trying to decide if mechanical keyboards are right for me
Hi all,
First of all I know there is a thread about good mechanical keyboards, however I don't want to derail it. I'm actually questioning whether I like mechanical keyboards after using one for almost three years. I'd be interested in thoughts and suggestions from mechanical keyboard lovers and haters alike!
Basically I grew up with membrane/rubber dome keyboards. I was never particular about how those keyboards felt until one of them wore out and I considered getting a replacement. 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 ability to mash keys in games. Part of me wonders if CP is one of those games lol.
Now, I am unfortunately the type of person to get curious and want to try everything. Because of his enthusiasm, 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 the keyboards on display at Best Buy, 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 experience when typing. I ended up getting the keyboard my gaming friend got: the Razor Blakc Widow. Everyone I asked about it said that it was a good keyboard, with one person saying that they don't like Razor because they're pricy, so they hadn't tried the keyboard. I'm not sure what the names for the switches on mine are. I do know that they are audible (you can hear clicks when pressing keys).
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, which I am not used to. I just type harder so I can hit bottom.
For the first few hours, my accuracy was terrible. I at first thought something was wrong, but my typing improved. I still tended to hold shift too long though. Even at a comfortable typing pace I'd often type double capital letters. 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 when I hit shift, but even though I've had 2 and a half years to get used to it, I still feel like there's something unnatural about it. I think this is because the keys need to be fairly close to the top of their long travel before they're considered released, and my pinkies haven't really adjusted lol
As I was typing this post I decided to get my laptop out to refresh my memory on its keyboard feel. 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 three 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 when they're done traveling so I can type lightly but confidently. Also I like how the laptop keys are closer together, which makes typing easier for me. Maybe most of the keyboards I typed on before were like that. My mechanical has slightly larger gaps between the keys so I have to reach just a bit more on certain letters to hit them right.
People often tell me they like the sound of my mechanical, and I kind of like it too, I like hearing nice clicky switches. But that gets in the way when recording. I have wanted to record game reviews/walkthroughs, and apart from my laziness, another reason I haven't done them is that I am annoyed at the noise the keyboard makes. You instantly know this guy has a loud clicky keyboard, and I don't want that thought surfacing when I am in a fast-action fighting scene in an atmospheric game. When I was using my cheap membrane keyboards, I could hardly ever hear my key presses in my recordings. Of course, this could be alleviated by getting a keyboard with quiet switches, assuming I'm sticking to the mechanical route. I feel kinda stupid now for not thinking about that when I bought this one. I guess I just assumed I could deal with it.
The only 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. 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 any type of key mashing task would be easier with the different sort of key travel it has. I can't say for sure how much my gaming has improved, but in very specific challenges, I know for a fact the mechanical has made me faster. Last week I played Troopanum 2, and on the "land your ship" bonus level where you have to mash up arrow as fast as possible for an extended time, it shocked me how much endurance I had, and how high my score was. I know I've never gotten that high a score before, or felt that comfortable.
Also the mechanical has me spoiled on two more fronts: Durability and the solid feel of the keys. Apart from my laptop, all the membrane keyboards I've typed on don't feel as stable for some reason, and membrane keyboards do wear out faster. I now know this from some experience.
So can anyone relate to this at all, or am I just crazy? I kinda want to get a new keyboard that's good for typing especially, but doesn't suck for gaming. I'd be willing to pay a high price for durability and quality if needed. What i'm mainly looking for is less key travel and quiet sound. I've heard about a few Bluetooth keyboards that I want to try, but I really want to stick to wired because lag gets on my nerves, as well as pairing Bluetooth devices and looking after batteries. I'm not opposed to getting Bluetooth for my phone but it's not at all something I need right now. I'd rather find something I like for my desktop. I don't know membrane or mechanical is right for me. I'm tempted to just go back to membrane, but I do like certain aspects of the feel of the mechanical. I haven't really looked at a lot of options, and 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!
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