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Cheap keyboards choices

Asm0deusAsm0deus Member EpicPosts: 4,407
in Hardware
My boy grandma is looking to buy a keyboard for him and asked me to look online to order something. Budget is 50$ will order from newegg.ca or amazon.ca

My son wants an illuminated one cause you know its cool.

That said I have it whittled down to:






Anyone have experience with these?  Is one better than the others?





Brenics ~ Just to point out I do believe Chris Roberts is going down as the man who cheated backers and took down crowdfunding for gaming.





Comments

  • Asm0deusAsm0deus Member EpicPosts: 4,407
    edited December 2018
    Forgot to mention would like to order in the next 24 to 36 hours.

    He has a cheapo corn mouse keyboard combo I got him last year and the mouse still work fine, it has decent dpi but occasionally suffers from double clicking, the keyboard is basic like these but they keys are worn down and a bunch of em he has to guess what they are. This isn't too bad for the wasd key which are completely worn but he finds it annoying for the others.  Will keep this old one as a back up.

    When he's older I will look into something better quality but he's young still and has to prove he can be responsible enough to properly take care of his stuff before I fork 50+ cash for this.


    Brenics ~ Just to point out I do believe Chris Roberts is going down as the man who cheated backers and took down crowdfunding for gaming.





  • CryomatrixCryomatrix Member EpicPosts: 3,223
    One thing is, I got a mechanical keyboard with lights. I was initially shocked by how loud the friggin keyboard is. So take that into account. 

    Cryomatrix
    Catch me streaming at twitch.tv/cryomatrix
    You can see my sci-fi/WW2 book recommendations. 
  • Asm0deusAsm0deus Member EpicPosts: 4,407
    Yeah I also so another mechanical keyboard, blue leds only though, for under 50$CAD but don't want loud switches as he a kid, use to membrane and his pc is in our living room so we don't want to hear clikty clack clckty clack.

    Also this rosewill one is 15$ over budget.

    Thanks for the suggestion though!

    Brenics ~ Just to point out I do believe Chris Roberts is going down as the man who cheated backers and took down crowdfunding for gaming.





  • RidelynnRidelynn Member EpicPosts: 7,383
    Membrane keyboards there isn’t much to differentiate them apart from the lights. So pick the one with the prettiest lights.

    A name brand will be more likely to have light control software that stays supported. But apart from that the physical keyboard itself there isn’t much difference in them in membrane boards
  • Asm0deusAsm0deus Member EpicPosts: 4,407
    edited December 2018
    Ridelynn said:
    Membrane keyboards there isn’t much to differentiate them apart from the lights. So pick the one with the prettiest lights.

    A name brand will be more likely to have light control software that stays supported. But apart from that the physical keyboard itself there isn’t much difference in them in membrane boards
    That's not exactly true.  I have had membrane keyboards that were absolutely crap an some that were awesome.  I find there's lots of membrane vs mechanical bias. While I wont argue that mech KB are generally better quality that doesn't equate to membrane kb's being all the same crap.

    For example  his "corn" kb/mouse combo was kindy shitty whereas my MS sidewinder x4 was effing awesome, in fact I still have it.... buttons are still all clear and visible, works great other than a funky wire that I keep having to fix and this thing is like 5+ years old and it was used daily for both work and play until like last week when I got tired of fixing the wire and decided to start shopping for a replacement, probably gonna try a mechanical one just to be hip n shit plus it will remind of my type writer days...


    It's why I posted here cause while I know the general rule is mech is better than mem and most peep will suggest something over 70$ I also know there's a small sub group here that also use cheaper items and like me know there still different qualities or brands to avoid in the cheapo department.



    Brenics ~ Just to point out I do believe Chris Roberts is going down as the man who cheated backers and took down crowdfunding for gaming.





  • Octagon7711Octagon7711 Member LegendaryPosts: 9,000
    I was never impressed with the mechanical keyboards and prefer the regular ones.  Lights help a lot in a dark room and come in handy. 
    Asm0deus

    "We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa      "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are."  SR Covey

  • Asm0deusAsm0deus Member EpicPosts: 4,407
    Decided to give the reddragon a try and see how this brand is, been meaning to for awhile now as some people say their mmo mouse is pretty good.


