Why doesn't every keyboard (computer) maker make a "lighted" keyboard???

[incubus]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's gonna be the 740. Though the 800 is "ok" it still can be kinda quirky with the wireless.

Fry's says they have that razor. If they have one sitting out I'll take a look.

[incubus]

Ok, so, here are the final results:

BY AND LARGE there is nothing other than logitech for clear/standard lighting. Almost every other one listed in the 3rd post are colored. In a perfect world (the one SOME people think they live it) I'd have been more clear about "lighted" , maybe used the term "illuminated" (Simon Phoenix is very angry with me) and not some dim-colored one that does clearly show the letters symbols. My bad.

Now, to the keyboards!

The Razers were not terribly cool. Most of them were really noisy. A couple weren't, but fry's will tell you they have something in-stock when it's simply a floor model. So to get the ones I thought were ok, I have to order......if I don't like it, send it back.......messy. I'd rather keep what I have.

There were some other brands that also felt pretty good, but I've never heard of any of them. "lighted/illuminated" was generally a greenish/blueish (or red which is even worse) and none of them were less than 100 bucks.

So, back to the first "corded lighted" one I thought of when I started this thread.....the logitech K740. One place near me (staples of all places) had ONE in stock (new) and one I could play around with the floor model, felt good and quiet like this one. Snagged.

Not sure it's going to be able to stay lit better than this one, I sure hope so. Like I said, the K800 is basically great except for in being wireless which means it has all kinds of "saver" crap that apparently can't be disabled.

At 51, I need the f**king the thing lit ALL THE TIME!

[Kaine]

The Corsair RGB series are fully programmable, on a per key basis, as I think are the Roccats. In fact anything that is per key programmable should be able to do it, but as you note, they all cost a arm and a leg. Mechanical switches with per key LED's even in bulk are not cheap, I've priced up building my own keyboard a few times, rarely is it any cheaper than just buying one off the shelf and a hell of a lot more if you want to customize your caps.

I get what you mean however, you just want a plain white backlight, which of course should be cheaper. Most gamers who these things are targeted at however, don't want anything as bright and distracting, hence reds and blues are popular.

You could get a regular keyboard and mount LED strips under the keys!

[GaryG]

The Razers were not terribly cool. Most of them were really noisy.

My boy bought one of their gaming boards, he loves it, I hated it. Freaking strobing rainbows across the keys and so clanky. When I started in IT (nearly thirty years ago...) all the keyboards had big chunky, clicky keys. The strange thing is, people are championing this kind of keyboard yet all the modern ones I've tried are no where near as smooth as the old ones, maybe I'd be more benevolent towards them if they were.

[pekbro]

I came pretty close to buying one of the Korean customs over at geekhack.
A good mechanical keyboard has a very strong appeal if your into gadgets,
gaming or typing a lot. I can never go back to a regular keyboard now.

[GaryG]

A good mechanical keyboard has a very strong appeal if your ... typing a lot.

I'd agree that typing a lot on a modern 'laptop' like action is pretty tiring after a while but then I find so is a clicky, mechanical action one. Much prefer a light action but responsive keyboard, just like Dell and all the others ship as standard nowadays. I'm boring, I know.

[incubus]

The Corsair RGB series are fully programmable, on a per key basis, as I think are the Roccats. In fact anything that is per key programmable should be able to do it, but as you note, they all cost a arm and a leg. Mechanical switches with per key LED's even in bulk are not cheap, I've priced up building my own keyboard a few times, rarely is it any cheaper than just buying one off the shelf and a hell of a lot more if you want to customize your caps.

I get what you mean however, you just want a plain white backlight, which of course should be cheaper. Most gamers who these things are targeted at however, don't want anything as bright and distracting, hence reds and blues are popular.

You could get a regular keyboard and mount LED strips under the keys!

