Anyone using a mechanical keyboard?

Sammy888 · Sep 1, 2026

Interesting "evolution".

Many of the "recommended" mechanical keyboards on reddit and other socials recommend keyboards without a number pad. This reminds me of back in the day at my first job where I was so used to a keyboard with a numpad, but the "dinasours" in the office continued to type numbers using the top row on the keyboard. With the way things are going in the word today, it certainly seems we're regressing in many areas.

Sammy888 · Sep 1, 2026

barreleye said:
In the 90's, I went out of my way to buy an IBM Model M buckling spring keyboard and thought it was the greatest thing ever. I've since come to my senses and use Logitech keyboards with scissor switches like the MX Keys and K950. I briefly dabbled in modern mechanical keyboards, and, well, let's just say that was a very brief dalliance, and the scissor switches won. They're not like your electric typewriter feel, but they do feature definite actuation without the weirdness I perceived in modern mechanical switches, nor are they indeterminate mush like membrane keyboards.

I tested out the K950 and it didn't work for me at all. Glad you found something you liked.

barreleye · Sep 1, 2026

Sammy888 said:
I tested out the K950 and it didn't work for me at all. Glad you found something you liked.

Phew, that was a couple months ago! Now that you mention it, I returned the K950 because it felt cheaper than my MX Keys, and the keycap labels were even less readable than the non-illuminated keys on my MX Keys in my environment (I don't use the backlight, which shines around the keys more than through them - it's such a bust of an expensive feature). I bought the K950 because the left arrow key broke off the MX Keys, and I ended up replacing it with an MX Keys S. I do have to use the MX Keys S in Bluetooth mode, because its Bolt receiver is prone to losing the Ctrl when I wake it with Ctrl+C or other combo. The Unifying Receiver never had this problem, and Bluetooth seems to be immune. Yeah, I tried disabling the power options for the Bolt in Device Manager, but it didn't help. Gotta keep the Bolt for non-Bluetooth environments like the BIOS, though.

2112 · Sep 1, 2026

Sammy888 said:
I never type hard and those who have ever used the IBC Selectric typewriter know what I'm talking about when I write it practically types itself. It's essentially "low friction" and there's effectively no effort so "tactile switches" are a sensation not an actual function of responsiveness of a keyboard. The keys didn't feel like they required effort. Once you initiated the stroke, the mechanism seemed to take over. The sensation was one of extremely low friction and very little resistance. It felt responsive, effortless, and almost as if the machine was helping you type.

If you can, visist a local computer store to try out different keyboards. Were i live they have many keyboards unpacked so one can test each one directly in store.

I bought the Steelseries Apex Pro Gen 3 a while ago to replace my Steelseries Apex 7 that had brown switches. The Steelseries Apex Pro Gen 3 has only one switch, their OmniPoint. At first i was not really in love, i thought the keys were to light, as you describe it abowe "The keys didn't feel like they required effort. Once you initiated the stroke, the mechanism seemed to take over".

After a couple of days i had "adjusted" myself and now i am in love and love the OmniPoint switches.

Yes, it´s a gaming keyboard but you can turn of the lightning keys and use it as a regular keyboard, or just use one solid color and no irritating RGB bling.

On this keyboard you can even adjust how much you must press a key before anything happens, iow if they should react very fast or if one must press they key down to 100% or anything in between. I just use the default settings and that works for me.

Steelseries Apex Pro Gen 3: https://steelseries.com/en-us/gamin...eyboardSize=fullSize&keyboardLanguage=english

jimbo45 · Sep 1, 2026

IBM Model M if you can still find them. Have one from 1996.It's brilliant still !!!! and far better than loads of modern keyboards.

You might be able to source one somewhere though on a site like vinted or similar.Probably cost you around €120 or equiv in your local currency.

Note though no € sign and some other modern symbols so you will have to type the key combo - being an IBM product remember IBM used EBCDIC rather than ASCII for lots of things !!!

It DOES have a number pad which helps of course.

Cheers
jimbo

Sammy888 · Sep 2, 2026

jimbo45 said:
IBM Model M if you can still find them. Have one from 1996.It's brilliant still !!!! and far better than loads of modern keyboards.

View attachment 181406

You might be able to source one somewhere though on a site like vinted or similar.Probably cost you around €120 or equiv in your local currency.

Note though no € sign and some other modern symbols so you will have to type the key combo - being an IBM product remember IBM used EBCDIC rather than ASCII for lots of things !!!

