Do you prefer backlit keyboards

[IVIYTH0S]

A friend of mine has the Arctosa and I honestly dislike it more than my Lycosa (that's a difficult feat, honestly).

 

I do prefer mechanical keyboards, but I still maintain that my favorite keyboard of all time was my old Razer Tarantula, which was a membrane keyboard. I have a feeling that if I get a new keyboard, it'll probably be the mechanical Razer Blackwidow, which is backlit. I do like my backlighting

I gotta put a for LOVING my Tarantula...the price was steep but it has been amazing to me!

[VaporX]

It is cool to see this level of responses come out. I will be using this on the show this Sunday guys, some great stuff here. Based on the responses it would seem that the Saitek Eclipse line was one of the best keyboards out. While a lot of the responses seem to be mostly about not needing backlit the poll shows most prefer it.

 

The reasons I prefer a backlit keyboard are the cool factor obviously. I mean if you want to show off your PC then the lighting helps. However on a more practical side, I am not a touch typist, I hunt peck, 45 words a minute, but still hunt peck. While after 30 years of hunt pecking I can type without looking a lot of the time I still need to occasionally look. This is a factor when you realize I really enjoy a dark room. No I am not a vampire nor live in my mom's basement, I just like a dark room so the monitor image pops more.

 

At the end of the day do I need back lighting? No probably not. But I do like it.

[Stonerboy779]

At the end of the day do I need back lighting? No probably not. But I do like it.

Then that's all ther is to it.

 

A keyboard an mouse is to a pc user, as tools are to a carpenter. They know at times, they don't need to pay extra for tools, however they will because quality means something to them. Just as being able to live with what they have purchased, how it looks, feels and so on.

If you can't look at what you got and decide that yes you like it, why did you buy it?

[darkreize]

G110 It's better to have backlighting so you have it when you need it. Besides, you can turn it off when you don't.

[Cespenar]

Because of it I now type better than ever since I never look at my keyboard to do anything and to top it off it's pretty freakin' awesome looking.

It's got nothing to do with the cost though - backlit keyboards are cheap these days. I also think it's funny that people who can't touch type can't use my computer.

 

Looks like my mind is made up then. I'd prefer the Logitech G110 but I'll be getting the A4Tech KD126 along with the Logitech G400 optical mouse.

Christmas money from my daughters.

 

I can't touch type. Tried a few classes but memory is stuffed. As far as backlight goes, the monitor is 2 feet in front of my eyes and when I look down at the keyboard I can't see it. My eyes also ache from the effort.

 

Ces..........

 

Changed my mind! Already bought the Logitech G110 and G400. Very nice.

Edited December 10, 2011 by Cespenar

[ET3D]

Never used a backlit keyboard on the desktop, but one of my laptops, Thinkpad X21 I think, had a top light that shown on the keyboard, and that really helped when using the laptop in dark places, such as on the bus at night. It was especially useful since laptop keyboards are typically different enough than desktop ones (arrow keys, home/end, etc) that I often need to check where these keys are.

[Hellfire29]

I'm pretty indifferent to backlit keyboards, but a late night RPG session is great with backlits. You get to have a bit of a look around, especially if you want to make a quick macro.

[ehume]

When the room is dark and the birds are asleep -- nothing like backlit.

[Black64]

I want one of the alienware keyboards. But they are expensive.

[Master Binky]

I use the Mionix Z60 (a mechanical with backlit keys of 3 brightness levels and a toggle for just WASD or full keyboard) , and there are only two problems I have with the keyboard, 1) it doesn't remember to turn the backlit settings when I start the computer and 2) it doesn't work through a usb->ps2 adapter for full N-Key rollover. The greenish backlit keys and the brightness of them I find are excellent unlike the 2 razer backlit keyboards I have. Some say they are not bright enough, in which case if you are looking for a substitute flashlight, yes they are not bright enough.

Edited December 7, 2011 by Master Binky

[ehume]

I use the Mionix Z60 (a mechanical with backlit keys of 3 brightness levels and a toggle for just WASD or full keyboard) , and there are only two problems I have with the keyboard, 1) it doesn't remember to turn the backlit settings when I start the computer and 2) it doesn't work through a usb->ps2 adapter for full N-Key rollover. The greenish backlit keys and the brightness of them I find are excellent unlike the 2 razer backlit keyboards I have. Some say they are not bright enough, in which case if you are looking for a substitute flashlight, yes they are not bright enough.

 

Great info on the Razer. Thanks for that.

[Master Binky]

Reading back over my last comment, I just want to clarify since I can read it either way now that time has passed. The Razer keyboards blue backlights stand out just like you would expect bright blue LEDs to, and while you can lower the brightness of the blue (or leave it feeling like a night light to fend off the boogey man), it is still bright blue and can be strain full/distracting on the eyes in the dark while it clearly shows in a lit room. The Mionix green(yellowish) at its brightest is not a going to be as bright as the Razer blue both because of the perception of the color and the difference in a lower amount of max lumens, which I find a good thing.