Razer Lycosa or Logitech Illuminated Keyboard?

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http://store.razerzone.com/store/ra...categoryId.49136100/parentCategoryId.35156900

http://www.logitech.com/pl-pl/keyboards/keyboard/devices/7288

Anybody got experience with either? I might be willing to hear about others, but please do speak up on these if you've got any first-hand info or word from friends.

So far as I know, the Razer thingy is all-membrane as far as keys go, with anti-ghosting and whatnot. Not sure, but it probably doesn't have anything to silence down the sound of typing and might not have a comfort device apart from what it takes to achieve precision and offset sweating fingers. Then again, precision/sweaty finger devices do matter when you're dead-tired after working long hours and you still need to type the project out.

Then, the Logitech doesn't seem to be membrane or to have any precision device or ghosting control (not like ghosting control matters that much anyway), while it supposedly has some sponge kinda packing that makes the keys land softly and quietly, which is good when I'm typing away the 16th hour of a public procurement translation at night and every keystroke sends my desk moving and resounds in my brain.

If you think background info matters, I work long hours as a translator and I want to minimise finger pain/stiffness and maximise typing speed. In the second place, it would be important to maximise precision and minimise noise. I type rather fast but no fireworks (up to 95 wpm), my typing style is a bit different in that it resembles soft brushing or piano playing in long text sequences (unlike your typical pecking secretary or a hard-hitting dood) but I attack single keys, combos, shortcuts etc. like a typical gamer (and there's plenty of that in translation software or text editors). And I don't want any wheels, rows of keys above F-keys etc., prefer to do without music keys and most multimedia keys.

Thanks in advance for thinking a bit with me.

Edit: I currently have this: http://www.hama.de/portal/articleId*170661/action*2563; the problems are two: 1) layout, 2) when you type at certain angles, your fingers get under neighbouring keys. I used to have this: http://www.natec-europe.com/index.php?mod=products&id=7&pid=Z08436&lang=en. Problems: while a great keyboard, 1) after some time keys stop working one by one, 2) it's easy for dirt to get under keys and disrupt work, 3) the keyboard is neither as soft as a laptop one nor as springy as some desktop ones, which tends to come in the way of fast typing. Before, I had this: http://www.logitech.com/en-us/433/154, which was a great keyboard but the keys offered too much resistance and typing long hours was very painful.

I've been looking at this too: http://www.daskeyboard.com/.

I've looked at some curve keyboards from MS and Logitech. Not bad but wasn't ecstatic. Natural was better but there was nothing without a mouse in bundle and I don't want to pay for a mouse I won't use. Oh, and I prefer to avoid wireless.

 

Get the Logitech. My Logitech DiNovo keyboard has the same (not illuminated) low-profile keys, and I love it. I've had it for several years, and it's been the best keyboard I've ever had.

To be honest, I've never been a big fan of Razer.

Or...you can forgo both, and get the awesomeness that is the Optimus Maximus Keyboard!

 

Oh lol. I could switch to Dvorak when typing in English and to something else when in Polish, to maximise my bandwidth. Except, oh, err... 1667 euro! Ooops.

 

I fail to see the problem here....

 

I feel your pain. Hama is horrible.

And I cannot recommend backlit keyboards enough.

As for the Razer keyboard, it looks very nice. I own a Logitech G-15 and the backlit keys are a real asset - in particular for gaming where I tend to tone down the light. IMO that is the main benefit of the keyboard. My original idea was to buy a Cherry (who IMO produce some of the best and most durable keyboards on the market today, their G83-6105 and G86-22000 [coffee and pizza proof] models in particular), but they didn't have a keyboard with backlit keys.

They produce for RAPTOR though (like the K-1 model), but I didn't quite find the keyboard I was looking for then. I cannot atm open the Logitech link as their site is currently down for maintenance, but from experience I can recommend their products as reliable and rather robust.

I'm somewhat of a Logitech fanboy, so take this endorsement with the grain of salt it deserves. That said, the moment Cherry makes a G86-22000 with backlit keys I'll probably ditch my Logitech G-15.

 

Bourgeois scum!

 

I have been using the Lycosa for almost two years.

For gaming there is no better. But typing is less. The keys have lights. without those you cannot read the keys. I repeat, you cannot read the keys when the lights are turned off. It is a gamers board, absolutely not for typing.

It looks so sweet, a bit sci fi. when it is dark you can find all the keys. It is strong, flat, the support from razer is good. The anti ghosting for the keys works perfect. I has two usb cords 2.0 to feed the keyboard, and a 2.0 usb mouse plugged into the keyboard. The cables are long and use the goldplated connectors. souns and headsetjacks at the back. The connectors must be plugged into the moterherboard/soundcard and intertwined into the two usb cables.

The new Razer board is better for typing. The Black Widow is a re-designed mechanical keyboard.

And yes I am a Razer fanboy. keyboard, mouse and mousepad.

