ZivZulander

Definitely personal preference, but complicated Alps family (SKCM/SKCL) is best for me, followed closely by SMK 2nd gen (MX compatible cross mount version). Some of the best - if not the best - tactile and clicky switches; even for those who aren't big fans of Alps, they at least deserve mention in pantheon of great switches with IBM beamspring and buckling spring. Worst is hard for me, as I haven't personally had any bad switches. Cherry MX is an easy answer, but they are more vanilla than bad. Definitely bad rubber dome keyboards, though.

Got it in! Good quality, will likely use them in future. Shipping speed was reasonable given it shipped from China (DHL).

I meant the cables. Unless you made the cables? I'm looking for some nice color options for next build.

Ooh, pretty. Where from?

Yes, it's fully programmable. Also, there's the GMMK 60% (no arrow keys), if it's available where you are. Even if you don't want to swap out the switches, they come with Gateron Browns, which are smoother than Cherry MX Browns. There's nothing wrong with Ducky, and it's good build quality and highly reviewed, but personally having started on MX Brown for my first mechanical, I find it hard to recommend it anymore. There are just so many better options. That said, it's kind of an inoffensive switch, even if mediocre - you probably won't hate it, but you'll likely prefer other switches if you try them out. I would say Cherry MX Brown is like the Toyota Corolla of the keyboard switch world. For other non-hot swap options, the Anne Pro 2 ($100 on Amazon US) also comes with Kailh BOX (I like Kailh BOX switches) and Gateron options. You can get some idea of what I am talking about by checking out reviews and typing tests on various switch types on Youtube, particularly videos from Chyrosran22 or Taeha Types. Also, whatever you get, good keycaps make a world of difference. Even ~$30 PBT keycaps (or failing that, thick doubleshot ABS) can greatly improve typing feel and sound. Not something you need to do right away, but something to keep in mind for later on if you find your keycaps shining up (which ABS will do if you type a lot) or you just want to upgrade the experience.

Well, if the arrow keys really bother you, by all means get one of the keyboards you linked to. But I don't know many (any?) people who like Cherry MX Brown over other switches once they've experienced modern MX alternatives or older, non-Cherry switch types. At best, Cherry MX Brown is average. It's scratchy and not very tactile; paying $100 or more to be locked in to Browns is a waste of money these days, even on good boards like you listed, given how inexpensive mechanical keyboards have gotten. I would just buy a cheap Redragon if you want Cherry MX.

MX Clears are good if you can train yourself not to bottom them out. Otherwise they are too heavy for a lot of people. I like Clears and can use them without bottoming out most of the time, though I do find them a little more fatiguing than my favorite vintage switches or Topre. I would look at 60% or 65% hotswap keyboards (I'm assuming you don't want to do custom, but prebuilt hotswaps are dead simple to change switches). You can find them fairly inexpensively these days (e.g. iGK61), and tactiles from Gateron, Kailh, and others are much better than MX Brown in my opinion. And with hotswap if you don't like the included switches, you can always swap them out.

Yes, it seemed easier than doing a case mount, though I think I may do that next time (likely aluminum once I've played around with Fusion 360/CAD some more).

This is a little more than your budget, but uses Kalih brown switches: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Patriot-Mechanical-Keyboard-Backlight-Switches/dp/B07573PBBL/

Got my nylon, custom 3D printed case in. It's a lot more solid and heavier than I was expecting (but was hoping it would be, hence going with it over PLA or ABS). A little under 2 lbs (900g), which makes it a little lighter than my aluminum Tofu (also 65%). It will take me about 2-3 weeks before I can build with it, as I need to sand it, paint it, glue (epoxy) some mounts with threaded inserts for plate, and have the carbon fiber plate cut and shipped to me. Also ordering a badge sticker for it. May tweak the design a bit, but essentially this:

From Genwyn's post and this, I think I may be correct in it not having a standardized name: "Pin headers with a plastic guide box around them are known as box headers (BH) or shrouded headers and are normally only used in combination with insulation-displacement connectors (IDC) for ribbon cables. A notch (key) in the guide box normally prevents placing the connector (polarised by a "bump" on one side) the wrong way around." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pin_header

Header shroud? Not sure if there's a standard name.

Interesting. I've seen Niz mentioned before, but forgot about it. I like Topre a lot, will likely get one of those keyboards in the future. Even if it's 90% of the quality or feeling of Topre, much lower cost would justify trying it.

How large is your keyboard? You can probably get a small mat for both.

Forgot to post my current daily driver: https://imgur.com/gallery/sGUblpQ

With adaptive sync (g-sync in your case) it's not an issue if it runs lower FPS than the refresh rate. It should still be smooth, though ideally you want to run higher than 60Hz and closer to 144Hz in most games, since that's why you got a high refresh monitor to begin with, obviously. You shouldn't need to touch the refresh.

Very nice. I actually just ordered a White Fox Aria, it's coming in a few days. Matteo is a good designer, I like everything I've seen of his so far (especially his keycaps, though).

Both boards are gorgeous! But damn it, I had a build in works named Dark Side of the Moon (using black on black PBT varmilo caps, too). Gonna fall back to alternate name, Scura (Italian for "dark", but also an edition of the Lotus Exige that was matte black... that's my dream car). Just put an order in for 3D printing for custom case design. It's going to match my custom SFF computer case, which I'm also working on. Both will be painted in black 3.0, so there won't be a darker computer or keyboard combo... unless someone has access to vantablack. Either going to house blue Alps (have a clean set on hand) or new SMK 2nd gens (MX mount), haven't decided yet. Putting order in for carbon fiber plate some time this week. Got in on the ADK18 numpad group buy, so you can tell I'm going for a vintage Apple aesthetic.

Bitcoin encryption isn't going to be broken before people have a chance to move off of it. Remember, bitcoin is a distributed network and it's software. It's more resilient than the financial system as a whole is.

The only kind of printer that impresses me is the kind that doesn't break. *Knocks on 12 year old HP laser printer* *printer tray falls off*

Ended up ordering from X-ray Pad (thanks to someone on Reddit) today, will update with results when it gets here. Updated design a bit.

You didn't answer the question?

Looks good! I wouldn't bother with upgrading hardware until a monitor upgrade forces you to, and I would wait on a monitor upgrade until it's possible to get all the goodies (high refresh, 4K, HDR, good size, etc) at a reasonable price. So you can probably keep it for a few years, unless you find it starts to be insufficient for gaming sooner than that. 1080p at 144Hz is good right now.

Services that offer it seemingly haven't gotten much cheaper in the past few years, either. Hoping there's some breakthrough in manufacturing tech or process that drives prices down.

OP, are you a equal user of Android and iOS, or do you mainly/exclusively use one over the other? From my observations, the people who tend to fault experienced reviewers for bias typically are coming from a biased positions themselves. Most reviewers of Linus' experience level - someone who tries a ton of products, from different companies and in different categories - tend to have a lot less bias than their fans, on average, because they are exposed to a lot more variety and don't settle in to one ecosystem as much. Which isn't to say Linus isn't or can't be biased - everyone has some bias, obviously - it's just that I think he makes a lot of good points when he does critique a platform. I don't get the impression that he goes out of his way to condemn a product unless it genuinely isn't good. Also, some people will hold companies like Apple to a higher standard; in some ways this makes them true fans because they want the company to keep making good products and improve them, which is good for both the company and consumers. No one benefits long-term from a company that puts out flawed products (well, except for their competitors).