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Please, for the love of god, don't get a keyboard with heaps of stupid macro keys.
AND DON'T GET ONE WITH ******* LIGHTS EVERYWHERE.


3 things I look for when I purchase keyboards;
1) Who makes it? Are they known to be reliable in manufacturing good keyboards?
2) Will my wrist sit well at the base of the keyboard? I tend to stay away from any keyboards that have heaps of wasted space of keys that are too big and make my hand stretch.
3) Are they function keys in a good location? - This is for camera locations, the easier it is for you to reach between these keys, the better your reactions can be etc.

In my personal experience I can recommend 3 keyboards;

CM Storm QuickFire XT (Red Switches) - Mechanical
This is the keyboard I am currently using, I really enjoy the feel and texture of the keys as well as the feedback the red switches give. I play a lot faster on this keyboard compared to others I have used simply because of the nice space between the function keys and the main keys. It also doesn't waste space, with each set of keys being nicely spaced, and the numpad not taking up too much room.
The addition of extra "WASD" keys that are coated red was extremely nice for anyone who plays any sort of first/third person games.

10/10
(PC Case Gear - $109 AUD [including LED lights] - I picked mine without lights up for $129 AUD locally)

Ducky DK2108 Zero Mechanical Keyboard Cherry Brown - Mechanical
This keyboard is basically the CM Storm keyboard but brown switches, the only other thing that is different is that the keys get very greasy if you eat near your computer etc. But that's common with any keyboard I guess.
The brown switches feel bloody good, and if you want to get some late night laddering in without your parents knowing, then you could play behind a closed door at 300apm and they won't hear a thing. (At least that's my experience)

9/10
(PC Case Gear - $99 AUD)

Razer Lycosa - Membrane

First thing's first, this keyboard is very quiet as it is indeed a membrane keyboard, but if you want that mechanical feel without actually getting a mech keyboard, then get this.
In my experience, this is very, very durable for a Razer product, and will serve you very well.
The keys are very good to touch, and the keyboard itself has a neat little USB spot in the top alongside both audio & mic sockets. Included above the numpad is a little touch-sensitive spot that controls keyboard lighting (yes, it's lighted with a sexy deep blue) and controls for your audio sound levels.
Probably the best membrane keyboard I've had.

9/10
(Pretty sure it costs anywhere below $90 AUD)


These are purely my experiences and my opinions, feel free to take someone else's advice man =D

You will probably hear a lot of negative advice against razer for prob good reason but ill just give them one benefit of the doubt and i have a membrane eazer keyboard and its lasted my a solid 5 years before the buttons started to crap out on me which i think is pretty good .Razer is never cheap though so if price is an issue then cross them off right away lol.

I wouldn't be too hopeful. Mech keyboards are nice to type on but they don't magically make you better.

I'm reasonably happy with my ducky zero.

I have razor blackwidow and cm storm quickfire mini. missus has ducky something something disgusting something. I hate the ducky with a passion. I like the blackwidow from time to time but usually just use it for working. I have never met a kb that could surpass the cmstorm. Even trying out keyboards like whatever asus and Tt bring around the place, always prefer the larger and more concaved form of the quickfire keycaps.

I agree that lights are really distracting as well - plus if find it hard to see the keys with them in low light conditions.

Disgusting $15 microsoft keyboard or riot

personally i would avoid black key switches

I only have two wrists and I can't cut them both at the same time

$90 is insane for a non-mechanical keyboard.

I've got a Ducky with Browns and it's great, I've got a 6Gv2 and it's great. I prefer the brown but the 6Gv2 is handy for travel.

blacks are fine imo... the switch thing is entirely down to personal preference, but is definitely something you should research before just buying a mech keyboard.

also have a look at the layout of various keyboards. e.g. the 6GV2 has a different shaped enter key (and a few other minor differences) to most of the other mech models. This can make it difficult to source new keycaps for them if you ever want/need to (can't just order sets off wasdkeyboards or anything).

Buy a keyboard from a company that supports eSports. This is all I will say. Obviously I have my bias and I really like my Razer Blackwidow Tournament Edition Stealth keyboard, but these kind of things are very subjective. Test a few out if you get the chance and find out what feels nice for you.

I have a had a black widow for ages and it's a good keyboard don't listen to the snobs also browns are good ^_^

Yeah this is a pretty big deal actually. I use the \ key all the time and on the 6Gv2 it's in a different place. That's actually the reason I switched to the ducky (I did know about it beforehand, I thought I'd get by since it was going to be more for gaming, but I just couldn't).

I agree with Chadmann though, that doesn't necessarily mean Razer (Tt are in the biz too!) but try some out and if you find it hard to split a few (after all the switches are all made by cherry, so they are going to be fairly similar) going with a scene supporter would be awesome.

filco majestouch 2 tenkeyless cherry mx blue... kgo (used by soulkey and mma) one of the best keyboards on the market but expensive. blue switches are clicky and get tiresome after a few hours of use.
I also own a Zowie Celeritas brown switch and i love it too. I switch between the two allot both awesome keyboards. (used by bomber, parting) softer switch good for longer sessions of gaming. Also imo softer keys are better for fps.

I used to have a blackwidow ultimate and I would never recommend that for Starcraft 2. The F keys are all offset wierdly and the key layout is so awkward for me, its not a standard layout.

I think the tournament editions have a different layout (i know the fkeys are in the spots they should be but i cannot comment on the other keys).

Also the new Blackwidow Tournament Edition keyboards use knockoff chinese mechanical switches instead of the German cherry mx switches. Razer says that it is their own designed switch but in truth it is not and instead is a chinese knockoff. Razer asked the chinese company to tweak their cherry mx blue switch knock offs actuation point marginally and asked them to recolour the switches. I wouldnt get a 2014 blackwidow tournament keyboard or ultimate if it was me. If you were to go the razer route, get something from 2013.

What you should do is buy a cherry mx sample kit. Their liek 10$ and come with all cherry mx switches on a tiny board. Find what you switch you like and then go from there.

I own a blue switch keyboard and a brown switch keyboard.

They're really damn good. I've tried out red switches as well, they're great. In the end though, it's personal preference. I personally prefer red switches but I haven't saved up enough to get my own one with those switches haha.

I would avoid blue switches if you don't want to wake everyone up at the house while they sleep. LOL

The keyboard can be entirely up to you, I'd say go with a CMStorm since they're the least expensive for the good quality that they put out.

Get a Typewriter