Did non-RGB mechanical keyboards cease to exist? Can anyone recommend some?
I've been looking to move on from membrane keyboards and go mechanical, but no matter where I look literally every mech has some form of obnoxious RGB lighting on it. Are there any that just.. don't have it?
There are many, many non-RGB and even non-backlit keyboards. Where are you looking?
Here is a basic mech kb with no added frills.
https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/products/ducky-origin-black
Both of my own keyboards have the ability to disable the backlights—which is ideal, imo, so I can change my mind later.
Damn I'm bad at searching, then. Thanks!
Damn that Ducky Origin looks good! Wish there was an 80% option.
Ducky has a bunch of TKL options, including black on black.
https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/products/ducky-one-tkl-pbt?_pos=14&_sid=cd72f4d81&_ss=r
https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/products/ducky-one-2-phantom-black-tkl?_pos=13&_sid=cd72f4d81&_ss=r
Just turn it off? Or keep it as a backlight, set it to one solid color you like with brightness turned down to be subtle but useful.
You don't need to keep it on rgb puke.
Snark aside, pick a keyboard you like for the size/feel/features and find out if its a software nightmare (razer) or not before worrying about rgb (just make sure rgb can be configured).
I don't want my keyboard to have software configuration on my PC. It's a fucking keyboard. It doesn't need and shouldn't have an app.
Ducky keyboards and most rgb mechs let you define the keyboard just with fn combinations. The software is for convenience
There are reasons you may want an app besides rbg: like if your keyboard supports macros, or if you have a hall sensor keyboard and you want to configure the activation and deactivation heights of your key presses.
But yeah, I kinda think rbg keyboards are lame
My Corsair keyboards do not require an app to be installed forever.
If I want to customize colors and whatnot I need the app, otherwise there are some presets on the keyboard itself.
If I customize the colors, I use the app and do it and then uninstall the app and move on. This is presumably MUCH easier than trying to do this without an interface directly on the keyboard which I suppose would be the alternative.
It WOULD be nice to just be able to edit a text file and copy it over.
My cheap Amazon RGB mech keyboards don’t need software to turn off/on/customize RGB or change colors or anything.
If you get one with QMK and Via you just set everything with a web app and everything is stored on the keyboard. Software is entirely necessary if you're not using a QWERTY layout.
Look up the Redragon VATA K580 if you are looking for modular with on-board keyboard LED controls via key combos (no software or system level lighting functionality.) I've been using that for a while with AKKO silent penguins, and I really like the thing.
Only downside I can think of is how narrow the sides of the included switches are, and how I accidentally damaged two of them while pulling the switches out. Might just be skill issue on my part, but it did come with a few spare switches anyways.
Late edit: other downside is that you can't adjust the color or brightness of the media keys, lock lights, or macro buttons once you've saved a macro. Thankfully those are minor issues, albeit a tiny bit annoying.
Are there any keyboards without nightmare software. I'm coming from a Corsair keyboard and iCue sucks, and also the keyboard somehow stops controllers from working with Steam. (This is a known issue I've seen posts about on the official Corsair forum and they just won't fix it)
Edit: Thanks for the suggestions, I will look at some of those brands and see what they look like. I was originally planning on getting a custom one from Glorious Gaming cause I tried them at Best Buy and liked how they felt along with the replaceable switches and how customizable they are. But if anyone else has used this brand and has thoughts I would love to hear them.
Keychron uses QMK and can be configured through their website or software and I believe it just flashes new firmware so you don't have to keep the software running.
Nuphy boards use QMK which is configurable through VIA which is open source and web based. Pretty convenient. Otherwise you can just configure it using button combos as per their instructions.
Wooting's pretty great with their webapp.
I have a Glorious custom keyboard and it’s pretty nice. Heavy, types well, and “luxurious” feeling. All that being said, most days I just use my Logitech MX Mechanical Mini (basically a 65% with some Logitech-proprietary low-profile brown switches), and enjoy it immensely. I would recommend that if you just want something zero frills and will be a great keyboard for years to come.
My cheap-o ($40; uses a knock-off of CherryMX switches) mechanical keyboard doesn't have the option to turn the lights off or change how they display. It also doesn't turn off when the system is in sleep mode; only when totally powered off. :(
That stinks. Have you tried using openrgb or even windows lighting control? Might be time to take a tiny hammer to each light :p
Das keyboard? Keychron?
Then look for mechanical keyboards instead of gaming keyboards.
Go with the originals. Cherry, das keyboard, unicomp. Even Logitech has backlit but non-rgb lights.
Personally I'm using a Filco Majestouch.
Another vote here for Das Keyboard. I've had mine well over ten years and it's still fantastic. And no flashy lights.
Mine has served that long and is now a hand me down for my kid's first Linux box.
Yep, it's the RBG that makes a mechanical keyboard a gaming keyboard.
