The "N" key on my crap keyboard is going out, so I figure I may as well switch to a mechanical keyboard, but I have no idea what brands are good. Any good suggestions from fellow gogers? I'm looking at getting either a Cherry MX Red or Cherry MX Brown keyboard.

Ive got actually two.

The first one is old model Das Keyboard, MX Blue with blank keys: http://www.esreality.com/files/inlineimages/2011/84230-das_keyboard_lrg1.jpg

I use it at work and like to write with it very much. I like the clickety-click sound - but i had to to evacuate the keyboard to work after my wife threatened its wellfare (she couldnt appreciate the sound).

The second one is Filco Majestouch Ninja with MX brownies..i used this at home till last christmas, when my wife poured some drink over (by accident, this is quiet :) ...i think i should be able to clean it up and put to use this summer. Been so tired/busy that havent had the time to clean it well enough to plug in to computer. http://cdn3.pcadvisor.co.uk/cmsdata/reviews/3311553/majestouch-ninja_800.jpg

Both are of high quality, is espcially the filco has very overall feel.

If i had the money and reason to buy third id try probably Red's or Clear's. The brownies are good, but i think i might like red more for the gaming. this is just hunch though.

Other good brands than Filco and Das Keyboard? Well there are lots of brands to choose from, depends do you want to have lights on buttons and all kinds of extra buttons and knobs.

Ducky is supposed to be very good brand. Corsair and Razer have some more "modern" mechanical keyboards with extra bits, but personally i probably wouldnt buy either brand. QPAD and steel series ive also heard lots of good about.

But if money isnt issue, id go with either Filco or Ducky.

Oh then there is 'Topre' - also quality keyboard and veeeery expensive one. closer to 200e i think. It has very nice feeling to it, although its not exactly mechanical - they have their own tech under the buttons. If you have chance to try one, you should. I had tough time deciding between Filco and Topre.

I've got a Cherry MX Red keyboard (the V1 version, there's a V2 coming soon I believe) from http://www.wasdkeyboards.com and I like it a lot. Never owned or fiddled around with any other mechanical ones so I can't really do any comparison. It feels quite sturdy though. It's a straight up keyboard without any kind of "gamer buzzword additions". I do not miss my previous 3-4 euro trashy no-name keyboard :)

WASDkeyboards allows a lot of keycap customizations if you like that kind of stuff. My keyboard arrived without it's wrist rest, but one mail to their customer support solved it without a problem and it arrived shortly thereafter. Prior to that I've asked some questions and got answers pretty quickly. So a plus to their service, seems to be really caring about delivering good products and pleasing the customers.

Edit: fixed link

I got a Matias Quiet Pro and really like it. It's very easy to type on, and it's not that much louder than my old membrane keyboard. They have PC and Mac versions. Link: http://matias.ca/quietpro/pc/

All Matias products: http://matias.ca/products/

i hope you will find this useful

http://gwiki.xach.org/images/0/05/Infograph-mechanical-keyboard-guide.png


wish i could actually speak from experience.

Hmmm, based on that, I have a feeling I would prefer the "tactile" feel of Brown switches.

http://www.datamancer.net/keyboards/woodenvso/woodenvso1.jpg

wish i had one of these :)

That's pretty cool looking.

Well, I was going to grab a Filco, but the sellers on Amazon want too much and take too long to ship.

I'm instead thinking of grabbing the Steelseries 6Gv2 (Red switches). My only real concern is that reviews state the lettering on the keys tend to fade easy, though I think I can live with that as long as the letters don't completely disappear off the keys. It seems to have good reviews otherwise, but can anyone here vouch for that keyboard, brand or red switch keys in general?

The site say they're out of stock of everything. Are these guys even in business?

I sure hope so. If mine ever breaks down I'd want another one from the same company. I got my keyboard in march last year and haven't really frequented their site since. Try to contact them and ask if you're interested :)

The brand should be sound. I haven't got any first-hand experience of them, but whenever someone is asking about gaming peripherals, SteelSeries seems to crop up among all the other candidates.

Fading letters can be fixed with a suitable pen or, I guess, spray-lacquering them for an extra layer to wear through if you're into that sort of thing. I'm certainly not.

What you need is one of these!

I use a board with Cherry MX Blue switches, specifically a QPAD MK-80 (it can be ordered with black, red or brown as well, and Nordic, German, French, UK, or US layout).

Complete with backlit keys (yes, I know I fail for not touch-typing), media functions (on the F keys, via an "Fn" key placed where the right Win-key would otherwise be), USB hub, and audio passthrough, I'm definitely happy with it.

Not that I would say no to a real buckling spring keyboard with media functions, but I guess one can't get everything.

BIG difference, man. What sort of games do you intend on playing and how much typing will you be doing ?
Blue and brown switches are a charm to type on but (IMO) simply don't work all that well in genres where the same button needs to be repressed quickly and repeatedly (FPS games, MOBAs, anything action-packed and requiring great timing). I THINK red and black switches have it the other way around: great for double-tapping to dodge, not all that great to type on.
To underline the severity of the issue: I've switched back to playing games on my but I'm typing this on a [url=http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-keyboards-keypads/razer-blackwidow-2013]Black Widow. I'll currently looking at some Reds but I might end up buying [url=http://morele.api.bdk-info.pl/img/morele/getProductPhoto.php?photo_id=1327975]something silly like this...