Mechanical Keyboards, not just for gamers.

[user 47770]

I keep my new knives in the same place for a couple of days, then have to quit staring at them and get back to work (WFH).

FWIW, I've been using mechanical keyboards for a long time and do to this day.

 

[Jovidah]

I actually think they're somewhat overrated. The reason people find them so much better IMO is that most people are used to the bargain basement junk rubberdomes that are often found in workplaces and that come with prebuilt computers. But if you step up to a 'better' rubberdome like a Logitech K120 (still a bargain) IMO the difference isn't really all that huge. My words per minute was pretty much the same, and I actually got more typos because the switches are so sensitive. Feels a little bit nicer maybe but I don't think it changes usage all that much. Couldn't care less for all the christmas lights that come with keyboards these days.
For mice I'm in the unlucky situation that ergonomically I do really well on a Logitech G403 (and lately, the wireless variant, G703), even though they keep dying on me - luckily usually within the warranty period. Tried some alternatives and most gave me cramps.

Regarding the thread title... I'd say mechanical keyboards are actually for anyone but gamers. They don't make one iota of difference in gaming. Anyone who claims different is either paid to say so, fooling themselves, or having cognitive dissonance over their purchase.

 

[esoo]

There is only two types of keyboards I've ever really liked, and interestingly enough they are both IBM designs - the IBM Thinkpad Laptop keyboards and Buckling spring.

Any rubber dome I've felt is a waste of time.

 

[user 16756]

There is only two types of keyboards I've ever really liked, and interestingly enough they are both IBM designs - the IBM Thinkpad Laptop keyboards and Buckling spring.


View attachment 139176

Any rubber dome I've felt is a waste of time.

Buckling Springs are definitely a step above the usual Cherry switch type thing, but Topres are IMO at least as good.

I actually think they're somewhat overrated. The reason people find them so much better IMO is that most people are used to the bargain basement junk rubberdomes that are often found in workplaces and that come with prebuilt computers. But if you step up to a 'better' rubberdome like a Logitech K120 (still a bargain) IMO the difference isn't really all that huge. My words per minute was pretty much the same, and I actually got more typos because the switches are so sensitive. Feels a little bit nicer maybe but I don't think it changes usage all that much. Couldn't care less for all the christmas lights that come with keyboards these days.
For mice I'm in the unlucky situation that ergonomically I do really well on a Logitech G403 (and lately, the wireless variant, G703), even though they keep dying on me - luckily usually within the warranty period. Tried some alternatives and most gave me cramps.

Regarding the thread title... I'd say mechanical keyboards are actually for anyone but gamers. They don't make one iota of difference in gaming. Anyone who claims different is either paid to say so, fooling themselves, or having cognitive dissonance over their purchase.

the difference the keyboard makes in gaming is having a board that suits you for the game you are playing and one that is pretty durable since youre going to be smashing on it endlessly. day in day out having something nice makes a big practical difference for stuff like starcraft IME. as far as slower games go then it's more about the durability of the switches. when I was playing CS in leagues I would destroy a rubber dome keyboard in a matter of months, but my first RK-9000, one of the hardwired early ones, lasted close to 4 years. maybe the higher end rubber domes are more durable these days but a decade ago finding a good one was more or less impossible.

these days that sort of thing not being my jam anymore means that my tiny topre keyboards are more about having something I like, nothing more. but then we all know that most of our really high end knives dont actually cut better than your average Wakui, M. Hinoura, or Yoshikane that we spent 250 dollars on, too.

 

[esoo]

Buckling Springs are definitely a step above the usual Cherry switch type thing, but Topres are IMO at least as good.

I've tried typing on Cherry keyboards and never been impressed with the feedback. Never tried Topres. Given the price on the Unicomps, I've never felt the need to try something for more money. I wouldn't mind something quieter, but I love the feedback.