Gaming keyboards are also usually linear, but that's not a hard rule.
I've never really understood why people specifically avoid buying products with RGB lighting. You can usually just set it to a color you like, or simply turn them off. Instead people don't buy the thing they want because of the "obnoxious RGB". Imo it's like not wanting to buy a nice speaker because when you tried it at the store the volume was too high or you didn't like the sample track it played.
I can get not wanting to pay for a feature you actively dislike
The RGB inevitably resets itself and turns back on. Some of them are easy to turn off. Others require software (malware) you have to explicitly install to turn off the RGB.
My desktop has a lovely feature where if I turn it off the RGB turns BACK ON. And it turns out my case is just the right angle for the RGB to shine into my face when I’m in bed.
So yes I will pay more money to not get RGB.
Is that software available for every platform? Whenever I hear Gamer(tm) features, I assume that the crap customization software for Windows only. I like my mouse, but I can only customize the layout in Windows.
OpenRGB has support for a ton of devices; just make sure the keyboard is supported before buying it.
Yeah they are really helpful at night when it’s dark. Mine is just set to a solid amber color.
Because you're paying for a gimmick instead of quality, and you don't wanna support products that dont do that, and in capitalism that's the only way to vote for what products get created.
What sold me on RGB was when I learned that you can do more with it than just solid colors and rainbow vomit. You can actually use the lights as pixels, and display crude images that are actually visible if you use use enough lights and squint your eyes a bit.
When I first found out about that, I went from anti-RGB to RGB all the things in my latest build. RGB motherboard, RGB RAM, RGB AIO, RGB fans, RGB keyboard and mouse, RGB cables... Anything to increase the "pixel" count for a clearer image. I wanted to buy even more but then I ran out of RGB ports on the motherboard.
You can usually shut off the rgb lighting all together.
Simple solution: turn off rgb. Usually can be done throigh software or theres a dedictaed fn key combination for it
Or you can go down the mech keeb rabbithole and start collecting nice boards
From what I have experienced the obnoxious RGB lighting is just a settings option. They usually come with a few different types of settings. On my system, I just turn it so it blinks white after I push the button. Makes it nice to glance down and see if I hit the right key sometimes. Otherwise I never use the flashy colors or stuff except to show off to someone who hasnt seen it.
In addition, most keyboards have the option to just turn it off completely.
Das keyboard - excellent for years and years.
I was about to post this.
I'm on my 2nd blank one from them now.
No RGB, not even any print on the keys. So nice
I love the blank one. It's great for everyday use apart from passwords! Maybe I need to come up with longer word-based passwords with spaces so they're easier to type. https://xkcd.com/936/
Check out https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/ They have a ton of non led-lit keyboards. I've ordered a few from them and their pricing and service is excellent.
Gotten two boards from them, great experience both times. Highly recommended
Keychron makes some. I've had two of their keyboards and love both of them.
Also have white led Keychrons. Both are K2s.
Loved them at first, overtime I’ve grown to strongly dislike the wasted key for the white backlight but they’re still great keyboards - especially for the price.
You can easily change what all the keys do. https://www.keychron.com/blogs/archived/how-to-use-via-to-program-your-keyboard
You could just turn it off? Mine can make an animated rainbow, sure, but I can also just set it to mono-color for some backlight or altogether off.
Given that it cost me about 300RMB, the savings for no RGB were negligible.
You can absolutely get non-RGB mechanical keyboards, but depending on if you mean completely non-backlit keyboards or single color backlit keyboards determines how hard it is to find. If you want non-backlit, its easy, you see them all over the place. If you want single color, your choice is highly limited. mechanicalkeyboards.com has some from Vortex, Varmilo, and KBParadise.
Even a RGB board should have controls for color, brightness, and pattern. Shouldn’t be too difficult to turn it off or adjust the color to something more natural.
That said, none of the keyboards I currently own and use have anything more than an indicator LED.
Unfortunately, (at least with Razer) the application to control them consumes way more resources than is reasonable, and if you don’t run it then it’ll run the most distracting light show by default on the keyboard.
Wish they would just remember their last setting when they last connected to the app.
You can just disable the lights?
The 8-bitdo keyboards are pretty solid choices without RGB, off the top of my head.
Ducky makes fantastic keyboards and some have no lights. For the ones with lights, you can turn them off.
I'm using Logitech MX Mechanical Mini. It has nice subtle lavender white backlight. Other notable thing about it is, it's wireless and comes back after inactivity in fractions of second. Something many wireless mechanical keyboards struggle with.
I have a nice das for sale. You can't have my IBM model m though.
I bought one of the reproduction Model Ms and the only difference between it and my original is the case yellowing. It even has the steel plate in the bottom to give it heft. Buckling springs feel incredible and last forever. Only drawback is the noise.
Build your own how you like it.
You can almost choose like Legos.
Ducky Origin
look around ebay for a Model M keyboard
You need to leave away the firstname "Gaming" from your search terms.