Just out of curiosity, what do you think of Roccats as reliability (if you've had/used one)

Being a guy who uses a keyboard kinda "as is" I've never heard of them.

[incubus]

The Razers were not terribly cool. Most of them were really noisy.

My boy bought one of their gaming boards, he loves it, I hated it. Freaking strobing rainbows across the keys and so clanky. When I started in IT (nearly thirty years ago...) all the keyboards had big chunky, clicky keys. The strange thing is, people are championing this kind of keyboard yet all the modern ones I've tried are no where near as smooth as the old ones, maybe I'd be more benevolent towards them if they were.

Yeah, this K800 (no I haven't opened the other box yet ) is very very quiet. So yeah, I remember computers way back then......also, I learned to type on the IBM typewriter.......(anyone remember those? ) Sometimes I miss the sound of a "real" typewriter. Ok, nostalgia over

[Kaine]

Just out of curiosity, what do you think of Roccats as reliability (if you've had/used one)

Being a guy who uses a keyboard kinda "as is" I've never heard of them.

Small German company, fairly solid from what I've seen. I had some of the early kit and it was bulky, heavy, but fairly indestructable. I think they've refined it a bit over the years, but the designs can be a bit polarizing.

They do offer a solid selection of key options however, and at least they are legit Cherrys rather than cheaper knock offs. For me, I'm just happy to pay for some good keys on a good base keyboard, I've been using a Steelseries 6gv2 for a few years now, and happy to have paid half the amount, when compared to some of the more flashy options!

[PapaLazarou]

The Razers were not terribly cool. Most of them were really noisy.

The strange thing is, people are championing this kind of keyboard yet all the modern ones I've tried are no where near as smooth as the old ones, maybe I'd be more benevolent towards them if they were.

The Cherry MX based keyboards are quite close to the old style keyboards IMO. The switches themselves have been around since the 80's I believe. I have a Cooler Master one with Cherry "Red" keys and they are as smooth as you like (and it's no lightweight plastic thing, weighing over a kilo with a steel chassis). The different options give a different feel, the Blue and Brown switches intentionally have a definite actuation point, making them preferable for a typing keyboard.

If you wanted a true 'old style' keyboard, you can still buy the old 80's IBM buckling spring models - they are still made (and updated to include USB etc.) and have a loyal following. They can be found here - http://www.pckeyboard.com/

As for lighted keyboards, the non-mechanical Steel Series Apex 300 is reasonably priced with plain white lighting - https://steelseries.com/gaming-keyboards/apex-300

[chk071]

The Razers were not terribly cool. Most of them were really noisy.

My boy bought one of their gaming boards, he loves it, I hated it. Freaking strobing rainbows across the keys and so clanky. When I started in IT (nearly thirty years ago...) all the keyboards had big chunky, clicky keys. The strange thing is, people are championing this kind of keyboard yet all the modern ones I've tried are no where near as smooth as the old ones, maybe I'd be more benevolent towards them if they were.

It's commonly suggested that the build, and overall quality of keyboards is rather getting worse, than getting better. Especially the IBM keyboards used to be almost indestructable, and very durable, as far as i read. Nowadays, they make blinky blinky keys, a lot of stuff you probably won't even use, and cheap keys, because it has to look good, and not feel good. Most keyboards i try now when i'm in a electronic market feel really cheap.

[GaryG]

Sometimes I miss the sound of a "real" typewriter. Ok, nostalgia over

http://www.qwerkywriter.com/

[incubus]

wow!

[incubus]

The 740 is pretty spiffy, but is a tad over priced. It's pretty much what I wanted though, a wired k800 with the nice bright keys all the time. Quiet, functional and feels nice to the fingers.

The only "gripe" (super first-world problem) is that the larger keys are not quite as well lit. Maybe they are not opaque enough? Like I said, FWP.

[Jax Pok]

I want one of these but I want it with Nixi tubes in the keys http://www.datamancer.net/keyboards/von ... iginal.htm