 

Chev,
I just saw that the Logitech keyboard is wireless. Call me old fashioned, but I wouldn't like it. Correspondingly, if I had to choose between the two I'd choose Razer.

One more thing about Cherry: Cherry is really excellent. Their keyboard designs are functional (read: sober; heavy-ish; angular) and exceptionally durable. They are liquid proof (I spilled a few cups of water over my old G83 - it still works), and very good for typing. Yesterday I was at my mother's (= my old) computer and posted using my seven plus year old, battered Cherry G83 keyboard (that I used for gaming intensively and extensively, not to mention for posting on SP) - it endures, still has all its keys, and works flawless. Cherry keyboards are no-frills tools. If you look for style, look elsewhere. You'll never find a Cherry in front of a Mac. But if you look for superior quality - that's the place. Price performance ratio is good as well (probably about half the price or less of the Razer or Logitech). Ok, I am a Cherry fanboy. Guilty as charged.
And they're 'Made in Germany'.

 

Unifying wireless is pretty okay. I've been using a mouse with Unifying, and haven't been had trouble with the connection.

Of course, you got batteries to charge, but that's it.

 

Ummmmmm.....

Yeah.....I think he's going to need a keyboard that's geared more towards typing.

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Having batteries is a good thing for me. It's like my mouse came with weights pre-installed. Also, it's rechargeable...I can go about a week on a single charge, and when it says it's low, I just drop it into its desktop cradle/charger before I go to bed...the next morning, it's just chillin' there...waiting to be used.

 

Doods, so what about Cherry UltraFlat STREAM? Pretty much the only Cherry I can buy from here without too much hassle. It costs half the price of an MS Natural and a third or fourth of the Logitech Illuminated, so I tend to worry whether it'll fall in the same league performance-wise.

BTW, Rags, nothing wrong with the style of the STREAM. But Logitech boasts some Swiss engineering and that's equally cool to German tech jobs.

Hmm... I'm also kinda getting inclined to looked at the Das without key caps.

 

The Cherry UltraFlat STREAM looks nice, go for it.

FYI: Yesterday evening I sent an e-mail petition to Cherry, calling for them to finally give their (coffee proof) CyMotion EXPERT (G86-22000) backlit keys, promising them to, in that case, immediately buy the product and ditch my Logitech G-15 And no, I was not drunk. They replied this morning, saying they would forward my suggestion to the responsible project manager.

 

Seems there are some problems with Das Keyboard precisely in the area of fast-typing, so bye, off the list. Plus, turns out it was using customised Cherries. Lol. (I can hear Rags laughing there, too ). Tempted to get the Cherry but still not fully decided to give up on other options. Will see.

Meantime, got myself a used black IBM on some cheap auction where they were doing away with a hundred. Wonder how it will fare.

Umm. Guys. What say ye about this baby? http://www.cherry.biz.pl/go/_info/?user_id=JK0200&lang=pl

 

I had a microsoft natural keyboard before the Lycosa. You know the one with the keys divided in two parts. It was great for typing.

 

Ah yes. Folks claim the division helps typing speed. In my case, typing speed means money because I can finish more pages of translation in less time. I'm kinda tempted to try.

On the other hand, this afternoon I went to my ancient coder of a step-father's kitchen and found a 1993 IBM (the Lexmark kind, with a detachable cable) behind the fridge. I took the thing, which will be allowed to vote next year, and gave it enough Wyborowa to ban it from driving, brushing it with a tooth brush, which was after I was finished driving ear cleaning sticks between the keys. Keys caps are dipping comfortably in a bowlful of dishwash. I'm soon gonna rub them like there's no tomorrow.

It looks pristine for a 17 year old keyboard. Better condition than most of the stuff you can buy for $100 on geeky websites.

Here:

http://www.sorcerers.net/forums/album.php?albumid=216

Edit: Erm. Having problems. Drying the thing with a room fan now, maybe gonna have to wash it again. Hope it's still functional. It hasn't seen use in several years, think 10 or more, but the last time it did, it worked.

As far as Razer goes, it looks like there's going to be a mechanical keyboard from there, the BlackWidow, available soon (if it not already), supposedly around 80 euro for the basic version, which is very nice for a mechanical one... While the better version is going to cost 50 more, it seems it will only have lights and more keys, nothing different in the mechanics perhaps.

 

A keyboard is a keyboard... ?

 

This isn't even nearly true. Keyboards vary wildly in their build quality, response, response time... and a million other factors.

A good keyboard can significantly improve typing and gaming - and there are separate boards for both purposes.

I personally favor a split keyboard, due to the additional comfort.

 

Guys, I found an IBM Model M behind my step-father's fridge.

It's mechanical... sorta. Incidentally, like top-end gaming or typing keyboards. IBM is technically not fully mechanical but it has a separate individual spring under every key.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100076874
http://pckeyboards.stores.yahoo.net/keyboards.html

 

This borders on blasphemy

 

Blasphemy?

This. Is. QWERTY!