8 ms·

Yeah, no offense to the author, but this article read like one written by someone who really doesn't know much about keyboards. There is a whole slew of differe

by sli 7y ago

Yeah, no offense to the author, but this article read like one written by someone who really doesn't know much about keyboards. There is a whole slew of different silent, non-clicky, tactile and linear switches to choose from, as well as sound dampening o-rings.

connor4312 7y ago
There's also several new 'silenced' switches[1][2] which have dampening built-in by moulding in a softer plastic into the switch stem. I can't stand the feel of o-rings; I use a Zilent switch keyboard for work and it's quieter than a lot of my coworker's non-mechanical/rubber dome boards. 1. https://zealpc.net/products/zilents https://zealpc.net/products/zilents 2. https://kbdfans.com/products/pre-orderaliaz-silent-switch-tactile https://kbdfans.com/products/pre-orderaliaz-silent-switch-ta... (unaffiliated with either of these stores)
- flamtap 7y ago
  The o-rings also don’t dampen the upward click of the key in release, whereas the dampened switch models do.
PascLeRasc 7y ago
I can't really blame him though, if you assume Amazon is the standard marketplace for everything all you'll find is Cherry blue and red switches, and Razer/Logitech's versions of those. It wasn't until I attended a mechanical keyboard conference that I found out about Zealios, by far my favorite switch but near-impossible to find in pre-built boards. Even Clears, which are really great and my favorite Cherry switch, are somewhat hard to find if you don't know specific keyboard sites.
- mixmastamyk 7y ago
  I have the wasd keyboard with red switches and thin o-rings and it is quiet, quieter than my mouse buttons.
  - Root_Denied 7y ago
    Also using a WASD keyboard (Code) with brown switches and o-rings. It's clicky, but not terribly so. Next one will be clear switches with o-rings which I've tested and are even quieter.
    - nobleach 7y ago
      I have the WASD Code with Cherry MX Clears. And while it is a bit quieter, I find it not as satisfying. The keys feel pretty springy, and there's not much feedback. So that satisfying "click" of Greens, Browns and Blues, really is more my cup of tea. I did enjoy it originally though... so your mileage will vary.
- Havoc 7y ago
  So if I had to buy something off amazon, what would I be searching for? (Gamer & programmer, preference quiet keys)
  - ryanmcbride 7y ago
    I recently bought a Vortex Pok3r off amazon, with the MX Silver switches. Relatively quiet 60% keyboard that I'd definitely recommend. I've used a Pok3r with MX Blue switches for years but wanted to get something quieter for work.
  - PascLeRasc 7y ago
    If you want to buy one right this second, get the Vortex Race 3 with Clears. They sound and feel fantastic, and the aluminum case with the DSA PBT keycaps makes for a great build quality overall. If you want to spend some time deciding, we should go over what kind of keyswitch and what kind of layout you want. This [1] is a pretty good overview of the different kinds of layouts (60%, tenkeyless, fullsize) and linear vs tactile switches. You can listen to sound tests for any switch on youtube to get a better idea for how quiet it'll be. I personally use a Poker 2 with brown switches for 90% programming/10% CS:GO, and I love it. [1] https://kotaku.com/how-to-pick-the-right-mechanical-keyboard-1822737458 https://kotaku.com/how-to-pick-the-right-mechanical-keyboard...
    - Havoc 7y ago
      Well that's 2x vortex recommends. Bit more than I'd usually spend on a keyboard though... Size aside do the tenkeyless have any other advantage?
      - PascLeRasc 7y ago
        For me, tenkeyless allows me to keep my mouse much closer to my keyboard which is significantly more comfortable. It's somewhat common to have long-term shoulder injury from using a fullsize keyboard and mouse intensively, like for gaming: https://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/comments/a5ques/has_anyone_else_had_one_rolled_shoulder_from/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/comments/a5ques/has_anyone_...
- nickjj 7y ago
  Exactly. And now 6+ hours and hundreds of comments later I went through the comments and I still haven't seen anyone post a single mechanical keyboard that matches my requirements at any price point. It's just dozens of posts about needing to be a keyboard surgeon and assembling a selection of carefully picked pieces without any end to end guides. For the most part I just want to plug it in, have it feel good and write code. Your $150 recommendation from below almost fits the bill but it looks like a super condensed keyboard with a non-standard layout that's missing a bunch of extra keys, and I can't find any concrete proof of what it sounds like on video. It also has a lower average star review than the Amazon Basics keyboard (but I wouldn't put much weight into that).
