Mechanical Gaming Keyboard - Cherry MX Blue $40.19 + s/h @ monoprice
 

Monoprice has their Mechanical Gaming Keyboard with Cherry MX Blue switches for $40.19 + S/H. Came to $45.82 for me with overnite delivery. Good if you're looking for a no-frills mechanical keyboard. Was $57.42.

http://www.monoprice.com/products...ecdeals122

Reviews of this keyboard: http://www.monoprice.com/products...4#feedback

No N-Key Rollover. The description says 64 key rollover but the reviews are stating that it's more like 6 key which is what USB usually supports. Might be important if you're expecting to press more than 6 keys simultaneously.

This post can and should be edited by users like you :)
 

iOne has a poor reputation when it comes to mechanical keyboards. The Scorpius M10 is one of those keyboards which gave iOne that horrendous legacy.

It doesn't matter if the branding says iOne or Monoprice. Both of these keyboards were made by the same manufacturer (iONE). One can speculate that the quality has changed within this product line over the years, but to argue that the products are different due to a pricing tiers is unsubstantiated.

People looking for a basic mechanical keyboard should keep an eye out for a the Rosewill 9000 series and the 9000 ivory. They are Costar-made, as are "top-branded" FILCO. The Rosewill USB connector problem has been fixed. Those boards have hit $55 shipped recently, which is only $15 more than this keyboard, while they're superior in quality.

EDIT: To provide more color, the Scorpius M10 was discontinued, due to reliability issues. Monoprice commissioned the excess stock to be re-branded under the Monoprice name. User experiences show that this is certainly the case. Part numbers from the Monoprice model correspond to the M10. The build/revision dates from recently purchased Monoprice units report 2010.

EDIT 2: http://imgur.com/a/bL3qR The soldering quality is harmful to the eye. An unresolved problem with the M10 which persists after the re-branding. Photos 4 and 5 depict careless and atrocious solder joints.

I'm only seeing the $57 price, do you have a coupon code or something? Went all the way to check out...

EDIT: thanks, I see it now, well glad I could be the one to ask the noob question :D

go to the main page and click December deals. then find the keyboard for the discounted price.

link directly to the banner for this deal. click through to get discount

http://www.monoprice.com/home/pro...12#PID9433

The general consensus is that this is a rebrand of a particularly problematic iOne-based design, the Scorpius M10. Probably best to stay away.

Reviews for the iOne branded variant: http://www.amazon.com/Ione-Scorpi...B000UC1W3C

So the 3 bad reviews that show prominently on that page are from 2007/2008 with a different company that had it OEM'd at almost twice the price makes this one bad? Sure it may be the same OEM but that doesn't mean that Monoprice is getting the same build or quality. It may not be up to the quality of a ducky but neither is the price. For that matter, none of the mainstream keyboards would be. $45 for a mechanical keyboard is a great price plus you have monoprice's return policy if you get one you don't like. I'd rather have a basic mechanical switch keyboard than an equivalently priced rubber dome.

Good price. Ordering one for the wife for Christmas.

Would love to hear some user feedback on this. I'm on the fence, need to know if it's any good!

iOne has a generally poor reputation when it comes to mechanical keyboards, and the Scorpius M10 is one of those keyboards that gave its reputation.

It doesn't matter if the branding says iOne or Monoprice. At the end of the day, both of these keyboards were made by the same OEM (iONE), and are substantially the same product. You can speculate that the quality has changed within this product line over the years, but to argue that the products are different due to a price discrimination phenomenon isn't really relevant.

Personally, I think that people looking for a basic mechanical keyboard should keep an eye out for a Rosewill. They are Filco-made, and their only real problem (loose USB connector) has since been corrected. They have been as low as $55 shipped recently, which is quite comparable to the Monoprice, and go on sale in the ~$60 range nearly every single week.

EDIT: To provide more color, the Scorpius M10 was discontinued, likely due to horrendous reliability issues. Monoprice likely commissioned excess stock or excess manufacturing bandwidth to be branded under the Monoprice name. User experiences show that this is almost certainly the case, as part numbers from the Monoprice model correspond to the M10, and build/revision dates from recently purchased Monoprice units are from 2010.

EDIT 2: http://imgur.com/a/bL3qR The solder quality is horrendous, which coincidentally was the primary problem with the M10. Photos 4 and 5 look like a blind man did it by hand.

The USB connector issue was corrected on the 9000 series? I hadn't seen that. It was the reason I didn't grab one of the $60 deals. Almost bit on the $89 9100 w/ browns on BF.

But again, this one is $40, not $60 or more. Sure you can pay for higher quality but I'm not looking to flex my keyboard or use it to kill rats. Just type.

The "terrible" Razer BW Ultimate Mac I picked up for $60 years ago still works great and hasn't fallen apart either. Maybe it will in the next decade or so.

Don't get me wrong, I am not stating that this is the highest quality mechanical, it's not. I don't have any illusions regarding iOne's quality. They don't make a $100 keyboard (the new Das w/ media controls?) nor do I plan on taking it apart and making sure the solder joints are all high quality, but is it a $40~50 keyboard? I think so. It'll do great as a replacement for the Logitech made Dell keyboard I use at work.

It's $40...before shipping. It comes out to ~$50 for me shipped to NY.

The Rosewill model was fixed: http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=36106.0

You can obviously buy whatever you want, but when you're already paying in the neighborhood of $50 for a keyboard, it may be wise to spend $5-10 more for soldering that doesn't look like a blind man did it. I mean, look at that album. I haven't butchered a job that badly since I was a freshman EE.

Cool about the Rosewill. They had some good deals directly on Amazon. I avoided the 9000 w/ reds on NE for $50 because of that issue since I didn't know it was fixed.

