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Compact Gaming Keyboard(s)
TheLizardbones
Member CommonPosts: 10,910
So I just moved, and my "man cave" is nearly setup, but I can either get a new desk setup, or a new compact keyboard and use the little rolling computer desk. I've chosen a new keyboard as my best bet. However, to get the mouse pad and mouse to fit on the slide out tray, I need a compact keyboard. I have a budget of about $100. This is an arbitrary amount...I just don't want to spend more than $100 for a keyboard. I am also avoiding Razer keyboards. I really like their mice, but their keyboards just seem to be really wonky.
I've found the following three keyboards on New Egg, and they each have decent reviews, not too many "DOA" reviews, etc.
CoolerMaster Quickfire TK (Red Switches)
CoolerMaster Quickfire TK (Blue Switches)
Does anyone have a preference among these three keyboards? My thoughts at this point are that I like the ability to have a complete numpad when I want it on the CoolerMaster keyboards, and I like the backlighting, but I suspect the Corsair is a better keyboard for the primary purpose of gaming.
Does anyone have better suggestions for a compact keyboard near my price range of $100?
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Comments
This is actually the kind of thing I'm looking for. It's easy to get statistics, but it's hard to get how keyboards "feel". So thank you.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
I have a Corsair mechanical keyboard, based on the one you list, but a bigger version. So the one you are looking at, the numpad has been shaven of, which you may or may not have noticed. It certainly helps if you are looking for smallfactor. It is a good keyboard and I can only recommend it.
What you should know about mechanical keyboards; the blue are for typing, and the red are for gaming. It's about how far you need to press a key down before it responds. Brown is in between, and many favour browns also for gaming. So I would ditch the keyboard with cherry blue switches as blue switches are very much "typing switches".
There are also Cherry blacks, I have used those on a Steelseries keyboard, and they are uber sensitive and perfect for FPS gaming and terrible to type on. If you just strafe a key next to the one you are clicking then it's typed. So I wouldn't recommend blacks to anyone, tbh reds are just as good for gaming.
All the keyboards are the MX series which is the quality ones by the way.
I did not know that about the different Cherry switches. Useful information, thanks!
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
The colors are indications of how the key switch works, feels and sounds. More information at the link below. It include .gifs of how the keys work and a video with the sound they make.
"Their most popular line of switches, the Cherry MX series, was introduced around 1985. These switches are usually referenced by their physical colour, with each colour denoting the switch’s handling characteristics – whether it is clicky, whether it is tactile, and how much force is required to actuate the switch, in centi-Newtons (cN) or grams (g)."
http://www.keyboardco.com/blog/index.php/2012/12/an-introduction-to-cherry-mx-mechanical-switches/
I think what is currently sold as a "gaming keyboard" is overrated. None of them do anything to help you play games better or improve the ease of pressing the buttons you need to press in games. MMOs are notorious for requiring hotbars with twenty buttons or more. My fingers on my left hand can only reach 1-6 and F1-F5 comfortably without moving my hand. Traditional keyboard layouts are just too awkward for gaming.
For gaming, I'm still using my old Fang gamepad. I would like to see more companies release products with intuitive gaming button layouts for PC, but they seem to think there isn't a market for such products.
Keyboards are one of those personal things - you may have to drive out to Best Buy or Frys or something and see if you can get your fingers on a few of them to test them out.
Or "try" them out via Amazon's nice return policy.
I had a Wolfpad that I really liked for a long time, but we moved and I sent it to GoodWill because I had not used it in a long time. I should have waited on that decision since I now need a more compact solution than my old Saitek II.
Also, I'm not sold on mechanical switches. My Saitek II is a membrane keyboard and has survived more years and more rage sessions of pounding on the keyboard than I can remember. Suggestions of TKL gaming "membrane" keyboards are more than welcome, but there don't seem to be many of those at all.
I think Logitech has the "gamepad for PC" market locked up with their little game pad thing. That was something else I considered too, but it would be a lot cheaper to drive to GoodWill and buy my Wolfpad back.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
I'm not nearly as picky about my keyboards as I am my mice. I've gotten to where the only mouse I really like to use is one using the Razer DeathAdder form factor (which includes the Mamba). Keyboards though, as long as they have full sized keys, and full sized spacing in the typing area are probably fine. I am probably more in need of gaming's durability than special features.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
I don't have a ton of experience but...
I was pretty satisfied with membrane keyboards for a long time.
I got a Cherry MX Brown-based keyboard, and now I can't go back to typing on a membrane for long. I would have never guessed if I hadn't played around with them in the store.
Also, because I didn't know until recently:
http://www.furiouspaul.com/articles/cherry-mx-keyboard-switches.html
I would ignore the "opinion" part - or at least read that part going in knowning it's an opinion. But the earlier part of the article does a very good explanation of the different types of Cherry switches (the most common in mechanical keyboards).