Best Mechanical Keyboard for £100/$124 (or less)

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Adiman423

Junior Member
Nov 6, 2016
9
0
1
Hello everyone!

I am in the market for a mechanical keyboard. I am going to use it for both work and gaming.

I have a strict budget of £100($124/€112, so it can be anything under but not a penny over). I know this might sound obvious but this also means that the keyboard has to be available to buy here in the UK.

I've been doing a bit of reading and I think that I would want a keyboard with either a Cherry switch or a Razer switch.

I know that Corsair, Razer, Steelseries and even Cherry do those keyboards so I am trying to stick to the more reputable brands (like the aforementioned ones).

With that being said, what keyboards would you recommend that would fit my requirements?

Please reply soon.

Kind regards,
Adi from London, UK
 
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Adiman423

Junior Member
Nov 6, 2016
9
0
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I had a quick look at Das Keyboard and they are not available from a reputable retailer in the UK. The only place that has them is a place called GetDigital.
 
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Adiman423

Junior Member
Nov 6, 2016
9
0
1
I had a look at the Filco ones that you suggested rchunter, and I am afraid that they all fall outside of my budget. It's £100 or less.
 
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Adiman423

Junior Member
Nov 6, 2016
9
0
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I am definitely thinking either cherry MX Brown or Red (in terms of the switch). I have read that Cherry MX Blue switches (whilst good for typing) can be very noisy.

Either way, I have created a spreadsheet with potential candidates that meet my requirements. Once I have enough I will then start eliminating them one by one until I have the keyboard that I will end up buying. So far I have as follows:
Corsair K70 Lux Blue
SteelSeries Apex M500
Corsair Strafe MX Red
Corsair Strafe MX Brown
HyperX Alloy FPS
ASUS Strix Tactic Pro Gaming Keyboard
I will be adding the logitech G610 into the mix as well. As you can see from that list I have stuck to some reputable brands there.

Other than the Logitech G610 are there any other keyboards on this list that anyone here might like/could add to this list? They would have to be either Cherry MX red or Cherry MX Brown switches(given I am going to be using them for work or gaming) and from a reputable brand when it comes to mechanical keyboards
 
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Adiman423

Junior Member
Nov 6, 2016
9
0
1
Update: I have been doing some reading around and I've heard that whilst Cherry MX red switches have linear switches. Brown switches have a tactile bump (to let me know that they have been pressed).

Red switches do provide that feedback but that does not happen unless if you press the key all the way down. That's not ideal for me. As such I think a keyboard with a Cherry MX Brown switch would be the way to go for me.
 
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Adiman423

Junior Member
Nov 6, 2016
9
0
1
Hello everyone. I have another update for you. After much reading and research I have narrowed it down to three:

After much research, I have narrowed it down to three candidates:

Cooler Master Master Keys Pro L
Logitech G610 orion brown
Corsair Strafe

All of them have similar dimensions and the reviews are good on all of them (at least from what I have seen).

There are two differentiators here:
1 of 2: The G610 has dedicated multimedia buttons.
2 of 2: The corsair strafe has the most key rollover out of the 3

The cooler master has 6 key rollover (meaning 6 keys can be pressed down at any one time) but that switches over to N key rollover if more than 6 keys are pressed at a time.

I am finding it hard to pick one out of the three. I know that Logitech make good keyboards. With that said I have also heard that the Strafe is a good keyboard. With that being said the reviews on all three have good reviews with only a one point difference(out of 10) between all 3. As such this is why I am struggling.

I know that this must be a decision that I have to make. However, I was wondering if you (the reader of this post) can help me out. I know that I want something that will last me a long time but I know that if I take good care of it then that should not be an issue.
 
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bononos

Diamond Member
Aug 21, 2011
3,928
186
106
You thinking too hard, do you plan on using >6 key combinations in your typing?
The cheap Noppo under UKP50 is good if you're on a budget.
 
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Adiman423

Junior Member
Nov 6, 2016
9
0
1
Bononos: I don't plan on using >6 key combinations in my typing. With that being said I only do my gaming about once a week.

With that being said I think having a higher key rollover will be good. As I have a fairly decent budget of £100 UKP, I would rather spend on something decent and get a decent amount of key rollover than have to worry about it.
 
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Dranoche

Senior member
Jul 6, 2009
302
68
101
Unless you specifically know that you need better than 6 key rollover, you don't need it, gaming or typing. It's practically impossible to hit that in gaming with any typical key binding setup while also using a mouse. It's also unlikely to impossible that you would have an issue typing unless you're insanely fast, in which case your technique is also probably better so you don't need it anyways. Keep in mind that those numbers shouldn't include modifiers.

You seem settled on Cherry Brown switches. I would recommend getting a cheap switch tester/sampler from amazon or ebay, usually have at least red, black, brown, and blue, or stopping by a place like Best Buy to see if there are any on display that you can try, or trying a friend's keyboard if available. I was set on brown as well from just reading, finally got a tester and then wasn't quite sure. After a long time of playing with those testers and keyboards in stores and that friends owned, I liked them even less. Ended up with a Topre despite initially losing my mind when I first saw their price.
 
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Adiman423

Junior Member
Nov 6, 2016
9
0
1
Dranoche - Unfortunately I don't have a best buy here (as I live in London, UK). Unfortunately a major retailer does not have any display units of the 3 keyboards that I have chosen. After that, there's no other computer retailers in my local area where I can go hands-on with any of them so I am stuck with no choice here.

As I am typing this I do not want to worry too much about 6 key rollover. I know that I am unlikely to hit 6 keys at the same time (as I am doing more work than gaming with my keyboards) but the less I have to worry about the better. As such we are down to two: Corsair Strafe and the Logitech G610 Orion Brown.
 
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Adiman423

Junior Member
Nov 6, 2016
9
0
1
The search is over. After much deliberation, I ended up going with the Logitech G610 Orion Brown. The Corsair Strafe was a good keyboard and had nice red backlighting but the keys seemed to jut out a little more than the Logitech one.

Additionally I know that Logitech make good keyboards so I can relax knowing that Logitech is brand that I can trust.

If anyone is interested I will write back with my opinion in terms of what my experience was like using it.

Edit: I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone for their suggestions/recommendations
 
jcwagers

jcwagers

Golden Member
Dec 25, 2000
1,150
14
81
I hope that keyboard serves you well and yes, I would be interested to see your opinion of your experience with it. Enjoy! :)
 
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PointBreak

Member
Sep 6, 2015
31
0
36
Corsair Vengeance K65 Keyboard is pretty good, I have been using it for games like Overwatch and Grim Dawn and I am loving it. Here is a review if you're interested.
 
nerp

nerp

Diamond Member
Dec 31, 2005
9,865
105
106
Logtiech has good customer service so if you have issues it should be taken care of no problem.
 
Puffnstuff

Puffnstuff

Lifer
Mar 9, 2005
16,187
4,871
136
The best kb I've ever used is my Logitech G910 Orion spark with its short stroke switches.
 
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rchunter

Senior member
Feb 26, 2015
933
72
91
Bought my dad a ducky shine 6 for Christmas. Just hope he gets it in time.
I don't use glow in the dark keyboards. I'm perfectly happy with my filco majestouch 2 mx blue switches. I don't think I would trade it for a ducky.
 
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