 

[Jovidah]

the difference the keyboard makes in gaming is having a board that suits you for the game you are playing and one that is pretty durable since youre going to be smashing on it endlessly. day in day out having something nice makes a big practical difference for stuff like starcraft IME. as far as slower games go then it's more about the durability of the switches. when I was playing CS in leagues I would destroy a rubber dome keyboard in a matter of months, but my first RK-9000, one of the hardwired early ones, lasted close to 4 years. maybe the higher end rubber domes are more durable these days but a decade ago finding a good one was more or less impossible.

these days that sort of thing not being my jam anymore means that my tiny topre keyboards are more about having something I like, nothing more. but then we all know that most of our really high end knives dont actually cut better than your average Wakui, M. Hinoura, or Yoshikane that we spent 250 dollars on, too.

Sorry but I'm still not seeing the added benefit. Admittedly I was never too big on (competitive) RTS so I can't judge the utility there, but they are often marketted for FPS games where I just didn't perceive any benefit. Even when I played competitive CS when I was young I don't recall ever destroying a keyboard by wearing out the switches before its eventual death to fluid spills. And 'durability' arguments sound rather hollow to me when the mechanical keyboards are at least 5 times the price of 'decent' rubberdomes.
Don't get me wrong, I can see why you'd want something that's just 'nice', pretty, or whatever... I just don't think there's any competitive advantage; for gamers it's pretty much the last thing I'd recommend them to spend their money on. Compare that to stuff like high refresh rate monitors and better mouse sensors where there really is a giant difference even just comparing midrange stuff to the cheap garbage.

 

[user 16756]

Sorry but I'm still not seeing the added benefit. Admittedly I was never too big on (competitive) RTS so I can't judge the utility there, but they are often marketted for FPS games where I just didn't perceive any benefit. Even when I played competitive CS when I was young I don't recall ever destroying a keyboard by wearing out the switches before its eventual death to fluid spills. And 'durability' arguments sound rather hollow to me when the mechanical keyboards are at least 5 times the price of 'decent' rubberdomes.
Don't get me wrong, I can see why you'd want something that's just 'nice', pretty, or whatever... I just don't think there's any competitive advantage; for gamers it's pretty much the last thing I'd recommend them to spend their money on. Compare that to stuff like high refresh rate monitors and better mouse sensors where there really is a giant difference even just comparing midrange stuff to the cheap garbage.

if a keyboard lasts 5x as long and costs 5x as much, then to me it's 100% worth it. also to be honest Im shocked to hear that you could play competitive CS for any length of time and not blow up your average rubber dome keyboard. the percentage of people playing above open sections who could afford mechanical keyboards using rubber dome keyboards was vanishingly small to my recollection.

also I mean this came up in the pan thread but there's more to an object than just its on paper performance. when you are competing especially you want to minimize anything that gets in your way. having a nice keyboard that you feel is well suited matters 100x more than whether the n-key rollover is slightly better or it registers key strokes 1ms faster or whatever.

yeah I mean a keyboard is not the first thing to spend money on; frankly for anyone playing an FPS honestly a good pair of headphones matters even more than the monitor, and both outrank a keyboard. but to say they dont make a difference when mechanical keyboards are ascendant in that world doesnt seem true to me empirically.

to me the keyboard is one of those soft improvements like being in better physical shape. it's difficult to quantify its impact but if you want to seriously compete you do all the QOL stuff anyway. eat well, sleep well, get some exercise, buy the right equipment.

 

[captaincaed]

For me the benefit was ergonomics and custom key settings. For programming, a columnar key layout is more predictable to find the key you need without the guess work from staggered keys. Having secondary layers under the main letter layer also helps with media controls, programming macros, number pad, etc. Plus, there are tons of layouts for ergonomic hand position. I went with an out of the box option and hand pain was reduced compared to a standard keyboard.

