Just got the UltraX keyboard in today. Not bad but has a slight tactile click kinda similar to the old IBM AT keyboards but quieter. I noticed that my typing is a bit faster too.
The shift keys a re a bit louder than the other keys.
All in all, I would give it a 3.5 outta 5 stars.

Pros: Small
Insert and Delete keys in the CORRECT places
Minimal amount of top row keys and NO F-Lock
Stylish
Short throws on keys.

Cons: Keys are still not silent enough
Hard to find distributers to purchase
Would be nice to have USB connection instead of PS/2
A 1 or 2 port USB hub for flash drives would be nice.


Overall not a bad keyboard. Time wil tell if this can stand up to all the typing I do all day

Hello:

NewEgg has the Ultra X available for $26 shipped.

I wish that it was available in all black...

I have a Logitech diNovo Bluetooth keyboard and mouse.
The keyboard is almost silent if you touch type and still extremely quiet if you don’t. Unfortunately the mouse clicks and I am looking for a mouse that does not click, that’s how I came to find this site.
Hope this helps with the keyboard, if you find a mouse please post your find so I can get one.
DC

Thanks qwerty
I had a look at a DiNovo desk combo today and the keyboard was sillent. I was built like a lap top. I would have got it but the mouse is really loud and i cant buy the keyboard seperate.
Its nice to have clear advice for a change.

I will continue my search for a silent mouse that i do not have to modify then i shall post the link

thanks alot
trouser

MY PSK5000 is great, but the USB ports aren't really useful for the stuff I need it for (big USB keys and my camera, neither work properly on it).

I was thinking hard about the new Saitek Eclipse keyboard, since what I really want is glowing keys, and this one doesn't use that damn EL

Anyone have any quiet (or non-quiet) experience with the Eclipse?

Well I finally had it with my loud cheapo "Future Power" keyboard and went investigating into a quiet-as-possible keybrd. I first checked out the BenQ x800 which promised quiet keys, however, even in a noisy computer store it was still too loud for me.

Then I picked a Bytecc for a whirl and it was far more quiet. The keys felt very similar to that of a notebook, I would've like to have done a 'lil A/B test but I think the salesguy would've been annoyed! But the noise level was very close to a laptop's and typing on it certainly felt like one.

The Bytecc was only $29 CAD at www.canadacomputers.com, for those residing in Toronto it was the College/Spadina store (service still sucks but you'll still find the bargain basement prices!) I'm thinking quite seriously of buying one, will report back and post pics if I get it!

Benq x800 http://www.benq.ca/Products/Keyboard/index.cfm?product=426

Bytecc Multimedia
http://www.byteccusa.com/product/keyboard/SKB-2200W.htm

Thought I'd add my 2c.

I got the BenQ 120x and at first I was very very dissapointed. It seemed louder than most laptop style keyboards I'd tried. After using it for about two weeks I'm getting more and more impressed. It's very thin for one thing so I have less wrist issues with it and it is pretty quiet. When I was testing it right after it came in the mail I was typing as I would on my normal board. After a few days I've noticed that it takes very little key pressure to type each stroke so I'm typing at a much faster and more accurate rate and with much less noise. Now I find it uncomfortable to type at work because of the pressure required.

I like it and will keep it as it does everything I need, but if you're buying just be aware that it does take some time to adjust to.

Same here - I found your post after searching on "Saitek".

I found the Saitek Gamer's Keyboard at the local Fry's. I almost bought it before realizing it is not the Eclipse. They had a demo unit of the Gamer's Keyboard, and it seems pretty quiet. Doesn't have the high frequency click of my UltraX, nor the loose key feeling of this Compaq keyboard (advertised as quiet). It feels good to type on it. Hopefully the Eclipse is comparable.

A retail store is of course not the best place to test for noise. I hope they get some Eclipse in stock soon.

I finally broke down and bought the Saitek Eclipse from the only place I could find that has it in stock - Circuit City.

It's definitely not a quiet keyboard, noisier than my UltraX. And I don't find my UltraX very quiet.

The lights work best when you're viewing straight down at the keyboard. From an angle, they're rather dim. The light escaping from the edge of the keys doesn't help either.

The keys have a good feel to them. Not fantastic. The keyboard itself is rather heavy, feels solid.

