What new gaming keyboard to buy?

[Polar]

Hello. My keyboard that came with my computer is starting to die out and I kinda need a new one but i am having a struggle on which one to buy. I did buy a MechanicalEagle z77 keyboard but i sent it back and got my money back as it was very loud and has the wrong layout. Youtube has been no help so I'd thought I'd come to the steam forums for help.
My budget is around £40, it needs a UK layout, and needs to be somewhat quiet. I dont mind whether its membrane or mechanical either (however I've heard mechanicals better for gaming).
Thanks for your time and help.

[Rumpelcrutchskin]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-Membrane-Programmable-Backlighting-Multimedia/dp/B01N3ML307/

[Polar]

Originally posted by Rumpelcrutchskin:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-Membrane-Programmable-Backlighting-Multimedia/dp/B01N3ML307/

Thanks for the help, but I've also seen the Razer Cynosa which but seems abit more expensive but has more stuff. Should I stick with Razer or should I go with the Corsair?

[Talby]

yea that z77 sounds like it had blue switches - agree they are a bit loud I also had a K552 which was great, but the clickyness was a bit too much for my family lol.

There is the G213[www.amazon.co.uk] which is a fake-mech board (scissor switch over membrane), it's normally overpriced but the sale puts it in range. They are closer to Brown switch as far as feel and sound goes.

Found a couple of red switch boards, the Lebog K22[www.amazon.co.uk] and the Zalman K500[www.amazon.co.uk] in that price range

There is the Ajazz AK35i/Ak35i[www.amazon.co.uk], the B-3 and the B-4 models look like Brown and Red switch respectively for just a few quid over, may be worth checking out.

[Rumpelcrutchskin]

Originally posted by SickTrickzHD:

Originally posted by Rumpelcrutchskin:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-Membrane-Programmable-Backlighting-Multimedia/dp/B01N3ML307/

Thanks for the help, but I've also seen the Razer Cynosa which but seems abit more expensive but has more stuff. Should I stick with Razer or should I go with the Corsair?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukjJHSE18yg

[anrkyuk]

Stretch your budget to £45 and go for a K552 RGB is you like programmable lighting, or just spend £35 on the vanilla K552, you won't find a better board within the price range.

[Rumpelcrutchskin]

Originally posted by anrkyuk:

Stretch your budget to £45 and go for a K552 RGB is you like programmable lighting, or just spend £35 on the vanilla K552, you won't find a better board within the price range.

Those have cheaper version switches designed to feel and sound like Cherry MX Blue and Blues are the loudest mechanical switches around.

You can check this video how various mechanical Cherry MX switches sound and feel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-xfY66-EsA

[anrkyuk]

Originally posted by Rumpelcrutchskin:

Originally posted by anrkyuk:

Stretch your budget to £45 and go for a K552 RGB is you like programmable lighting, or just spend £35 on the vanilla K552, you won't find a better board within the price range.

Those have cheaper version switches designed to feel and sound like Cherry MX Blue and Blues are the loudest mechanical switches around.

You can check this video how various mechanical Cherry MX switches sound and feel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-xfY66-EsA

I have a K552 RGB, they are not "cheaper version switches", they are clones, the Cherry patent expired in 2014 which meant other companies could use the design to make their own. The ones in the K552 and K552 RGB are Outemu Blue MX clones (compatible with cherry MX key caps), actuation is between 55g and 60g so they offer slightly more resistance as the MX blue actualtion point is 50g.

As for sound, with a background sound level of 54dB a single key press registers a sound level of 56dB (the spacebar registers a sound level of 65dB) at a distance of 18” and repeated typing registers a sound level of 68dB (excluding the spacebar) at a distance of 18”.

By comparison a Cherry MX blue single key press registers about 53dB, so yes they are slightly louder, although I would likely aribute this to the key caps and board design, remembering that the K552 is silly money for a mech board.

I know this as I wrote a rather long review (10 pages long) for the board back in 2016.

[Polar]

Dahh sorry, I couldnt reply as i has to go out. Thanks for everyones replys. So from reading everything on here for a mechanical keyboard Blue switchs are the loudest and Cherry MX are the quietest. However I'm kinda confused whether to stick with them membrane corsair or go with the K552. And yes anrkyuk, I love lighting lol :D

[anrkyuk]

Originally posted by SickTrickzHD:

Dahh sorry, I couldnt reply as i has to go out. Thanks for everyones replys. So from reading everything on here for a mechanical keyboard Blue switchs are the loudest and Cherry MX are the quietest. However I'm kinda confused whether to stick with them membrane corsair or go with the K552. And yes anrkyuk, I love lighting lol :D

Cherry MX is a brand.

Blue switch is a model of mechanical switch and yes it is the loudest, you can quiet them down a little with silicone O-Rings however, but not by much.

K552 RGB lighting demo...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4ujIV80KwU

The board in my vid is the 2016 model, the current model has the same lighting functions but the keyboard controls for the lighting differ. The video will also give you a bit of a hint as to the noise/sound the keys make. The flexing (crunching sound) in the video is being caused by my NerdyTec Couchmaster and not the keyboard.

[Polar]

Originally posted by anrkyuk:

Originally posted by SickTrickzHD:

Dahh sorry, I couldnt reply as i has to go out. Thanks for everyones replys. So from reading everything on here for a mechanical keyboard Blue switchs are the loudest and Cherry MX are the quietest. However I'm kinda confused whether to stick with them membrane corsair or go with the K552. And yes anrkyuk, I love lighting lol :D

Cherry MX is a brand.

Blue switch is a model of mechanical switch and yes it is the loudest, you can quiet them down a little with silicone O-Rings however, but not by much.