  - jacobolus 7y ago
    It’s not my personal cup of tea, but one keyboard that should meet your requirements (and is a whole lot nicer to type on than the Amazon keyboard, assuming you are willing to pay a lot more) is the Topre Realforce, http://www.realforce.co.jp/en/products/R2SA-US4-IV/index.html http://www.realforce.co.jp/en/products/R2SA-US4-IV/index.htm... https://amzn.com/B07K9CH5WS https://amzn.com/B07K9CH5WS
    - nickjj 7y ago
      At a glance all I see is that it's missing a bunch of media keys and is $350 instead of $15. But ignoring price, what improvements will I see vs my existing keyboard? At a non-competitive level, the human level is likely dictating how many WPM I can type. At 80 WPM, upgrading to this keyboard won't turn me into a 120 WPM typist. Maybe I'll gain a few WPM but that's not the bottleneck for delivering code on time. Also how is your recommended keyboard different than a run of a mill $50 mechanical keyboard that I've tried in the past?
      - PascLeRasc 7y ago
        I used to live with a roommate who listened to music at 2x speed. He said it was more efficient since he could hear more music in the same amount of time. A lot of these comments remind me of that mentality - mechanical keyboards are basically just a toy for typists or a piece of nice industrial design. It's something to enjoy, there's not much more to read into it.
Excel_Wizard 7y ago
I think this article is written from the perspective of a satisficer- it sufficiently meets the requirements he cares about. This is the perspective of most consumers for most of the goods we purchase. It's good to get a well-considered perspective from somebody that isn't deep into the "enthusiast" category of keyboard purchasers.
- nickjj 7y ago
  Author here, I would partially agree with that. I'm not going to mechanical keyboard conferences, lubing my key switches and I had no idea what a sound dampening o-ring was until I read the parent comment. I haven't gotten super into keyboards because I haven't been negatively effected enough for me to go down that rabbit hole of finding something top tier that covers everything I want to do in a better way with 0 compromises. For example, typing into a terminal with 50ms of input delay is a horrendous experience so that lead me down a path of researching, finding and writing about monitors and terminals with extremely low latency which I think is safe to say is enthusiast level. The same goes for audio equipment. I have a 3,000+ post comparing a few headphones, going as far as analyzing frequency ranges to help find the most neutral headphones so I can hear back my voice accurately while recording courses. And for mice, back in the day when I played games more seriously I would put custom teflon pads on the bottom of the mouse to make it glide more smoothly and consistently. But with keyboards. I am satisfied with a fairly low noise, tactile feeling keyboard that doesn't skip or double press keys so I can chug along at ~80 WPM as a non-home row typist. I'm sure there's better, but the pain just isn't there to go deeper down the hole.
  - sleepybrett 7y ago
    I see the keyboard as my primary tool for my job. I researched that tool and found the optimal one for me. In no universe is a keyboard with that little keytravel optimal for anyone. I'm not even getting into mechanical/non-mechanical, ergonomic (in all the flavors) and typical staggered layout. That little keytravel leads to either 1) over-bottoming out, which over time is bad for your joints or 2) tons of missed keypresses. Also even better than those o-rings (which reduce keytravel) there are switches with built in dampeners in the sliders (one expensive example https://zealpc.net/products/zilents https://zealpc.net/products/zilents but really https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0490/7329/products/Zilent_vs_Brown.jpg?v=1516507136 https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0490/7329/products/Zilent_... you can see the little sliver of white at the top and bottom of the slider thats a little 'rubber' bumper that dampens the bottom-out and snap back ('top-out') sound.) I didn't really fall down the hole until about 10 years into my career when I had my first brush with RSI, but that landed me into a Kinesis Advantage which took awhile to get up to speed on, but now I don't see myself going back for longer sessions.
bllguo 7y ago
Funny thing is that MX Clears are unbearable to me as well. If anyone is interested in some specific silent switches, look into MX silent reds, silenced Topre, Gateron silent inks, Aliaz silents, Zilents, and Healios. There are sound tests on YT

