Supercrumpet

Oh wow, haven't seen this thread before. I very occasionally play BeamMP with a couple friends; if I boot it up again sometime I'll be sure to check one of these servers out. Thanks for maintaining and updating them!

2 hours ago, Fluxmaven said:

I live about an Hour and a half from Unicomp... Next time I'm down in Lexingon I'd like to swing by and see if they would give me a quick tour. 

Ah man, I forgot they're in Lexington! My girlfriend lives there and I just visited her recently, but I don't think I will again before she moves in a month or so. Oops.

26 minutes ago, neurotix said:

Buckling spring switches are awesome. I'm old enough and a school I went to when I was in 3rd or 4th grade had a computer room full of IBM systems that all had IBM model M keyboards. I can clearly remember doing typing class on them and thinking at the time that the keyboard was much higher quality than the Macintosh keyboard we had at home. Imo, if you want buckling spring switches just buy an IBM Model M keyboard on ebay (they ran around $90 last I checked) and a PS/2 to USB Adapter. Though they aren't pretty so I can understand wanting a modern kb, choice of size, choice of keycaps etc. An IBM model M has actually been on my wants list for quite a while but we've been trying to be frugal and our savings keeps getting depleted by having to give money to my sister nearly monthly since shes in between jobs and not making ends meet on her own..

 

Also, I read on reddit or something that a keyboard enthusiast used an IBM Model M at work for years, then built a board with Kailh Box Jades and ended up loving them enough that he considered them superior to the model M and switched.

 

Also, that's correct, the collab was Kailh x NovelKeys not kbfans. Never ordered anything from either site.

 

Supercrumpet, can't hurt to build a board or swap switches and try the Kailh Box Whites. I will try to take some short videos of my wife typing on my boards so you can hear the difference and put them on YouTube. If I remember to. Also both of us have been playing Grim Dawn over the LAN and its the weekend so we'll see because we're both heavily addicted, lol.

That'd be much appreciated! I have a couple hotswappable boards for just such a thing. Box whites just might be in my future then.

13 minutes ago, Fluxmaven said:

I need to do an inventory of all the different switches I have at my disposal with a quick note on my thoughts of them. 

 

My preference is definitely heavy switches. I have both BOX Jade and Navy and love them both but prefer the Navy. For a quieter option I like BOX Royal. 

 

Still enjoy buckling springs. Not really a fan of any of the common Cherry switches anymore. A lot of the clone switches are IMO better and cheaper. 

Buckling springs are still at the top of my list of what I'd like to try. Been thinking about pulling the trigger on a Unicomp for years.

32 minutes ago, neurotix said:

 

I like the Box Whites a lot. They have a lower activation force (like 30g of pressure to actuate) compared to the Box Jades which are around 55g. The click is higher pitched/less loud and since they require less pressure I can type more softly on them. Compared to MX Blues, I think they require less force to actuate and they sound totally different. Though I can't compare them properly to MX Blues because the OCN Ducky I have with MX Blues is pretty much shot and needs a full switch replacement which is beyond me as they are all soldered (I can solder and desolder but I'd need a $300 Hakko desoldering gun for a project like that).

 

I can, however, compare the Whites to the Kailh Blues (non Box- clone MX Blue switches) in saying the sound and feel is completely different and the clone Blues definitely take more force to actuate. Though not much more.

 

Basically I would recommend the Whites if you want clicky switches that aren't too loud and that you can type on very lightly, which seems to increase my speed. Essentially typing with your fingertips.

 

Compared to the Jades, well the Jades are perfection to me. Loud satisfying click, can type hard on them, basically a Jade kinda feels like a white or MX Blue switch that is sticky, and you feel that on the upstroke moving your finger away. This is not a bad thing but going from the Doraemon board to my GMMK, its the best way to describe it. (the sticky feeling) This sort of makes sense as a Jade was based on the White but with a thicker click bar and tighter spring.

 

I have NOT used Box Navy however it was what I was initially considering and interested in before building either of these boards. They are supposedly like Jades and came out around the same time. However the actuation force for them is crazy high, like 85g or something so you would really need to type HARD on them. I opted for the Jades instead and got like the last shipment of them during the early pandemic that took over a month to arrive from a Chinese Amazon seller, and after we bought them they were no longer available. They were also sold out on kbfans or whatever that site was that directly did the collab with Kailh to make them. I'm not sure if you can even get them anymore, as it was a limited time thing...

