Mechanical Keyboards - Filco, Das Keyboard, Model M - get in here!

Greetings, fellow keyboard enthusiasts! I was wondering if anybody had used a Filco mech. keyboard here on QT3: http://elitekeyboards.com/products.php?sub=filco_keyboards,majestouch_104key

I’ve been using an IBM Model M for the past four or five years and while I LOVE it I’m really starting to resent the amount of real estate on my desk it’s taking up. I’m hesitant in spending $120 on a new keyboard without actually trying it out, so I’m wondering if there’s somebody out there who’s used both a Model M and a keyboard with Cherry switches who could give me the low-down. I’m looking at the Filco tenkeyless w/blue switches, Otaku style.

What is “N key rollover?”

Means that you can press more than n number of keys & the computer will register them. Mostly matters for gamers who are holding CTRL-Q to talk, W to run forward while D strafing to the right, and trying to switch weapons with <.

I have 104-key NKRO Filcos with both blue and brown switches. The browns have a very subtle tactile bump and are quite light overall. The blues take more force to actuate and feel more like buckling springs, but they have a higher-pitched, plasticky click that may annoy some people. For both models, the NKRO does function as advertised (many “NKRO” keyboards actually turn out not to be). Alternatively, you could consider a Unicomp SpaceSaver if you wanted to stick with buckling springs.

If you haven’t already visited geekhack.org, I recommend taking a look at the discussions there.

Disclaimer: I haven’t touched a Model M for many, many years.

You all have sent me down a rabbit hole!

From where I sit, here at my desk at home, I can see 7 keyboards, not counting those on laptops. I have been poking, pretty much blindly, at the world of fancy keyboards for years, always looking for that one perfect fit. My situation is complicated by using a Macintosh as my primary computing platform. One doesn’t just stumble onto nice Mac-friendly keyboards. Apple’s monstrous mockeries distort the playing field.

My best hits were a Matias Tactile Pro, which served me great for a couple years before being vetoed by an ex over the noise it made. I should have known better than to throw aside a fine keyboard for a woman! My quest for a nice but quiet keyboard led me to the Moshi Celesta, which is like a full size version of a high-end laptop keyboard. Fine, but my fingers crave that mid-stroke crumpling sensation.

This thread had good advice for getting started on the search. Mainly in the straightforward way it lists the questions you should ask yourself. Vastly helpful to reduce a complex and specialized product space to a handful of differentiating factors. Tactile resistance or smooth travel? Noisy or quiet? Lots of keys at once or inexpensive? This list of keyboards by switch type was also excellent.

As always when I touch on one of these new subjects, I am surprised how deep it runs. I love the Youtube samples of people testing how noisy the keyboards are. Now, I am off to find myself a cherry brown N-key rollover.

I tried to find a reasonably-priced Space Saver Model M, but ended up going with the Okaku Filco Tenkeyless w/blue switches. The blue switches use a bit less force than my model M, which is a good thing: I love this keyboard but sometimes it can be a bit of a drag to use. Can’t wait until it gets here!

Oohhh, I own all Model M keyboards – I do love the clickiness – and these look niiiiiiiiiiiiiice.

I know there’s a certain company that is floating ideas for a keyboard wired in such a way that the 4-key limit on the wiring won’t ghost. Just saying the problem is on the radar.

This crappy 20 dollar Dynex keyboard I have is pretty awesome. The keys are very nicely clicky. DYNEX DX-mkb101

Man, and I thought I spent a lot when I bought my diNovo Edge for $89. $134 for a fucking wired keyboard that goes clackity-clack? You people are insane.

Insane… like a Fox!

The original Matias Tactile Pro was an epic fail for me due to some shadow key problems. As a very fast touch typist and frequent C++ coder, having ‘#include’ come out as ‘#inclqude’ because I was typing too fast was annoying, to put it mildly. Other than that it felt pretty good.

I’m still using mostly original model m’s. I do use a Unicomp Customizers USB on a KVM between Windows and Mac, which works just fine in OS X if you swap the modifier key mappings in the control panel. It’s a decent keyboard.

Do any of those versions ome in a slient non clackity form? Personally I hate hearing keypresses while gaming as it takes away from the immersion factor. I couldn’t imagine my xbox360 controller going TAP! CLACK! CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!

The Cherry Brown switches are quieter than the Cherry Blues. You can find a number of Youtube vidoes demonstrating the audio. Here’s an example.

As baren said, browns. For me, I use headphones so the noise of the keystrokes is inaudible. I love the tactile feedback, however.

Cherry blacks and Topre switches are quieter than Cherry browns, I believe.

Yes, but Topre switches are getting up into the stratosphere of super-ridiculous prices for keyboards. (Who am I kidding… if I could justify a Topre keyboard I’d buy it!)

I love how the Internet allows us all to come together over a topic like fine keyboards. But I’m having real trouble breaking out my wallet to purchase one of these without going hands-on. What I need is a local shop that has some of them on the floor to try out.

So I need to access my file server/media center pc directly, because logmein is getting a little old. I went looking for a keyboard with a built-in touchpad and came across this, which looks even better. But I’m a little nervous about the lack of a name brand that makes these. Anyone have an opinion about this and/or have a better suggestion?

If you use a keyboard for 40 or 50 hours a week, I fail to understand why spending a couple hundred dollars on one is ridiculous.