I am very late to the party but a friend gave me one of these. Better than any keyboard I have ever had and I'm an old bastard.
https://mistelkeyboard.com/products/aff922daf90083d4382a8e6583885571
WASD Keyboards
I love my WASD. I think you pay a bit more for the customization, but I love that aspect. I made mine in orange and blue with the McLaren logo for the meta keys, and the Formula 1 logo for the F1 key. It makes me smile.
Almost all RGB keyboards have a switch to turn off the lighting since some people have their computers in their bedrooms.
Kinesis makes outstanding keyboards with no RGB. Keychron makes good keyboards that you can disable the RGB on.
The Logitech K845 only has a white backlight. It's a really clean, professional looking mechanical.
I use a Cooler Master Masterkeys Pro M white LED board with MX Blue switches. It's nominally a gaming board but it's very subtle, the "It's a gaming product so it has to look like Gigatron's left knee cap" is held to a minimum. I mainly use the backlights in the "all keys lit" mode at its dimmest brightness or turned off.
Did Das Keyboard go RGB? That’s a (pricey) but great keyboard.
E: just had a quick look. Still expensive, backlit but not RGB, full keyboard. We’ve had one for a decade.
I also recommend the Das Keyboard. Been using my Pro 4 for nearly a decade and it just keeps working, despite many spills. I type so hard and much that some of the keycaps crumbled earlier this year, so I got new keycaps for $10 and it just keeps chugging along.
I love the WASD Code it's just built like a workhorse. Their newer models have backlighting but it's all white, the only thing you can RGB is the 3 indicator LEDs (caps lock etc...) which are very discrete and personalizing them is entirely optional. No software, everything is done & stored on-board. They're pricy but usually they'll have some banger black friday or holiday sales.
Filco is a typist's professional keyboard.
If you really want the retro experience, you can get a modern USB version of the original IBM Model M keyboard from Unicomp (https://pckeyboard.com). I believe these are made on the same equipment that made the Model M back in the day. Buckling spring keys, metal frame, huge, heavy, and loud. Lots of configuration options and the only lights on them are the (admittedly annoyingly bright blue) lock status LEDs. I've used an original Model M and own one of these. They're amazing.
TL;DR: Check out the KeyChron K3 V2 Non-Backlight edition. Decent quality, inexpensive, no lights, and no knowledge required.
ZSA make good stuff, sell it at reasonable prices, provide incredible support, and give a shit about artists/humans/the world. Any time mechanical keyboards are mentioned I feel compelled to inject their name into the conversation. I've owned a Moonlander for a while now and I have nothing but good things to say about it. I'd recommend the ZSA Voyager for someone checking out not shitty keyboards for the first time.
With that out of the way: it's tough to find a lightless mech keyboard these days because backlights make sense and, so long as you're putting lights behind keycaps, you might as well use full color range LEDs and let the user set a low brightness white color or turn them off if they don't care for it. Some companies make non-backlight versions (KeyChron's K series for instance) but they're a rarity. Why produce and stock inventory that's not moving?
I recommend doing some research on how mechanical keyboards are built (watch a 10 minute video on the internet) and then using RTINGS' keyboard table for some comparison shopping. You're looking for a well rated keyboard with hot swappable PCBs designed to accommodate south-facing LEDs (they point down - less bright). One of the advantages of going mechanical is customization. Don't want the LEDs at all? Remove them from your build. Even without PCB hot swapping: no one will stop you desoldering LEDs from your keyboard.
Building out something like a Gem80 from NuPhy or a 60HE from Wooting will net you a high quality mechanical keyboard that won't get in your way but is customizable enough for you to avoid RGB-induced eye sores.
One of the advantages of going mechanical is customization. Don't want the LEDs at all? Remove them from your build. Even without PCB hot swapping: no one will stop you desoldering LEDs from your keyboard.
Yeah OP if you want to live the ultra elite mech keyboard life you should be totally fine with just buying something and spending a ton of time desoldering a crap load of tiny components off of it. That's the best part about mechanical keyboards, is spending hundreds of dollars on them and then also needing to invest in a bunch of soldering gear and time to make sure you can skillfully enough disassemble electronics at the component level to not damage your newly purchased expensive device.
Uh oh. Was someone grumpyyyyy? Poor thing. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave such an insightful and well considered contribution to the discussion. Invaluable stuff.
HHKB could be an option or not i use a laptop's keyboard as a main.
Akko has good ones. They are relatively cheap, but expect to spend ~90 euros on a full sized 110 key keyboard. I like akko cos they genuinely look good, no need for RGB.
I'd be happy with a keyboard deeper than the apparent 1mm the junk is going with.
As a bonus, one that's easier to vacuum for cat hair and similar detritus.
As a second bonus, one I can frustratingly pound when fingers/coding are betraying me. I will never manage that anger.