[Keyboards] Razer?

McNutt · Post by **McNutt** » Fri Jan 19, 2018 9:25 pm

The Razer software does allow that I believe.

I think the Corsair default is steady red and there is a brightness button on the keyboard with off, dim, bright settings. With software you can totally customize it. I have mine to only illuminate the WASD keys at a dim level.

McNutt · Post by **McNutt** » Fri Jan 19, 2018 9:47 pm

And though I preferred the Corsair key feel, it's totally subjective. Corsair red and Razer orange are apples and oranges. Neither is superior. They are both excellent. I just prefer the smooth feel of reds over the tactile feedback of the oranges. Some people like the audible click of Razer green or Cherry blue. Those people are obviously crazy.

Rumpy · Post by **Rumpy** » Sat Jan 20, 2018 1:37 am

Yeah, I realize that. In that case though I might still need some looking around before I decide, but I do know I won't be keeping this one.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Sat Jan 20, 2018 2:26 am

I love the orange switches in my Razer Stealth kb.

Rumpy · Post by **Rumpy** » Sat Jan 20, 2018 6:21 pm

Yeah, so I went back and returned that Razer and got a Corsair K70 Lux. That's the one with brushed anodized aircraft aluminum, and I have to say, it's a damn nice build quality. Very impressed. It might not be quite as clicky as the Razer, but it's just something to get used to, but it does have a really nice key feel to it, McNutt. It was priced slightly more than the Razer at $179, but in the end I feel it was worth it. Here in Canada, Razer's been starting to become more mainstream and main competitor to Logitech's gaming line and Corsair's I think just starting to become available in local stores.

McNutt · Post by **McNutt** » Sat Jan 20, 2018 7:29 pm

Cool. Glad you like it.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Sat Jan 20, 2018 8:05 pm

Too bad in Canada you can't get the really nice keyboards like Leopold, Ducky, and Filco... Not that they flashy RGB lights (except Ducky Shine 6)

disarm · Post by **disarm** » Sat Jan 20, 2018 8:46 pm

I've had a Corsair Strafe RGB Silent for a while now that I absolutely love. It uses Cherry MX Silent switches, so it has a great mechanical feel, with a fraction of the noise. Add in some cool, and highly customizable, lighting effects (if that's your thing) and it's a fantastic keyboard...would recommend it to anyone.

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Sat Jan 20, 2018 8:56 pm

McNutt wrote: ↑Fri Jan 19, 2018 7:43 pm I have that Corsair and it is amazing. The key feel is the best I ever tried. I also love that volume wheel.

My Corsair K70 is holding up, even after my son dumping some soda into it. There have been weird little things that I'm not even sure are there, like a poltergeist moving objects just at the edge of your vision. One time the colour cycling seemed to chunk along instead of smoothly moving across the keys. Another time the numpad keys stop responding for about 2 seconds in PUBG. Little things like that, that may or may not be the keyboard itself. All this after the soda incident.

Still, I've lost entire keyboards from the condensation on a glass dripping into them, so I can't get too upset, especially since these glitches are so infrequent that it took awhile to even notice them, and I'm still not convinced it's the keyboard, as I said.

I'd buy the the K70 again in a heartbeat.

Rumpy · Post by **Rumpy** » Sat Jan 20, 2018 11:54 pm

Question about the keyboard: I've noticed it has a bios switch with 4 positions in the back. What is this for? I suppose I could just look at the instructions, but I'm lazy

Kind of reminds me of the switch on the Atari.

McNutt · Post by **McNutt** » Sun Jan 21, 2018 12:12 am

Other than the feel, big selling points for me were a volume knob and a USB passthrough. You'd be surprised at how many keyboards, even high-end ones, don't offer that.

Razer is one of the few that has audio connection on their keyboard. I use wireless headphones, so I don't need it, but I really like that they add that.

McNutt · Post by **McNutt** » Sun Jan 21, 2018 12:13 am

Rumpy wrote: ↑Sat Jan 20, 2018 11:54 pm Question about the keyboard: I've noticed it has a bios switch with 4 positions in the back. What is this for? I suppose I could just look at the instructions, but I'm lazy Kind of reminds me of the switch on the Atari.

That's the polling rate. I noticed my keyboard had trouble remembering my lighting setting when I would boot up my computer. I dialed my polling rate down a smidge and it fixed it.

Rumpy · Post by **Rumpy** » Sun Jan 21, 2018 12:21 am

Ahh, I see. Interesting! I figure I won't be needing to change it though. I had a big klunky Logitech a few years ago that eventually stopped working and that one had a volume wheel, but this one feels better.

