Some years back I asked this forum for suggestions on a multi-button gaming mouse that wouldn’t break the bank and you folks delivered. (still using that mouse btw, it’s fantastic)
So I’m hoping you can do it again. I need a new keyboard, doesn’t need to be fancy, but something that would help my aging fingers feel less fatigue would be helpful. (I’m curently using an old Dell keyboard that was the “comes with the pc” from like a decade ago.) All serious suggestions are appreciated.
I use a Razer Ornata Chroma,it’s a Mecha-Membrane hybrid. It’s a bit pricey at $70 on Amazon,but I have massively reduced typing fatigue,as well as an easier time gaming.
I was always a fan of the smaller “pad” type keyboards for gaming in the past. Something along the lines of the Belkin Nostromo, which I believe the most recent version is the Razer Tartarus. Sadly, I hear the newer ones made by Razer aren’t quite as good in build quality.
As for a normal style keyboard, all I really need is backlit keys so I don’t have much preference.
Personally I hate the mechanical keyboards the clicking noise gets to me.
I second the Razer Chroma Its easy to clean, has lighting if you play in a dark room (there are a lot of different light settings,) I find it extremely comfortable, and its lasted me for years with no problems.
I’m using the Logitech G910 which is a great keyboard. It’s not super new which is good because you can find it for pretty reasonable prices. I’ve used it for about 2 years now and I love it. It has extra G keys on the left for your pinky which is great for an MMO. Check it out.
I use a Corsair K70 Rapidfire (with speed switches) at home, and a Corsair K70 Quiet Low Profile at work, and both are a joy to use. If your hands get tired and if you want to subdue the noise a bit, I would suggest the Quiet Low Profile one.
Do note that neitheir is great at typing, red/speed switches seldom are; they’re too easy to brush against and make typos with. That being said, the Quiet Low Profile is the better one for typing, if you need that use case, which is why it’s the one I brought to work.
I could but they normally require more actuation force and have a longer bottom out both of which I also find annoying. I prefer just about any style including a membrane over any mechanical keyboard I’ve ever tried.
I’m a fan of razer keyboards and mice myself. Been serving my gamer needs for 11 years now I think? Somewhere between 11 to 13 years or such.
Go mechanical for a largely gamer purpose kb in testing (though it depends on the quality of the switches) mechanical keyboards are more responsive and last longer.
My only other advice afford the max you can or are comfortable with don’t go cheap. In my experience things like keyboards and mice that get heavy use the “you get what you pay for “ saying is accurate.
I’ve never had luck with Razer mice. I’ve gone through 4 addars in a single year. The left button always ends up not working. I think its because I tend to click as far back as possible on mice. Extremely cheap ones last me for years though… I need to find a good one that has two programmable keys on the side or figure out how to replace the switches in an addar.
Ok found a video on how to do it. Not to hard, I might give it a shot as I have 4 of them laying around.
This part is off topic but I figured there would be at least one other nerd that would appreciate it.
The reason for the double click and drag problem is because of the design of the Omron switch. For current mice it falls outside of the specs by a huge margin (less than 5v at 1mA) causing them to fail long before what they are supposed to. This is compounded by the wearing away of the plating so they loose conductivity. Razer made this worse with the design by allowing people who often press the button in certain areas to hit the switch off center causing warping.
For a full breakdown there is a great video. Enjoy fellow nerds.
For keyboards you want to go for as much RGB as possible and the loudest switches you can possibly find. That’s how you get to be pro like your favorite streamer.
Building custom mechanical keyboards is one of my hobbies so I generally don’t buy prebuilt boards.
If I were to recommend one of those though, it’d probably be something like Keychron’s Q series (Q1, Q3, Q5, Q6), because they roll a lot of enthusiast-tier qualities into a prebuilt package for around the same price as high end mainstream boards. The value is considerably better compared to the typical stuff from Corsair, Razer, etc. They’re not as gaudy as typical gamer fare which can also be nice.
If you’re willing to buy and install switches and keycaps separately (no soldering required), there’s also the NovelKeys NK87 Entry Edition which comes in several fun 90s-inspired transparent plastic colors.
