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sm5w2
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join:2004-10-13
St Thomas, ON

sm5w2

Premium Member

Is there a back-lighted keyboard not hyped as "gaming" ?

I'd like to find a backlighted keyboard (one where you can see the letters in the dark).

Everything, and I mean EVERY LIGHTED KEYBOARD that I can find is, in some way, hyped as a "gaming" keyboard.

So yea, I'm a little ticked off by the industry that feels they have to advertise a keyboard as "gaming" just to be able to add the back-lighting feature, as if there would be no use for such a keyboard in a home / soho situation.

So are there any rationally-priced (under $60) back-lighted keyboards that are not constructed by Tonka or Fisher Price (and aimed at teenagers)? Say, something with the footprint of your basic Keytronic 101, but with lighted keys?

Octavean
MVM
join:2001-03-31
New York, NY

2 edits

Octavean

MVM

Re: Is there a back-lighted keyboard not hyped as "gaming" ?

A simple Google search will probably land you what you're looking for or at least some options.

I did a search for "non-gaming illuminated keyboard" and the first thing that came up was the Logitech Illuminated Keyboard.

It's about ~$55 on Amazon,.....

Logitech probably makes a number of such keyboards both wireless and wired but not necessarily ones that typically fit within your cited budget.

Edit:

Oddly enough, sometimes keyboards can be quite expensive. For example, I have a Logitech diNovo Edge bluetooth keyboard that I won as part of a ~$1000 value prize package from a "Microsoft Look For The Logo Sweepstakes" back when Vista was coming out. At the time the "Logitech diNovo Edge" went for about ~$250. Now I'm seeing prices upwards of ~$400 and sometimes more. It's a great keyboard and all but I don't think its that great. I would never pay that kind of money for it.

So an illimanated keyboard (not designed for gaming) may not be worth paying much for IMO but that doesn't mean the industry that manufactures such products agree with my thinking when pricing thier products.

All I'm trying to say is that depending on your desired feature set in said keyboard you may have to either compromise or raise your budget.

sm5w2
Premium Member
join:2004-10-13
St Thomas, ON

sm5w2

Premium Member

I took your search phrase "non-gaming illuminated keyboard" and put it into google.ca. I put quotes around it.

I got 3 - yes - three hits:

www.fatwallet.com/forums/hot-deals/993071/
A discussion from 2010 about an unnamed logitech keyboard.

www.amazon.com/Logitech-920-000914-Illuminated-Keyboard-K740
That link pointed to a 2011 review of a logitech keyboard posted on amazon.

www.amazon.com/review/RPIA0XZ93LFOQ
Best non-gaming illuminated keyboard, June 5, 2011. By. tsymyn.

So nothing but ancient stuff. If you/they are referring to Logitech Illuminated Keyboard K740, Logitech is selling it for $90 (CAD) and I gotta tell ya - it's got chicklet keys and has a completely unnecessary (and way too large) built-in wrist pad.

El Quintron
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Are you looking for a mechanical or membrane?

bbrcat
Remembering Lisa...
MVM
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FL

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I too like and use the Logitech K740...
»www.logitech.com/en-us/p ··· ard-k740

sm5w2
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St Thomas, ON

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> Are you looking for a mechanical or membrane?

Mechanical. My various PC keyboards are all Keytronic KT800's, so I'd love to find something very close to that - but with lighted keys.

El Quintron
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El Quintron

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said by sm5w2:

Mechanical.

I'll keep it in mind, because I'm always looking at new mechanical keyboards.

You may be SOL though, because most of them I see are usually hovering at the 100-120 mark.

I currently have a non backlit Das Keyboard and it was around $120, do you want a full keyboard or a compact one (eg: no num-pad)
El Quintron

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Do you care about switch type? I prefer MX Blues, but that's definitely not for everyone.

EQ

sm5w2
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St Thomas, ON

sm5w2

Premium Member

Mechanical data for my current keyboard (the classic Keytronic KB800):

Tot. travel -- 0.150" ± 0.02"
Travel to peak -- 0.045" ± 0.01"
Peak force -- 2.0 oz ±.6 oz
Fire point -- 0.120" nominal

Low-cost, high-quality center-bearing membrane switch

Regarding numeric keypad - I don't use it much, so I guess I could try living without it- but the Insert/Home/PGup/Delete/End/PGdown cluster of 6 keys needs to be exactly where they are (which is above the 4-key arrow cluster).