 

[Jovidah]

if a keyboard lasts 5x as long and costs 5x as much, then to me it's 100% worth it. also to be honest Im shocked to hear that you could play competitive CS for any length of time and not blow up your average rubber dome keyboard. the percentage of people playing above open sections who could afford mechanical keyboards using rubber dome keyboards was vanishingly small to my recollection.

also I mean this came up in the pan thread but there's more to an object than just its on paper performance. when you are competing especially you want to minimize anything that gets in your way. having a nice keyboard that you feel is well suited matters 100x more than whether the n-key rollover is slightly better or it registers key strokes 1ms faster or whatever.

yeah I mean a keyboard is not the first thing to spend money on; frankly for anyone playing an FPS honestly a good pair of headphones matters even more than the monitor, and both outrank a keyboard. but to say they dont make a difference when mechanical keyboards are ascendant in that world doesnt seem true to me empirically.

to me the keyboard is one of those soft improvements like being in better physical shape. it's difficult to quantify its impact but if you want to seriously compete you do all the QOL stuff anyway. eat well, sleep well, get some exercise, buy the right equipment.

Given that rubberdomes usually lasted at least several years for me, for the 'durability' argument to break even the mechanical keyboard would have to last at least 15 years. I highly doubt it'll take that long for me to fry it by spilling fluids on it... but we shall see.
I don't know why it's so weird to not bust your keyboard. It's not like FPS usage is all that hard on the keyboard. Admittedly I never used the bargain basement / prebuilt computer level of garbage keyboards (usually went with logitechs), and what might be a bigger factor was that when I played competitively was quite a while ago (my CS days were beta 3 - 1.6, when clanbase was still the center of the universe ). Back then everything seemed to last longer. Mice would last me a lot longer back then too. When I went to university and became a filthy casual I think I had a Logitech MX518 that lasted me something like 7 years before it died. These days - even though usage is roughly similar - the mice tend to have either a broken scroll wheel or a broken button switch within 2 years (within the warranty period even!). Even when I gamed several times as much per day during my youth my mice (MS Intellimouse Optical / Explorer) would last longer than they do now...

I get that you want to at least have the placebo of not holding you back, but IMO that just argument can be just as much used against mechanical keyboards for gaming : the amount of accidental presses has skyrocketed since I went to mechs and it never went back to the old level. While I prefer the way they type, I think if I was gaming competitively I'd seriously consider going back to K120s for this reason alone. I think part of the problem for me is that the mechs are taller. Who knows, maybe it becomes less of a problem for me with the low-profile switches but I haven't tried those yet.

The fact that mechanical keyboards are on the rise has I think more to do with the fact that there's simply a ton of money to be made, and they have the coolfactor. It's not like RGB adds anything competitively but that has seen a meteoric rise as well.
If you feel it helps.. sure do it; a placebo effect is still an effect. I just think it's really really overstated, at least for FPS games. The higher rate of accidental keypresses alone for me nullified any advantage gained from better switches.

 

[user 16756]

Given that rubberdomes usually lasted at least several years for me, for the 'durability' argument to break even the mechanical keyboard would have to last at least 15 years. I highly doubt it'll take that long for me to fry it by spilling fluids on it... but we shall see.
I don't know why it's so weird to not bust your keyboard. It's not like FPS usage is all that hard on the keyboard. Admittedly I never used the bargain basement / prebuilt computer level of garbage keyboards (usually went with logitechs), and what might be a bigger factor was that when I played competitively was quite a while ago (my CS days were beta 3 - 1.6, when clanbase was still the center of the universe ). Back then everything seemed to last longer. Mice would last me a lot longer back then too. When I went to university and became a filthy casual I think I had a Logitech MX518 that lasted me something like 7 years before it died. These days - even though usage is roughly similar - the mice tend to have either a broken scroll wheel or a broken button switch within 2 years (within the warranty period even!). Even when I gamed several times as much per day during my youth my mice (MS Intellimouse Optical / Explorer) would last longer than they do now...

I get that you want to at least have the placebo of not holding you back, but IMO that just argument can be just as much used against mechanical keyboards for gaming : the amount of accidental presses has skyrocketed since I went to mechs and it never went back to the old level. While I prefer the way they type, I think if I was gaming competitively I'd seriously consider going back to K120s for this reason alone. I think part of the problem for me is that the mechs are taller. Who knows, maybe it becomes less of a problem for me with the low-profile switches but I haven't tried those yet.

