just buying a pre built one.
Although I completely understand if you just want a functional keyboard and doesn't care enough to spend time and effort to build one.
Last edited by Tad Fibonacci , edited 1 time in total.
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