Yes, that is a great job, isn't it :D The reality is that the keyboard will more likely to be returned because people won't like the noise or feel of it more than because of the quality of the solder job. I love mechanical keyboards but most people are used to the rubber done these days and the difference is something they need to get used to. The noise of the Blues is probably a bigger issue than the feel at that. I actually prefer the old Alps switches and would love to see a deal on the new Matias Quiet Pro for PC. until then I may just pick up some o-rings for the Razer.

MX Blues can get really loud imho, so if you don't want a noisy keyboard the Blues are a no-go.

That and to get N-Key rollover just use a USB to PS/2 adapter.

I doubt anyone needs to hit more than 6 keys at once though..

Use coupon code INCENTIVE for 20% off. Expires 12-15-12. One time use per account.

Only one promo code per order. The discount from their regular price is applied as a 30% off promo code.

Watching youtube video on the different cherry mx/matias/o-ring mods, they all sound noisy to me (mostly from bottoming out), but i'm too used to rubber dome switch.

Many M10s that die young do so due to congenital soldering defects. Time to bust out your iron and do some bypass surgery.

Foxconn is a huge oem and has a tremendous range on its quality.
My understanding was that Rosewill used the same OEM as filco.

The recent deals on the Rosewill keyboards, especially the reds, might have been to clear old bad usb connector stock so don't feel bad on missing out.

I've been very happy with my razer blackwidow boards. I like them over my rosewills and cm storm. The blackwidow has a very pleasant sound after o-ring mod, Rosewill are still kind of loud and cm storm I haven't modded yet but i do hear pinging.

They are not so bad with o-ring.
The keyboard has to support the ps/2 connection, it is not automatic that a usb to ps/2 would work.

how to add to it?

Slight correction to my above post, Rosewills are Costar-made, same as Filco. Regardless, take a look at the album linked above. The soldering quality for the Monoprice model is absolutely tragic, and soldering quality has been widely attributed as the primary source of failure for M10s. No change here.

o-o I've never had any issue with any keyboard using a usb to ps/2 adapter.. maybe I'm just lucky.

As much as I support Monoprice and buy a lot of stuff from them. I had to RMA my cherry mx red blacklit keyboard from them because it broke. Probably due to the crappy soldering mentioned above. Also, the keycaps and cherry mx switches themselves feel awful. Not to threadcrap or anything, but I believe for once Monoprice skimped out on quality on a product.

Before anyone else tells me otherwise, I own 8 other mechanical keyboards of various brands, including but not limited to Ducky, Noppoo, Razer.......So I definitely thought the monoprice keyboard in comparison was not good, not even at the discounted price

I think you right about this particular keyboard based on the amazon link of the ione branded casing. It has a picture with the ps/2 adapter attached.

I've definitely had keyboards that were usb only, no ps/2 support. I understand that the keyboard has to have controller support for each though I couldn't quickly find any references to that.

I was only speaking to the concept that an OEM would only have crappy quality and the brand wouldn't matter. Not arguing that this keyboard is any particular quality level.

Spend a little more for a better mechanical keyboard. I own 3. The CM Quickfire is the absolute best. I get random orgasms while typing. Seriously.

http://www.amazon.com/Storm-Quick...+quickfire

I wish Monoprice carried mechanical keyboards compatible with Mac. :(

The keyboard is actually compatible with the mac as much as any PC keyboard is. If you want something with Mac specific keys though, the Matias Tactile Pro or Quiet Pro are probably the best choice of any keyboard. I picked up my Razer Blackwidow Ultimate Mac for $60 shipped from Amazon warehouse and saw a couple on there a few days ago around $70. I am certainly happy with mine. Other than that there's really on Das that I am aware of for mechanicals. You can find some Warehouse Deals ones for around the same price or $99 new on Amazon.

I have an iOne based KB and it is working perfectly fine. In fact, I love it. My other Rosewill KB is also working fine, but thanks to the keys being painted on and not laser etched the fonts are rubbing off. For $40 I advise ppl. to jump on this.

Which o-rings did you go with? I haven't had any experience with the o-ring mods and saw the black rubber or red or blue......

These [amazon.com]
Seem to be the cheapest option. Make sure you have a key puller [wasdkeyboards.com].

Seriously, spend a little more for a better mechanical keyboard, or, seriously, I get random orgasms while typing?

The first one I understand though I might disagree with. The second, I don't know what it matters which mechanical keyboard you get when you are typing with your genitals. Perhaps, the texture of the keys or casing, the ease of cleanup?

I'll let you decide you handsome hunk of meat. :drool:

I'll pass. I was going to hop on this but I'll holdout and pay 65 for a reliable rosewill or whatever it's called. The newegg brand stuff. I've always wanted a mechanical keyboard though....

Thanks. I'll give these a shot on my BW.

You can use the $5 off $25 for Amazon (If you still have it) with that and get it down to $59.99 after rebate.

I have an iOne keyboard (Xarmor branded U9BL), and am using it now. It broke the first week I had it, but I got excellent service and a replacement within two days of making a quick phone call. I have been using it, trouble free for over a year, and absolutely love it.

Cherry Blues are a curious choice for a gaming keyboard. Most people prefer Blacks or Reds. I like Browns and Clears.

Or you can get it at Newegg for $55 after rebate: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Pro...6823129003

I've had one for a few months. I'm in love with blue switches now, being my first mech. I haven't had any issues with mine. Did I luck out, or is it a ticking timebomb? If it was going to fail is it an issue of, "if it doesn't fail in the first few weeks you got lucky" or should I be cautious and on the look out for future problems?

Only thing I can think of is sometimes I have issues with the 2 key not registering right but that may be user error.

http://www.wasdkeyboards.com/inde...ducts.html

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