The fact that mechanical keyboards are on the rise has I think more to do with the fact that there's simply a ton of money to be made, and they have the coolfactor. It's not like RGB adds anything competitively but that has seen a meteoric rise as well.
If you feel it helps.. sure do it; a placebo effect is still an effect. I just think it's really really overstated, at least for FPS games. The higher rate of accidental keypresses alone for me nullified any advantage gained from better switches.

I dont think youre using placebo correctly. that stuff I mentioned is serious study in sports psychology and all pros in all monied competitive events are now focusing on this stuff. having a comfortable keyboard is placebo? that's like saying your seating position in your car is placebo. that's not a placebo, that's a matter of comfort.

you also are highlighting exactly the point though. "my accidental presses went up and never went back down" well ok you have the wrong keyboard. in mechanicals, compared to rubber domes, you can select the switch based on the exact weighting and behavior you want (clicky, non clicky, weight, noise, etc.) and those are consistent over time. furthermore, because the interface is consistent, you can get whatever caps you want, plus you can choose a board. this is all considerably more modular than rubber dome stuff. if you have heavy clicky switches you will not have accidental activations, I can assure you of that. in fact you might have the opposite issue.

as far as the RGB thing goes, I mean none of my boards have lights, despite being very expensive. it turns out that there's a world way beyond logitech/razer stuff and most of the high end stuff doesnt have RGB lights.

to me it seems like you have a limited experience with mechanicals in this context and that's fine but it is showing when you make general statements that are counter to the whole point of them. IMO.

 

[ModRQC]

Before there were knives, I was all in with mech keyboards and a lot of stuff. Tried a lot. I've held onto a Roccat Vulcan (or whatever was the name scheme) because it's sexy - or because I wasn't in so much with computer crowd anymore when I got tired of it and never bothered trying to sell it. It's a nice toy.

But my main (only) driver nowadays is Ducky One 2. Pretty cheaply priced for the combined quality of PBS caps and thick dampening ABS plastic body. I think I'd say my main quibble with most mechs is precisely the floating design mounted on a metal plate and using cheap ABS keycaps. It even tends to make the switches feel cheap, the feedback is hollowed and often times wobbly, and the extra noise generated is ridiculous. Vulcan is sexy because of this design, and their implementation of a in-house fully lightened raised cap switch is really good, if wobbly too...

But the Ducky is the only one I tried that was highly satisfying, highly dampened, and highly comfortable. Encased switches also means it's a rather flat and compact design. Double stand adjustment is nice. Detachable USB-C is nice. You wouldn't believe the weight, seeing it's 100% plastic keyboard, until picking it up. Not a toy. Best typing ever. Gaming I don't care much nowadays. It worked fine IIRC. Liked it better than the Vulcan in the end. The latter is really mostly just a showpiece.

 

[jaeysehn]

Pardon the necro, but this thread needs moar pics...

View attachment 139175

took this picture in 2019 and people called me a weirdo.

 

[Jovidah]

I dont think youre using placebo correctly. that stuff I mentioned is serious study in sports psychology and all pros in all monied competitive events are now focusing on this stuff. having a comfortable keyboard is placebo? that's like saying your seating position in your car is placebo. that's not a placebo, that's a matter of comfort.

you also are highlighting exactly the point though. "my accidental presses went up and never went back down" well ok you have the wrong keyboard. in mechanicals, compared to rubber domes, you can select the switch based on the exact weighting and behavior you want (clicky, non clicky, weight, noise, etc.) and those are consistent over time. furthermore, because the interface is consistent, you can get whatever caps you want, plus you can choose a board. this is all considerably more modular than rubber dome stuff. if you have heavy clicky switches you will not have accidental activations, I can assure you of that. in fact you might have the opposite issue.

as far as the RGB thing goes, I mean none of my boards have lights, despite being very expensive. it turns out that there's a world way beyond logitech/razer stuff and most of the high end stuff doesnt have RGB lights.

to me it seems like you have a limited experience with mechanicals in this context and that's fine but it is showing when you make general statements that are counter to the whole point of them. IMO.

