musicalman
Well-Known Member
Hi everyone,
I'm one of those who dived head-first into the mechanical keyboard camp, and now am questioning whether I like them after using one for almost three years. In fact, I'm questioning whether I like desktop keyboards in general now lol.
As someone who is blind, I use computers completely with the keyboard. Until 2016 though, I just used whatever cheap keyboard that was available, and it was often a membrane/rubber dome keyboard. I was never particular about how they felt until my last one began really wearing out. I was fully set on going out and getting one exactly like what I had, but a friend of mine told me that having a mechanical has improved his typing speed/accuracy, and gaming performance. I do play a few games, and type a lot, so I was interested.
For better or for worse I am the type of person to get curious and want to try everything. I took to Twitter and asked about whether mechanicals lived up to the praise. Except for one person, Everyone who responded was like "seriously you neeeed to get one!" I remember one follower promising that I would never, ever want to go back. Judging by her insanely quick response times without any typos, I assumed she was an insanely fast typist, and this was just about the time when I thought I was about as fast and accurate as I could ever be. I think that really had me convinced that a mechanical made you type better.
When I was looking at keyboards on display, I believed I had found the reasons why people liked this so much. Clicky switches did feel satisfying, and since I am sensitive to that sort of thing, I felt the click would give me some extra tactile sensory stim when typing. It certainly sounded like it when I listened to them on Youtube, and for me, sound is important. Far more important than looks.
I ended up getting the keyboard my gaming friend got: the Razer Blakc Widow. Everyone I asked about it said that it was a good keyboard, with one person saying that they don't like Razer because they're pricy, so they hadn't tried the keyboard. I'm not sure what the switches on mine are called, but they're noisy.
When I started typing seriously on it though, the novelty kinda wore off. Typing was just different, but I didn't find it necessarily better. I felt a lot of movement in the keys before they hit bottom, and equally as much movement when letting them come back to the top, which I'm not used to. I don't have to press the keys very far for them to register, but I'm still looking for a bottom anyway. While I like the sound of the clicky switches I have, they don't really do it for me in a tactile way. I should've listened to quiet switches a little more carefully, because I can hear how much the keys can travel, and I really don't like it.
Another illustration of travel is that I often type double capital letters by holding shift too long. This is a common thing with me and with everyone I'm sure, but it's always happened more on the mechanical. It's gotten better because I've started slowing down a little more when I hit shift, but this was something I had to almost consciously make myself do at first, and I still do it more than I used to.
As I was typing this post I decided to get my laptop out to refresh my memory on its keyboard feel. It's a Dell from 2012 (I'd have to look up the model if anyone is curious, but I don't believe there's much special about the keyboard). I used it for 4 years almost daily while I was in college. The funny thing is that I still feel more comfortable on it, even though I haven't really used it or any keyboard like it in about two years. The keys have a bit of resistance, but when they start to go down, they immediately bottom out. They don't travel much, but they do have a nice bump sensation both when they go down and when I release them, so I can type lightly but confidently. They don't have as much of the sponginess as a lot of desktop membrane keyboards seem to have, and which I've now come to dislike. Also I like how the laptop keys are slightly closer together, which makes typing easier for me. Come to think of it, I think most of the keyboards I used before have been that way though.
The thing the mechanical has really improved for me is gaming, which is what it's really made for. I have read that preferences for keyboards can change dramatically depending on whether we're talking about gaming or typing though. The wider spacing of the keys on the mechanical does make mashing the arrow keys easier if I have to do that, and I can see why other tasks would be easier with it too. There are moments where I can tell the mechanical is making a definite difference for the better. Plus, since those keyboards are built more for that sort of thing, I won't wear them out so quickly by mashing keys.
So can anyone relate to this at all, or am I just crazy? I'm trying to look around to see if I can find a keyboard that I like better for typing, where the keys have less travel and don't feel too spongy. I'm kinda over the nice click clack now, so I'd prefer something on the quiet side. I haven't actually gotten out and tried keyboards yet, but am starting to look stuff up on Youtube to get rough ideas. I'll still keep this mechanical around for gaming just in case I really think I'll need it. At this point I don't even know if mechanical or membrane is what I want. Part of me just wants to go back to the cheap membrane type I used previously, but I think I can do a little better than that. Cheap keyboards don't seem to have the build quality or solid feel which I've come to appreciate a little more than I used to.
I've seen some people recommending wireless or Bluetooth keyboards for typing, but I am looking for something for my desktop which is always going to be connected. I'm not a fan of wireless especially on my desktop. I'd rather plug it in and use and just know that it'll always work. Also I'm looking for a full size keyboard. I don't need any extra bells and whistles like lights and special keys. Maybe my wants are pretty unique and nothing really exists like that. But I really haven't looked extensively, since the market is more saturated than ever. Does anyone have ideas?
If you're still with me, thanks for reading and for any input you can offer!