Definitely not a contender for a quiet keyboard. I'm a little disappointed with the keyboard. Had expected better. Maybe I'll go take another look at the Saitek Gamer's.

I've posted this in another thread, but because this one seems to be becoming the authority on the subject, I'll weigh in here too.

I use an Apple Pro Keyboard, and love it. It's not totally silent, but it is a cut or two quieter than every generic PC keyboard out there. Actually depressing the keys makes close to no noise. However, when the keys aren't being touched, they can wiggle a little bit from side to side, so when you place your finger down on a key or remove your finger from a key, it makes a little bit of noise as the key rocks in one direction or another.

It's also durn sexy. Comes in clear+black or clear+white (I have the black, myself).

It is USB, works great, doesn't need any drivers or anything silly like that, and has two built-in (unpowered) USB 1.1 ports for other devices, which are really convenient for something that you might plug in and out a lot (digital camera, usb drive, etc).

As far as key layout goes, the three keys at the bottom corners of the keyboard are Control, Alt/Option, and Command/Apple, listed from outside to inside. The exact same 3 keys are on both sides of the spacebar. By default, control serves as control in windows, Alt/Option serves as alt, and Command/Apple serves as the windows key. To make the keyboard work like a regular windows keyboard, I added a single line to my registry which works perfectly. I'll include instructions for that at the bottom of this post.

Also, above the numeric keypad, there are buttons for volume down, volume up, mute, and eject. The volume buttons work magnificently within windows, controlling the overall system volume. The eject button does nothing, and I haven't found a way to make it do anything.

Print Screen, Break, and Scroll Lock aren't present, instead there's F13, F14, and F15. Of the three that are missing, the only slightly useful one was print screen, and I survive without it. The F-keys are recognized by windows, so you can set them up to do whatever you want. I have mine controlling winamp (previous song, play/pause, next song).

I've had this keyboard for 3-4 years and it's working fine. None of the keys are sticky or unresponsive. The overall look and feel (aesthetics and ergonomics, to be verbose) are nothing short of the highest that I would expect from Apple.

Registry key to fix Apple Pro Keyboard winkey locations:

in:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/System/CurrentControlSet/Control/KeyBoardLayout

add the following Reg_Binary object:
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
05 00 00 00 38 00 5B E0
5B E0 38 00 38 E0 5C E0
5C E0 38 E0 00 00 00 00

you have to restart before the fix will take effect.

swivelguy2, thanks for the tip!

Any chance of swapping the Apple / Alt key through registry? I don't use Windows key much, but I'm used to the Alt key's location beside the space bar.

Regarding the Apple keyboards:

I'm seriously considering to buy an MacMini. I wanted to go with the Apple Bluetooth keyboard. Does anyone know, if you can use it for both machines, that means the Mac and my PC?

Bye egghat.

benq x800 is quiet as laptop keyboards

the only problem with it is that it's a curved keyboard...

some people can't stand it, i don't mind it so it's good for me=)

As best as i can understand, the Saitek Eclipse is a second iteration of the Gamer's Keyboard. In the Gamer's, the lights did not show through the keys, just around them. It also cames with a little extra keypad which can be customised, but is of limited convenience as it's not cordless. i don't think this keypad comes with the Eclipse.

Relatively useful review

If anybody knows of an Australian retailer where i can get a Saitek Eclipse, please let me know? I've decided I really want one, but they seem to barely exist!

I'd also really like to know the answer to egghat's question, i.e. can I use a bluetooth keyboard (apple's or others') with both my mac and the pc I'm planning on building? It would appear (at first glance) that I could forgo the use of a KVM switch for the keyboard that way (unless I was going to also be sharing a monitor). Can a bluetooth keyboard be seen by my than one computer at a time, in other words, what would happen if both computers were on at the same time?

Thanks, Jeff

The standard Apple USB keyboard is both fairly quiet (plus nice and solid, not going to rattle around) and it's also the most compact full-size keyboard I've found.

Another possibility is the eluminx(sp?) backlit keyboard. It's not quite a full-size, but pretty close to it.

Mice: Logitech's V500 wireless job is my "laptop" mouse, but it's also very quiet. A little small for hard-core gaming but good way to avoid keeping people awake when you have to work late.

Don't get an Eluminx, it has a whining noise.

This post reminds me -- does anyone know of a silent enclosure for my soda can? When I put my ear close to the opening, I can hear it fizzing, but I want it completely silent.