Heh. I guess this is a membrane keyboard - not mechanical.

Krisnatharok
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What exactly is your aversion to a "gaming" keyboard? Is a CM Storm Trigger, Corsair K70, or Razer Blackwidow out of the question for a specific reason beyond looks?

Having seen and used these three keyboards, I'd recommend the Corsair as being the highest quality. Ducky keyboards are also top notch.

sm5w2
Premium Member
join:2004-10-13
St Thomas, ON

sm5w2

Premium Member

> What exactly is your aversion to a "gaming" keyboard?

My disdain comes from seeing the keyboard industry place an inordinate focus on endowing mostly "gaming" keyboards with a feature (lighted keys) that would be equally useful to non-gamers.

I don't care that there is such a thing as "gaming keyboards". I am disappointed that my choices for a keyboard with illuminated keys fall mostly into the catagory of "gaming keyboard".

Seeing the extra keys, shapes and sizes and other features that gaming keyboards have, they are not my first choice for what or how or where I use my keyboard.

TheTechGuru
join:2004-03-25
TEXAS

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Idea: Buy a laptop with a backlit keyboard.

Krisnatharok
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What type of Cherry MX switch do you want and what color do you want to be the backlight? (and what is your budget?) Mechanical keyboards have a strong following that is a sub-culture (but not mutually exclusive from) hardware enthusiasts.

The fact of the matter is that the majority of mechanical keyboards are marketed towards gamers because gamers are more likely to be enthusiasts willing to pony up $100-200 for a quality mechanical keyboard. But like I said, the fascination with mechanical keyboards is often a past-time or pursuit in and of itself, so you don't need to be looking at "gaming" keyboards to get a good one.

That said, there are dozens and hundreds of mechanical keyboards out there, so it should be fairly simple to find a quality item that is the right switch, color, and combination of buttons, without being an over-hyped "gaming" peripheral like you often see in the console world (Dr Dre or Turtle over-hyped pieces of crap).

Consider these options, which are all "standard" and don't have superflurous extra macro buttons that "gaming" keyboards often have:

CM Quickfire Rapid
• Tenkeyless
• white LEDs
• brown/blue/red switch options
• $114-140
• www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823129031




Thermaltake Poseidon Z
• Tenkeyless or full size
• Blue LEDs
• Blue or brown switches
• $80
• »www.amazon.com/dp/B00MB0 ··· cpapi-20




Rosewill RGB80
• Tenkeyless
• Any color backlight (16.8 million colors)
• Gaming oriented but these options can be ignored/disabled
• Blue or brown mechanical switches
• $105-110
• »www.newegg.com/Product/P ··· 23201076




Would any of these fit your needs?

pjsutton
join:2013-06-25
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Re: Is there a back-lighted keyboard not hyped as "gaming" ?

I have a really nice Logitech lighted keyboard that I am typing on right now! I'm not sure what makes something a "gaming" keyboard, but I would not call it that.

It has 3 different brightness levels. I leave it on high all the time.

It also comes in a wireless version, but that one needs to be recharged.

Here's a link: »www.logitech.com/en-us/p ··· ard-k740

I got it as a Christmas gift but didn't realize the cost. But, I find it worth it, it's very easy to type on!

sm5w2
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St Thomas, ON

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Re: Is there a back-lighted keyboard not hyped as "gaming" ?

> What type of Cherry MX switch do you want

I guess I'm not necessarily looking for a keyboard with actual mechanical switches (whether made by Cherry or anyone else) because the keyboards I'm used to (Keytronic KT800) are membrane ones.

Regarding light color - I'm not sure if I'd prefer any color other than white...

linicx
Caveat Emptor
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FWIW.. It is just as difficult to find keyboards with Large Print Keys that are affordable.

Krisnatharok
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That's not a mechanical keyboard, then.

I'm now confused at what you are searching for. Do you just want any "non-gaming" illuminated keyboard, or an illuminated mechanical keyboard?

What do you dislike about the ones I linked?

Astyanax
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Melbourne, FL
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said by linicx:

FWIW.. It is just as difficult to find keyboards with Large Print Keys that are affordable.




No it isn't. Click here.

