Mechanical Keyboards - Anyone got one?

Considering the amount of time I spend at a computer, both for gaming and for work, I like to have good equipment. I'm VERY happy with my current mouse and mousepad and I am considering a new keyboard. At the moment I am using a keyboard which I chose purely to try and ween myself off of my macbook keys a little as they're very flat, widely spaced and actuate very fast, thus, making them feel quite a bit different to traditional keyboards.

Now, I hear that mechanical keyboards are one of the os products that you use and then never go back (like an iPhone...imo) however, I've not really been able to get hands on with a decent one. My local 'PC World' has a Razer Arctosa and Lycosa, which I tried out but i'm not even sure if they're mechanical or not. Either way, I wasn't impressed, they felt pretty much like any other keyboard and tbh, the keys pressed very easily, which I don't like...I prefer a bit more resistance. So, what I am wondering is, has anybody got one or tried a good one (ie one with Cherry MX switches)?

My main concern that they won't feel much different to a normal keyboard, which, I have grown to resent as generally, they lack decent typing feedback until you are absolutely hammering the keys. So...anyone?

I've only briefly used one at a LAN. Didn't seem that great to me, just felt like a keyboard.

Vision and I both have the Saitek Eclipse II. the III is out but I haven't gotten to try it yet. It's a great keyboard, has good spacing, and the keys feel great. It sold me on the saitek line and whenever I have to buy a new one (had this one for 3 years now) I'll get another.

Can you remember what type it was? I'm thinking of one of these...

http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_3067.html

I purchased the Saitek that Atrum's talking about. It is holding up REALLY well. No sticky keys, the lettering is pretty solid, and it is a sturdy, weighty keyboard.

Some further explanation:
Each corner has a rubber pad trapezoid shaped, about 38 mm sq. The grip holds pretty well on i'd imagine any surface. It slides a little on my old wooden painted finished desk, but ANYTHING slides on this desk. So I'd assume it holds up well on most surfaces.

The keyboard is pretty weighty. Holding it in my hands end to end, it's a good 1.8 kg.

The keyboard is also pretty thing. Nice form factor.

They keyboard comes with a detachable wrist rest... It felt flimsy, and I don't use those things anyway, so I've never attached mine.

Definitely a solid buy. One minor thing though, is there sometimes appears to be a problem with some batches shipped where some keys don't work. My original purchase worked for five minutes, then the QWER and SD keys stopped working. The second one works like a charm and has never given me trouble since.

I did look at that Keyboard a while back but I didn't really like the look and also, I don't think it really offers much over my current keyboard.

http://www.mrinterface.com/keyboardsims/das3/index.html

^

I kinda feel that the feedback from the keys would help my typing a fair bit too. Even just the audio from that sim seemed to help. Placebo effect? Maybe, but I wouldn't really know until getting the actual KB. I know a lot of people swear by them and a good one should last forever, so I may take the plunge...i'll have to check the bank account first......

I agree with Atrum and Vision on the Eclipse II. When I got my desktop I originally got the first Eclipse and used that until the cat chewed thru the USB cord. When I replaced it I got an Eclipse II. I have been very happy with both of those. While it may not be a factor for you, I like that the keyboard is backlit for working at night. I used to play a lot of computer games after getting off of second shift and it was nice to have a backlit KB to be able to game without turning on the lights.

I know the keyboard off by heart, so I never really need to see the keys, so doing stuff in the dark isn't a factor. Not that my room is ever particularly dark for anything other than movies.

Anybody else want to add to the Saitek Eclipse II love-in that this thread has turned into?

On the mechanical keyboard note the one I played on was a Black Widow Ultimate. Definitely a nice keyboard, just nothing special.

Yeah, I've heard that the Razer mechanicals aren't that great. Still, I think they use MX Blues, how did they key presses feel? The Filco I am considering looks to be superior in that respect -