How many keys do you want on your keyboard?

[Hrothgar]

I've been looking through best of articles on mechanical keyboards. I guess with the expense of each switch, it make sense that you might want to keep costs down with less keys. I was surprised at how many layouts there are now.

This is more my speed:


It has all the keys and some bonus macro keys.

I could handle this as well:



Here I start getting less comfortable:



Well, if I can go with a smaller zero on the numeric keypad, do I really need a separate numeric keypad and home/insert block?



Would I rather have the block or the numeric keypad?



If we're combining keys, at least I still have my arrow keys.



I have to nope out right here:



What's your poison?

[Daehawk]

2nd one is fine by me. I never use the macro keys I have ever. But I MUST have a normal sized keyboard with numpad. I could use the old longer spacebar though. I hate windows keys..I either remove them or turn them off. They take up my spacebar space...get rid of them. Who actually uses those anyways?

EDIT: And your thread title reminds me of the old pizza commercial..."What do you want on your tombstone?"

[Blackhawk]

Would I rather have the block or the numeric keypad?



What's your poison?

That's me (but not a Razer!). I've been using a TKL (tenkeyless) for a year or two now.

I play a lot of shooters, and for the best accuracy I need to have low mouse sensitivity. That means that I need a lot of room to move my mouse. I havea mouse pad that is 1 1/2 x 3 feet so that I don't run out of surface, but with a numpad, I just don't have the space and kept smacking the side of the keyboard with the mouse. Hence the TKL.

I would prefer the numpad, but the only time I really miss it is when I'm doing bills, usually a ten or fifteen minutes twice a month.

[Kasey Chang]

I use a 96-100 key myself, and I pay very little for mine: $32

MageGee 100 Key red switch keyboard. It has a numpad, AND it's barely wider than the TKL.


I had a different 96-key that'll also do Bluetooth, but one of the keys failed, and I'm too lazy to swap a switch to make it work again and test it and all that. I probably should.

(But I also have a couple other keyboards as backup...)

[hitbyambulance]

i go tenkey-less for better ergonomics (the tenkey pad makes my right mousing arm go too far to the side)

[Smoove_B]

Number of keys don't matter. But anything other than an ergonomic keyboard (the kind that's split down the center) and my carpal tunnel goes bonkers.

[Kasey Chang]

Number of keys don't matter. But anything other than an ergonomic keyboard (the kind that's split down the center) and my carpal tunnel goes bonkers.

May I suggest... the Mistel Barocco keyboard, a split 75% design.

Koolertron has basically two half-keyboards that can be linked as a single keyboard.

If you need even more of a budget option, there's always Kinesis Freestyle but they're more of a rubberdome keyboard.

If you want to really go budget there's always the venerable Microsoft Ergo or Sculpt.

[Smoove_B]

I've been using this one since 2010. If it ever breaks, I'm in trouble; I paid $18 for it.

[Kasey Chang]

I've been using this one since 2010. If it ever breaks, I'm in trouble; I paid $18 for it.

Classic. I had a something like that. I think the biggest problem was I wore the legends off those keycaps (remember, weird finger chemistry)

[Isgrimnur]

I use a Keychron C2 (Gateron Brown) for work.

They have the Q8, Q10, and Q11 for ergo needs.

[Rumpy]

I'm a big fan of how the Corsair keyboards feel. I don't really care for Logitech keyboards anymore. Paid a lot for one, the G105 I think it was, but the key feel of that one felt really cheap and never felt quite right out of the box, in fact I remember some of the keys sticking and was fairly unimpressed given how expensive it was. Keys? Oh yeah, I like 104 keys with media keys. I don't think I could cope with smaller than that.

[Kraken]

I want all of the keys except the weird ones.

[stessier]

This is mine. I don't really care about the function keys, but use all the others.

[The Meal]

I’m a dinosaur. I do enough mathematical entry that I can’t live without the numpad. When I work with younger folks in technical fields (especially coders) they tend to have a strong preference for no numpad.

I’m glad we have our options.

