Which keyboard?

The Joker said:
Nope, but they are gorgeous to type on. I type a lot, I actually sold my G19 a little while ago so I can pick up another blackwidow tomorrow :) They are awesome boards and compared to other mech boards they are well priced.
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So kind of like those keyboards from the 80's that 'clack' when you type? :) minus the chunkiness?
 
I have my eyes actually on the CM trigger, looks like an awesome keyboard, until I saw the Gigabyte Osmium which also looks very good, plus is it has a USB3 hub built in but it is about R300 more expensive than the Trigger. Also, I see the new "2013" Razer Blackwidows are coming out, not sure when though.
 
I have a Black Widow Ultimate. I absolutely love it, but it is not without problems. Here's my experience:

The good:
  • Cherry MX keys, excellent for fast typists. There are other mechanical key types better suited to gaming, and iirc, the newer black widows do use them, and they even have 'stealth' version which uses quieter keys. I prefer the Cherry MX because I type fast, and they only help. "mushy" keyboards slow me way down.

The bad:
  • The space bar and ALT keys were touching, so I shaved away a bit of the alt key with a box cutter. Voided the warranty right then and there, apparently. Razor has been known to send people replacement keys, but I think that was limited to the US...
  • All the wires. While it is nice and convenient to have a USB extension cable, and audio extension cables, it makes the cable nice and bulky and really clutters up my already cluttered desk. (the non-ultimate version does not have this problem, as it doesn't have all the extensions, at least iirc)
  • Spilled coffee on it (my bad, I know), so I took it apart. The massive bulky cables are held nicely in place by some clips, and is detachable from the main circuit board EXCEPT for a single (presumably ground) wire soldered on. Not a big deal if you'll never take it apart, so not an overly bad con.
  • Backlighting is very nice, but the characters on the bottom half of the keys (like the * on the 8 key) do not light up. Also the backlights are known to wear out.

Overall, if I had another chance to make my mechanical keyboard purchase, I might go for a steel series instead. Better build quality from my understanding. All in all, the Black Widow ultimate is a great responsive keyboard. Just don't expect it to last forever (as with all razor products).
 
Samildanach said:
I have my eyes actually on the CM trigger, looks like an awesome keyboard, until I saw the Gigabyte Osmium which also looks very good, plus is it has a USB3 hub built in but it is about R300 more expensive than the Trigger. Also, I see the new "2013" Razer Blackwidows are coming out, not sure when though.
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Yay another gigabyte kb user, if you go for it. I have been very happy with my Aivia and that Osmium is by the looks and sounds of it the upgrade to my K8100 so if I am happy with this one and that is an upgrade and you have excellent taste like I do I don't see why you wouldn't be happy with it :)
 
My feeling is, when you are charging R1000 + for a keyboard it better be damn close to perfect. The fact that you have to shave off bits of the keys so they stop sticking and all this crap on the Blackwidow just baffles me.
 
Grimspoon said:
My feeling is, when you are charging R1000 + for a keyboard it better be damn close to perfect. The fact that you have to shave off bits of the keys so they stop sticking and all this crap on the Blackwidow just baffles me.
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That's razor in a nutshell for ya.
 
I always say go with logitech. they last a long time and the warranties are equally long (depending on a product). I once bought logitech wireless keyboard, warranty was 5 years on that thing.
 
Esquire has a special for the next few days - Blackwidow ultimate for R799.00 - Almost too good to resist...
 
BTW Samildanach the new NAG issue (September) has a review of that Gigabyte keyboard that peaked your interest.
 
Enermax aurora. Nothing beats having a keyboard so strong, you can beat a goat to death with it :)
enermaxAurora_pspc.jpg


And it comes in black :love:
 
Why don't people spend more in the devices that they actually use to interface with their PC? The PC experience is so much more than just a screen...
 
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