advertisement


Decent, but inexpensive USB PC keyboard?

Sue Pertwee-Tyr

Sue Pertwee-Tyr

Accuphase all the way down
Any recommendations? I have a bog-standard Microsoft membrane jobby, but the little feet that put it at a decent angle have broken and it's a pain to use. I'm thinking of spending a little more (ideally <£50) on something a bit more durable and permanent. It might be nice to get one with proper switches. I followed a recommendation on here for a gaming keyboard last year, but I really disliked the psychedelic light show on the keyboard so it went back in short order; so I would like something a bit more restrained. Backlit would be a nice to have rather than a must have, and should be low key and controllable if so.

If not specific recommendations, what brands should I Iook out for? I'm aware of Cherry, but don't know if any of the other brands I see (Trust, Logitech) rise much beyond budget offerings or, if they do, are worth the extra.
 
david ellwood said:
I use a Red Dragon Kumara on my garage machine and that was cheap and very good.
Click to expand...
That seems to have the psychedelic backlighting thing going on, though. And nothing on the website about what lighting modes there might be. I could see me using backlighting rather than just switching it off, but only if there was, say, a muted cyan option, or similar.

Also, I should have perhaps mentioned that I'd like a numeric pad, so a 104 key unit not an 87 key one, if possible.
 
Sue Pertwee-Tyr said:
Any recommendations? I have a bog-standard Microsoft membrane jobby, but the little feet that put it at a decent angle have broken and it's a pain to use. I'm thinking of spending a little more (ideally <£50) on something a bit more durable and permanent. It might be nice to get one with proper switches. I followed a recommendation on here for a gaming keyboard last year, but I really disliked the psychedelic light show on the keyboard so it went back in short order; so I would like something a bit more restrained. Backlit would be a nice to have rather than a must have, and should be low key and controllable if so.

If not specific recommendations, what brands should I Iook out for? I'm aware of Cherry, but don't know if any of the other brands I see (Trust, Logitech) rise much beyond budget offerings or, if they do, are worth the extra.
Click to expand...

Hi Sue. Very sorry to hear you didn't like the Logitech keyboard, I feel rather bad for recommending it now. I hope I mentioned this at the time, but it doesn't need to have the psychedelic lightshow - the software that comes with it allows you full control, including turning the lighting off altogether. Mine is set via the software to a barely-illuminated bluey-white, which doesn't change from switch on to switch off unless I want it to. You can also control colours, style and brightness from the function keys, although it is a bit more fiddly than on screen.

Anyway, Microsoft and Logitech are good for peripherals still but there are plenty of other decent makes - a brief search shows thousands of them on amazon and you'll easily find one you like the look of that has good reviews for well under the proposed budget. For something relatively inexpensive like this, it could even be worth a trip to Currys or any other technology store to see if you can try it out in the shop first.

Good luck this time! :)
 
Graham, please don't feel bad for recommending it. Until I saw the light show I had no idea I'd find it so distracting. Actually, it went back because it came without a wrist rest despite being stated as supplied with one, so that was the pretext for returning it. I tried to set a modest cyan-white, which should have been an option, but it didn't stick, so maybe it was faulty. Either way, it's rather put me off a 'gaming' keyboard unless I can see stated clearly in the ad what sort of selectable backlighting options are available.
 
That's disappointing to hear, but if it was missing a part and also didn't work (easily) as it should then you did the right thing to send it back. Mine most definitely included the wrist rest and remains reliable and pristine despite daily hammering, I wonder if it was a previous return or something?
My son has a Gamemax Strike keyboard, which has a limited number of colour options (including solid colours) and you control everything including brightness from the function keys. It has a variant of the cherry red type keys and a metal chassis and was an absolute steal for under £40. It is still a gaming keyboard though, and is a lot noisier than the Logitech GX brown keys on the G513.

Have you got a Currys or other computer shop anywhere near you? Talking to someone who sells them and trying it out in person so you know you get one that suits you could avoid a repeat return.
 
I use Logitech Wave K350 Wireless (K550 includes a mouse) or Amazon Basics Mechanical Corded (it does have the lightshow crap but I either turn it off or use the normal white backlit option). Would have expected all the fancy mech lit key ones to have an Off/Normal Backlight option but maybe not.
 
