Recommend a keyboard for open plan office

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Lizard1977

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#254371 9-Aug-2019 14:11

I type a lot in my job, and for the past year or so (since I decommissioned my home PC) I have been using my Logitech G15 keyboard at work. I bought it ages ago and it seemed a waste to leave it languishing at home when I could replace the bog standard HP keyboard that my employer provides.

The last week, during an epic typing session, I noticed a lot of the keys are becoming sticky, and it's not striking anything like as well as I would expect. Back when I bought it I was just looking for a pretty good gaming keyboard, and wasn't really thinking about typing, but it's done reasonably well. Now, though, I think it would be good to buy a keyboard with a specific focus on typing.

I missed the whole mechanical keyboard thing, though my wife bought a Corsair Vengeance K65 mechanical keyboard. Whenever I've used it, I've found it to be a little frustrating to type on, though I'm not sure if that's because it's a mechanical keyboard, because of the type of switches it uses, or if its something else. But I haven't been inspired to explore the mechanical keyboard concept.

So what I'm looking for is a recommendation for a good keyboard for long typing sessions. I work in an open-plan office (hence the comment about mechanical keyboards - loud clacky keyboards won't make me popular amongst my colleagues), and don't really make use of macros, though I do like keyboard shortcuts. Media controls are nice, but not necessary.

Any suggestions?

SpartanVXL

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#2292988 9-Aug-2019 15:23

Assert dominance, buy blue switches and make the loudest sounds possible :)

On a more serious note you’ll have to be a bit more specific on what you’d like in terms of typing comfort. The G15 is still a membrane keyboard, if you’re wanting something similar then Logitech’s own Romer G mechanical bords may fit the bill.

If you like a slight tactile bump to acknowledge key presses then cherry browns are the go to as they dont click like blues and make as much sound.

If you want a straight down key with less resistance and no bump then linear red/black switch are what you want.

Good brands are Ducky, DAS keyboards, Logitech/Corsair/steelseries (to a certain extent). If you have time, recommend to go down to pbtech or somewhere with a bunch of display boards or a switch tester to see which type of switch you like.

You could even go for a Apple keybord with the scissor switch, chiclet type keys if you like. All on your preference

Edit: if you’d like to keep the g15 there are teardown videos that you can follow to clean out the board and membrane (as long as its not worn out). Might give a bit of life back to your board.

Lizard1977

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#2293035 9-Aug-2019 15:47

Thanks for that. As I said, I don't know if a mechanical keyboard is the way to go - I just know people talk about them a lot as good keyboards, but obviously that will depend on the use case. There seem to be lots of types - membrane, dome, scissor switch - and it's not immediately clear whether there is a type which is better suited to long durations of typing (as opposed, say, to gaming). Possibly a membrane keyboard is the way to go, but I'm just not sure. The main thing I'm looking for is a smooth keystroke. I just cleaned out my G15 and it's a little better (and maybe I need to do a full teardown and scrub it out), but there's resistance in almost all the keys so my accuracy takes a real hit. From what little I've read about the Cherry switches, I honestly don't know what I like - "tactile bump"? I really don't know whether that's a good thing or not.

I made one of the best purchasing decisions years ago when I bought the Logitech MX Master, and for productivity it's brilliant. I was kind of hoping there might be a similar kind of product in the keyboard space. The Microsoft Natural keyboards seem to be popular with "trained" typists, but I've never been able to get used to the split design.

Unfortunately, where I live (PN), there aren't many proper computer shops to try out keyboards. We have no PB Tech or Computer Lounge, sadly.

wazzageek

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#2293036 9-Aug-2019 15:50

My favourite keyboard so far is the Microsoft sculpt ergonomic keyboard. (I understand it’s on special this week in the PB Tech Sale.

It’s a chiclet style keyboard, and is “curved” for ergnomics.

It is a pack (so keyboard, mouse and number pad).

The pros for me:

- The function / multimedia keys are controlled by a switch (not a fn key - which means you can “default” to what you want.
- the main keyboard is about the same width as a “normal, straight” keyboard.
- The number pad is separate, so you can move it about
- Installing the software (on windows) allows one to disable the caps lock key.

The cons:

- Each unit has a different battery (AA for the mouse, AAA for the keyboard, coin cell for the number pad.
- If you loose the dongle, you have to replace the entire lot (the receiver is keyed at the factory)
- For common multimedia keys (play/pause / sound volumes) if you use the F keys a lot, switching is a bit of a pain.

FWIW this my keyboard of choice at home and at work - I’m very much keyboard orientated than mouse (where I can) - however I would very much echo going to a store and trying out a keyboard before purchasing if you can.

wazzageek

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#2293042 9-Aug-2019 15:57

Unfortunately, where I live (PN), there aren't many proper computer shops to try out keyboards. We have no PB Tech or Computer Lounge, sadly.

Give JBHifi or Harvey Norman a try. (I’ve asked in Harvey Norman to “try” a keyboard before buying - 1 time they were happy for me to do so, the other time not - Noel Leeming may be similar).

Warehouse stationery sometimes has keyboards on display too. (Although I’ve found their range limited).

timmmay

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#2293086 9-Aug-2019 16:36

DAS mechanical keyboard, mine has lasted years. A cheaper option is this one from Amazon, which I haven't used but I might replace my Das with when it eventually breaks (Das is 7 - 8 years old). One Das that I use 8 hours a day did fail after about 7 years.

All mechanical keyboards are somewhat loud.