The thing is that I can totally get behind all those other things you mentioned leading to improved performance. I struggle to get behind that when it comes to mechanical switches (for gaming). Comfort for gaming IMO has more to do with keyboard size and placement than what switches are used. And ironically one of the weak points of mechanicals here is that most of them tend to be taller (leading to people leading arm rests to solve this problem).

The example of RGB was to point out that the fact that something becomes ubiquitous doesn't necessarily mean it adds anything for your individual performance. On keyboards I actually don't mind it that much as long as you can turn it the hell down and turn it into something more static; then it actually has some value, but whether it has or hasn't got RGB doesn't really change anything about how the switches function.

When it comes to 'having limited experience'... sure I didn't try 3 dozen, but the parts I pointed out are a feature of the sheer majority of mechanical switches on the market; they're taller and most will have lower activation weights Especially the latter is usually explicitly mentioned as being an advantage in FPS games, and frankly it's a claim I really struggle to get behind.
The one exception on the height issue are the more recent low-profile switches, which makes those at least look interesting enough that I'll try them eventually, as that might solve the issue.

Most of your arguments pertain more to 'good keyboards' than to mechanical switches. But frankly as long as it's not complete garbage / physically uncomfortable / adding input lag, how much keyboard do you really need for the usual WASD spam? IMO requirements for typing / actual work are far higher.

 

[user 16756]

The thing is that I can totally get behind all those other things you mentioned leading to improved performance. I struggle to get behind that when it comes to mechanical switches (for gaming). Comfort for gaming IMO has more to do with keyboard size and placement than what switches are used. And ironically one of the weak points of mechanicals here is that most of them tend to be taller (leading to people leading arm rests to solve this problem).

The example of RGB was to point out that the fact that something becomes ubiquitous doesn't necessarily mean it adds anything for your individual performance. On keyboards I actually don't mind it that much as long as you can turn it the hell down and turn it into something more static; then it actually has some value, but whether it has or hasn't got RGB doesn't really change anything about how the switches function.

When it comes to 'having limited experience'... sure I didn't try 3 dozen, but the parts I pointed out are a feature of the sheer majority of mechanical switches on the market; they're taller and most will have lower activation weights Especially the latter is usually explicitly mentioned as being an advantage in FPS games, and frankly it's a claim I really struggle to get behind.
The one exception on the height issue are the more recent low-profile switches, which makes those at least look interesting enough that I'll try them eventually, as that might solve the issue.

Most of your arguments pertain more to 'good keyboards' than to mechanical switches. But frankly as long as it's not complete garbage / physically uncomfortable / adding input lag, how much keyboard do you really need for the usual WASD spam? IMO requirements for typing / actual work are far higher.

ok I think we've landed reasonably close about the limitations but I think we both agree wrt competing having the right keyboard for you matters more than having a specific keyboard.

as you shop do know there are a LOT of different activation weights including some really heavy ones like the 65g cherry clears, though actually I find the very dampened feel of 45g topres to be really nice and again better than purely "mechanical" switches and to certainly feel weighty for their activation force.

I do think we're probably going to always diverge on durability because you had your dome keyboards work out for you and I very much did not so I despise them with a passion, yes even more expensive logitech ones. to date my favorite board was my first hardwired RK-9000 it was an absolute tank, but I do like the Leopold FC660C I use now a lot.

 

[Jovidah]

Yeah I think like with all peripherals the most important thing is 'getting what works for you'. Especially with mice this comes into play as the shapes differ more, and what works for one person's hand doesn't necessarily work for others. My best negative example was trying the Razer Viper Ultimate a while ago, and while I really wanted to like that mouse (laser switches look very attractive when I had the switches die on me pretty much every other year with the Omron crap), it just didn't work for me. Simply too small for my mitts and I'd get massive cramp in my wrist within half an hour.