And I love the USB passthrough. Had it on the Razer and it's indispensable. I had bought a wireless gamepad (Logitech F710) awhile back and wondered why It kept going screwy once in awhile, and I figured out it was the interference from the PC as I was plugging the dongle in one of the front USB ports on the tower, and ever since moving it to the USB passthrough on the keyboard, I haven't had a problem. So, that's where it stays plugged in all the time.

About the audio, I never noticed that. But maybe that's because the Logitech I had before had it and I've noticed them being available on Steelseries keyboards. Though those seem to be disappearing from stores.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Sun Jan 21, 2018 2:20 am

From the FAQ

6.) What do numbers means on the BIOS Switch?

The BIOS switch both adjusts the polling rate and allows you to turn off advanced keyboard features for compatibility with certain motherboard BIOS and KVM switches. Settings of 1, 2, 4, and 8 are millisecond polling rates (1ms = 1000hz). Switching to BIOS reduces the polling rate and turns off other features for maximum compatibility. By default we ship at 1ms (1000Hz) and most gamers will prefer to just use the setting.

McNutt · Post by **McNutt** » Thu Feb 01, 2018 5:26 pm

Does anybody have experience with a good mechanical keyboard that is super compact? When I use my laptop for gaming I often have it on my lap in bed. I have a hard mousepad on my right and my left hand is on a Razer Tartarus gamepad. This works pretty well and is very relaxing. I've considered switching out my Tartarus gamepad for something with mechanical keys. One option is the Razer Orbweaver which is very similar, only with Razer's green or orange switches. I've also thought about using a super compact keyboard with good switches. Something like this:

I think this might be small enough to rest on the bed at my side and not be a stretch for my left hand. Anybody use anything like this?

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Thu Feb 01, 2018 6:13 pm

Poker is quite good, though the "new Poker II" went to a plastic case. Poker 3 aka Pok3r (which is older than new Poker II) has an aluminum case.

If you prefer razer, I believe Orbweaver is the mechanical switch version of Tartarus.

There are also exclusively left-hand mechanical "gaming boards". There are a company Chinese companies that make them. Though personally, I'd just buy a whole keyboard.

My Guide to cheap keyboards on Amazon has a 60% section that may be of interest

McNutt · Post by **McNutt** » Thu Feb 01, 2018 6:31 pm

Thanks, Kasey. I had read that guide earlier (it's a very good guide) and was toying with the Excalibur you mentioned. I ended up ordering the Poker II with Cherry MX Reds and will see how it goes. I'll post my thoughts.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Thu Feb 01, 2018 9:18 pm

Kasey Chang wrote: ↑Thu Feb 01, 2018 6:13 pm Poker is quite good, though the "new Poker II" went to a plastic case. Poker 3 aka Pok3r (which is older than new Poker II) has an aluminum case.

If you prefer razer, I believe Orbweaver is the mechanical switch version of Tartarus.

There are also exclusively left-hand mechanical "gaming boards". There are a company Chinese companies that make them. Though personally, I'd just buy a whole keyboard.

My Guide to cheap keyboards on Amazon has a 60% section that may be of interest

Thanks for that. I have bookmarked it for later use. I really want a cheap mechanical with red backlighting that I can use for my second PC, mostly for browsing and such while I game. The one I have is membrane, clunky as hell, and almost impossible to see when I have the lights down. It isn't a gaming keyboard, though, so I'm not willing to spend much.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Fri Feb 02, 2018 12:21 am

Nothing in my guide is over $100.

McNutt · Post by **McNutt** » Sat Feb 03, 2018 4:09 pm

My Poker II came in yesterday thanks to Amazon surprising me with next day delivery. So far this keyboard is exactly what I was looking for. It's very small. You'd be surprised just how small a keyboard is when you trim away everything nonessential. I can use it with one hand at my side for games and the cherry red keys feel great. They don't feel quite as good as my Corsair keys. I think it's because of the plastic vs. aluminum case.

I just ordered a pack of o-rings and will try using this as my work keyboard. It's small enough that I can put it in my backpack easily.

McNutt · Post by **McNutt** » Sun Feb 04, 2018 4:29 pm

I added the extra WASD keys from my Corsair keyboard. Since the Poker isn't backlit, the contoured WASD keys help me find them without looking down. I also added o-rings to the keys so that it's quiet enough for use at the office. So far my office mate hasn't complained.

This is a great little keyboard. Obviously it's a niche market.