Edit; fixed spelling of Razer lol
I'm one of those who dived head-first into the mechanical keyboard camp, and now am questioning whether I like them after using one for almost three years. In fact, I'm questioning whether I like desktop keyboards in general now lol.
As someone who is blind, I use computers completely with the keyboard. Until 2016 though, I just used whatever cheap keyboard that was available, and it was often a membrane/rubber dome keyboard. I was never particular about how they felt until my last one began really wearing out. I was fully set on going out and getting one exactly like what I had, but a friend of mine told me that having a mechanical has improved his typing speed/accuracy, and gaming performance. I do play a few games, and type a lot, so I was interested.
For better or for worse I am the type of person to get curious and want to try everything. I took to Twitter and asked about whether mechanicals lived up to the praise. Except for one person, Everyone who responded was like "seriously you neeeed to get one!" I remember one follower promising that I would never, ever want to go back. Judging by her insanely quick response times without any typos, I assumed she was an insanely fast typist, and this was just about the time when I thought I was about as fast and accurate as I could ever be. I think that really had me convinced that a mechanical made you type better.
When I was looking at keyboards on display, I believed I had found the reasons why people liked this so much. Clicky switches did feel satisfying, and since I am sensitive to that sort of thing, I felt the click would give me some extra tactile sensory stim when typing. It certainly sounded like it when I listened to them on Youtube, and for me, sound is important. Far more important than looks.
I ended up getting the keyboard my gaming friend got: the Razer Blakc Widow. Everyone I asked about it said that it was a good keyboard, with one person saying that they don't like Razer because they're pricy, so they hadn't tried the keyboard. I'm not sure what the switches on mine are called, but they're noisy.
When I started typing seriously on it though, the novelty kinda wore off. Typing was just different, but I didn't find it necessarily better. I felt a lot of movement in the keys before they hit bottom, and equally as much movement when letting them come back to the top, which I'm not used to. I don't have to press the keys very far for them to register, but I'm still looking for a bottom anyway. While I like the sound of the clicky switches I have, they don't really do it for me in a tactile way. I should've listened to quiet switches a little more carefully, because I can hear how much the keys can travel, and I really don't like it.
Another illustration of travel is that I often type double capital letters by holding shift too long. This is a common thing with me and with everyone I'm sure, but it's always happened more on the mechanical. It's gotten better because I've started slowing down a little more when I hit shift, but this was something I had to almost consciously make myself do at first, and I still do it more than I used to.
As I was typing this post I decided to get my laptop out to refresh my memory on its keyboard feel. It's a Dell from 2012 (I'd have to look up the model if anyone is curious, but I don't believe there's much special about the keyboard). I used it for 4 years almost daily while I was in college. The funny thing is that I still feel more comfortable on it, even though I haven't really used it or any keyboard like it in about two years. The keys have a bit of resistance, but when they start to go down, they immediately bottom out. They don't travel much, but they do have a nice bump sensation both when they go down and when I release them, so I can type lightly but confidently. They don't have as much of the sponginess as a lot of desktop membrane keyboards seem to have, and which I've now come to dislike. Also I like how the laptop keys are slightly closer together, which makes typing easier for me. Come to think of it, I think most of the keyboards I used before have been that way though.
The thing the mechanical has really improved for me is gaming, which is what it's really made for. I have read that preferences for keyboards can change dramatically depending on whether we're talking about gaming or typing though. The wider spacing of the keys on the mechanical does make mashing the arrow keys easier if I have to do that, and I can see why other tasks would be easier with it too. There are moments where I can tell the mechanical is making a definite difference for the better. Plus, since those keyboards are built more for that sort of thing, I won't wear them out so quickly by mashing keys.
So can anyone relate to this at all, or am I just crazy? I'm trying to look around to see if I can find a keyboard that I like better for typing, where the keys have less travel and don't feel too spongy. I'm kinda over the nice click clack now, so I'd prefer something on the quiet side. I haven't actually gotten out and tried keyboards yet, but am starting to look stuff up on Youtube to get rough ideas. I'll still keep this mechanical around for gaming just in case I really think I'll need it. At this point I don't even know if mechanical or membrane is what I want. Part of me just wants to go back to the cheap membrane type I used previously, but I think I can do a little better than that. Cheap keyboards don't seem to have the build quality or solid feel which I've come to appreciate a little more than I used to.
I've seen some people recommending wireless or Bluetooth keyboards for typing, but I am looking for something for my desktop which is always going to be connected. I'm not a fan of wireless especially on my desktop. I'd rather plug it in and use and just know that it'll always work. Also I'm looking for a full size keyboard. I don't need any extra bells and whistles like lights and special keys. Maybe my wants are pretty unique and nothing really exists like that. But I really haven't looked extensively, since the market is more saturated than ever. Does anyone have ideas?
If you're still with me, thanks for reading and for any input you can offer!
Edit; fixed spelling of Razer lol
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