 

I am actually interested in doing a board or swapping the Jades in my GMMK for Kailh Box Rose. Which are also clicky. I don't know the actuation force for them but did see a YouTube video testing them around the time they became available and they seem interesting, I am curious to try them.

 

Hope this helps.

Interesting, thanks for all of the info. I typically alternate between tactile and clicky switches to keep things fresh for myself, and my favorite of the clickys is definitely the box navy. Looks like you can still buy them on Drop:

Kailh x NovelKeys Box MX Mechanical Switches | 2.6K+ Sold | Drop

DROP.COM

---

Drop exclusive price and reviews: Kailh x NovelKeys Box MX Mechanical Switches | 2.6K+ Sold | Mechanical switches offer a physical typing...

I tend to prefer heavier switches (perhaps obvious by now) but I'm curious about the box whites now, maybe I'll pick up a set sometime. Would be a very interesting change of pace.

3 hours ago, neurotix said:

There's one with the lights off (it's really bright) and one with the lights on.

 

For those who don't know Doraemon is like the Japanese equivalent of Mickey Mouse. Hes above my left arrow key.

 

I would actually like to get some dark blue and white keycaps as the logo for Doraemon is dark blue.

Looks nice! Pic added to the spreadsheet.

How do you like the Kailh box whites? How do they compare to similar MX switches or box jades/navies, if you've used any of those?

10 hours ago, Sir Beregond said:

We bought a GMMK back this summer for the wife's rig and the thing just did not work. Was the strangest thing. Don't know if it was driver or software, but the keys wouldn't actuate except maybe once every 10 hits or something.

 

I will probably be in the market for a new keyboard soon. I have a nearly 10 year old K70 and its served its purpose well but is starting to have some issues. What would you recommend I look at? I will say the one requirement I have is a wrist rest of some sort.

To answer your question, what board size are you thinking about?

I've had a TKL-sized and a fullsize Grifiti Fat wrist rest that I've alternated between, depending on the main board I'm using, for probably the better part of 8 years, and they've held up really well. The top layer of fabric has peeled back very slightly on both on the corner under my left hand, but otherwise they're in great condition. No sagging or indentations, and they stand up to some minor spills as well. That'd give you a lot of flexibility as far as not having to look for keyboards that come with a wrist rest.

17 hours ago, neurotix said:

Wow lotsa work going into this thread. Nice spreadsheet. Attached are photos of my main board, pretty much my endgame, I love it. I could possibly make a YouTube vid demo of how it sounds if anyone is interested. I can post pics from different angles too.

 

Pictures at bottom. I can't figure out how to do inline images on mobile.

GMMK v2 fullsize 104 key

Custom white plastidip + plastidip pearlizer on the top, some white plastidip on the inside of the top plate to help rgb light diffusion

Kailh Box Jade switches, a few are Gateron Browns (like Caps so if I bump it I immediately know)

Cherry Blue o-rings

Filco Sakura keycaps

Stabs clipped and lubed with lithium grease

Case weighted and noise dampened with some small metal weights I had laying around as well as packed with crafters foam.. the kind you get at Hobby Lobby or whatever that comes in a big flat sheet.

 

I think thats about it for my main one. Secondary one:

 

E-Element or E-Yooso Z77 or whatever 

Removed stock Outemu Blue switches. They advertise it as being hot swappable but if that means using 50 lbs of force with a switch puller... Yeah my lovely hardworking wife removed them all. The switches are not soldered but the contacts on the switch are too large for the hole so yeah.

Replaced all switches with Kailh Box White switches. Each one needed the pins trimmed with a flush cutters to fit into the PCBs non standard hole size (too small for the right pin).

Cherry Blue O-rings

Stabs clipped and lubed

cheapo white and blue keycaps

Case packed with foam

Multiple Doraemon stickers from Ebay

 

In the spreadsheet just put modded E-Yooso Z77 with box whites. I will take pictures if anyone wants to see it. Additionally I could also do a test video. They do make these kbs in Tenkeyless and 60% versions for like $30, add in the cost of some switches, o rings and crafters foam and maybe some keycaps and you might be able to do a fully custom board for around $100. If you are brave enough to try lol

 

Additionally my wife has a GMMK fullsize with Kailh Box white switches. It might have o-rings but I don't remember. She's an accountant so she needs the numpad. Additionally she works 100% remote and that just got extended through June. This board sees heavy use. It has PBT pudding keycaps because she likes them.

 

Moms pc has a Rosewill something black board, RGB, fullsize, with Kailh Blue (non box) switches. She plays Tetris and some other games on it and loves it. I'd have to go look in storage for the model number. It has really nice lighting.

