Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboard 2000 all the way.

too fancy! dont need curve and extra buttons. but thx anyway.

Try it, seriously. It's extremely comfortable, the keys are low profile but sturdy and it costs about 20 euros.

I have used quite a few keyboards in the last three years (I'm on a Logitech Wave now) and the Comfort Curve is the best of them without a doubt.

Listen to him. I have it and it kicks ass.
Was only $20, too. :D

the one keyboard cat uses

http://manchesterpgcareers.files.wordpress.co...yboard.jpg

this?

Meowth thats right.

need a new keyboard myself aswell, had a keytronic one but some buttons randomly died, great thing about it was it never locked up, besides it costing 5 quid. anyone know of a cheap one that doesnt lock up? :>

http://pan.fotovista.com/dev/1/5/00041951/l_00041951.jpg

hiper alluminium keyboard - no key lock up problems, minimalistic, durable, keys are a bit taller than a laptops and they respond nicely - not sure what else to say, i love 'em though. skint has one too i think!

http://www.hipergroup.com/products.php?lv=4&a...on=Feature

hiper keyboards are NAICE

it has to be made of solid material so it can bear some punching

http://www.cclonline.com/product-info.asp?pro...60300-r3w1

All top SC players use the Samsung DT-35. Could be hard to get, depending on your location.

DAS keyboard
IBM model M
and for fucks sake don't get a ms comfort curve 2000 :S
(i have one and it doesn't register more than 4 inputs at the same time)

Also filco has some good ones:

http://elitekeyboards.com/products.php?sub=fi...kbn104mleb

sounds good on paper but does it *feel* as good as a DASkeyboard or a model M?
with that double-clicky sound and a distinct pressure-point when you hit it?
if i had the money i'd get a DAS keyboard ultimate (without any letters/numbers etc printed on the keys)
it'd probably cost me around 130€ (with shipping, customs, taxes etc) and that's just too expensive for a keyboard imho

EDIT also with a model M noone will ever try to argue with you on lan because you could beat him to death with it :D

Well, I have been using the avant stellar for the last 10 years, and yes you could certainly beat someone to death with them.

I really have no idea how other keyboards feel, but the filco one looked good on the site. There are other Model M remakes than the avant ones as well.

Das uses Cherry MX blue switches. The silent version uses brown switches. Filco boards from elitekeyboards come in either blue (tactile clicky), brown (tactile), or black (linear stiff). Also Filcos are available with NKRO, and the tenkeyless ones have NKRO.

MUCH better than the Das for sure. Also right now they have tenkeyless boards with blank keycaps with blue or brown switches. You can also buy a set of blank key caps for the 104-key models.

i have an ibm model m from 1987 and it's clean and working like it just came out of the factory. one can also type faster on mechanical keyboards as the keys rebound faster than rubber domes. it takes a bit to get used to it as the keys are stiff and then there's this machinegun-like clacking, but that's music to my ears ;)
people on lans might differ though. use ps/2 to connect your keyboard rather than usb (with an at to ps/2 adapter for the model m)

i also recommend the cherry g80 line (with whatever cherry mx switches suit you, blacks are considered best for gaming) and the steelseries 7g, it has also mx blacks and although expensive it's the cheapest mechanical keyboard with nkro.

a good guide to mechanical keyboards:
http://www.overclock.net/computer-peripherals...guide.html

having two dozen extra keys for macros? perhaps these come handy for mmo players, but for shooters you just need a stable, absolutely reliable keyboard.

I heard about the Model M before ...
it is said to be still one of the best keyboards ever ...
but honestly I don't believe this ... it's technology from the 80's ...
technology gets really outdated fast, it can only be nostalgia that makes people still use it, also the keyboard should have worn out by now due to age.
Tbh. currently I am typing on flat keyboard, I also owned a traditional cherry g-80 once, on a flat keyboard I can really type faster than on a traditional keyboard, so I can't really believe it can still compete ....

keyboards from the 80s are the only vintage pc part that still works with modern pcs.

but outdated, in what respect? a keyboard is nothing particularly advanced, a set of switches. these happen to be worse in most modern keyboards because they're built for low cost today, not to last. actually the old boards are more complex since their keys have individual switches or springs, while the keys on modern ones are resting on a rubber membrane and are polled as a matrix of switches, not individually, hence ghosting. guess which one is wearing out faster? my current model m is from 1987 and it's like new. i had another one from 1988, got it in 1992 from school, used it till 2005 or 2006, gave it to my cousin since he can type stupidly fast, and still no sign of old age.

no sign of old age? come on, back then everything was grey,
so your keyboard must have turned yellow by now ;-)
Maybe keyboards nowadays only last 5 years,
but compared to other pc stuff, they are really cheap,
so it is not that much of a loss if you have to buy a new keyboard ...
also a good branded keyboard for < 20 Euro, this IBM Model M thing sells for 50 Euro Plus, so you can get like 3 good normal keyboards for the price of one IBM Model M ...

sigh.

why?

where to start... you don't know what you're talking about... you have no arguments whatsoever... i can't even be arsed to reply in a serious way... get it now?

very informative post, there is so much reasoning behind it.
Anyway I know I am a pretty fast typer, don't care what internet bums say.
Only professional typists could really make use of a mechanical keyboard, and I guess most of them don't use one.

