Cheap $45 Mechanical Keyboard Round Up!

[James]

 

Buy Airfox Mechanical Keyboards on Amazon: http://geni.us/hTDjV1

Buy AULA Demon King Mechanical Keyboards on Amazon: http://geni.us/dMQrA

Buy E-element Z77 Mechanical Keyboards on Amazon: http://geni.us/JxaJe0

Buy E-element X7200 Mechanical Keyboards on Amazon: http://geni.us/wHav

Buy E-element Z88 Mechanical Keyboards on Amazon: http://geni.us/uXkP

Buy Redragon Mechanical Keyboards on Amazon: http://geni.us/vIBu4

Buy Qisan Magicforce Mechanical Keyboards on Amazon: http://geni.us/Ko99OTH

Buy EagleTec Mechanical Keyboards on Amazon:  http://geni.us/GPUM

Buy Drevo Mechanical Keyboards on Amazon: http://geni.us/QL6D

 

You asked for it- today we're reviewing the cheapest mechanical keyboard's on Amazon with surprisingly decent results!

 

 

 

[RGProductions]

all hail the quisan

[Zando_]

Haven't seen it yet, but I'm guessing the AULA keyboard was a top contender? I've got one, and it's really nice. 

 

EDIT: Oooooo. That one has the blue switches as well (knock offs of Cherry MX Blues, that are just as good). 

[NinJake]

Ahhhh night theme formatting

[RGProductions]

1 minute ago, Zando Bob said:

Haven't seen it yet, but I'm guessing the AULA keyboard was a top contender? I've got one, and it's really nice. 

 

EDIT: Oooooo. That one has the blue switches as well (knock offs of Cherry MX Blues, that are just as good). 

The quisan (which I own) feels better than the corsair K series with MX switches TBH

[DannyJ98]

Hmmm, that sound effect when @Kurtis's comment popped up...

 

I'm sure that's from a certain cartoon featuring magical horses or something...

[minibois]

Gateron Blue Switches are just the best.

[PopReference]

You didn't mention, or didn't notice, how the E-element Z77 removable switches. The reason why it comes with extra switches and puller.

[Spuriae]

49 minutes ago, RGProductions said:

The quisan (which I own) feels better than the corsair K series with MX switches TBH

Honestly most of my Chinese keyboards feel better than Corsair's. The K70 is laughable in enthusiast circles; it's kind of incredible that people consider these things remotely endgame. They're more desk jewelry (which they admittedly do well; Corsair's RGB software is nicely done) than input device.

 

Wish keyboard reviews in general would talk about the typing experience and intangibles you can't figure out by just looking at the product page. I've tried most of the boards in this roundup before and learned nothing I didn't already know about the others. Like most reviews it skips over important things like stabilizer tolerances and real switch descriptions in favor of misleading blanket terms like "feels good" and "just like Cherry". Didn't address the sturdiness of the Z-77/Z-88's backplate, the stab wobble on the Drevo, E-element's socketed switches, the difference in switch sounds across multiple boards using the same switches, quality of different Outemu flavors, keycap thicknesses, etc.

 

Not so much criticizing this roundup as the low quality of most tech reviews in general.

[ashypanda]

 Been using the Z77 for just over a year and it's still going strong and only paid £20 for it as it doesn't have a backlight, but it did need o rings as it was a bit loud.

[RGProductions]

47 minutes ago, Nimrodor said:

Honestly most of my Chinese keyboards feel better than Corsair's. The K70 is laughable in enthusiast circles; it's kind of incredible that people consider these things remotely endgame. They're more desk jewelry (which they admittedly do well; Corsair's RGB software is nicely done) than input device.

 

Wish keyboard reviews in general would talk about the typing experience and intangibles you can't figure out by just looking at the product page. I've tried most of the boards in this roundup before and learned nothing I didn't already know about the others. Like most reviews it skips over important things like stabilizer tolerances and real switch descriptions in favor of misleading blanket terms like "feels good" and "just like Cherry". Didn't address the sturdiness of the Z-77/Z-88's backplate, the stab wobble on the Drevo, E-element's socketed switches, the difference in switch sounds across multiple boards using the same switches, quality of different Outemu flavors, keycap thicknesses, etc.

 

Not so much criticizing this roundup as the low quality of most tech reviews in general.

yeah, i made that comment before I saw the video, which was pretty lackluster. I only mentioned the k line because I've never used anything better

[Misanthrope]

Sadly the one I have (Tokomo 10 keyless, no lights, imitation blue switches but a tad stiffer at 60 grams) Didn't make the list but this might be regional: Amazon México actually pushes it a lot more since most of the brands on the list don't actually ship internationally.

[Kurtis]

2 hours ago, DannyJ98 said:

Hmmm, that sound effect when @Kurtis's comment popped up...

 

I'm sure that's from a certain cartoon featuring magical horses or something...

