Cheapest Mechanical keyboards

Im looking to buy maybe 30-40 quanitities of mechanical keyboards for typists. Typing is all they do and weve been going through Microsoft keyboards like crazy.

What are feasible options for under $50 a pop?

 

You can always pick up old model Ms. Sometimes you will find ebay sellers selling older mech keyboards in bulk.

 

Going that cheap old generic keyboard route may be cheapest.

If you want to be more modern though look for something that uses the cherry mx switches.

A few things to try.

1.) geekhack forums, they have group buys where a person orders a bulk order and gets a discount. You can reserve as much as you need/want as part of that group buy.

2.) Contact a distributor directly. Say Das Keyboard I know they sell direct and also I feel they have one of the best keyboards for the money. If you call them and say you need 50 of them and ask what kind of discount they will give you maybe they will work with you.

Also be sure to think of noise....

A bunch of people using buckling spring would be maddening

I just posted up samples of my MX Brown vs MX Blue
http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Island:20341

Also I made the blues much more quiet with a mod
http://youtu.be/79rWQ-CU9Lw

 

Good ol' model M's

We do have a typist or two using it already, the thing is you need to buy extra adapters to make it work with ps2/USB.

Id prefer a more modern design with quieter switches so my boss can approve of it. They wont think very highly of old aged model M.

 

I just put this together about an hour ago.

‪Das Keyboard Cherry MX Blue (Regular) vs Brown (Silent) Sound Samples Comparison‬‏ - YouTube

The browns are registering more DB on my mic despite being "quiet" however with practice (or slower typing) they would be more quiet than the blues.

Also new keycaps would make a big difference.

 

Check out the ABS M1. Good solid mechanical keyboard without the $100 pricetag.

 

you might be able to get some Razer Blackwidow's .. website lists them as $80 each(can probably contact razer for special deal / get them off ebay cheaper) .. had my old Razer keyboard for nearly 4 years now.

 

Thanks but it seems the ABS M1 has been discontinued.

I remembering seeing Cherry keyboards at CeBit this year, i should have spoken to them then.

Anyone used this Cherry keyboard before?

CHERRY Compact 1800 Series Keyboards

 

NO NOT GET THIS

I had there Ultimate version and sent it back in a day, keycap quality is crud, build quality is crud, body is crud.

Just like many razer products its built for show and sells by name.

The very idea that the BW sells for about the same price as other KB's has to be suspicious, and I thought it was too good to be true and found out the hard way it was.

I have not used one yet but I know they are good quality, Cherry is the people that make the switches that are in all the keyboards. I also got a Cherry off ebay w/reds in it. A lot of the cherry keyboards are POS keyboards with the card scanner and stuff on them because they were built for industry. However they make regular models for home as well.

 

The raw dB of the Brown is louder, but due to the fact that it's not "clicking" at as high pitch it sounds quieter to human ears. dB is a lot, but it's not everything I'd take that Brown any day of the week over the Blue as long as the feel is similar.

 

Yeah I am using the browns now I like them better I think.

It sort of does not feel as "mechanical" without that stronger tactile feedback but I like it more, also the softer keys seem to fit me better.

Now when recording my youtube videos I wont have them full of clicks (thought some people actually liked it)

 

Cheapest? That would be those beat up mechanical keyboards on eBay. But... if you want SOME quality left in it then go for something like the PLU ML-87 which uses Cherry switches.

Good mechanicals will cost you some and it seems the most popular choice is Filco (I think they're overhyped, but that's just my opinion). Cheap and good don't really mix well for things such as these. You have however, these options:

1. Get a Unicomp which is essentially an IBM Model M but manufactured by another company who bought over the technology years ago. They have the USB version so that's convenient for you.
2. Get a Filco/PLU ML-87 or other popular Cherry keyboards, I'm not sure whether they come with USB or the PS/2 connectors - a simple search will be enough.


The above options are way above your budget but will last you for a long long time. And if you are hell bent on spending only $50 a piece then your only option would be eBay.

I also forgot to suggest a keyboard that has been said to be quite durable, the question is whether they are as durable as mechanicals. You might want to take a look at Keytronic keyboards which are essentially rubber domes but they don't disintegrate after a few months of use like the normal Microsoft trash.