# Mechanical keyboard for work\office ? ( Red switch=silent one )



## user33331 (Jun 1, 2018)

Hello
Why Logitech and Microsoft won't offer any office grade mechanical keyboards for work ?
- I mean to go and ask ICT-people for a colorful gaming-style one such as: Corsair, Kingston or Logitech Gx, ...
I refuse to use these dirty cheap <10$ membrane keyboards like *Logitech K120*-office bulk :
Bought yesterday a China ebay's 40$usd *Motospeed CK96* (=Red switch ) mechanical keyboard with flashing RGB circus disco LEDs to try at work 




I'm interested to use a good red switch=silent mechanical keyboard.
Are there any good ones sold in Europe that are under 100€euro or what is a reasonable price ?

My hands would probably look horribly cramped after 50 years of using membrane keyboards 8h at work.

Also planning to buy a "ball mouse" Wireless Trackball M570 mouse or MX Ergo trackball for maximum comfort usage ?


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## eidairaman1 (Jun 1, 2018)

user33331 said:


> Hello
> Why Logitech and Microsoft won't offer any office grade mechanical keyboards for work ?
> - I mean to go and ask ICT-people for a colorful gaming-style one such as: Corsair, Kingston or Logitech Gx, ...
> I refuse to use these dirty cheap <10$ membrane keyboards like *Logitech K120*-office bulk :
> ...



Price, mechanical keyboards are still a niche market.

Heres a guide for kb switches.

I use a brown switch.

http://www.keyboardco.com/blog/index.php/2012/12/an-introduction-to-cherry-mx-mechanical-switches/


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## Fishymachine (Jun 1, 2018)

Replying since I'm also curios. Also having  just bought a Outemu Blue switched keyboard as a present, I realised I can't bring that to the open office.
Also there are plenty of linear switched, matte black kb that can have their lighting turn to a simple/constant pattern, available for 100 euros, so no "serious" brand shouldn't be a problem, just avoid the BigDaddy green-switched HyperXs are you're fine


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## R00kie (Jun 1, 2018)

I use this at work:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cherry-MX-...id=1527840383&sr=8-2&keywords=cherry+mx+board


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## Folterknecht (Jun 1, 2018)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_s...ield-keywords=Fnatic+Gear+Rush+Silent+LED+Pro


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## EsaT (Jun 1, 2018)

user33331 said:


> I'm interested to use a good red switch=silent mechanical keyboard.


MX Red and other non-clicky switches are just little less noisy than MX Retro alias Blue.
Standard mechanical switch designs simply fail to give damn about noise, with hard plastic parts smashing to each others causing also key cap "rattle".

And those rubber o-rings don't do big difference to that. (unless you let keys up slowly)
I used MX Brown keyboard with o-rings for nearly five years and it still has that sharp "clickety-clacketyness" compared to Romer-G.
Besides which MX "Silent" (now there's PR BS naming...) is one of the few exceptions with internal damping in design.

Though Topre would be strong contender for the least offensive noise.


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## user33331 (Jun 1, 2018)

> I used MX Brown keyboard with o-rings for nearly five years and it still has that sharp *"clickety-clacketyness"* compared to Romer-G.


- Is the Romer-G the best silent switch ?

I prefer also:

Beige or pure white color.
Tall caps.
Long travel.
Large and Full size keyboard.


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## Ruyki (Jun 1, 2018)

I would say that MX Red and MX Brown are about the same loud and MX Blue is louder than both because of the click sound.

You can get a plain looking mechanical even from the gaming brands. CoolerMaster keyboards are almost all completely plain except for the backlighting. Some Logitech keyboards are also kind of plain like the G810. Then there's also non gaming brands like Ducky that make plain keyboards.


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## Vayra86 (Jun 1, 2018)

Price and reliability.

Mechanical keyboards die faster than membrane or scissor switch, are more susceptible to ghosting when dust/gunk gets in the switch, have problems with fluids, etc. etc.

And honestly 'I refuse to use'... I wouldn't use that line with your employer. It doesn't paint a pretty picture of character 

If you want ergonomic mice look for something like this, not a trackball. These here below are in fact available at my employer on request.


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## Ruyki (Jun 1, 2018)

Vayra86 said:


> Price and reliability.
> 
> Mechanical keyboards die faster than membrane or scissor switch, are more susceptible to ghosting when dust/gunk gets in the switch, have problems with fluids, etc. etc.
> 
> And honestly 'I refuse to use'... I wouldn't use that line with your employer. It doesn't paint a pretty picture of character.



Really? This is the first time I hear that mechanical keyboards last less than membrane. Usually, people say the opposite.