It DOES have a number pad which helps of course.

Cheers
jimbo

OMG. That keyboard brings back memories. And this video too:

pparks1 · Sep 2, 2026

@Sammy888,

I know the feeling you are looking for. The old Selectric used a powered mechanical action with a motor and this most of the work for you after the key was pressed. Unfortunately, as you are finding out, the mechanical keyboards fill a completely different niche and it's unlikely that most, if not all, aren't going to give you that key actuation you are looking for.

I am using a mechanical keyboard on my Windows 11 desktop which is my gaming computer. I am using the Corsair K70 TKL. I've been really happy with this keyboard for my gaming sessions and such.

My favorite keyboard, is surprisingly the Logitech K380 that at I use on my Mac Mini. It's a bluetooth keyboard, can pair with 3 devices, and I have it paired to my Mini as well as my iPad Pro. I love the fact it's small, but it feels really solid. It has the Apple keys on it (CMD and Option). Battery life has been outstanding, and being bluetooth, I have no dongles to deal with.

Here they are, side by side. Yeah Yeah, I know. My corsair is pretty dirty. Oh well.

Edit: LOL, I just realized I still have the plastic film with the blue pull tab over the corsair logo. I've seriously never noticed it before I posted this picture.

pparks1 · Sep 2, 2026

And just for funsies, and because i'm in the "i like what I like, and I know what I like" thread, I thought that I would post this picture of my trackball that I use on my work computer. I've literally had this mouse and used it daily now for 25 years. One of the best pieces of hardware, IMHO, that Microsoft ever made.

BunnyJ · Sep 2, 2026

I use a semi mechanical and I've had a Das Keyboard... loved it and I hope to get a new one next year.

k_rollo · Sep 22, 2026

NuPhy Air75 V1 with GATERON KS-33 Low Profile 2.0 Switches (Brown)

hsehestedt · Sep 22, 2026

I'm up to roughly 20 mechanical keyboards so far and adding roughly one every 2 weeks or so. Even with all of those keyboards, I still have not yet found the "perfect" keyboard. Every single one has something that I dislike.

I mainly like mechanical keyboards with shine through backlit keycaps, and the problems almost always center around some issue with the backlight.

I also detest anything that is not a full-sized keyboard. Most of these 68%, 70%, etc. compact keyboards that are popular with gamers these days just don't do it for me, although I have quite a few of them. How anyone can use a keyboard lacking basic keys like end, home, pgup, pgdn, etc. is simply beyond me.

It's funny, I can find mice that I like all day long, but I just cannot find a keyboard that really does it for me. Some come close, but I keep looking.

k_rollo · Sep 22, 2026

@hsehestedt
To be fair, 75% keyboards have the dedicated PgUp/PgDown/Home/End keys. I personally wouldn't go for anything lower though because I read PDFs a lot.

You do miss out on the numpad, which is doable for me.

cheaterslick · Sep 22, 2026

Sounds like this might be what your looking for. It's going to come the closest to a Selectric and what you're talking about.

King of click: the story of the greatest keyboard ever made

Emulated, replicated, and tweaked for 30 years, IBM’s Model M is the forefather of modern keyboard design

www.theverge.com

They're are probably some used ones out there that vary in what condition they're in. You can also look at any of the recycling centers and see if there are any unused ones that somebody might have thrown out.

hsehestedt · Sep 23, 2026

k_rollo said:
To be fair, 75% keyboards have the dedicated PgUp/PgDown/Home/End keys.

Not all of them. In fact, I am sitting in front of one that has some of those keys, but has no Prt Sc, Scroll, Pause, Home, or End keys. At least on this one there are Fn key combos to get those keys but you have to commit to memory what those key combos are.

Then there is this brand new keyboard from Cherry:

Meet the "K63W Pro Compact Ultra-Wideband, Wireless 70% Gaming Keyboard" which sells for $180 on Amazon. Take a look at this image:

There is no PgUp, no PgDn, no Home, End, Pause, Scroll, Prt Sc. Hopefully I have listed them all. I thought, no problem. I''ll use the Cherry software to program key combos for the missing keys. Nope. Such functionality does not exist. I even contacted Cherry and there is no workaround for this.

At least on this keyboard, the backlighting actually lights both the upper and lower characters on the keys and all keys light properly.

