MSI GT80 Titan - Laptop with SteelSeries MX Brown board

[bhtooefr]

http://event.msicomputer.com/gt80titan/



What is this I don't even. And, it looks like the touchpad is also the numpad, making it a full layout.

[Nuum]

Not bad, I kinda like it. If I were in the market for a Gaming laptop I'd really appreciate the option to have a mechanical keyboard build in.

[webwit]

Very nice, mechanical switches in a laptop. I'm jealous of the gamers it is aimed at, under the presumption it doesn't make them want to poke their eyes out, which is my handicap.

[Daniel Beardsmore]

Nooo … they should have used Cherry ML!

[scottc]

MX brown? Anything but MX brown...

[Compgeke]

I agree. I honestly feel like it should be an option to get different switches since most people I know don't like browns.

[Daniel Beardsmore]

ML is wonderfully tactile AND smaller! It's a win-win.

[Muirium]

The keyboard is at the… front? That's even more retro for a laptop than mechanical switches!

[bhtooefr]

Indeed it is - I have an RDI laptop with rear-keyboard (and a tiny trackball) and Alps SKFR/SKFS switches:



(Also, how many laptops have you seen with a Props key?)

[ماء]

yup, ML more slim and light weight

[HzFaq]

That's so 1989, behold the Psion MC400


Doesn't have a props key though .

[andrewjoy]

the first laptop with a mechanical keybord in years and they use MX brown !!!!!

ML exists for a reason

[Daniel Beardsmore]

That's so 1989, behold the Psion MC400

I remember the trackpad that you physically clicked (and that used absolute co-ordinates, if I remember correctly) but I don't remember anything about the keyboard now.

What sort of switches does that have? And is that a regular AT keypad connected into it?

[HzFaq]

That's the one, worst trackpad in the history of trackpads. The keyboard is MX clears on a Cherry made PCB. I'm going to try and get some pictures tomorrow or Sunday. The keypad is a G80-5700 which I'm also going to be snapping at the same time, not connected, they just both arrived on the same day .

[scottc]

I actually almost picked up one of those recently, HzFaq. Really nice little machines! I decided against it because I'd feel bad just using it for the keyboard.

[cookie]

I think you can't compare Cherry ML switches with MX, I tryed them once and was terribly disappointed about the feel. And they tend to stuck if you don't hit the center of the switch.

If they are PCB mounted, it shouldn't be a problem to swap the brown sliders with once you like.

[andrewjoy]

Each to his own I guess, the ml board I used had very small laptop style caps so I never noticed the sticking. Ml are far superior to brown keyfeel wise IMO.

[cookie]

Really? I can barely type on mine.

[Daniel Beardsmore]

I have two ML boards. One is a 1999 G84-4400 and that's superb. No off-angle binding, feels great, sounds great, just has no Windows keys, so it's not of much use to me. I got it NIB.

The other is a 2005 G84-4100, and it does have Windows keys. The Windows key versions are slightly squished, which is why the key between shift and Z in UK ISO no longer fits and got relocated. I found that one to be just too cramped and the switches don't feel as good; they're a bit balky. That one I bought used.

ML certainly can be made to work very well; I don't know if the plastics change, or if the switches degrade with wear, or what, only that the 2005 one isn't as nice as the 1999 one. I could type on the 1999 one all day, it's perfectly comfortable: neither too heavy or too light, and neither too harsh or too soft. It's pretty close to an ideal switch for me: it's got the strong tactility and soft feel of Topre without the mush of Topre or the jarring landing of MX, and it's got a proper mechanical sound.

[andrewjoy]

The winkeyles was what i had as well, i would love to get another some day.

[woody]

ML beats all scissor switches for me. Not MX, of course, but quite nice low-profile switch.

@Daniel: my ML experience is the reverse. Used G84-4400 that I got feels and performs worse (subjective, of course) than brand new G84-4100. That's why I got a stash of NIB 4100s at one point.

[Daniel Beardsmore]

Is it, though? My G84-4400 was NIB (albeit a battered box) and the G84-4100 was used. In both cases we prefer the NIB keyboard to the used one.

[andrewjoy]

possibly then ML are subject to change in feel with environment possibly they swell or corrode or something

[cookie]

Have you really compared a ML switch with a Topre?
I can't express myself with words, how wrong this is.
Don't get me wrong though, I respect your objective opinion but they simply can't be compared with each other.
The whole construction and actual feel is fundamentally different.

Also from my objective perspective I've never typed on a pleasing ML switch,
all of them I typed on felt scratchy, inprecise and they tend to stuck.

I initially bought a g84 as a "guest keyboard" at work, so that a colleague is able to type on my pc.
Noone liked to type on this keyboard, so it wen't back home and I use it to open beer now.

[Muirium]

What, there's a UNIX command for that?

> open -beer1 -now

[cookie]

No I actually use the keyboard itself to physically open a beer

[woody]

Is it, though? My G84-4400 was NIB (albeit a battered box) and the G84-4100 was used. In both cases we prefer the NIB keyboard to the used one.

That could be valid reason.

The G84-4400 I got was from industrial environment, so fine dust might've entered with time.
G84-4100 after about half a year was still good. A guy I know has stomped on 4100 daily for, like, 10 years. I gave him one brand new lasered as a gift, just because he had the old pad printed legends worn out.

Still waiting for someone to report lubing results on ML.

As to comparing ML (low-profile) and Topre (full travel) - why?

[Daniel Beardsmore]

ML is still 3 mm travel though, it's not as short travel as you might think.

[woody]

Just a different niche with different set of compromises.
Would've been nice if there was something better in the low-profile category, but as they are, ML do an okay job.
Personally, I'd pay some premium for a modern laptop with ML and have much increased ergonomy, but this is not going to happen.

[Daniel Beardsmore]

Ultimately they're all keyboards. They all have keys which have vertical motion with a varying degree of force at each point in their position from released to fully depressed. As such, they're all comparable. Being able to compare is useful when you need multiple compromises; for example, it's helpful to be able to find a laptop that is as close as possible to what you prefer using on your desktop computer. (The only laptop keyboard that stood out for me was the Dell Latitude E4310 (?) which had an exceptional keyboard, but unfortunately it wasn't mine and I only got to use that laptop briefly. It was a nice laptop, too.)