Laptop Keyboard Swap / Custom / Non-Chiclet

[dennisjenson]

Boy do I hate I chiclet style keyboards. The keys are all spaced out and in the wrong place. On top of that the layouts are usually hideous, on my MSI laptop with crappy chiclet keyboard, the Alt key is moved a key to the left left because some idiot put the backslash key in it's place (I keep missing it when Alt F4ing or Ctrl F4ing), The F-keys aren't in the right place, the Home and End keys (which I use all the time) are on a function rather than dedicated keys. The zero on the number pad is in the wrong place. The Return key isn't the the full Return key, it's half the size of what I'm use to. The Right Arrow is beyond the basic keyboard area and into the number pad area (which is why the zero is off).

I'm use to a HP/Compaq CQ-60 100ea keyboard. However everywhere I look, it's crappy chiclet keyboards, I need a new laptop with very modern specs, but need a classic laptop keyboard.

Here's the keyboard I want: http/www.alibaba.com/product-gs/378908807/for_HP_CQ60_NSK_H8A01_laptop.html

So the question is:

Can you swap out old keyboards for new ones on laptops? I'm willing to pay extra for a custom keyboard shroud assuming the two different keyboard aren't the same size. If not why isn't there any standardization in the laptop industry?

The nearest layout match (chic-let wise) that I've found is the Acer-Aspire-5750G but it will never be as good as the the classic style of keyboard.

 

[po1nted]

Most likely not. Form factor is a major thing to consider when picking a laptop. You are best off buying a new laptop with the form factor and features you want.

 

[jaguarskx]

Not likely. As mentioned it's all about form factor. Different laptops will have different form factors.

Your best bet is to look for a laptop with the "classc style" keyboard. However, they are mostly found in business class laptops like the Lenovo ThinkPads (great laptops generally speaking), HP Elitebook, and Dell Latitude. Consumer and gaming oriented laptops are stuck with chiclet keyboards.