I can still see the keyboard in normal light, but struggle in low light.
I know, turn the lighting up!

I am considering an illuminated keyboard for my main PC but it is a long
time since I have shopped for keyboards apart from Logitech wireless ones.

Which current brands are reasonably robust, and which should be avoided?

I have vague memories of Cherry being recommended for the keys themselves,
but a long time ago.

Cheers



Dave R

--
AMD FX-6300 in GA-990X-Gaming SLI-CF running Windows 10 x64

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--- PyGate Linux v1.5.1
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On 06/12/2025 14:29, David wrote:

I can still see the keyboard in normal light, but struggle in low light.
I know, turn the lighting up!

I am considering an illuminated keyboard for my main PC but it is a long
time since I have shopped for keyboards apart from Logitech wireless ones.

Which current brands are reasonably robust, and which should be avoided?

I have vague memories of Cherry being recommended for the keys themselves, but a long time ago.

I was thinking of buying one of these for œ20. Perhaps, you could get
one and report how good it is?

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/cherry-xtrfy-k4v2-mechanical-gaming-keyboard-retro-10289708.html

Cheers

Dave R

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.1
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On 06/12/2025 14:29, David wrote:

I can still see the keyboard in normal light, but struggle in low light.
I know, turn the lighting up!

SWMBO would say "Learn to touch-type" (No, I can't, either)

I am considering an illuminated keyboard for my main PC but it is a long
time since I have shopped for keyboards apart from Logitech wireless ones.

Which current brands are reasonably robust, and which should be avoided?

I don't know about brands, but I would start by seeing what's available
from The Keyboard Company.

https://www.keyboardco.com/

I have vague memories of Cherry being recommended for the keys themselves, but a long time ago.

My keyboard is a filco model, but it uses Cherry "Blue" keyswitches. I certainly find mechanical switches much nicer to type on than the
cheaper membrane types. The different colours of keyswitch have quite different "feel" and "click" - I spent hours looking at (and listening
to) YouTube videos of different keyboards in action before I chose mine
(I know, I should get a life).

One thing to bear in mind is that some keyboards have keys with legends printed onto them, and these can wear off. Others have the legends
moulded into the keycap and these do not wear off. I imagine an
illuminated keyboard will have to have the legends moulded in, in a translucent plastic, my Thinkpad certainly does.

--
Cheers,
Daniel.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.1
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On 06/12/2025 14:47, GB wrote:

I was thinking of buying one of these for œ20. Perhaps, you could get
one and report how good it is?

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/cherry-xtrfy-k4v2-mechanical-gaming- keyboard-retro-10289708.html

I have no experience of that particular keyboard, but that's a very good
price for a mechanical keyboard of any sort. If I were looking for a new keyboard I'd take a punt on it.

I can certainly vouch for the quality of Cherry keyswitches. The
switches are usually around 50p each if bought singly.

--
Cheers,
Daniel.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.1
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On 06/12/2025 14:47, GB wrote:

On 06/12/2025 14:29, David wrote:

I can still see the keyboard in normal light, but struggle in low light.
I know, turn the lighting up!

I am considering an illuminated keyboard for my main PC but it is a long
time since I have shopped for keyboards apart from Logitech wireless
ones.

Which current brands are reasonably robust, and which should be avoided?

I have vague memories of Cherry being recommended for the keys
themselves,
but a long time ago.

I was thinking of buying one of these for œ20. Perhaps, you could get
one and report how good it is?

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/cherry-xtrfy-k4v2-mechanical-gaming-keyboard-retro-10289708.html

Shame it's out of stock.
Seems to be the norm for the cheapest products.



--
Regards
wasbit

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.1
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

David <wibble@btinternet.com> wrote:

I can still see the keyboard in normal light, but struggle in low light.
I know, turn the lighting up!

I am considering an illuminated keyboard for my main PC but it is a long time since I have shopped for keyboards apart from Logitech wireless ones.

Which current brands are reasonably robust, and which should be avoided?

I have vague memories of Cherry being recommended for the keys themselves, but a long time ago.

Mechanical keyboards are their own whole genre of 'hobby', with aficionados having strong opinions about this or that kind of key switch.

I wouldn't know where to begin (I mostly use laptops) but to say that you
can buy 'samplers' of the different kinds of key switches, to try them all
out and see which ones 'feel right' to you.

Also, regarding illumination, many 'gamer' keyboards have RGB lighting where you can change the colours (or they cycle through colours in waves). The
apps to control this under Windows can be a bit of a pain (bloated, adware, etc) so before buying a keyboard also check the situation with its app.

(under Linux 'OpenRGB' seems to be the standard - only used it from the
command line rather than the GUI app; it seemed fine)

Theo

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.1
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On Sat, 06 Dec 2025 14:47:54 +0000, GB wrote:

On 06/12/2025 14:29, David wrote:

I can still see the keyboard in normal light, but struggle in low
light. I know, turn the lighting up!

I am considering an illuminated keyboard for my main PC but it is a
long time since I have shopped for keyboards apart from Logitech
wireless ones.

Which current brands are reasonably robust, and which should be
avoided?

I have vague memories of Cherry being recommended for the keys
themselves,
but a long time ago.

I was thinking of buying one of these for œ20. Perhaps, you could get
one and report how good it is?

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/cherry-xtrfy-k4v2-mechanical-gaming-

keyboard-retro-10289708.html

Interesting.
Unfortunately it isn't a full keyboard.
No number pad.

