VOGONS


First post, by OpenRift

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So with my Pentium III setup I've been using the Dell Quietkey PS/2 keyboard which came with it. For the most part, it's a perfectly usable keyboard. However, something I've noticed is that it has some very inconsistent rollover limitations.

Let's present our initial scenario:
Holding Q and W prevents the A, X, and Z keys as well as the space bar from registering and possibly others.

You would think that this would mean that the keyboard has a 2-key rollover right? But while holding Q and W, keys D, C, E, and V work just fine. Similar behavior also happens while holding S and A or S and D.

Do I just need to clean out the insides of the keyboard? Or would getting a new keyboard be the only viable solution?

Reply 1 of 3, by chinny22

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I saved one of these from been thrown out at work about 5 years ago as it matched my Dell P3 not knowing they are considered one of the all time best rubber dome keyboards.
Then I used it found how nice it was so did a bit of research to find I wasn't the only one that thought this 😀
BUT
in the end its still a rubber dome and suffers rollover, cleaning it won't help.

Reply 2 of 3, by jmarsh

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OpenRift wrote on 2024-07-10, 22:51:

Holding Q and W prevents the A, X, and Z keys as well as the space bar from registering and possibly others.

You would think that this would mean that the keyboard has a 2-key rollover right?

No. It just means they were too cheap to use diodes in their scanning array.

Reply 3 of 3, by momaka

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Which particular model of "Dell Quietkey" do you have?

FWIW, Dell used the Quietkey label as late as the black keyboards from the Pentium 4 era.
As with everything else, Dell used various OEMs for various parts of their hardware, the keyboards included. For example, I have three beige Quietkey KBs that all look the same (from the PII/3 era): two are RT7d5jtw and one is a KB-something (IIRC).

The RT7d5jtw doesn't have the roll-over issue you describe (which I'm also well-aware of and really despise), but I don't remember if the KB----- one did or not (didn't get a chance to use it too much yet and it's currently in "deep" storage.) Also, between the two RT7d5jtw's, one has a really nice soft touch on the domes, but the other one is a little harder. They have different CoO's (Countries of Origin). I remember reading somewhere far back that the ones made in country X were better than country Y. But I don't remember much apart from that. From the two I have, the better one IMO is the one with a CoO of Thailand. Either way, both of these are fantastic keyboards for typing and pretty decent for gaming too.

I also have a lot of black Dell SK-8110... or at least they look exactly like the SK-8110. Not 100% sure if they have the SK-8110 model number or something else. Either way, these also don't have the roll-over problem. However, their keys do become prone to jamming after washing with a somewhat strong dish detergent, so I don't like them for gaming as much.

*EDIT*
BTW, if you're looking for a decent rubber dome USB keyboard, the Dell SK-8115 is pretty good IMO. I have several of these too and plan on buying more if/when I see them for cheap again. No roll-over issues as far as I saw, and they are rather durable too.