chinny22 wrote:

I went though my keyboards, using a method I found on line somewhere by holding down shift and typing:
the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog

Pretty sure you quoted that wrong. The test is holding down both Shift keys and typing that. Any keyboard will pass the test if just a single Shift is held, because that's the minimum required functionality from a keyboard.

While there are many keyboards that don't even pass this test, even if a keyboard does pass it, it still does not mean it will accept any combination of keys, or even any combination of 3 simultaneous keypresses. I have a few Lenovo/IBM keyboards which pass the above test, and are quite nice in general, but it's not hard to find some 3/4 key combinations that don't register.

Only mechanical keyboards can have true N-key rollover, or at least a 6-key rollover, which is sufficient in practice for 99% of the cases.

The Model M is in fact not a full NKRO keyboard. They're remembered for their action, which, like mechanical keyboards in general, is really more optimal for typing than gaming, anyway.

For one retro alternative to mechanical keybs, KeyTronic made full NKRO keyboards with a very old school foam and foil construction before moving on to cheaper rubber dome designs in the 90's.

A keyboard to avoid for gaming is the Trust Direct Access Keyboard (pressing more than 3 keys results in beeping). On the other hand, the cheap Cherry RS 6000 M I replaced it with works very well with Windows-based keyboard-controlled fighting games (but not as well as a dedicated game pad).

HE QUIC BROWN OX UMPE OVER HE Z OG

Interesting, I had not heard of this method to do the key test. my logitech k100 failed.. HE QUIC BROWN OX UMPE OVER HE Z OG

Yeh read it on a sight somewhere years ago when trying to play Terminal Velocity on a horrible keyboard, I didn't even know it was a thing till then.
And the cheap HP keyboard failed horribly, My original keyboard did ok when I got a chance to test it back in Oz.

Know the test isn't that accurate but its a easy way to get an idea.

It's a real concern for split screen multiplayer DOS games, where the keyboard is usually the default input method. It's not going to work if you can just hold down a couple of keys to prevent your opponent from firing. 😀

The issue didn't really surface with the average keyboard until cost cutting in the late 90's. You don't necessarily need NKRO, but six simultaneous presses is a world of difference from three and this isn't well documented.

HE QUIK BROWN FO JUPS OER HE LA DOG

^^ real model M. It does OKAY, but obviously not perfect.

My mother used to do Braille transcribing on computer back in the 90s, and I recall her having trouble finding a keyboard that supported pressing six keys simultaneously. IIRC aside from the keyboard on the Toshiba T3100 portable computer, the only keyboard she ever found that worked back then was the Gateway AnyKey, which unfortunately really isn't a "cheap" alternative since they've gotten quite collectible now. Of course, her testing method was simply to open Notepad or DOS Edit and just press SDFJKL simultaneously to make sure the keyboard doesn't skip any keys. Admittedly, this testing method could produce different results than the Shift-Shift-Quick Brown Fox method on different keyboards. Case in point, the Logitech K270 I'm currently using fails the Quick Brown Fox test, yet passes SDFJKL just fine.

For newer keyboards, I imagine your best bet would be a dedicated gaming keyboard...which again really doesn't qualify as "cheap".

Interestingly, the terrible Thinkpad laptop keyboard passes the SDFJKL test, as well as many other 6-key tests, where the keys are sufficiently far away, like POIEWQ or OIUCXZ. Then again it fails many 3-key combos like ERT.

luckybob wrote:

HE QUIK BROWN FO JUPS OER HE LA DOG

^^ real model M. It does OKAY, but obviously not perfect.

My Compaq 9963 gets the exact same result

Cherry G84-4100 PS/2
THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG.
I usually check xKRO in such a way - run any build engine game (DN3D in example), then on level i crouch (C), run(SHIFT) + diagonal-strafing(ALT+↓+→) with firing(CTRL) simultaneously.
C+SHIFT+ALT+↓+→+CTRL.

I usually visit World of Spectrum forums. There is a thread talking about a keyboard test.

That test is suited for ZX Spectrum emulation, and asked to check some keyboard combinations. That combinations are the most used on ZX Spectrum games (diagonal + fire), and can help to rate keyboards that are not NKRO. Those results can help you to buy cheap (but not NKRO) keyboards that are best suited for gaming.

(BTW, the only keyboard I've met that passes all tests and is NKRO is the keyboard installed on my Toshiba Satellite Pro 4340... and that's the one that I can not connect on other computers)

Tandberg TDV 5020 PS/2:
THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG

Logitech Y-SG13 PS/2:
TE UIC RWN JUS VER TE LAY DG

Dell SK-8135 USB:
HE QUIK BROWN FO JUPS OER HE LA DOG

HE QUIK BROWN FO JUPS OER HE LA DOG

dell inspiron 5559 laptop keyboard

Of the various different keyboards I've tried, the one that's failed the Quick Brown Fox test the most miserably is the one that came with my eMac (Model A1048).

H CK BN FX JMS V H LAZ DG

Wow...that's atrocious!

chinny22 wrote:

While gaming keyboards and the legendary IBM model M keyboards are famous I though it may be handy to have a list of other keybo […]
Show full quote

While gaming keyboards and the legendary IBM model M keyboards are famous I though it may be handy to have a list of other keyboards that don't suffer from the above for people after a cheap alternative.
I went though my keyboards, using a method I found on line somewhere by holding down shift and typing:
the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog

and I got 1 keyboard that past the test! the keyboard that shipped with my Gateway P2 400 in 1998
It's part number is 7001049

Main features are the orange ps2 connector and the green Gateway logo with the cow skin cube

Anyone got other lesser known keyboards people could use as cheap alternatives?

I have the same keyboard... except it is USB and I replaced the LEDs with blinding blue ones back when I was going through a blue LED phase when I was a kid. Good keyboard! I use it all the time on my main machine.

And just for giggles, I tested my bluetooth wireless apple keyboard (the small one): H CK BN FX JMPS V H LAZ DG

THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG
- Apple Extended Keyboard II w/ iMate USB adapter.

The Dell AT101W I use on my retro rig also passes the dual-Shift test. As dr_st mentioned that does not mean they have full N-key rollover. It varies depending on what keys are being pressed, but it's capable of around 4 to 6 keys at a time. Definitely adequate for me and much better than most rubber dome keyboards.

Honestly it's rare that 2-key rollover gives me any problems, even when gaming. I used a Model M on my modern gaming PC for a long time. There was only one game that gave me noticeable issues and that was Descent using keyboard controls.

THE QUICK BROWN FO JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG
My cheap gaming keyboard - it's ok with most combinations, tuned for the usual gaming keys
There is a nifty online test page
https://www.microsoft.com/appliedsciences/Ant … gExplained.mspx