[dbt1949]

Having a laptop means never having enough room for a separate key board. Especially while sitting in an easy chair. I use a hospital table to put my laptop on. And use a trackball.

[Daehawk]

I dont think I ever want another mechanical keyboard. I did until i got this one. The keys wont stay on the switches. Theres like 5 that just bounce off during use. A couple are broken and wont stay on at all. The switches are fine its the cheap ass keys.

Also for some reason I started to typo BAD on this one soon as I got it. I've had a few typos but not all the time like on this keyboard.

[Blackhawk]

I dont think I ever want another mechanical keyboard. I did until i got this one. The keys wont stay on the switches. Theres like 5 that just bounce off during use. A couple are broken and wont stay on at all. The switches are fine its the cheap ass keys.

Also for some reason I started to typo BAD on this one soon as I got it. I've had a few typos but not all the time like on this keyboard.

What you are describing has nothing to do with a keyboard being mechanical.

[Daehawk]

I dont think I ever want another mechanical keyboard. I did until i got this one. The keys wont stay on the switches. Theres like 5 that just bounce off during use. A couple are broken and wont stay on at all. The switches are fine its the cheap ass keys.

Also for some reason I started to typo BAD on this one soon as I got it. I've had a few typos but not all the time like on this keyboard.

What you are describing has nothing to do with a keyboard being mechanical.

The way the keys fit onto the switches sure does. Think Ill return to membrane or something.

[Blackhawk]

I dont think I ever want another mechanical keyboard. I did until i got this one. The keys wont stay on the switches. Theres like 5 that just bounce off during use. A couple are broken and wont stay on at all. The switches are fine its the cheap ass keys.

Also for some reason I started to typo BAD on this one soon as I got it. I've had a few typos but not all the time like on this keyboard.

What you are describing has nothing to do with a keyboard being mechanical.

The way the keys fit onto the switches sure does. Think Ill return to membrane or something.

Nonsense. I have owned half a dozen mechanical keyboards. There is nothing about "mechanical" that causes keys to fall off. In fact, I've never had a single key fall off, ever.

What you are saying is like getting a bad burger and saying that it means that all burgers are bad. You either got a defective keyboard, a counterfeit, or something else caused it (is this the keyboard you smacked until the keys flew off? Or am I misremembering?)

/edit - and is this the Razer you got clear back in 2016? Razer makes junk to begin with.

[LawBeefaroni]

Need numpad. Other than that, I can adapt.

[Daehawk]

I dont think I ever want another mechanical keyboard. I did until i got this one. The keys wont stay on the switches. Theres like 5 that just bounce off during use. A couple are broken and wont stay on at all. The switches are fine its the cheap ass keys.

Also for some reason I started to typo BAD on this one soon as I got it. I've had a few typos but not all the time like on this keyboard.

What you are describing has nothing to do with a keyboard being mechanical.

The way the keys fit onto the switches sure does. Think Ill return to membrane or something.

Nonsense. I have owned half a dozen mechanical keyboards. There is nothing about "mechanical" that causes keys to fall off. In fact, I've never had a single key fall off, ever.

What you are saying is like getting a bad burger and saying that it means that all burgers are bad. You either got a defective keyboard, a counterfeit, or something else caused it (is this the keyboard you smacked until the keys flew off? Or am I misremembering?)

/edit - and is this the Razer you got clear back in 2016? Razer makes junk to begin with.

You're totally wrong on this Blackhawk in my opinion and my experience.. Not once in 29 has a key came off a keyboard until this mechanical switch one. Mech switches on this one have a little + shaped stalk that sticks up and the keys have a hollow + shape to hug the switches. They suck. I agree Razer sucks....but Ive seen other mechanical switch keyboards and they mostly share the + shape on the switch and keys.

Maybe its just me and these shitty Razer keys.....some have even lost the top coating to them so they are a big glowing nothing blob now. But again never once has a key come off any other keyboard in 29 years. And NONE of those had mechanical switches.

I dont ever want another one. Ill go back to older tech if possible.