There may be some truth to this since mechanical keyboards are more complex than membrane ones. More complexity means more things that can break.

Mechanical keyboards are definitely better to type on however, so I'd take one over a membrane any day.


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## Vayra86 (Jun 1, 2018)

Ruyki said:


> Really? This is the first time I hear that mechanical keyboards last less than membrane. Usually, people say the opposite.
> 
> There may be some truth to this since mechanical keyboards are more complex than membrane ones. More complexity means more things that can break.
> 
> Mechanical keyboards are definitely better to type on however, so I'd take one over a membrane any day.



Membrane is indestructible with normal use... its a rubber dome, as opposed to an open switch with a spring and loose components .


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## EsaT (Jun 1, 2018)

Vayra86 said:


> Membrane is indestructible with normal use... its a rubber dome, as opposed to an open switch with a spring and loose components .


Bet Chinese can make you one whose membrane breaks after few thousand key presses...
That rubber dome structure actually wears over time, just like contact surfaces ... Degrading speed depending on quality.
It's really similar to remote controls of various devices.


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## Vayra86 (Jun 1, 2018)

EsaT said:


> Bet Chinese can make you one whose membrane breaks after few thousand key presses...
> That rubber dome structure actually wears over time, just like contact surfaces ... Degrading speed depending on quality.
> It's really similar to remote controls of various devices.



Everything wears down in the end, but the idea that membrane would be more vulnerable to this than mechanical is completely silly. However, the chance of a mechanical switch causing problems is far greater, even during the period you shouldn't be bothered with wear/tear.


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## newtekie1 (Jun 1, 2018)

Vayra86 said:


> Membrane is indestructible with normal use... its a rubber dome, as opposed to an open switch with a spring and loose components .



I'd disagree, the rubber in the dome can definitely degrade over time, though this is usually an issue with the cheaper keyboards. The more expensive use much more durable rubber/silicone in the domes.


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## Vayra86 (Jun 1, 2018)

newtekie1 said:


> I'd disagree, the rubber in the dome can definitely degrade over time, though this is usually an issue with the cheaper keyboards. The more expensive use much more durable rubber/silicone in the domes.



True but then you can buy 10 to 15 keyboards for the price of one mechanical equivalent, still making the cheaper option  But still.. I've owned my share of 15-20 eur keyboards and they ALL still work. And they've been abused. Hard.


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## VasDrakken (Jun 3, 2018)

Mx cherry silver is likely the best silent mechanical key but they are really expensive usually, I use a microsoft natural 4000 which the pleather pad peels after a while no matter how clean you keep it and, I had an Ansia Razor with really nice cherry red full size keyboard, I know they sell in europe. There are couple groups making keyboards that have different layouts, but usually the most annoying thing is if you buy a britsh enlish keyboard it one letter and number of keys usually english international with the wide carriage return and dead key, but if you need the euro on the key pad you usually end up buying a english internation keyboard from Scandinavian countries like Denmark or Sweden. One of my old coworkers who lives in finland uses a kbm switch to run ten keyboards to his desk because he hates having to remember what the dead switch does. He used the microsoft keyboard program to relay out what keys he wanted on what keyboards and then used a paint marker like the ones you use on tour to sign stuff to re-letter the keys. Yes I know some of those have glow to them but if they are designed correctly you can turn the led option off.

I prefer keys of a cherry red, blue or silver but the red and blue are really loud, and you still end up with a keyboard with the letters worn off after a bit. I bought an Adesso SlimTouch 232 which is basically the worst of the silcion keyboard but looking at how it works it should be very nice when I have a cheese steak or soda at my desk and I unplug the keyboard and wash it before eating and afterwards. Not as a plate but so I can keep working while eating. Adesso is based out italy I think for the lighting products so it might be the same company. I have used the chinesse ones in the past but most of them do not have the English characters on them. Right now the saphire standard is too bloody expensive per keyboard since the led panels you can buy from the US and China to push down on cherry mx switch of what every flavor of nose and resistance, are a little too expensive per lcd which fits in a size of keyboard button. Enough people want them so likely within the next five years the lcd panels can be optimized from 50 dollars a key to 2 dollars a key at which point, the mechinal keyboard becomes the normal and the price stablizes at about forty euros for a mechinal about twenty euros for a adesso type keyboard and ten to fifteen for the cheapo ones, and about two hundred fifty for universal hardware keyboard with a soft or virtual keyset. If you want to learn how to program a keyset for a particular languge I was working on a keyset for Icelandic government of gothic or romi, which can be installed and configured with the files below. You have to install the microsoft keyboard sdk to design or edit it and I have the other files some where. I just had a hard drive crash recently so stuff is where ever I stashed it moving files around.


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