by sli 7y ago

connor4312 7y ago

There's also several new 'silenced' switches[1][2] which have dampening built-in by moulding in a softer plastic into the switch stem. I can't stand the feel of o-rings; I use a Zilent switch keyboard for work and it's quieter than a lot of my coworker's non-mechanical/rubber dome boards. 1. https://zealpc.net/products/zilents https://zealpc.net/products/zilents 2. https://kbdfans.com/products/pre-orderaliaz-silent-switch-tactile https://kbdfans.com/products/pre-orderaliaz-silent-switch-ta... (unaffiliated with either of these stores)

flamtap 7y ago
The o-rings also don’t dampen the upward click of the key in release, whereas the dampened switch models do.

PascLeRasc 7y ago

I can't really blame him though, if you assume Amazon is the standard marketplace for everything all you'll find is Cherry blue and red switches, and Razer/Logitech's versions of those. It wasn't until I attended a mechanical keyboard conference that I found out about Zealios, by far my favorite switch but near-impossible to find in pre-built boards. Even Clears, which are really great and my favorite Cherry switch, are somewhat hard to find if you don't know specific keyboard sites.

mixmastamyk 7y ago
I have the wasd keyboard with red switches and thin o-rings and it is quiet, quieter than my mouse buttons.
- Root_Denied 7y ago
  Also using a WASD keyboard (Code) with brown switches and o-rings. It's clicky, but not terribly so. Next one will be clear switches with o-rings which I've tested and are even quieter.
  - nobleach 7y ago
    I have the WASD Code with Cherry MX Clears. And while it is a bit quieter, I find it not as satisfying. The keys feel pretty springy, and there's not much feedback. So that satisfying "click" of Greens, Browns and Blues, really is more my cup of tea. I did enjoy it originally though... so your mileage will vary.
Havoc 7y ago
So if I had to buy something off amazon, what would I be searching for? (Gamer & programmer, preference quiet keys)
- ryanmcbride 7y ago
  I recently bought a Vortex Pok3r off amazon, with the MX Silver switches. Relatively quiet 60% keyboard that I'd definitely recommend. I've used a Pok3r with MX Blue switches for years but wanted to get something quieter for work.
- PascLeRasc 7y ago
  If you want to buy one right this second, get the Vortex Race 3 with Clears. They sound and feel fantastic, and the aluminum case with the DSA PBT keycaps makes for a great build quality overall. If you want to spend some time deciding, we should go over what kind of keyswitch and what kind of layout you want. This [1] is a pretty good overview of the different kinds of layouts (60%, tenkeyless, fullsize) and linear vs tactile switches. You can listen to sound tests for any switch on youtube to get a better idea for how quiet it'll be. I personally use a Poker 2 with brown switches for 90% programming/10% CS:GO, and I love it. [1] https://kotaku.com/how-to-pick-the-right-mechanical-keyboard-1822737458 https://kotaku.com/how-to-pick-the-right-mechanical-keyboard...
  - Havoc 7y ago
    Well that's 2x vortex recommends. Bit more than I'd usually spend on a keyboard though... Size aside do the tenkeyless have any other advantage?
    - PascLeRasc 7y ago
      For me, tenkeyless allows me to keep my mouse much closer to my keyboard which is significantly more comfortable. It's somewhat common to have long-term shoulder injury from using a fullsize keyboard and mouse intensively, like for gaming: https://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/comments/a5ques/has_anyone_else_had_one_rolled_shoulder_from/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/comments/a5ques/has_anyone_...
nickjj 7y ago
Exactly. And now 6+ hours and hundreds of comments later I went through the comments and I still haven't seen anyone post a single mechanical keyboard that matches my requirements at any price point. It's just dozens of posts about needing to be a keyboard surgeon and assembling a selection of carefully picked pieces without any end to end guides. For the most part I just want to plug it in, have it feel good and write code. Your $150 recommendation from below almost fits the bill but it looks like a super condensed keyboard with a non-standard layout that's missing a bunch of extra keys, and I can't find any concrete proof of what it sounds like on video. It also has a lower average star review than the Amazon Basics keyboard (but I wouldn't put much weight into that).
- jacobolus 7y ago
  It’s not my personal cup of tea, but one keyboard that should meet your requirements (and is a whole lot nicer to type on than the Amazon keyboard, assuming you are willing to pay a lot more) is the Topre Realforce, http://www.realforce.co.jp/en/products/R2SA-US4-IV/index.html http://www.realforce.co.jp/en/products/R2SA-US4-IV/index.htm... https://amzn.com/B07K9CH5WS https://amzn.com/B07K9CH5WS
  - nickjj 7y ago
    At a glance all I see is that it's missing a bunch of media keys and is $350 instead of $15. But ignoring price, what improvements will I see vs my existing keyboard? At a non-competitive level, the human level is likely dictating how many WPM I can type. At 80 WPM, upgrading to this keyboard won't turn me into a 120 WPM typist. Maybe I'll gain a few WPM but that's not the bottleneck for delivering code on time. Also how is your recommended keyboard different than a run of a mill $50 mechanical keyboard that I've tried in the past?
    - PascLeRasc 7y ago
      I used to live with a roommate who listened to music at 2x speed. He said it was more efficient since he could hear more music in the same amount of time. A lot of these comments remind me of that mentality - mechanical keyboards are basically just a toy for typists or a piece of nice industrial design. It's something to enjoy, there's not much more to read into it.