[Anonymous Bosch]

I dont think I ever want another mechanical keyboard. I did until i got this one. The keys wont stay on the switches. Theres like 5 that just bounce off during use. A couple are broken and wont stay on at all. The switches are fine its the cheap ass keys.

Also for some reason I started to typo BAD on this one soon as I got it. I've had a few typos but not all the time like on this keyboard.

What you are describing has nothing to do with a keyboard being mechanical.

The way the keys fit onto the switches sure does. Think Ill return to membrane or something.

Nonsense. I have owned half a dozen mechanical keyboards. There is nothing about "mechanical" that causes keys to fall off. In fact, I've never had a single key fall off, ever.

What you are saying is like getting a bad burger and saying that it means that all burgers are bad. You either got a defective keyboard, a counterfeit, or something else caused it (is this the keyboard you smacked until the keys flew off? Or am I misremembering?)

/edit - and is this the Razer you got clear back in 2016? Razer makes junk to begin with.

You're totally wrong on this Blackhawk in my opinion and my experience.. Not once in 29 has a key came off a keyboard until this mechanical switch one. Mech switches on this one have a little + shaped stalk that sticks up and the keys have a hollow + shape to hug the switches. They suck. I agree Razer sucks....but Ive seen other mechanical switch keyboards and they mostly share the + shape on the switch and keys.

Maybe its just me and these shitty Razer keys.....some have even lost the top coating to them so they are a big glowing nothing blob now. But again never once has a key come off any other keyboard in 29 years. And NONE of those had mechanical switches.

I dont ever want another one. Ill go back to older tech if possible.

Or perhaps it's a PEBKAC error, that has more to do with the shoddy way you treat your keyboards than mechanical keyboard switches…

Well just gotmad and slammed my kb down and some keys flew off.....which pissedme off so e more and I beat the living shit out ofmykeyboard until it doesnt havea key remaining. Was goi g to clean itupbutky photos of the key placement are on my mechanical drives that i did t put in this old case....so no idea how to repair it if it still worx...pisting off a tablet.

think ill just stsp away for a while..nothi g else works so why shouldthe pc.....so if I dont post thats why...im on a tablet which i also hate to postthis.

[Blackhawk]

Daehawk, you had one mechanical keyboard and you had one really bad keyboard.

That is called coincidence.

The cross shaped peg is not the problem. That peg is standard on keyboards. If they caused keys to randomly fly off, they would not be standard.

Mechanical switches are extremely popular. If they caused keys to randomly fly off, they would not be popular.

That is not my opinion. That is a simple fact.

The problem is some combination of crappy keyboard, old keyboard, and/or damaged keyboard.

What you are basing your position on is a single coincidence. It is comparable to someone putting their shirt on backwards before a walk, finding a hundred dollar bill, and concluding that backwards shirts lead to wealth.

I'm sorry that one keyboard has been problematic for you, but all it means is that one keyboard was problematic, not that every product even remotely similar has the same problem. If I had an extra, I'd send you a Corsair mechanical keyboard, or a SteelSeries. You'd quickly realize that you just had a single bad product.

[Victoria Raverna]

I don't care how many keys that my keyboard has but there is one thing that I'm going to require in all my future keyboard, a volume wheel like those on Steelseries Apex keyboard series.

I also had bad experience with my one and only mechanical keyboard. After that one, I switched back to membrane keyboard, Steelseries Apex 3.

Some keys on the mechanical keyboard randomly stopped working. If I keep pressing the button repeatedly, it'll back working again but then later it'll stop. I almost got my online banking account blocked because I typed wrong authentication code repeatedly because of the faulty keys.

Soon after that my wife accidentally spilled soup on the keyboard and more keys stopped working. After it totally dried, most of the keys were okay again but I decided to just change to a new cheaper keyboard Apex 3 which is also supposed to be water resistant.

[Kasey Chang]

I don't care how many keys that my keyboard has but there is one thing that I'm going to require in all my future keyboard, a volume wheel like those on Steelseries Apex keyboard series.