I think with rubberdomes there's... at least some quality difference. Ever since I moved out my parents tend to just buy whatever bargain basement crap is cheapest and those things really do suck ass - and probably would die fast too. Same problem with all the DELL and other crap I've used at universities and such; I always hated those with a passion. But the 'slightly better ones' (like Logitech K120, and whatever Logitech / Microsoft stuff we had in the old days) always worked fairly well for me. Like I said; they'd die of fluid spills before durability became a thing, but that would still be at least 2-3 years usually.

For me the height is really the biggest 'negative' on mechanicals, and if I'm going to invest more it's probably going to be one of the low-profile variants. Call me a weirdo but when playing I actually always preferred the keys and keyboard to be as low as possible... I'd even tuck in the legs. It's probably because that'd basically put your whole wrist on the desk.

The funny thing is I actually grew up on mechanical keyboard on my first PC, but that was when I was a young kid who only used the arrow keys to play simple games. I remember back then most normies considered the first rubberdomes an improvement simply because they were less noisy and noticably lighter.

 

[ModRQC]

Your typical rubberdome keyboard of quality is quite silent in activation but the keys are still mushy leading to overcompensation. If you can't recognize or don't appreciate the feedback of a mech over it, in my mind your probably mostly tried the "gamer" red or black switches which I hate. With the Ducky Brown each of my activation is noisier than on your rubberdome, but believe me the whole experience is much more quieter than what I can do on quality rubberdome. I don't exactly claim being faster in a 60 seconds typing test because I've used rubberdomes all my life and still do, but day long use I am. Mech switches demand muscle memory just like sharpening knives. At one point you barely activate and already move on to the next. You need to try Brown or Blue switches - noisier but they're my favorites, especially brown, since with mastering all you hear out of a quality keyboard is the click and some light bottoming out or none at all. You could buy either encased design or low profile switches. You can also buy dampeners for the type of switches without a bump since you're likely to bottom out a lot. Which you always do anyhow if you're typing any kind of fast on rubberdomes.

I repeat, worse enemy of most mechanical switches is a metal mounting plate, especially in floating design. I guess floating design on dampened mounting material I'd already appreciate more, but encased is best for keyboard profile and a quieter experience. Air grade - or military grade - aluminum they mostly claim, but to me these materials are inferior when comes the time to assemble a sober keyboard that can be used at night with people sleeping around. And the floating design is generally poorer to me except for maintenance.

Ah yes, and I also repeat that metal mounting plates kill half of the switch experience. Cheap keycaps do the rest of making most mechs quite ordinary.

 

[Jovidah]

Your typical rubberdome keyboard of quality is quite silent in activation but the keys are still mushy leading to overcompensation. If you can't recognize or don't appreciate the feedback of a mech over it, in my mind your probably mostly tried the "gamer" red or black switches which I hate. With the Ducky Brown each of my activation is noisier than on your rubberdome, but believe me the whole experience is much more quieter than what I can do on quality rubberdome. I don't exactly claim being faster in a 60 seconds typing test because I've used rubberdomes all my life and still do, but day long use I am. Mech switches demand muscle memory just like sharpening knives. At one point you barely activate and already move on to the next. You need to try Brown or Blue switches - noisier but they're my favorites, especially brown, since with mastering all you hear out of a quality keyboard is the click and some light bottoming out or none at all. You could buy either encased design or low profile switches. You can also buy dampeners for the type of switches without a bump since you're likely to bottom out a lot. Which you always do anyhow if you're typing any kind of fast on rubberdomes.

I repeat, worse enemy of most mechanical switches is a metal mounting plate, especially in floating design. I guess floating design on dampened mounting material I'd already appreciate more, but encased is best for keyboard profile and a quieter experience. Air grade - or military grade - aluminum they mostly claim, but to me these materials are inferior when comes the time to assemble a sober keyboard that can be used at night with people sleeping around. And the floating design is generally poorer to me except for maintenance.

Ah yes, and I also repeat that metal mounting plates kill half of the switch experience. Cheap keycaps do the rest of making most mechs quite ordinary.