 

On top of that, in storage I have (and want to sell):

Corsair K70 Lux fullsize stock with Cherry MX Red switches..red backlighting. my first mechanical board before I realized I like clicky switches.

OCN Ducky with Cherry Blues. Switches need to be replaced, it was used heavily. Paint on keycaps is yellowed because the previous owner smoked.

Ducky One 2 RGB fullsize year of the dog edition with Cherry MX reds.

 

I want to try Topre switches but don't like the HHKB and a fullsize Realforce is like $300 that I would rather save to eventually get a new GPU.

 

Sorry for how long this was! Also good to see you here Fluxmaven.

 

Thanks for the detailed post! I added your two main boards, and I'm curious about what your secondary board looks like. The GMMK turned out well in white!

10 hours ago, Sir Beregond said:

We bought a GMMK back this summer for the wife's rig and the thing just did not work. Was the strangest thing. Don't know if it was driver or software, but the keys wouldn't actuate except maybe once every 10 hits or something.

 

I will probably be in the market for a new keyboard soon. I have a nearly 10 year old K70 and its served its purpose well but is starting to have some issues. What would you recommend I look at? I will say the one requirement I have is a wrist rest of some sort.

Yeah I have a GMMK TKL and it's been nice, but after a year or two the B key and maybe one or two others have started double-inputting. Not sure if it's the switch or the board, I haven't messed with it to figure it out, but it's not my daily board anymore so I'm not as motivated lol.

6 minutes ago, neurotix said:

 

Sapphire was my go-to brand for years until I got my current 1080tis. I've had:

 

Sapphire 4670

Sapphire 6870

Sapphire 7970 Vapor-X

2x Sapphire R9 290 Tri-X.. rma'd because of fan grinding noises under load at 100% fan and got 2x Sapphire R9 290 Vapor-X (my favorite GPUs ever)

2x Sapphire R9 380X Nitro

2x Sapphire R9 Fury Nitro

 

I benched and sold:

Sapphire 7870 XT (a Tahiti chip with 1536 shaders- pretty rare)

Golden Sapphire R9 270X that did 1300Mhz on the core

Golden Sapphire 7770 that did 1300Mhz core

 

I think thats it. Never had a Sapphire Toxic card but wish I did.

 

Anyone remember the MSI Lightning cards? Those were out around the same time the 7970 Vapor-X was and they did Lightnings for both vendors. I wish they'd do these again minus the all yellow theme given I have an RGB case with black powder coat sparkly paint... Kinda need a neutral color.

Yeah, I got into PC building during the HD 7000 series era, so I dreamed about the Lightning cards a bit. I remember seeing a few Lightning builds back on OCN and they were really well done.

20 minutes ago, neurotix said:

Sorry to double post but, also wondering if there is a anime/manga thread since I'm a huge weeb. Lol

 

If there isn't a thread dedicated to old games and game collecting, I might have to make one but I dunno how much interest there would be or if its outside the scope of this site.

Indeed there is (though it's been quiet for a few years):

I don't think there's much that wouldn't fit on this forum as long as there's a thread that makes it relevant and it's in the right section.

And your previous post reminds me, I gotta update the mech boards thread with my most recent board lol.

8 minutes ago, neurotix said:

I am planning to upgrade to single card 5000 series when they come out and would have gone with EVGA Ftw3... Now I have no clue what to buy. We went with MSI recently for my wife's rig. Asus is great for motherboards but I'm pretty sure they have terrible support and RMA process from what I heard years ago.

Yeah EVGA was my go-to as well for my past few cards. I wondered for a little bit what I'd get instead, but I think I'm going to avoid the problem altogether and just go AMD lol, Sapphire has been my go-to there. Otherwise I think I was going to leave it up to aesthetics, nobody else really stands out like EVGA did.

Dang, I'd missed this thread entirely. @Avacado glad to hear that everything seems to have gone fairly well. Best wishes for the rest of the recovery process!

Shame we're not getting this card. Not that it's the most interesting thing about it, but imo this is the best looking triple fan cooler from EVGA. So it goes.

I'm IN as CptAsian!

I may try running GPUs outside of my 24/7 rig again, but even when idling my PC has been heating up my room in my (relatively) new apartment quite a bit. May be a one-time thing, haha.

Hey @Hacksword, what's your status?

Changed hardware back and forth a couple times since last posting, but I should be settled now. Requested a hardware change on the ETF stats site as well, so I should be back in order soon myself.

