Help me find a budget mechanical keyboard

[SubZeroDX]

Hello,
I now have had a Logitech G413 mechanical keyboard for over 2 years and I wish to change it because those dumb Roomer-G switches which broke because they have weak plastic things that insert into the key-cap, thus some of the keys just broke and just sit on the switch and I can't glue them bach, I lost control (see the pun there?) and AZERQSD because they are the most commonly used for gaming.

 

Anyways, I just want to buy a new mechanical keyboard and here are some criterias that I have, and I hope you could help me find a keyboard that fits those criterias:

-Price around 60€ or less which is about 70$

 

-I live in France, so if an AZERTY layout is available it's a plus

 

-It should be full-size because I share the PC with my parents and they don't want a tenkeyless keyboard

 

-It should have cherry MX switches or some copy of those, so that if a key-cap brakes I could buy a new one that is easy to find, it just has to be sturdier than those flimsy Roomer-G. I am also not very bothered by the type of the switch, the ones that I use are linear but I also tried tactile and it feels nice, I just don't quite like clicky

 

-I want to use it for gaming but also next year I'll go to college and might use it to type homework at home

 

- Whether it's wired or wireless doesn't quite matter, even if I think wired is cheaper. If it is wireless tho, I think it can be tenkeyless and QWERTY, because I can use that configuration and I could just put it aside while I don't use it and let my parents use a full-sized wired one.

 

-RGB is not necessary

 

Thank you for your contribution

Edited April 27, 2021 by SubZeroDX
Budget adjustment

[AdamBGames]

11 minutes ago, SubZeroDX said:

Hello,
I now have had a Logitech G413 mechanical keyboard for over 2 years and I wish to change it because those dumb Roomer-G switches which broke because they have weak plastic things that insert into the key-cap, thus some of the keys just broke and just sit on the switch and I can't glue them bach, I lost control (see the pun there?) and AZERQSD because they are the most commonly used for gaming.

 

Anyways, I just want to buy a new mechanical keyboard and here are some criterias that I have, and I hope you could help me find a keyboard that fits those criterias:

-Price around 50€ or less 

 

-I live in France, so I should buy the AZERTY version of that keyboard, if it exists

 

-It should be full-size because I share the PC with my parents and they don't want a tenkeyless keyboard

 

-It should have cherry MX switches or some copy of those, so that if a key-cap brakes I could buy a new one that is easy to find, it just has to be sturdier than those flimsy Roomer-G. I am also not very bothered by the type of the switch, the ones that I use are linear but I also tried tactile and it feels nice, I just don't quite like clicky

 

-I want to use it for gaming but also next year I'll go to college and might use it to type homework at home

 

- Whether it's wired or wireless doesn't quite matter, even if I think wired is cheaper. If it is wireless tho, I think it can be tenkeyless and QWERTY, because I can use that configuration and I could just put it aside while I don't use it and let my parents use a full-sized wired one.

 

-RGB is not necessary

 

Thank you for your contribution

Just a thought, but why dont you just get a qwert keyboard and get Azerty keycaps?

[SorryBella]

5 minutes ago, AdamBGames said:

but why dont you just get a qwert keyboard and get Azerty keycaps?

Or even better (because its free): move the existing qwerty keycaps around to AZERTY layout. All OP need to do is to go to language settings in windows and go to the keyboard options in the language options.

 

And thats quite common on a Romer-G stem (also a G413 ex user), the best thing to do in that case really is to do the old cherry MX trick of filling the gaps with clear scotch tape. It can help, but afaik Its unfixable beyond having to replace the switch entirely. Thanks Logitech.

 

Anyway, for that price, check around redragon's mechanical keyboard offering or the similar chassis that looks like what they use. Other brands i would trust in that low of a budget is Magicforce, old Corsair, and Azio.

[7hats]

7 minutes ago, SorryClaire said:

Or even better (because its free): move the existing qwerty keycaps around to AZERTY layout. All OP need to do is to go to language settings in windows and go to the keyboard options in the language options.

There is an issue with doing this unless OP picks a keyboard that has universal height keycaps, which, for mechanical in that price-point I'm not sure exists. They will have keys at all random row heights throughout the keyboard, which would be very uncomfortable to type and game on.

 

With the requirements set I'm not sure if I can offer any advise that doesn't go over budget, especially because I cannot consider the difference in prices due to our different re-sellers and countries. You may try, though, picking up a keyboard with either blank or qwerty keycaps and then using stickers from somewhere like https://keyoverlay.com/

and placing the smaller stickers on the front side of the keycaps. Personally, I have a custom keyboard that I built and use Colemak DHm layout and this has worked great for me. That's obviously going to take more effort, though.

 

Honestly, not considering layout or retailers available to you, I'd be looking at either Gateron or Kailh switch keyboards both brands have come a long way. In my honest opinion, I personally feel that Gateron especially has surpassed Cherry in quality, while being much more likely to be found in the price bracket that you're talking about.