Hey I also have the IBM M model which I'm glad I got hold of. People really don't understand the difference until they try buckling springs. Not in such way that they may find it great and make the switch, but just to compare how different is having mechanical feel and audible noise when you punch the keys. From the keyboard I had the pleasure to use I am glad I bought an M model.

I was going to say when this one brakes, which I doubt will ever happen so probably can't rely on this strategy for my next keyboard, but I'm getting a Unicomp Customizer 104/105. It's the same company that bought the patent from IBM to produce buckling keys and its the closest one to the M model in feel. Google and Youtube should help you find more if you decide to. Hope this helps someone!

dell keyboard.
http://www.computer-reclaim.co.uk/ekmps/shops...281%29.jpg

that is the worst keyboard of all time
incredibly annoying
we have those in university at all the pcs

what don't you like

the feel, the noise, the shape, the buildquality and on top of all that its made by dell which already makes it rubbish

we have those in university at all the pcs

some herey, but i love the sound :)

I've just ordered a EFO wireless keyboard for my HTPC =)

i want!

its a really nice little device, but im not really using the htpc =/ i meen it doesnt look all that amazing but the mouse input works well and keyboard is easy to use for its size. it also lasts a long time on full charge and just charges using a usb cable so no batteries as such. really really good device and i had been looking at alot of the media keyboards with built in mouse input. its basically used as a mouse but with a keyboard just incase.
still streaming everything from main pc to ps3 but i think this thing can work with consoles too.

i'd just want it to chill in bed while doign stuff one the pc at the same time, like putting on the next episode, opening a movie or stuff.

yeah get one !

Cherry Multimedia Stream Keyboard
-flat keys like a laptop
-normal shape, I hate it when all keys are crammed together and the ENTER button is a cm² large.
-cheap
-some buttons to control music, quite handy

edit:
-it's a cherry <3

Absolutely agree!

logitech ultrax premium
flat keys
cheap
normal shape

With flat keys you can type faster and more comfortable than on normal keyboards. I think my typing speed improved about 20 %.
There are also some extra buttons wich I never use.

Yep it's a great little keyboard.

since most people are right handed the numpad should be on the left side of the keyboard...this is a retarded design flaw from back when mice didn't exist.

why has nobody realized this?

it would be much easier for gamers if keyboards had the numpad on the left hand side or if it was detachable like the microsoft sidewinder keyboard.

please just don't start this debate
next you'll come up with one of those freak-designs where its no longer qwerty but the mostly used letters are next to each other so you can type faster
also quite a few tried this detachable stuff like the z-boards etc and it didn't really sell well
guess its mostly because people are used to it the way it is - why change that

i oughta agreed though, on my laptop days i had this usb-numpad i used from time to time, always had it on my left side!

probably because z-boards are crap

if microsoft and logitech made keyboards with the numpad on the left side they would sell

would have saved me buying an external numpad for gaming

I use numpad anyway, just takes up more space.

cherry g83 - best keyboard ever made.

http://news.cnet.com/i/bto/20080902/Logitech_...40x376.JPG

it's got a great feel and it looks nice. I usually hate all things glowing, but this is a good kind of glow!

Well being sponsored by Razer is probably the greatest thing considering the Razer Tarantula keyboard is a beast. But if your paying for yourself I would go for some random Logitech 10-15 euro keyboard...

I got the DAS Keyboard Model S Silent today. http://www.gaming420.com/thread-165.html

thats a nice keyboard

Oh yeah! Worth the time and money! Had to pre-order it 1.5 months ago and wait..

Too bad they don't make a blank version of that keyboard. The font they use on the keys it awful.

They do have a blank version. http://www.daskeyboard.com/daskeyboard_model_s_ultimate.php

Pretty sure that one has blue switches and not brown.

Yeah they are blue which are the best ones afaik.

Its preference.

Blue - tactile, with clicky sound
Brown - soft tactile, no click
Black - non tactile, non clicky, stiffer

http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/mouseandkey...px?pid=038
I like this one, cheap as well!

i like the small flat logitech one

Cheapest you can find in a store -> win

why would u need smth special for pressing "w a s d" ;o

because half of those cheap ones lock up around "w a s d" =p

I woulda said the same thing a while back before I got my Steelseries keyboard but you can really notice the difference when you try one.

I got a 7G which is basically a rebranded Filco (they're about the same price anyway, so meh). A while back I was without it for a while and used a shitty Cherry keyboard... Did alright with it. Hardly the most enjoyable experience. It's a matter of miliseconds delay when pressing WASD, but when you use a 'decent' 'board for a while, you find it very annoying to use an 'inferior' one and it just feels like you're lagging.

Basically, I'd suggest:
Filco
DASboard
7G

Dell L100 is a nice keyboard.

dont like it

Optimus Maximus : 1389€
http://www.artlebedev.com/everything/optimus/

To have this > http://www.edopter.com/images_user/ideas/200808/f58Xf4