McNutt · Post by **McNutt** » Thu Feb 08, 2018 2:34 pm

So I've decided I'm not a 60% keyboard lover for work. I used it at work for the past few days and I was able to get around the lack of a numpad and having to hit two buttons for Delete. The dealbreaker is the lack of arrow keys. I never realized how often I use those keys and with the Poker II I have to use two hands for arrow movements (the arrow keys and function key are pretty far apart).

It's still great for use with my laptop. I'm very pleased with that. But as a work keyboard? No.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Thu Feb 08, 2018 7:40 pm

Recamp FN to the capslock keyposition (there's a DIP switch for that?) so you can use left pinky to hit FN and use right hand HIJK or IJKL as arrows.

McNutt · Post by **McNutt** » Thu Feb 08, 2018 11:09 pm

That's a really good idea. I rarely use the caps lock, so that's a good switch.

Rumpy · Post by **Rumpy** » Mon Feb 19, 2018 12:10 am

So, after upgrading to Win 10, I'm noticing that the backspace key feels less responsive in that it takes a lot more time to backspace something than it did in Win 7, but I figure it's a setting somewhere. Anyone know where?

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Mon Feb 19, 2018 12:35 am

Rumpy wrote: ↑Mon Feb 19, 2018 12:10 am So, after upgrading to Win 10, I'm noticing that the backspace key feels less responsive in that it takes a lot more time to backspace something than it did in Win 7, but I figure it's a setting somewhere. Anyone know where?

Hold down the right shift for about 8 seconds. You will hear a noise. When you hear that noise everything should be back to normal

Rumpy · Post by **Rumpy** » Mon Feb 19, 2018 12:46 am

Hey thanks, that seems to work great. Hidden feature?

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Mon Feb 19, 2018 1:05 am

Welcome. Found it online. Something about 'Filter Keys'. Never say yes when it asks on OS install

(If it asks)

Anonymous Bosch · Post by **Anonymous Bosch** » Mon Feb 19, 2018 1:05 am

Rumpy wrote: ↑Mon Feb 19, 2018 12:46 am Hey thanks, that seems to work great. Hidden feature?

Just an annoying accessibility function: FilterKeys.

Rumpy · Post by **Rumpy** » Mon Feb 19, 2018 2:31 pm

Ok, so turns out it wasn't on, as doing that only asks me if I want to turn it on. Maybe it's something to do with the delay rate in the keyboard settings?

Anonymous Bosch · Post by **Anonymous Bosch** » Mon Feb 19, 2018 3:44 pm

Rumpy wrote: ↑Mon Feb 19, 2018 2:31 pm Ok, so turns out it wasn't on, as doing that only asks me if I want to turn it on. Maybe it's something to do with the delay rate in the keyboard settings?

Could be. If you need to adjust your repeat rate, go to Keyboard Properties in the Win 10 Control Panel or just press [Windows key + R] and type:

Code: Select all

main.cpl @1

You should then be able to shorten the repeat delay (shorter delay = faster keyboard, and a faster repeat rate).

Rumpy · Post by **Rumpy** » Mon Feb 19, 2018 3:45 pm

Will that allow to set it beyond what it shows in the keyboard settings? Because I have it maxed.

Anonymous Bosch · Post by **Anonymous Bosch** » Mon Feb 19, 2018 3:52 pm

Rumpy wrote: ↑Mon Feb 19, 2018 3:45 pm Will that allow to set it beyond what it shows in the keyboard settings? Because I have it maxed.

Not sure. Give it a try, and see if it helps.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Mon Feb 19, 2018 3:56 pm

Did you go to control panel-keyboard-and move the repeat speed slider all the way to the right?

Rumpy · Post by **Rumpy** » Mon Feb 19, 2018 3:56 pm

Yep, it's all the way to the right.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Tue Feb 20, 2018 1:34 am

This is the K70? Have you checked the firmware?

Rumpy · Post by **Rumpy** » Tue Feb 20, 2018 3:14 am

Firmware? There's firmware to check? I don't have any software installed for it other than the drivers. But when I was on Windows 7, it just detected it as an HID device, while in Windows 10, it actually comes up as a K70 Lux.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Tue Feb 20, 2018 3:45 am

You need to use the Corsair Utility Engine (CUE) to update the firmware.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Tue Feb 20, 2018 7:40 am

Yep. It's got some pretty handy utility for gaming, too, such as the ability to remap any key to any other key, to a macro, etc.

Here

Rumpy · Post by **Rumpy** » Tue Feb 20, 2018 3:21 pm

Ok, I guess I'll try updating the firmware. Thanks. I'll report back.

Edit: Ok, got it installed and turns out it already did have the latest firmware. I forced an update anyway. No noticeable difference.