How should I get into 60/65 Percent Keyboards

[Diacute]

I have a cheap Gigabyte Keyboard, it’s full sized. I realized how much wasted space I’m using up since I don’t use the Numb Pad nor most of the function keys. I want to decrease my Foortprint. I’ve had my eye on 1 Keyboard which is the Ducky x Varmillo MIYA Pro Sakura mainly for the aesthetics. 

Something that peaked my interest was Building one myself using the Hot swap PCB from KBDFans. It wouldn’t be much of a problem if I didn’t have a cap on how much money I’m willing to spend. I’m planning to spend at most 140$ maybe 150. I dunno which route I should go, got any thoughts?

P.S. if you have a recommendation for a 60/65 percent Keyboard that you find fit, feel free to tell me. Preferably if the Keycaps were pink or purple lol

[RayMurr]

For the Violet or Pink keys you would have to get custom keycaps. But the Master Keys Pro S is a good 60%

https://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-MasterKeys-Mechanical-TenKeyless/dp/B01D8ETGJ0/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1547596796&sr=8-3&keywords=masterkeys+pro

[Diacute]

1 minute ago, RayMurr said:

For the Violet or Pink keys you would have to get custom keycaps

You’re right on that. Just hoping anyone by any chance knows an alternative since stuff like the Ultraviolet Keycaps from Ducky is like 60 last time I checked

[RayMurr]

 

2 minutes ago, Diacute said:

You’re right on that. Just hoping anyone by any chance knows an alternative since stuff like the Ultraviolet Keycaps from Ducky is like 60 last time I checked

http://www.wasdkeyboards.com/index.php/products/keycap-set/61-key-cherry-mx-keycap-set.html

[Diacute]

3 minutes ago, RayMurr said:

 

http://www.wasdkeyboards.com/index.php/products/keycap-set/61-key-cherry-mx-keycap-set.html

Hey that’s not that bad, thanks for letting me know.

[RayMurr]

4 minutes ago, Diacute said:

Hey that’s not that bad, thanks for letting me know.

No problem

 

[zlolslavez]

I think the best way to spend your money would be to get a premade one, as you aren't going to have a great experience with building one at that price point (I've looked recently and you can get a skeleton board at that range from 1up but that's about it). I've heard good things about the Anne Pro 2, but that's actually a bit under your price point.

 

I actually have/had a Ducky Miya Pro, but the odd "60% layout" (60% typically doesn't have arrow keys) turned me off. The keyboard was of great quality but not for me (I specifically had the panda one). I plan on returning it, and purchased a Massdrop CTRL w/o switches and purchased my own switches for it.

[Diacute]

10 hours ago, zlolslavez said:

I think the best way to spend your money would be to get a premade one, as you aren't going to have a great experience with building one at that price point (I've looked recently and you can get a skeleton board at that range from 1up but that's about it). I've heard good things about the Anne Pro 2, but that's actually a bit under your price point.

 

I actually have/had a Ducky Miya Pro, but the odd "60% layout" (60% typically doesn't have arrow keys) turned me off. The keyboard was of great quality but not for me (I specifically had the panda one). I plan on returning it, and purchased a Massdrop CTRL w/o switches and purchased my own switches for it.

The Anne Pro 2 looks like a much better option than the Ducky Miya with all the features it has for the price. adding Custom keycaps on it wont make me go over budget too. 

[b emoji]

16 hours ago, Diacute said:

Hey that’s not that bad, thanks for letting me know.

 

17 hours ago, RayMurr said:

 

http://www.wasdkeyboards.com/index.php/products/keycap-set/61-key-cherry-mx-keycap-set.html

I would recommend against that, that set is abs and comes with most likely lazered or dye subed legends which is not really that high quality and is not worth  45usd. 

[b emoji]

https://kbdfans.cn/products/maxkey-sa-night-miami-keycaps-set, this set is pink and purple, it's on the pricey side but is high quality double shot abs, in sa profile which is a high profile set. Another good option would be gmk lazer if you can find it. 

[geo3]

3 hours ago, b emoji said:

dye subed legends which is not really that high quality

Dye sub is very high quality. Nearly as durable as double shot, you have to literally remove material from the key cap to get the legend to wear away. 

 

@Diacute Is hot swap necessary? If not you can absolutely build something nice for $150.

[Diacute]

3 hours ago, geo3 said:

Dye sub is very high quality. Nearly as durable as double shot, you have to literally remove material from the key cap to get the legend to wear away. 

 

@Diacute Is hot swap necessary? If not you can absolutely build something nice for $150.

I don’t have any soldering stations so Hot Swap was perferable in my situation. This is my first rodeo so I want something simple enough 

[b emoji]

13 hours ago, geo3 said:

Dye sub is very high quality. Nearly as durable as double shot, you have to literally remove material from the key cap to get the legend to wear away. 

 

@Diacute Is hot swap necessary? If not you can absolutely build something nice for $150.

But also, it's abs, and it's most likely lasered as it has many colour options including one with a lighter colour on top of a dark base colour, which iirc is not possible with dye sub.

[b emoji]

9 hours ago, Diacute said:

I don’t have any soldering stations so Hot Swap was perferable in my situation. This is my first rodeo so I want something simple enough 

I believe the gk61 and gk64 are hot swappable and are rather cheap pcbs, theyre also a standard 60% so it should fit most plates and cases. 

[Dissitesuxba11s]

If you are really interested in getting a hotswappable custom keyboard, I suggest cutting out the middleman (KBDFans) and going through the supplier directly. Epathbuy has a groupbuy running right now selling their iGK6x line of boards which is the same thing as what KBDFans sells but under their name. The one that I linked is the one that I have so I can play around with new switches.

 

That said, this is coming directly from China so expect to wait a bit. My setup was $95 plus $23.50 shipping to the US since I opted for the better shipping through DHL, instead of ePacket and I got it in two weeks, but your mileage will vary. They were very responsive through email and you can pay through Paypal which gives a sense of security. 

[Diacute]

2 hours ago, Dissitesuxba11s said:

If you are really interested in getting a hotswappable custom keyboard, I suggest cutting out the middleman (KBDFans) and going through the supplier directly. Epathbuy has a groupbuy running right now selling their iGK6x line of boards which is the same thing as what KBDFans sells but under their name. The one that I linked is the one that I have so I can play around with new switches.

 

That said, this is coming directly from China so expect to wait a bit. My setup was $95 plus $23.50 shipping to the US since I opted for the better shipping through DHL, instead of ePacket and I got it in two weeks, but your mileage will vary. They were very responsive through email and you can pay through Paypal which gives a sense of security. 

 

Mhmm never thought about buying directly. The idea of a Hotswappable Keyboard sounds awesome. I’ll consider getting one, hopefully it’s still on sale by the time it’s my Bday which is at the end of the month

[Dissitesuxba11s]

3 minutes ago, Diacute said:

 

Mhmm never thought about buying directly. The idea of a Hotswappable Keyboard sounds awesome. I’ll consider getting one, hopefully it’s still on sale by the time it’s my Bday which is at the end of the month

You should be fine. They say that they are in group buy right now but they seem to have it constantly in stock, if not in production. At least that is what I'm seeing from their comments on r/mechanicalkeyboards.