Shame about not liking lighting, you could have real fun with the stuff from Razer - keyboard, mouse, mouse dock & mouse pad all lighting up in sync!
 
I’d try and stretch the budget a bit and wait until @matthewr turns up and recommends some ultra-cool small-footprint hacker’s keyboard with Cherry MX or whatever keyswitches. There is a good very good keyboard thread in the archive here.

PS I could make a recommendation, but it would still be for an original IBM Model M and a USB to SDL converter cable, but that is just crazy over-budget!
 
I am the wrong person to ask about keyboards as I would insist on mechanical switches, thick PBT, dye-sub keycaps, aluminum frame, etc. all of which is going to take it beyond your budget. For me they are working tools and I would no more skimp on a keyboard than I would on a good chair or high end monitor. And really all I am going to do sooner or later is start telling you about how Varmilo VA88M is the perfect keyboard and it will just be cheaper in the long run to just buy one in the first place.

Some people like the Keychron which are about £90. Although I have never used one and if I was spending that much I'd get the Varmilo for £130.

Some mid-tier brands worth looking at are Corsair and Cooler Master. They will look all RGB bling because the gaming market is where these things sell but remember you can a) turn it off and b) literally choose any colour you want including white. You can often find Cooler Master discounted as their range changes so frequently e.g. here. Again these are not a recommendation as I have never used them.

Other things to bear in mind:

-- What switch do you want? If in doubt get Browns (no click, but has a tactile hump which is better for typing). Avoid Blues (loud clicks) and super fast action things like Reds which are aimed at competitive gamers unless you can try them first.

-- Watch out for layout and the difference between ISO and ANSI as once you are outside the "I just need a keyboard" market it's suprisingly easy to buy the wrong one. UK ISO is what you probably want.

-- Google some reviews. There are lots of brands most of which I have never heard of so find reviews from a reputable site.

-- They are super mainstream now so going to something like PC World and trying them out in person is not a bad idea, although again they are all going to be gmaing focused as that is where the market is.
 
This site contains affiliate links for which pink fish media may be compensated.
Thanks Matthew, that's all useful stuff. I take the point about cost, and the thing about Brown switches is a good tip. I was slightly wary of moving to a mechanical switched keyboard because of the clicky sound. I'll take my time over the choices - I've found spare feet for my Microsoft 600 on eBay for buttons, so that'll keep me going until I find what I like.
 
The other thing I’d add to Matthew’s post is to think long and hard about the layout/form-factor.

I’d really not want to lose the numeric keypad. I know it makes for a much nicer, neater, smaller and fundamentally cooler looking thing on the desk, but I use it whenever I’m doing accounts, using the calculator etc. It irritates me not having one. There are loads of keys on a standard Model M style keyboard I could do without entirely or happily use another key combination for (e.g. all the function keys, insert, scroll lock, and the rest of that sort of stuff), but not the numeric keypad! To be honest it is one reason I hardly ever use the MacBook Pro away from the Model M as its built in keyboard lacks one (and is typical laptop jank).

Other than that I agree entirely and would always pay proper money for a genuinely nice keyboard that feels good to use and will last pretty much forever. The difference between a good buckling spring/proper keyswitch keyboard and the typical spongy rubber membrane or chiclet crap is huge and well worth paying for.

PS Loud clicks, obvs.
 
garyi said:
Um the light show of any rgb keyboard can be set to one colour or turned off. Lol
Click to expand...
You can lol all you like. The one I bought wouldn’t. It may have been faulty, but it put me off. The keyboard ads usually tell you there are loads of options for the backlighting, but never tell you what they are. My experience made me wary, that’s all, but crack on.
 
Surely the whole point of a good keyboard is to enable competent typing? Why on earth would you want the thing to light up? Just learn where the keys are! I’m technically pretty awful (and getting worse the more time I spend on the iPad), I don’t use anything like as many fingers as a trained typist would, nor do I have anything like that speed, but I do know where everything is and I can kind of type as fast as I can think what I want to type, which is all I need.

If I ever wanted another keyboard (unlikely, I’m a Model M junkie and I even have a spare one!) I’d be very tempted by one of the ones Matthew linked to, but with totally plain keycaps, maybe just the letter area a different colour or shade to the rest, but nothing written on any of them. That would improve ones typing pretty fast.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top