14 hours ago, Sir Beregond said:

Looks great pricing wise. I am guessing it doesn't match the 4090 as they really didn't have any performance comparisons to it. Contrast to 2020 with the RDNA2 launch event and they had no problem comparing to the 3090.

 

Even so, I'd guess this trounces the $1200 4080, so this is definitely a good thing to see. My only concerns really were the misleading performance details around "8k". Not that I think 8k gaming is something to really bother with, but just makes me wonder about some of the other claims. Also noticed they didn't specify quality settings when they were showing their performance uplift with FSR.

 

Will be looking forward to third party performance data.

Yeah I agree, 8K doesn't interest me in the slightest. I have yet to seriously consider 4K for myself, to be honest. Seconding your thought about their claims in general as well, as I'm always skeptical about these sorts of presentations. I'm curious for 3rd party reviews as usual, and wonder what most of the pricing will look like for AIB cards.

11 hours ago, pioneerisloud said:

WANT!  I still dislike the pricing, but I can HOPE that this will help bring Nvidia back down to Earth level pricing again.  Maybe we'll see a downwards trend back to more reasonable levels again.  Here's to hoping I can snag one the week AFTER Christmas for MSRP.  Absolutely no way I can afford one before, but after....all bets are off when my grandparents give me a card full of cash.....

Fingers crossed about affecting Nvidia's pricing as well. Not that the price increases are anything new, but I keep thinking about what the market looked like what I got into custom PCs and it's wild to think about how crazy the cost of a high-end system has gotten.

Cheaper than I expected, currently looks like it could be a good contender for my next GPU sometime (hopefully far) down the road.

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-announces-radeon-rx-7900xtx-and-7900xt-with-navi-31-rdna3-gpu

40 minutes ago, schuck6566 said:

The ARC cards handle DX9 by emulating it to DX12 which makes more work for the GPU hence the about half the FPS in the DX9 games as cards that are able to handle it directly(linus actually compared a GTX 780 and it got higher FPS in CSGO) Meanwhile there are also games that show amd having advantage over intel & nvidia and believe it not,ARC beat Nvidia & amd in metro exodus. Jayz believe's it's mostly a matter of drivers being put out for the games now. here's his vid with results for Cyberpunk,Gears5,metroexodus,GuardiansoftheGalaxy,Forza Horizon5,Borderlands3,Shadow of the TombRaider, with & without RT.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_Sl8W-RQH0

like he says in the video,it's almost an ad for amd.   how ARC handles DX9 =  https://www.archynewsy.com/intel-xe-and-arc-gpu-dx9-games-emulated-with-directx12/

 

Ah, very interesting. Thanks for the explanation.

Curious, that's not too bad. I don't have the time to dig around right now, but I wonder how they compare to top-tier cards that were around when the older games were released. Could make them a bit more competitive if they're framed that way, since in most games (CS:GO being an exception) older titles wouldn't benefit all that much from being run by a completely overkill GPU, and would be acceptable with a new Arc card. I also wonder why they're so much less competitive in older games. DX versions? I should read some full reviews/watch full videos lol, maybe someone already has the answer.

Agreed though, this isn't as bad of a start as I expected, based on other news surrounding this launch.

Oh man, thanks for the bump. I hadn't seen this before, but I can see myself submitting something eventually. I write decently-long Steam reviews, but I tend to buy games late, so I review relatively old games as a result. Maybe I can brush up a few of those and post them here if that'd be appropriate.

Super cool opportunity, thanks for offering this to the forum. I just might take you up on the offer myself later down the road.

9 hours ago, Avacado said:

Did not know you were in South Kakalaka. Wherebouts?

I've had all sorts of delays in my progress through undergrad so I'm still a student at Clemson University. Hometown is still about 2 hours away in Georgia.

1 hour ago, bwalker36 said:

Our First, Second, Third place ducks.   I'll reach out and you can tell me what you want, remember i'm going in order so Cerberus you get whatever is left :).  I also secretly hope your all in the US cause shipping lol.  

Fortunately I'm in the US, South Carolina, so that's not too bad. Thank you so much though! I'll pass the generosity on and use the parts in a PC that I'll donate to my FSAE team.

Yeah I definitely hope it will pay off as well. I had low expectations for this launch and they still missed the mark for me for sure, but we really need all the competition we can get in the tech world.

Been messing with my GPUs some and will have to get my card updated. Don't think I've been outputting ETF points for quite a few days now that I think about it.

13 hours ago, u3b3rg33k said:

you may have noticed a hiccup in my stats. saying goodbye to the old rig and hello to this:

Oh, nice. What are your plans for it?