It's not mechanical though.
Astyanax

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said by sm5w2:

I took your search phrase "non-gaming illuminated keyboard" and put it into google.ca. I put quotes around it.

I got 3 - yes - three hits:

www.fatwallet.com/forums/hot-deals/993071/
A discussion from 2010 about an unnamed logitech keyboard.

www.amazon.com/Logitech-920-000914-Illuminated-Keyboard-K740
That link pointed to a 2011 review of a logitech keyboard posted on amazon.

www.amazon.com/review/RPIA0XZ93LFOQ
Best non-gaming illuminated keyboard, June 5, 2011. By. tsymyn.

So nothing but ancient stuff. If you/they are referring to Logitech Illuminated Keyboard K740, Logitech is selling it for $90 (CAD) and I gotta tell ya - it's got chicklet keys and has a completely unnecessary (and way too large) built-in wrist pad.

I have two of these illuminated Logitech keyboards and have had them for many years under heavy use. They are great and I highly recommend them. They are not mechanical though but are very durable.
SD6
join:2005-03-26
Pittsburgh, PA

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said by sm5w2:

I don't care that there is such a thing as "gaming keyboards". I am disappointed that my choices for a keyboard with illuminated keys fall mostly into the catagory of "gaming keyboard".

Seeing the extra keys, shapes and sizes and other features that gaming keyboards have, they are not my first choice for what or how or where I use my keyboard.

Reasonable request. We should not have to pay a $50 premium just to get illuminated keys. I'm not sure about its quality, but you can try this one:

»www.rakuten.com/prod/ros ··· id=17686

Krisnatharok
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Krisnatharok

Premium Member

In the same vein, here is a list of all illuminated keyboards on PCPartPicker--membrane and mechanical included:

»pcpartpicker.com/parts/k ··· =a8&qq=1

chip89
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Columbia Station, OH

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Re: Is there a back-lighted keyboard not hyped as "gaming" ?

Well the main back light keyboard would be the surface pro or the macbook pro.
CmmTch
join:2002-08-10
High Ridge, MO

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Re: Is there a back-lighted keyboard not hyped as "gaming" ?

I have an AZIO KB505U USB tri-color large print lighted keyboard, found it locally at a Micro Center for $13.99. They were trying to move their stock last year, I love the lighted keyboard, it's ok for typing too, Has three colors, red, purple, and blue. It works good for what I need, here's what I found on google: »www.google.com/?gws_rd=s ··· keyboard you can get one for less than $20

It's the keyboard in the picture on Astyanax See Profile post

El Quintron
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@OP, if you're willing the spend up to $60, why not spend the extra 20-30$ and get a mechanical? You'll appreciate the difference as it's a much better keyboard over all.

EQ

Boooost
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Logitech makes two illuminated keyboards, one wired and one wireless. I have the wired one because I don't want to deal with batteries.

I've heard it doesn't work with Dells, because of Dell's proprietary hardware, so it would be a good idea to get it from someplace that will let you return it.

dennismurphy
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said by Krisnatharok:

What type of Cherry MX switch do you want and what color do you want to be the backlight? (and what is your budget?) Mechanical keyboards have a strong following that is a sub-culture (but not mutually exclusive from) hardware enthusiasts.

Real men use buckling springs.

I'll strap a flashlight to the bottom of my Model M, and there ya go - backlit keyboard.

How about Optimus Maximus?

quitaccount
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+1 for the Logitech illuminated keyboard. I like that the F keys can be used for media and for launching programs also.

........the mute button comes in handy for when my wife yells at me for blasting Lamb of God.

EDIT---didn't realize they have 5 backlit models not aimed at gamers---»www.logitech.com/en-us/k ··· eyboards

Krisnatharok
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said by dennismurphy:

Real men use buckling springs.

Ewww. You'll have to strap on more than a flashlight.

El Quintron
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El Quintron

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said by Krisnatharok:

You'll have to strap on more than a flashlight.

I don't know what that sounded like in your head, but it sounded pretty weird in mine.

That being said what don't you like about buckling springs?

I've had to use them for years and years because most offices hang on to old hardware forever, and they've grown on me. I really like typing on them.

EQ

Krisnatharok
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Krisnatharok

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Lol. I just prefer mechanicals. It's sex for your fingertips.