I didn't even notice when I first saw this on floatplane that my comment was even there oh man haha, also was it a squee? I thought I heard something there too.

[ZYancey]

I know that he was trying to stick to amazon but its really a shame he left out the Monoprice select keyboard, it has Gateron blue switches and is only 20 dollars, or 10 after a rebate. Seriously hard to beat this keyboard, typing feels great and the switches feel exactly like mx cherry blues.

 

https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=114&cp_id=11401&cs_id=1140102&p_id=13785&seq=1&format=2

 

Sure it doesn't have backlight or rgb but its a solid choice at an insane price.

[Bouzoo]

Is there a cheap keyboard that is TKL, has an "equivalent" of browns, is backlit and ISO (european, big Enter) layout? None were mentioned but I see people are mentioning brands that are not on Amazon. 

[Spuriae]

1 hour ago, ZYancey said:

I know that he was trying to stick to amazon but its really a shame he left out the Monoprice select keyboard, it has Gateron blue switches and is only 20 dollars, or 10 after a rebate. Seriously hard to beat this keyboard, typing feels great and the switches feel exactly like mx cherry blues.

 

https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=114&cp_id=11401&cs_id=1140102&p_id=13785&seq=1&format=2

 

Sure it doesn't have backlight or rgb but its a solid choice at an insane price.

It's been Outemu for quite a while now.

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not a bad thing for blues; I like Outemu blues more than Cherries anyhow. Outemu linears aren't bad either. Outemu browns are less okay.

33 minutes ago, Bouzoo said:

Is there a cheap keyboard that is TKL, has an "equivalent" of browns, is backlit and ISO (european, big Enter) layout? None were mentioned but I see people are mentioning brands that are not on Amazon. 

ISO sucks; just buy ANSI and rebind the second modifier key in software.

 

Closest you're getting is Drevo (not great QC) or Qisan (65%). Velocifire also makes one, but their old Zorro switches make membranes look desirable. They're advertising Outemu browns now, but it's not yet certain if it's a change in name only. Browns are the hardest switch to get good clones of though; you may want to shell out the extra money for a $50+ Gateron or Cherry board. That or buy a Z-77 and swap out the switches yourself (they're socketed, so you may need to clip the pins but won't need to solder). A pack of backlit Gateron browns should cost around $20.

[noisycatz]

I've been looking at cheap mechanical keyboards for quite some time now, mainly on some Chinese sites, because ...cheaper. 

I noticed in the video, Linus said the switches were supposed to be green, but looked blue. I think they were intended to be blue. (*I think lost in translation*)

 

Just a small guide for anyone looking to buy from Chinese sites...

青轴 = Blue switches (Google translates to green, probs where Linus/writers got confused)

黑轴 = Black switches

茶轴 = Brown switches  (Google translates to tea)

红轴 = Red switches

EDIT: Oh yeah, always look for 机械键盘/ 機械鍵盤 (means mechanical keyboard) = 是 (true), otherwise it isn't really mechanical (probs mechanical "feel"). Don't confuse the two. =) 

 

Anyways, hope this helps, if not, just ignore the post.  

[Mi26]

There's more keyboards in Taobao although shipping might be expensive 

[try2topdat]

The price of these keyboard are mooving up since the video. Shady brands must love LTT.

[ahuckphin]

What's "legend"

[Bouzoo]

7 hours ago, Nimrodor said:

ISO sucks; just buy ANSI and rebind the second modifier key in software.

 

Closest you're getting is Drevo (not great QC) or Qisan (65%). Velocifire also makes one, but their old Zorro switches make membranes look desirable. They're advertising Outemu browns now, but it's not yet certain if it's a change in name only. Browns are the hardest switch to get good clones of though; you may want to shell out the extra money for a $50+ Gateron or Cherry board. That or buy a Z-77 and swap out the switches yourself (they're socketed, so you may need to clip the pins but won't need to solder). A pack of backlit Gateron browns should cost around $20.

I've been using ISO my whole life, no reason to change that. I don't mind spending a bit more and adding a few $ for a proper Cherry board, I just can't justify the Ducky One TKL or Masterkeys Pro S, everything else I'm pretty much fine with. 

[Simon771]

And ofc. you can't get any of those in my country  

[Denis Rakhmanov]

Can LTT produce similar video, but with headsets/desktop speakers?

[Yoinkerman]

Nice video guys

[Phate.exe]

I picked up one of these on sale for like $50 a while back and love it:

Reidea KM06

https://www.amazon.com/REIDEA-KM06-Anti-Ghosting-Programable-backlighting/dp/B01M1O1ARZ

 

Mechanical keyswitches (red's, so silent/linear), full customizable RGB lighting, and double shot keycaps.  I'm probably gonna buy a second one of these if I don't find something similar enough with brown switches to try.