"SFF" Keyboards

What's the smallest you'd go with a keyboard?

  • 100%

    Votes: 21 7.7%
  • 80%

    Votes: 27 9.9%
  • 75%

    Votes: 53 19.3%
  • 60%

    Votes: 126 46.0%
  • 40%

    Votes: 23 8.4%
  • Electrodes implanted into brain, effectively 0%

    Votes: 16 5.8%
  • Something else

    Votes: 8 2.9%

  • Total voters
    274

BaK

King of Cable Management
Bronze Supporter
May 17, 2016
930
931
Heh, 'custom' mechanical keyboards seem to be a world on its own.
I just put half a foot on it but then decided to go with a ready-to-go and quiet Logitech G810, happy with it.

All that to say that we will miss you @iFreilicht if you don't come here as often! ;)
 

HeroXLazer

King of Cable Management
Sep 11, 2016
707
476
I've got an XD75RE on order right now, waiting for the letter from customs to pick it up, which will fulfil my ortholinear needs until I get time to complete my custom Atomic build. I'm also following the DO64 PCB to replace my S60-X (something the Bananasplit failed to do), but I think ortholinear really is the way to go for me.

My mid-term goal would be to have a 75-key ortholinear at home and/or work, and a smaller (Preonic or Planck-size) on the go. Once you go that far, it's super easy to get into more interesting stuff like the Let's Split or Nyquist, both of which I'm interested in.

Favourite switch at this time has to be the Kailh Box White. I also really like Gateron Greens, but those are too heavy for gaming. Great for typing, though.

I'm not that big on buying keycap sets. I like my orange+white PBT blanks, and custom sets are just so very expensive without any practical use. Some of them look amazing, though. GMK Nautilus is super dope, huge fan of that.
Have you tried the Kalih Speed Bronzes?
 
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|||

King of Cable Management
Sep 26, 2015
775
759
The previous 7 posts were moved over from the Iris 16 RGB vandal button thread.

In SFF Keyboard related news, Cherry announced slim switches at CES.



 

kittysox

Cable-Tie Ninja
Aug 8, 2017
156
195
I’ve got a vortex race 75 with clears that I love and a ducky varmillo cherry blossom one that I wouldn’t pay 10 cents for again. 75% is perfect for a compact gaming oriented sff keyboard 60% is mostly for pretend hackers and reddit posters
 

alexep7

Cable-Tie Ninja
Jan 30, 2017
184
139
I'm probably in the minority here, but I don't like typing in mechanical keyboards. I love the look of a nice, small 60% mechanical keyboard, I just can't get used to the feel and noise of the mechanical switches.

Right now I use a Logitech K380, by far the best and most comfortable keyboard I have ever tried.

 
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ignsvn

By Toutatis!
SFFn Staff
Apr 4, 2016
1,706
1,646
Have a little extra to spend, so here goes:


Basically a Keycool 84 with Dolch PBT keycap, single shot, side printed. Haven't got time to try much of its functionalities.

Edit:
- Gateron brown switch
- It says RGB but haven't found a way to activate the RGB. I get 7 colors for now. Quite cool.
- Unfortunately not programmable.
- Plastic frame.
- Braided USB - micro USB cable, should be detachable.

Build quality is OK, I guess. Nothing special, but not bad either. Compared to my 100% Tesoro Excalibur, it's very lightweight. I was concerned when I received the packaging - I thought they send me an empty box LOL!

75% is my preferred layout, so yeah pretty happy to have this.
 
Last edited:

ignsvn

By Toutatis!
SFFn Staff
Apr 4, 2016
1,706
1,646
A few days ago I received the long awaited (for me) Wooting One. Very happy so far, will see how it goes in the long term

Nice! What is your opinion about it? Is it really useful? Any extra fatigue from holding a key midway?

I'm asking this because, IMO, an analog input is effective if we have enough travel distance on the button/stick/whatever input method. I'm not sure if a keyboard switch offers enough travel distance to optimally utilize the pressure sensitive keys. But this is just my guess, hence my question.
 

EdZ

Virtual Realist
May 11, 2015
1,578
2,107
The analog face buttons of the PS2 controller (DualShock 2) were useful in only a small number of cases, but they were effective in those cases, and had an extremely short travel distance and used only rubber domes. Perceptually you're not so much modulating travel distance as you are varying the force you press the button (or keyswitch) with.
 

MultiDoc

Airflow Optimizer
Feb 2, 2018
304
197
Didn't have the chance to test it yet, but as @EdZ said, you vary the force more than the travel distance. I had been watching the Wooting development since they first started years ago and I am very happy with the final product, can highly recommend it.
 
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ignsvn

By Toutatis!
SFFn Staff
Apr 4, 2016
1,706
1,646
The analog face buttons of the PS2 controller (DualShock 2) were useful in only a small number of cases, but they were effective in those cases, and had an extremely short travel distance and used only rubber domes. Perceptually you're not so much modulating travel distance as you are varying the force you press the button (or keyswitch) with.

Thanks for the explanation.

Admittedly I rarely used my analog stick on my PS1. I used it only when my thumb became too tired pressing the arrow buttons. And even then, I usually pushed that analog stick all the way LOL.
 

jmarin

Airflow Optimizer
Mar 8, 2018
258
187
Bringing this back from the dead. I'm looking into getting a new keyboard. All I've ever known was inexpensive membrane keyboards the last 20 or so years that were the full 104+ key layout. I have no idea which way to go. I've looked at 104, TKL, 87, 82, 72, 60%, you name it. Mechanical keyboards interest me to a degree, and I think I'm open to a less than full keyboard, but if I do that I'd like the numpad as a secondary function (FN+ whatever) as I hardly ever use the numbers at the top. There are so many options I have no idea which way to really go. I don't want to spend a huge amount of money either. So any guidance would be appreciated. I've also read this entire thread, and learned a ton, but that's led to more questions than answers lol. Thanks