Oh I notice the difference in feel alright, I just don't think it really makes a difference for gaming performance. Tried reds and browns so far, but I tend to just bottom out regardless when playing anything. I already said before that to me they make most sense for non-gaming applications; people who are actually doing work or typing. Words per minute was pretty much the same for me but yeah it does feel more pleasant.
The noise I personally couldn't care one iota about - I normally have closed headphones on - but I can see that being more of a problem in work environments where people are sharing the same room. But I think if that's really an issue there's plenty of silent switches or rubber rings and whatnot to silence them.

Personally I do like floating design exactly for the ease of cleaning. I agree it's probably noisier, but it never bothered me. I wouldn't be surprised if the most silent was actually cheap soft plastic instead of all these high-grade heavy metal backings.

 

[thebradleycrew]

Any recommendations for a nicer mechanical keyboard for my Macbook, that is quiet enough to type on during Zoom meetings without creating noise to distract other viewers???

 

[ModRQC]

Yeah, linear switches as the nec plus ultra for gamers is a stupid claim. Durability, maybe, but I'm with you that I'd be liable to kill mine with a spill - or simply change to a new one because I feel like it.

Logitech rubberdomes are good gaming machines.

Oh I notice the difference in feel alright, I just don't think it really makes a difference for gaming performance. Tried reds and browns so far, but I tend to just bottom out regardless when playing anything. I already said before that to me they make most sense for non-gaming applications; people who are actually doing work or typing. Words per minute was pretty much the same for me but yeah it does feel more pleasant.
The noise I personally couldn't care one iota about - I normally have closed headphones on - but I can see that being more of a problem in work environments where people are sharing the same room. But I think if that's really an issue there's plenty of silent switches or rubber rings and whatnot to silence them.

Personally I do like floating design exactly for the ease of cleaning. I agree it's probably noisier, but it never bothered me. I wouldn't be surprised if the most silent was actually cheap soft plastic instead of all these high-grade heavy metal backings.

 

[ModRQC]

Any recommendations for a nicer mechanical keyboard for my Macbook, that is quiet enough to type on during Zoom meetings without creating noise to distract other viewers???

Why don't you use its own keyboard?

 

[thebradleycrew]

Why don't you use its own keyboard?

Feels cheap, doesn't have good feedback, and is loud typing.

 

[user 16756]

Any recommendations for a nicer mechanical keyboard for my Macbook, that is quiet enough to type on during Zoom meetings without creating noise to distract other viewers???

Das professional for macs are fine. well built, available in whatever switches you want. a bit of a premium for the mac version but such is life.

theyre what I used when my assigned work computers were macbook pros.

 

[M1k3]

 

[user 16756]

View attachment 139339

that's what I have in my Das, good office switch IMO

 

[esoo]

Buckling springs in the office for the last 14 years because IDGAF.

 

[M1k3]

I've tried lots of different switches. They all have their pluses and minuses. I've found, for me, the cherry browns are best all around.

 

[Pisau]

Beyond the marketing it's all personal preference, really. I don't game, but I enjoy MX Speed Silvers for typing on the same keyboard as the above. I like reds on this keeb (hotswappable) and gateron browns switches on the Anne Pro 2 (not hotswappable). Each keyboard costs only like a synth stone or two and I can desolder if needed, so being hotswappable is no biggie. Size-wise I'm most used to 60% by now, but I'd stretch to 80%/TKL in order to keep the mouse nearby. I don't mind RGB to cheer things up a little, but PBT keycaps just feel much better. Again, it's all personal pref. However, I tend to type on many devices, life would me much harder for me without the triple mode connectivity (USB cable/Bluetooth/2.4Ghz dongle), maybe at least bluetooth so I can just Fn-Q/W/E to switch typing on the laptop/phone/tablet and the desktop. Speaking of which, I'm currently tossing between a ~3K S&G and a TKL + imitation holy pandas + PBT keycaps. Mechs are so cheap these days. If you don't dip too much into the subculture, it's set and forget really...