 

Hope that helps.

[SubZeroDX]

51 minutes ago, AdamBGames said:

Just a thought, but why dont you just get a qwert keyboard and get Azerty keycaps?

It is a possibility, but I should then also buy the keycaps

[SubZeroDX]

16 minutes ago, 7hats said:

There is an issue with doing this unless OP picks a keyboard that has universal height keycaps, which, for mechanical in that price-point I'm not sure exists. They will have keys at all random row heights throughout the keyboard, which would be very uncomfortable to type and game on.

 

With the requirements set I'm not sure if I can offer any advise that doesn't go over budget, especially because I cannot consider the difference in prices due to our different re-sellers and countries. You may try, though, picking up a keyboard with either blank or qwerty keycaps and then using stickers from somewhere like https://keyoverlay.com/

and placing the smaller stickers on the front side of the keycaps. Personally, I have a custom keyboard that I built and use Colemak DHm layout and this has worked great for me. That's obviously going to take more effort, though.

 

Honestly, not considering layout or retailers available to you, I'd be looking at either Gateron or Kailh switch keyboards both brands have come a long way. In my honest opinion, I personally feel that Gateron especially has surpassed Cherry in quality, while being much more likely to be found in the price bracket that you're talking about.

 

Hope that helps.

Thanks for the suggestions, and out of curiosity, how much does it cost to build a custom keyboard?

[mon1ka]

3 minutes ago, SubZeroDX said:

Thanks for the suggestions, and out of curiosity, how much does it cost to build a custom keyboard?

depends how custom you want to go. my current board (which is just an RK61 with custom keycaps) cost around $80 AUD and some high ends go for $1000+ AUD.

 

all depends on what you need and how far down the rabbit hole you're willing to go.

[7hats]

8 minutes ago, mon1ka said:

all depends on what you need and how far down the rabbit hole you're willing to go.

Exactly this, theirs cost them $80 AUD, mine cost me around $400 USD. Depends on what you want and what you're willing to spend to get there. Personally, mine is a Keeb.io Iris v4, I really just wanted a good ergonomic keyboard that didn't take up as much space as my girlfriend's ergodox.

[mon1ka]

4 minutes ago, 7hats said:

Exactly this, theirs cost them $80 AUD, mine cost me around $400 USD. Depends on what you want and what you're willing to spend to get there. Personally, mine is a Keeb.io Iris v4, I really just wanted a good ergonomic keyboard that didn't take up as much space as my girlfriend's ergodox.

plus you dont even need a custom, many prebuilt boarsd work great. OP, id talk to your parents what they need in a KB then report back. i can recomend some boards.

 

Also how in the hell did you get your GF into keyboards? shes a keeper.

 

 

(entirely by accident but thanks for correct pronouns)

[7hats]

Just now, mon1ka said:

Also how in the hell did you get your GF into keyboards? shes a keeper.

She's a nerd herself, computer programmer, gamer, and RSI sufferer (like myself). Wasn't even remotely a hard sell, she said her RSI was getting worse, I only mentioned the ergodox and she bought it the next day

[mon1ka]

1 minute ago, 7hats said:

She's a nerd herself, computer programmer, gamer, and RSI sufferer (like myself). Wasn't even remotely a hard sell, she said her RSI was getting worse, I only mentioned the ergodox and she bought it the next day

nice, my partner is still new to custom tech but shes learning. (finally switched to android after using an iphone 6 for 4 years)

[SubZeroDX]

7 hours ago, mon1ka said:

depends how custom you want to go. my current board (which is just an RK61 with custom keycaps) cost around $80 AUD and some high ends go for $1000+ AUD.

 

all depends on what you need and how far down the rabbit hole you're willing to go.

I did some research and I found the RK68 which is 45€ on Amazon, and it seems to be a good price. Since it's wireless, it doesn't matter if it's tenkeyless.

I just thought I would buy AZERTY keycaps to put on it. Do you have a website or a brand to recommend for that?

[Gale]

On 4/28/2021 at 2:28 AM, SubZeroDX said:

I just thought I would buy AZERTY keycaps to put on it. Do you have a website or a brand to recommend for that?

Amazon is actually a decent option when it comes to budget keycaps, but they are usually fairly limited in their variety. Your local Amazon website might have some AZERTY sets.

 

WASD Keyboards sells custom keycap sets; you can customize the colors, legends, etc. But obviously, they are more expensive. CandyKeys is a EU-based website, but they are also on the premium side. There are way more options, I'm sure others will give you better options.

 

When it comes to the kind of keycaps, that's a deep rabbit hole of its own. Material (PBT vs ABS), profile (uniform vs sculpted), etc. I personally prefer PBT mainly because they do not attract finger oil as easily as ABS. I think that's a good beginning point for someone who's starting out.