Can I interest you in a separate knob with buttons that works with ANY keyboard? Right now it's only $20 on Amazon ($30 with a $10 off coupon)

[Victoria Raverna]

I don't care how many keys that my keyboard has but there is one thing that I'm going to require in all my future keyboard, a volume wheel like those on Steelseries Apex keyboard series.

Can I interest you in a separate knob with buttons that works with ANY keyboard? Right now it's only $20 on Amazon ($30 with a $10 off coupon)

That is interesting but I try to have less things on my desk instead of more. I used to have a big desk for my computer stuffs but I had to trade to a smaller one because of wife and kid.

[hitbyambulance]

I also had bad experience with my one and only mechanical keyboard.

what was the brand, if it had one? i have a mechanical keyboard from some Chinese company that cost all of $22 and i'm certainly not expecting top-notch engineering from it (but it also hasn't had any keys fly off it, either. i did have something heavy fall on it and it severely cracked the up-arrow keycap, but it's staying on just fine)

for expensive ones - i have a Mattias quiet key mini and their proprietary ALPS-like switches on their boards have a known issue where one can go bad relatively quickly and quickly repeat keystrokes once or twice when struck. i replaced the faulty switch with a replacement one from Mattias (and had a coworker solder it on for me) and no problems since. (this is the $129 MSRP keyboard i found at a Goodwill for $4 with a broken USB connector port, which i also had help fixing.)

[Daehawk]

Its not going to hurt anyone for me to never use another mechKey kb. Im actually looking forward to going back to the older styles...when I can. Want to put this one away forever.

BTW RV...That Apex 3 is only $39 at Best Buy. Ive pretty much settled on that one to get when I can get one. Its cheap, membrane, and glowy And has the numpad too.

Also like the look of the HyperX Alloy Core RGB. Its nice to have options.

EDIT: Gamestop has the Apex for $34. Tempting. Will see what iI have left after bills. Was wanting to buy a game Ive been wanting forever if its on sale for like $15. Shall see.

Also per another thread from last year im also looking at EVGA for me.

[Blackhawk]

Its not going to hurt anyone for me to never use another mechKey kb.

Of course not. They're not for everyone. I just don't like misinformation.

[Victoria Raverna]

I also had bad experience with my one and only mechanical keyboard.

what was the brand, if it had one? i have a mechanical keyboard from some Chinese company that cost all of $22 and i'm certainly not expecting top-notch engineering from it (but it also hasn't had any keys fly off it, either. i did have something heavy fall on it and it severely cracked the up-arrow keycap, but it's staying on just fine)

for expensive ones - i have a Mattias quiet key mini and their proprietary ALPS-like switches on their boards have a known issue where one can go bad relatively quickly and quickly repeat keystrokes once or twice when struck. i replaced the faulty switch with a replacement one from Mattias (and had a coworker solder it on for me) and no problems since. (this is the $129 MSRP keyboard i found at a Goodwill for $4 with a broken USB connector port, which i also had help fixing.)

HyperX.

[gbasden]

Its not going to hurt anyone for me to never use another mechKey kb.

Of course not. They're not for everyone. I just don't like misinformation.

Exactly. I think I'm on my 5th or 6th mechanical keyboard and I've never had any issues with keys coming off. Feel free to buy whatever kind of keyboard you want, but mechanical keyboards are superior to membrane keyboards in every conceivable way except price.

[Kasey Chang]

I am giving up on my Sk96 which I bought off Kickstarter way back when. I dropped water on it and it lost several keys. I tried swapping switches from less used keys but I am finding even more dead keys. I thought it was just B, but I just found that it's also S. And since my PC is in the shop I don't have a full tester. Besides, I already have the replacement working. So that's a bonus, and I already have a backup as well.

I tried replacing with some new switches I bought (10 for 3} and found it's not compatible... Unless I filed down the pins. So I did that and it still doesn't work. So that's it for that keyboard.

I can't believe how many Bluetooth keyboards I actually have, LOL. I have 2 folding ones, 1 mini, 1 small non-folding, and one 71-key mechanical. Those are in addition to the cheap $33 mechanical 96 key I'm using now. I think I have two other "kinda dead" keyboards, plus another two in storage (not mechanical).