Cheers



Dave R

--
AMD FX-6300 in GA-990X-Gaming SLI-CF running Windows 10 x64

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--- PyGate Linux v1.5.1
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On Sun, 07 Dec 2025 13:29:53 +0000, David wrote:

On Sat, 06 Dec 2025 14:47:54 +0000, GB wrote:

On 06/12/2025 14:29, David wrote:

I can still see the keyboard in normal light, but struggle in low
light. I know, turn the lighting up!

I am considering an illuminated keyboard for my main PC but it is a
long time since I have shopped for keyboards apart from Logitech
wireless ones.

Which current brands are reasonably robust, and which should be
avoided?

I have vague memories of Cherry being recommended for the keys
themselves,
but a long time ago.

I was thinking of buying one of these for œ20. Perhaps, you could get
one and report how good it is?

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/cherry-xtrfy-k4v2-mechanical-gaming-

keyboard-retro-10289708.html

Interesting.
Unfortunately it isn't a full keyboard.
No number pad.

However the black version does seem to have a numeric keypad, going by the picture.

I have ordered it on spec and will report back once collected from the
store.

Cheers



Dave R


--
AMD FX-6300 in GA-990X-Gaming SLI-CF running Windows 10 x64

--
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--- PyGate Linux v1.5.1
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On Sun, 07 Dec 2025 13:47:35 +0000, David wrote:

On Sun, 07 Dec 2025 13:29:53 +0000, David wrote:

On Sat, 06 Dec 2025 14:47:54 +0000, GB wrote:

On 06/12/2025 14:29, David wrote:

I can still see the keyboard in normal light, but struggle in low
light. I know, turn the lighting up!

I am considering an illuminated keyboard for my main PC but it is a
long time since I have shopped for keyboards apart from Logitech
wireless ones.

Which current brands are reasonably robust, and which should be
avoided?

I have vague memories of Cherry being recommended for the keys
themselves,
but a long time ago.

I was thinking of buying one of these for œ20. Perhaps, you could get
one and report how good it is?

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/cherry-xtrfy-k4v2-mechanical-gaming-

keyboard-retro-10289708.html

Interesting.
Unfortunately it isn't a full keyboard.
No number pad.

However the black version does seem to have a numeric keypad, going by
the picture.

I have ordered it on spec and will report back once collected from the
store.

Bugger!

The main picture is misleading. There is no numeric keyboard.

I've cancelled the order.

Grumble


Dave R


--
AMD FX-6300 in GA-990X-Gaming SLI-CF running Windows 10 x64

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--- PyGate Linux v1.5.1
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

David wrote:

[snip]

Interesting.
Unfortunately it isn't a full keyboard.
No number pad.

The first PC I ever had came with a small keyboard that didn't have a
number pad. As a result I always use the numbers above the top row of
letters and ignore the number pad.

--
Graham J

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.1
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On 07/12/2025 14:06, David wrote:

The main picture is misleading. There is no numeric keyboard.

I've cancelled the order.

That's what's called a "tenkeyless" keyboard - it's about 25% smaller
than a normal 105-key PC keyboard. I wouldn't have anything else - my
desk space is too valuable to fill it with duplicates of keys that are elsewhere on the keyboard.

I might argue that if you're typing numbers often enough for a numeric
keypad to offer a worthwhile saving then you're probably typing in data
when you could be getting it in some electronic format.

You might prefer this:

https://www.keyboardco.com/keyboard/cherry-g80-3000n-rgb-mx-silent-red-soft-linear-keyboard.asp

but it's currently showing as out of stock, and it's œ124.80.

--
Cheers,
Daniel.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.1
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> wrote:

Daniel James wrote:

That's what's called a "tenkeyless" keyboard - it's about 25% smaller
than a normal 105-key PC keyboard. I wouldn't have anything else

Same here now, also known as TKL, I've flashed open source QMK firmware
onto it, which allows better reprogramming of keys than the
manufacturers bloated driver ...

I hardly ever use numpad, but now I can use Fn+0-9 as virtual numpad0-9, e.g. the old ALT codes

Some software eg CAD uses the numpad keys as extra hotkeys, eg NumpadEnter
does a different thing to MainEnter. It can be annoying to have to throw
in Fn as well (ie Ctrl-Shift-NumpadEnter becomes Ctrl-Shift-Fn-MainEnter).

Theo

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.1
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On Sun, 07 Dec 2025 15:16:59 +0000, Graham J wrote:

David wrote:

[snip]

Interesting.
Unfortunately it isn't a full keyboard.
No number pad.

The first PC I ever had came with a small keyboard that didn't have a
number pad. As a result I always use the numbers above the top row of letters and ignore the number pad.

I just find it easier to use the numpad.
Personal preference.

Cheers


ave R


--
AMD FX-6300 in GA-990X-Gaming SLI-CF running Windows 10 x64

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--- PyGate Linux v1.5.1
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On 6 Dec 2025 14:29:12 GMT, David <wibble@btinternet.com> wrote:
<...>
I've got the Logitech, Logi Craft keyboard. It's super sturdy, great
keyboard and the illumination is fine al all ight levels. I've had it
for several years now and had no problems with it.
--

Mike

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On Fri, 09 Jan 2026 09:55:39 +0000, Mike Halmarack wrote:

On 6 Dec 2025 14:29:12 GMT, David <wibble@btinternet.com> wrote: <...>
I've got the Logitech, Logi Craft keyboard. It's super sturdy, great
keyboard and the illumination is fine al all ight levels. I've had it
for several years now and had no problems with it.

Thanks.
Having a minor problem sourcing it.
It seems to be tied to business use, e.g. on Amazon and Currys.

As it is rechargeable do you keep it plugged into a USB port all the time?

Cheers




Dave R


--
AMD FX-6300 in GA-990X-Gaming SLI-CF running Windows 10 x64

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--- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)