Excel_Wizard 7y ago

I think this article is written from the perspective of a satisficer- it sufficiently meets the requirements he cares about. This is the perspective of most consumers for most of the goods we purchase. It's good to get a well-considered perspective from somebody that isn't deep into the "enthusiast" category of keyboard purchasers.

nickjj 7y ago
Author here, I would partially agree with that. I'm not going to mechanical keyboard conferences, lubing my key switches and I had no idea what a sound dampening o-ring was until I read the parent comment. I haven't gotten super into keyboards because I haven't been negatively effected enough for me to go down that rabbit hole of finding something top tier that covers everything I want to do in a better way with 0 compromises. For example, typing into a terminal with 50ms of input delay is a horrendous experience so that lead me down a path of researching, finding and writing about monitors and terminals with extremely low latency which I think is safe to say is enthusiast level. The same goes for audio equipment. I have a 3,000+ post comparing a few headphones, going as far as analyzing frequency ranges to help find the most neutral headphones so I can hear back my voice accurately while recording courses. And for mice, back in the day when I played games more seriously I would put custom teflon pads on the bottom of the mouse to make it glide more smoothly and consistently. But with keyboards. I am satisfied with a fairly low noise, tactile feeling keyboard that doesn't skip or double press keys so I can chug along at ~80 WPM as a non-home row typist. I'm sure there's better, but the pain just isn't there to go deeper down the hole.
- sleepybrett 7y ago
  I see the keyboard as my primary tool for my job. I researched that tool and found the optimal one for me. In no universe is a keyboard with that little keytravel optimal for anyone. I'm not even getting into mechanical/non-mechanical, ergonomic (in all the flavors) and typical staggered layout. That little keytravel leads to either 1) over-bottoming out, which over time is bad for your joints or 2) tons of missed keypresses. Also even better than those o-rings (which reduce keytravel) there are switches with built in dampeners in the sliders (one expensive example https://zealpc.net/products/zilents https://zealpc.net/products/zilents but really https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0490/7329/products/Zilent_vs_Brown.jpg?v=1516507136 https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0490/7329/products/Zilent_... you can see the little sliver of white at the top and bottom of the slider thats a little 'rubber' bumper that dampens the bottom-out and snap back ('top-out') sound.) I didn't really fall down the hole until about 10 years into my career when I had my first brush with RSI, but that landed me into a Kinesis Advantage which took awhile to get up to speed on, but now I don't see myself going back for longer sessions.

bllguo 7y ago

Funny thing is that MX Clears are unbearable to me as well. If anyone is interested in some specific silent switches, look into MX silent reds, silenced Topre, Gateron silent inks, Aliaz silents, Zilents, and Healios. There are sound tests on YT