K552 RGB lighting demo...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4ujIV80KwU

The board in my vid is the 2016 model, the current model has the same lighting functions but the keyboard controls for the lighting differ. The video will also give you a bit of a hint as to the noise/sound the keys make. The flexing (crunching sound) in the video is being caused by my NerdyTec Couchmaster and not the keyboard.

"Cherry MX is a brand." God Im an idiot XD

I like it it seems good however from looking at it its not a UK layout. Can you get them with UK Layouts?

[anrkyuk]

Originally posted by SickTrickzHD:

Originally posted by anrkyuk:

Cherry MX is a brand.

Blue switch is a model of mechanical switch and yes it is the loudest, you can quiet them down a little with silicone O-Rings however, but not by much.

K552 RGB lighting demo...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4ujIV80KwU

The board in my vid is the 2016 model, the current model has the same lighting functions but the keyboard controls for the lighting differ. The video will also give you a bit of a hint as to the noise/sound the keys make. The flexing (crunching sound) in the video is being caused by my NerdyTec Couchmaster and not the keyboard.

"Cherry MX is a brand." God Im an idiot XD

I like it it seems good however from looking at it its not a UK layout. Can you get them with UK Layouts?

Sadly, Redragon only make boards with a US layout, if this is a deal breaker with a £40 budget your going to be limited to a membrane or dome/slider board.

Over the last 3 odd years I reviewed dozens of cheap mech keyboards like ...

- 1STPLAYER FIREROSE Chroma LED Illuminated Mechanical Gaming Keyboard
- North Crown 87 Key Mechanical Keyboard
- ECHTPower Mechanical Keyboard
- MechanicalEagle Z-77 RGB Backlit 104 Keys Mechanical Gaming Keyboard
- Velocifire VM30 Full Sized Mechanical Gaming Keyboard
- Rantopad MXX Gaming Mechanical Keyboard
- Gaming Keyboard, HV-KB380L LED Backlit USB
- DBPOWER DB-A8 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard
- HAVIT® HV-KB366L RGB Backlit Wired Mechanical

and few have a metal backplate and so they suffer from noticable and highly annoying flex and lighting issues are also quite common, the K552 however breaks the mould somewhat and my 2 year old sample is as it was the day I got it.

If a UK layout is a must and £40 is the budget, if it were me I would go for a K40... actually if it were me I would save and extra £9 for a K55 RGB.

[Polar]

Originally posted by anrkyuk:

Originally posted by SickTrickzHD:

"Cherry MX is a brand." God Im an idiot XD

I like it it seems good however from looking at it its not a UK layout. Can you get them with UK Layouts?

Sadly, Redragon only make boards with a US layout, if this is a deal breaker with a £40 budget your going to be limited to a membrane or dome/slider board.

Over the last 3 odd years I reviewed dozens of cheap mech keyboards like ...

- 1STPLAYER FIREROSE Chroma LED Illuminated Mechanical Gaming Keyboard
- North Crown 87 Key Mechanical Keyboard
- ECHTPower Mechanical Keyboard
- MechanicalEagle Z-77 RGB Backlit 104 Keys Mechanical Gaming Keyboard
- Velocifire VM30 Full Sized Mechanical Gaming Keyboard
- Rantopad MXX Gaming Mechanical Keyboard
- Gaming Keyboard, HV-KB380L LED Backlit USB
- DBPOWER DB-A8 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard
- HAVIT® HV-KB366L RGB Backlit Wired Mechanical

and few have a metal backplate and so they suffer from noticable and highly annoying flex and lighting issues are also quite common, the K552 however breaks the mould somewhat and my 2 year old sample is as it was the day I got it.

If a UK layout is a must and £40 is the budget, if it were me I would go for a K40... actually if it were me I would save and extra £9 for a K55 RGB.

Yh, I think I might spend a few extra for the k55, Thank you for all your help

[Rumpelcrutchskin]

Cherry MX is a switch type for mechanical keyboard keys. They are designated by colors like red, blue, brown, black and more exotic ones that are used in fewer keyboards like green, white, silent, rapidfire.
Most common ones that lot of different keyboard manufacturers use are red, blue, brown and black.
Each have different tactile feel to it when you press it and different sound it makes.

Then there are bunch of mechanical switches that are clones or made for specific manufacturer like Razer.
The MechanicalEagle z77 you bought and sent back has Cherry MX Blue clones.

I personally prefer the Cherry MX Red switches, they have quieter click then Blue and Brown and smooth keypress.

[anrkyuk]

Originally posted by Rumpelcrutchskin:

Cherry MX is a switch type for mechanical keyboard keys. They are designated by colors like red, blue, brown, black and more exotic ones that are used in fewer keyboards like green, white, silent, rapidfire.
Most common ones that lot of different keyboard manufacturers use are red, blue, brown and black.
Each have different tactile feel to it when you press it and different sound it makes.

Then there are bunch of mechanical switches that are clones or made for specific manufacturer like Razer.
The MechanicalEagle z77 you bought and sent back has Cherry MX Blue clones.

I personally prefer the Cherry MX Red switches, they have quieter click then Blue and Brown and smooth keypress.

The only noise Brown and Reds make is when they bottom out on the keyboard frame, neither "click", this noise can be deadened by fitting O-Rings.

[Sceles]

Get a keyboard with Cherry MX Browns or Reds, or one of the Logitech keyboards with Romer-G switches. Do not get a regular rubberdome keyboard that costs more than $50, you're getting ripped off. Also do not get a keyboard with MX Blues for gaming use or anything from Razer.