Discussion New mechanical keyboard suggestions ?

[maddcok35]

Hello, I'll keep this nice and easy and get straight to the point because this is likely the 100th post of this type here, so sorry about that.

I'm looking for a new mechanical keyboard.

• Usage: Casual gaming, general office, and life usage
• I like 100% keyboards
• Wired
• Individually backlit is ideal but zoned gets the job done (RGB does actually add frames)
• Price limit is £150 however this is not a hard limit
• Don't care about wrist rests
• Dedicated macro buttons aren't a necessity but I do like the F keys being reprogrammable on Logitech keyboards
• Not entirely concerned about construction materials
• I've only ever had the G-Roamer switches from Logitech which is apparently fairly close to Cherry MX Browns (I don't think the switches will be a major deciding factor but I thought I'd put this here just to give a little context as to what I'm familiar with)

I presently have the Logitech G810 Orion Spectrum, I do enjoy having the media controls offered by this keyboard (the volume roller and play pause buttons), I initially looked at the G213 progidy but doing a little search on the dome switches showed they were generic dome switches jazzed up with marketing speech. The other one I considered was the G910 Orion Spectrum, this was right on my budget but I feel I'm paying more for the Arx phone dock thing that I never plan on using.

I did ask on Reddit and only got 1 suggestion, that was the Keychron Q6 QMK. I was initially interested in this one but the UK ISO is unavailable on their site, and elsewhere it's £20-£40 more.

I'm just kinda trying to get multiple opinions before I commit to something for the next several years.

Thank you in advanced.

 

[Ralston18]

Keyboards and mice are very subjective with respect to end user use and satisfaction.

My thoughts:

Simply find a keyboard that you like by going "hands on" via family, friends, work, visits to stores, etc..

Then check for reviews by verified users and professional reviewers. Visit the candidate keyboard manufacturer's websites to read User Guides/Manuals, Forums, and FAQs (if any).

Look for what is said as well as what is "not said".

Do not exclude wireless/Bluetooth keyboards. Wireless generally works well and using a USB extension cable between host system port and the dongle will very likely minimize or even end any BT related RX and TX problems.

Another thing that I do is to immediately replace (within a few days) any generic batteries that come with wireless keyboards and mice. The generic batteries are often of poor qualtity and likely to lose power or otherwise fail (leak) after even limited use times.

Try to separate out "eye candy" and other gimmicks that do not really contribute to comfort and performance. (And it does appear that you are aware of "marketing speech".)

To me "several years" is 6 or 7 years.

Not a functional/working lifetime (with or without warranty) that I would expect from any current keyboard products. More likely to be 1/3 of that time.

If you do not touch type and need to see the key markings/letters a likely problem will be the key letters wearing off. That has become a problem with the logi keyboards in my environment.

Just my thoughts on the matter.