Searching for the perfect keyboard

elgrande

elgrande

As the title says, I am looking for a keyboard that meets my requirements.

What I want:
- Full keyboard (with numpad)
- German layout
- Backlight (white)
- Silent
The keyboard needs to be usable with FreeBSD, so no required Windows app for backlight control or similar stuff.

What I tried out so far:
- Logitech G413 SE: Almost meets all my requirements, but is way to loud.
- Hama CK-400: Meets all requirements, but is poorly manufactured (e.g. the key caps fall off when pressed to hard, key combinations do not work reliably).

Any suggestions?
 
Expensive? Yep. I have a few wired variants. But if your day is spent looking at a monitor,extra $$ upfront is safety in the long term. Same thing with keyboards. To me spending extra $$ upfront on a keyboard is saving in the long term.

Keyboards are personal. Some are fine with a 75% size (laptops), some can't stand them.
Me, I can't stand them. That's why I always say "this works for me" opinion vs "fact".

Think of shoes. Paying more up front for shoes that last longer typically saves money in the long term.
 
The MX Mechanical sounds indeed good.
What makes me hesitate a bit is the following quote from the website mer linked:
"You can also choose between a variety of immersive backlighting effects in Logi Options+"
I won't have Logi Options+ available in FreeBSD.
 
The backlighting effects are on the keyboard, not tied to the OS. I have wired versions, and you can change the options from the keyboard. Illumination levels, "patterns" etc. OS doesn't matter.
This is what I have:
www.logitech.com

MX Mechanical Wireless Keyboard | Logitech

Shop MX Mechanical. Features low profile form factor, smart illumination, quick charge, Bluetooth and, 3 Unique switch types - tactile, clicky, linear.
www.logitech.com www.logitech.com
 
If you can live without a backlight (I hate those anyway) a topre realforce might be a nice one to try, albeit a bit pricey. I believe those switches are very quiet in use.

I think there are topre keyboards with backlights available too...

Or at a lower price point a Cherry G80 with your choice of MX switches.
www.cherry.de

CHERRY G80-3000 | Standard PC keyboard - Cherry

The CHERRY G80-3000 standard PC keyboard is based on reliable MX technology with Gold Crosspoint contacts.
www.cherry.de www.cherry.de
 
blackbird9 said:
If you can live without a backlight (I hate those anyway) a topre realforce might be a nice one to try, albeit a bit pricey. I believe those switches are very quiet in use.

I think there are topre keyboards with backlights available too...

Or at a lower price point a Cherry G80 with your choice of MX switches.
www.cherry.de

CHERRY G80-3000 | Standard PC keyboard - Cherry

The CHERRY G80-3000 standard PC keyboard is based on reliable MX technology with Gold Crosspoint contacts.
www.cherry.de www.cherry.de
Click to expand...
From DOS to FreeBSD I am using Cherry keyboard(s).
 
I've been using the Perixx 535 for over a year now at work and at home and it's pretty much perfect for me. I had quite a few microsoft, logitec or cherry ergonomical keyboards before (all rubber dome) and they all just gave up after ~1 year of typing due to wear (sticking or non-registering keys), so I went for the perixx as a reasonably priced mechanical switch alternative without all that "gaming"-crap and the associated price tag.
The one at work begins to show some slight wear on the key prints in the main row, but as I'm not using a qwerty-layout or looking at the keyboard while typing, I don't really care if some keys will fade out (the mentioned logitechs usually had ~50% blank keys after ~6 months). Mechanical and tactile-wise both keyboards are still perfectly good without any noticeable wear like wobbly keys or mushy pressure points (I'm using brown switches).
I couldn't care less about backlight (it's always disabled on my thinkpad - why should I look at the keyboard anyways?), but there's the 835 variant which is the same keyboard but with RGB backlighting. According to the product description, it seems you can adjust the backlight via hotkeys, so no software needed.

They are available with german layout - although I always used US-ANSI/"UK-International" layout keyboards even if I'm german. I can't stand the stupid L-shaped enter or shortened shift-keys (these 2 facts make the german layout extremely un-ergonomical IMHO) and umlauts blocking a first layer key IMHO is just dumb; just make them a third/fourth layer (alt, alt+shift) of the non-umlaut variant (e.g. a/A/ä/Ä) instead of making a whole main-row key useless 99% of the time you are typing. That being said, I've been using a (modified) dvorak layout for several years now for ergonomic/practical/efficiency reasons, so the umlauts are not on my first keyboard layer anyways...
 
sko said:
I've been using the Perixx 535 for over a year now at work and at home and it's pretty much perfect for me. I had quite a few microsoft, logitec or cherry ergonomical keyboards before (all rubber dome) and they all just gave up after ~1 year of typing due to wear (sticking or non-registering keys), so I went for the perixx as a reasonably priced mechanical switch alternative without all that "gaming"-crap and the associated price tag.
The one at work begins to show some slight wear on the key prints in the main row, but as I'm not using a qwerty-layout or looking at the keyboard while typing, I don't really care if some keys will fade out (the mentioned logitechs usually had ~50% blank keys after ~6 months). Mechanical and tactile-wise both keyboards are still perfectly good without any noticeable wear like wobbly keys or mushy pressure points (I'm using brown switches).
I couldn't care less about backlight (it's always disabled on my thinkpad - why should I look at the keyboard anyways?), but there's the 835 variant which is the same keyboard but with RGB backlighting. According to the product description, it seems you can adjust the backlight via hotkeys, so no software needed.

They are available with german layout - although I always used US-ANSI/"UK-International" layout keyboards even if I'm german. I can't stand the stupid L-shaped enter or shortened shift-keys (these 2 facts make the german layout extremely un-ergonomical IMHO) and umlauts blocking a first layer key IMHO is just dumb; just make them a third/fourth layer (alt, alt+shift) of the non-umlaut variant (e.g. a/A/ä/Ä) instead of making a whole main-row key useless 99% of the time you are typing. That being said, I've been using a (modified) dvorak layout for several years now for ergonomic/practical/efficiency reasons, so the umlauts are not on my first keyboard layer anyways...
Click to expand...
If reliability is the main criteria, then IMO no switch can beat Japanese Topre.
 
This is the book I learned to touch-type with, yonks ago... one of the best investments of my time I ever made. :)

Type IT Yourself (Penguin Handbooks): Amazon.co.uk: Rowe, Brenda: 9780140464573: Books

Buy Type IT Yourself (Penguin Handbooks) Reprint.. by Rowe, Brenda (ISBN: 9780140464573) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.
www.amazon.co.uk

Perhaps even more unbelievably, the machine I learned on was one of these! 😂

1760279708846.png
 
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