Do All Mechanical Keyboards Whine ?

[Andy14]

Ok, so this is an odd question. After owning a Logitech G15 Keyboard for what seems like eternity I recently purchased a Logitech 610 (Brown Switches) from Amazon on the Black Friday deals to test what all the fuss was about. If I like it then I may buy something more expensive.

When I'm working I generally have no music playing and recently I've started to hear a subtle electrical hum. Instantly I blamed the speakers, turned them off, still there. Blamed the monitor, turned it off, still there. Listened very carefully, get closer, closer still, it's the flipping keyboard ! Never got this with a G15.

Don't get me wrong, this is subtle and I'm sure many would never hear it, but it's there and once you've heard it you can't quite ignore it.

So do all Mechanical keyboards do this ? Or is this just my comeuppance for getting a cheap deal / unlucky / Logitech ?

[Andy14]

After a little further investigation, this is directly related to the lighting function.

On full brightness it's practically gone and with the lighting off it's totally silent. But with each press of the brightness button (which lowers the level of light in steps) the offending noise starts and the tone / pitch changes.

I'm interested to hear if this is the same on other keyboards, especially Corsair K70's.

[Spreadie]

I have several mech boards, including a K65 RGB. None of them whine.

[GoNz0]

I would check the logitech forums and start an RMA if you can.

[scaryjim]

If it's related to the lighting levels then it's most probably the transformer for driving the LEDs. LED transformers tend to hum a little in general (the one for my kitchen lights does, for instance), but I can't say for certain whether it's something that should be expected on a keyboard - probably worth contacting Logitech and see what they say.

[kalniel]

I have a Coolermaster Masterkeys Pro L (try saying that quickly) with RGB LEDs and no whine.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I have a CM Quickfire TK and I can't hear any whine. If there is whine it most likely is the transformer in the PSU as noted earlier.

[Xlucine]

PWM-related?

[i7Baby]

The LEDs will run off the usb port 12v line. Those that dim go through a circuit on the KB to do so. I'd say yours has a faulty circuit. It could just be the potting material to hold the components. But the only real way of fixing it is to RMA it. Get the shop you bought it from to verify the problem first. There'll most likely be a shipping fee involved.

[Andy14]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. It seems that this is a local issue to my keyboard and if I purchase another in the future it shouldn't do this.

I'm not worried about getting this one fixed, the issue is very minor and it costs £40, well worth it to try out the Brown keys. However I didn't want to invest in a top of the range Corsair / Razer later if it also exhibited such an issue, as then it WOULD annoy me.

[me-yeah]

it could hum because it does'nt have enough power, so if everything else fails buy a cheap mains powered usb hub to plug it in

[peterb]

The LEDs will run off the usb port 12v line. Those that dim go through a circuit on the KB to do so. I'd say yours has a faulty circuit. It could just be the potting material to hold the components. But the only real way of fixing it is to RMA it. Get the shop you bought it from to verify the problem first. There'll most likely be a shipping fee involved.

The USB output voltage is 5 volts, not 12.