    Will gives these a review when I get a chance.

    Brenics ~ Just to point out I do believe Chris Roberts is going down as the man who cheated backers and took down crowdfunding for gaming.





  • RidelynnRidelynn Member EpicPosts: 7,383
    Wow I didn’t even mention the word Mechanical. Sorry to touch a nerve.


    still stand by what I said though - good luck with the reddragon and let us know what your son thinks of it.
  • Asm0deusAsm0deus Member EpicPosts: 4,407
    edited December 2018
    Ridelynn said:
    Wow I didn’t even mention the word Mechanical. Sorry to touch a nerve.


    still stand by what I said though - good luck with the reddragon and let us know what your son thinks of it.
    You didn't touch a nerve and I am not excited or anything, you seem to think so? 

    If you read your post without having the benefit of being "in your head" you seem to be saying all membrane keyboards are the same "junk/ w/e quality you think membranes are" except "for the lights" and that's flat out false.  Maybe you didn't mean to imply such but that's how it read to me and not because I am triggered or any such nonsense. :p

    You have membrane keyboards that are of poor quality physically and some that are not. Like any other computer component some will be better, last longer etc.

    Brenics ~ Just to point out I do believe Chris Roberts is going down as the man who cheated backers and took down crowdfunding for gaming.





  • Asm0deusAsm0deus Member EpicPosts: 4,407
    edited December 2018
    Received keyboard and tested it out to make sure everything works. 

    For the S101 Redragon RGB LED backlit keyboard:

    All keys work fine, lightning options all work fine and the options are pretty good for a cheap keyboard that doesn't use software for this.  All lighting effects are changed via the FN+ ins, home, pgup, pgdn, end and del presses. you can turn the lighting on or off, have rainbow effects, 7  static colors choices and breathing breathing effects mixed in among all the different options.

    It feels pretty stiff with no bendiness to it, keys are all printed properly, unlike the corn combo and the axGear combo I previously tried out, key presses feel nice, are quiet but you still "feel" it when contact is made.  It has the various media keys but you have to use the FN+F1 to F12 presses.  Feels like it is better quality than the corn stuff but maybe not quite as good as the MS sidewinder x4 I just stopped using.



    For the M601 Redragon mouse:

    The mouse has looks good but I haven\t installed the software to check out the programability of the buttons yet, will do that at after xmas when my son get it, not a feature he will be using.  It has a nice red lighting effect, the cover has a bit of a rough or gritty feel that I prefer over the smooth shiny covers that get sweaty and yucky.

    The clicking so far feels nice, no double clicking. The wheel is rubberized and works well though each click as you turn it could be a tad more defined IMO. The dpi buttons just below the scroll wheel works fine and surprisingly isn't in the way whether I use a palm or claw grip.  The same thing for the left side forwards and back button, they are there and no gymnastic required to click them but they are not in the way as there plenty of room below them for your thumb, I have medium hands btw.

    It's seems just a tad lighter than my g600 mouse and is approximately the same length and about the same width though for the width it feels and looks less wide due to it curving inwards instead of outwards.  The g600 is more like this (  ) and the m601 is more like  )  ( if you get my meaning.

    It has a cover underneath you can take off to adjust the weight but the cover is rather stiff to remove and frankly I highly doubt anyone would remove any of the weights.

    The mouse has 4 dpi setting which is easily see and you click the dpi button via flashing light, faster flashes means higher dpi. it has 1000/1600/2400/3200 dpi setting which seem good to me and all work at the right speeds.


    IF these both last for 1 year or more with out issue I think it's well worth the 39.99 CAD, all taxes included, price tag.

    I think it's a good option for young teens and kids.


    Will update in 6 months or so.


    I would definitely say the Redragon stuff is of better quality than the corn/axGear brands even after a quick try after receiving it brand new.




    Ridelynn

    Brenics ~ Just to point out I do believe Chris Roberts is going down as the man who cheated backers and took down crowdfunding for gaming.





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