I get that this is a gaming keyboard, but look, even gamers have to do real work sometimes so such a slipshod design in a $180 keyboard is unforgivable. This keyboard now resides in my trash bin waiting for garbage collection next week.

hsehestedt · Sep 23, 2026

Oh yeah, one more great piece of design on that Cherry keyboard. Look at the left arrow key. That is also the Fn key. So, when that key works as a Fn key, you have no arrow keys. You can press Fn + Ins to switch those keys so that the arrow keys are active. But then you have no Fn key. In that scenario, the Ins key becomes the Fn key. This is the most bizarre and completely unusable arrangement. And this is a VERY CURRENT kb, just released a few weeks ago.

k_rollo · Sep 23, 2026

hsehestedt said:
Not all of them. In fact, I am sitting in front of one that has some of those keys, but has no Prt Sc, Scroll, Pause, Home, or End keys. At least on this one there are Fn key combos to get those keys but you have to commit to memory what those key combos are.

Then there is this brand new keyboard from Cherry:

Meet the "K63W Pro Compact Ultra-Wideband, Wireless 70% Gaming Keyboard" which sells for $180 on Amazon. Take a look at this image:

View attachment 183823

There is no PgUp, no PgDn, no Home, End, Pause, Scroll, Prt Sc. Hopefully I have listed them all. I thought, no problem. I''ll use the Cherry software to program key combos for the missing keys. Nope. Such functionality does not exist. I even contacted Cherry and there is no workaround for this.

At least on this keyboard, the backlighting actually lights both the upper and lower characters on the keys and all keys light properly.

I get that this is a gaming keyboard, but look, even gamers have to do real work sometimes so such a slipshod design in a $180 keyboard is unforgivable. This keyboard now resides in my trash bin waiting for garbage collection next week.

You did show a 70% keyboard. I'm particular to the 75%. May you show a 75% also from your collection (if you have any)?

I only have NuPhy branded 75% mech keyboards (Air75, Halo75) and they both have the PrntScrn, Del, Ins, PgUp, PgDn, Home, and End keys.

I'm curious if other brands do the same. Thanks!

Catnip · Sep 23, 2026

Give me a nice big keyboard with all the keys, and even some macro keys. And Cherry linear switches. I love them, they are so quiet, but still give you that mechanical feel.

That's a Logitech G815 RGB keyboard. My second favorite. I also have one of these (Logitech G710+):

I love this one the most, but the keys are a bit loud. Both are solid keyboards.

tzr916 · Sep 23, 2026

I've been using this one for five years. Still going strong:

Redragon K552P-KB 87 Key TKL Mechanical Gaming Keyboard

Elevate Your Gaming Experience with our 87 Key Mechanical Gaming Keyboard! Custom Blue Switches for durability and responsiveness, LED RGB Backlit, Anti-Ghosting, and Compact TKL Design make it perfect for ultimate gaming performance.

redragon.com

Mine came with brown switches that "offer a satisfying tactile bump without the loud click of blue switches". I can't seem to find the brown switch variety for sale anymore. I do NOT do "gaming", strictly for typing.

hsehestedt · Sep 23, 2026

k_rollo said:
You did show a 70% keyboard. I'm particular to the 75%. May you show a 75% also from your collection (if you have any)?

I only have NuPhy branded 75% mech keyboards (Air75, Halo75) and they both have the PrntScrn, Del, Ins, PgUp, PgDn, Home, and End keys.

I'm curious if other brands do the same. Thanks!

I'm not in a position to take photos at the moment, but I'll respond later with a pic or two of a 75% that I really like. I should point out that part of my frustration is that it is entirely possible to implement this on a 75% or even smaller keyboard. I have a 68% keyboard that omits absolutely NOTHING, in fact, it even allows you to perform all mouse functions right from the keyboard. Again, photos coming later today or this evening. I just wanted to respond now so you don't think that I am avoiding the question.

k_rollo · Sep 23, 2026

hsehestedt said:
I'm not in a position to take photos at the moment, but I'll respond later with a pic or two of a 75% that I really like. I should point out that part of my frustration is that it is entirely possible to implement this on a 75% or even smaller keyboard. I have a 68% keyboard that omits absolutely NOTHING, in fact, it even allows you to perform all mouse functions right from the keyboard. Again, photos coming later today or this evening. I just wanted to respond now so you don't think that I am avoiding the question.

No pressure at all. I'm genuinely curious to see how other brands do it.

Plus, keyboards aren't something we should get worked up over. It's a keyboard.

Looking forward to your pics. Thank you!

Anyone using a mechanical keyboard?

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