Also, my table is too loud. It's silent when idle, but if I slam my fist on it, it makes a loud clunk sound.

1. Switch to a non carbonated drink

2. Using your head instead of your fist, you'll notice that the sound will quickly diminish.

UltraX Cordless. Not sure if it's available in US tho.

Yes it is. But is it any good? Central didn't have one on display..

The UltraX cordless is quieter than my UltraX corded. The higher frequency click seemed more muted. It's a little deeper (1/2"), but length and thickness is the same.

The round silver pad at the top are the media keys. They are FF, Play/Pause, Rew, Vol+ and Vol-. The small silver circle above and to the right is for mute.

The main difference in layout is that the Insert key (the one to the right of backspace) is missing. There's also a Fn key between the left Ctrl and left Windows key..

The mouse is nothing to write home about.

I read some pages of this topic, so I don't think this has been mentioned before but not certain...

What about 'bent keyboards'? Those ergonomical ones? I used to use the Microsoft Natural one. Since I spend almost all day on the computer I thought it was really important to get one where my wrists aren't bent (look down at your own wrists as you type sometime? are they fairly straight?). Are Microsoft and Logitech still coming out with those keyboards? I saw the Microsoft Comfort Desktop is bent slightly, but not as much as the older ones.

I can understand why, if you haven't used them before they take some getting used to (and likewise going back to a non-bent one). If anyone uses a new model though, how's the noise from it?

Thanks!

Waddaya need the Fn key for on an UltraX? Did they add some features on this wireless version?

My dad loves wireless, that ultrax wireless would have been perfect for him, but no.... logitech had to f up the keyboard layout. Why does logitech always feel the need to remove insert button and put one large delete button instead? In all my life I have never missed the delete button, so why do we need to make it larger? And what the hell is it with the F-Lock buttons, seriously, who needs them? Leave the F buttons alone!

I tried tropikhajma's mods. I ruined one mouse (I'll try to recover it), got another mouse and second time around I made the mod successfully. One extra thing I did is I cut very small bits of the metal part (the same part that is bent, on the Czech version) with some nail clippers (I did not cut the whole thing, otherwise I would have ruined the switch) and melted some of the plastic of the plastic cover so it fits better for the new position of the bent metal part.

Hardest part of the mod was the soldering, which took me pratically all day.

I also followed some other user's mod and loosened up the scroll wheel mechanism to make it quieter.

edit: My mouse buttons became very sensitive due to this mod, so I made some adjustments. Loosened up the screws a bit, so the part that makes contact with the switch is farther away and for the side buttons I took a nail filer and filed them down, but just a tad bit. The middle click/scrool wheel is still pretty sensitive, I have to figure out a mod to sort this out.

Anyhow, I have a pretty quiet mouse now...

Anyone had experience with this one: http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/mouse ... b=overview ?
It's the only Microsoft keyboard that's water proof (!!!) and with laptop like keys...

Got the Logitech Bluetooth diNovo today, got it for a steal for $80 shipped (Barely used). It's pretty quiet but now my mouse is annoying the crap out of me. This thread has mostly been concerned with keyboards, does anybody have any experience with quiet mice? Preferably cordless.

Kensington Pilotmouse Optical Wireless Mouse - Only this specific model, not the others, is a mixed bag. See my review in the review section, but while some keys are noiser than various other mice, the two primary buttons are the quietest I have ever heard. Muted. Audible, but not "clicky".

Guys,

I got an inexpensive keyboard from Tiger direct or Newegg which is particularly quiet and also very inexpensive. It is not ultra quiet but it has a softer quiet sound which is less clicky. It is an Aopen and was less than 10 USD. Also I have an Aopen optical mouse model O-75B. It is a very quiet mouse and a very good mouse. In fact, even though an inexpensive mouse it is better than the expensive logitecs and others. It can be heard but it's click is less pronounced. Also it is extremely light and responsive.

Also, when using a laser mouse if you use a high quality soft cloth neoprene backed mouse pad the mouse has almost no sliding sound. These are the high quality pads that are meant to work with roller ball type of mice.

The neoprene damps the vibration and the material is soft instead of the hard plastic surface that a lot of new mouse pads have. This almost eliminates the sliding sound. If the mouse pad has some picture or color variation I have found no problems with laser tracking.

Hezz