Keyboard questions for a noob like me.

[Makaroni]

Hello All i need some advice on my first mechanical keyboard build.

So i did some research because i need to swap out my Razer blackwidow 2019 and give it to my brothers

i personally like my keyboard i kind of want to keep the feel similar in terms of actuation force and all but just skip the clickyness

So far i'm looking at the following.

Barebones Keyboard: Keychron Q6

Switches: Gateron G Brown Pro Switches Pre-lubed 3pin RGB SMD Linear (they told me i can individually adjust each switch RGB individually and they are fairly priced)

Keycaps: just getting plain razer keycaps because they have glow trough letters/numbers

here are my questions:

Are the parts compatible?

I went to my local custom keyboard shop and the person was an absolute twat and nearly chopped my head off for wanting to get the switches. So are there better alternative switches with the same specs that i need? (the ones i found were for 110 50 USD on amazon and they come pre lubed)

I could go with custom made keycaps but i really dont know where to look. So any suggestions? (region is Europe)

Do i need to buy stabilizers for this keyboard and do i need to lay silicone on the bottom? and do i need to lube the stabilizers?

[Bananasplit_00]

36 minutes ago, Makaroni said:

I went to my local custom keyboard shop and the person was an absolute twat and nearly chopped my head off for wanting to get the switches

What an ass instead of just letting you feel out some switches on an tester... Used to be a very common thing to bash on every brown switch but some people like them, it's a preference.

 

I'd say you're going to end up with something with a very smal tactile bump, barely noticeable, depending on how they are lubed. I'd probably get a tester or hit up your local community to try out some switches.

 

Also very odd that they are calling gat browns linear, they are not lol.

 

As for caps, not much to pick from if you're looking for shine through, just make sure you have support for the layout you are going for.

 

Other than that everything you've picked should go together at least

[Makaroni]

4 minutes ago, Bananasplit_00 said:

I'd say you're going to end up with something with a very smal tactile bump, barely noticeable, depending on how they are lubed. I'd probably get a tester or hit up your local community to try out some switches.

 

Do you know if these switches have RGB leds in them because some people tell me that you need to solder the led or the led has to come with the PCB and i do not know if this PCB has RGB leds...

As long as they feel similar to the razer switches i really dont mind if they have a bump or not. 

i`m really sorry for these questions.
 

7 minutes ago, Bananasplit_00 said:

Also very odd that they are calling gat browns linear, they are not lol.

What kind of switches are they because i thought they were tactile

 

[seon123]

21 minutes ago, Makaroni said:

Do you know if these switches have RGB leds in them because some people tell me that you need to solder the led or the led has to come with the PCB and i do not know if this PCB has RGB leds...

Most newer RGB keyboards (including the Keychrons) use SMD LEDs. The switches being called RGB just refers to the fact that they are transparent and/or have a gap for the LED to shine through.

23 minutes ago, Makaroni said:

As long as they feel similar to the razer switches i really dont mind if they have a bump or not. 

They are very lightly tactile, so they won't feel quite like the Razer Green switches you're used to. The Kailh Box Royal has a quite sharp tactile bump for a non clicky switch, it's about €0.48 per switch. Other popular options are Durock/JWK T1 (and their rebrands), at about €0.54-0.65 per switch; or the Boba U4t at ~€0.61 per switch (the regular non-clear version works with RGB LEDs and is probably better unless you're very concerned about the lighting). These options are a bit more expensive than Gateron Browns, but they feel better to type on, imo. Up to you if that's worth the price difference. A full size ISO layout needs 105 switches, so just get 110 of any switch.

https://candykeys.com/product/novelkeys-box-royal

https://keygem.store/collections/tactile/products/novelkeys-box-royal-switches-10-pack-retooled

https://www.eloquentclicks.com/product/durock-t1-switches/

https://splitkb.com/collections/switches-and-keycaps/products/gazzew-boba-u4t-thocky-tactile-switch

 

 

You can check out the stores in the Europe section in the list here.

https://anothersupersociety.com/t/custom-mechanical-keyboards-vendors-list/212

1 hour ago, Makaroni said:

I could go with custom made keycaps but i really dont know where to look. So any suggestions?

The list above is a great resource, and the stores that sell the switches above have some options. Just make sure to only look at the in stock options, not the Group Buy (GB) ones.

1 hour ago, Makaroni said:

Do i need to buy stabilizers for this keyboard and do i need to lay silicone on the bottom? and do i need to lube the stabilizers?

The Keychron should come with stabilisers and some case foam. You don't need to, but it is highly recommended that you lube the stabilisers.

[Makaroni]

2 hours ago, seon123 said:

Most newer RGB keyboards (including the Keychrons) use SMD LEDs. The switches being called RGB just refers to the fact that they are transparent and/or have a gap for the LED to shine through.

They are very lightly tactile, so they won't feel quite like the Razer Green switches you're used to. The Kailh Box Royal has a quite sharp tactile bump for a non clicky switch, it's about €0.48 per switch. Other popular options are Durock/JWK T1 (and their rebrands), at about €0.54-0.65 per switch; or the Boba U4t at ~€0.61 per switch (the regular non-clear version works with RGB LEDs and is probably better unless you're very concerned about the lighting). These options are a bit more expensive than Gateron Browns, but they feel better to type on, imo. Up to you if that's worth the price difference. A full size ISO layout needs 105 switches, so just get 110 of any switch.

https://candykeys.com/product/novelkeys-box-royal

https://keygem.store/collections/tactile/products/novelkeys-box-royal-switches-10-pack-retooled

https://www.eloquentclicks.com/product/durock-t1-switches/

https://splitkb.com/collections/switches-and-keycaps/products/gazzew-boba-u4t-thocky-tactile-switch

 

 

You can check out the stores in the Europe section in the list here.

https://anothersupersociety.com/t/custom-mechanical-keyboards-vendors-list/212

The list above is a great resource, and the stores that sell the switches above have some options. Just make sure to only look at the in stock options, not the Group Buy (GB) ones.

The Keychron should come with stabilisers and some case foam. You don't need to, but it is highly recommended that you lube the stabilisers.

Man you`re a god. What actually gets me flabergasted is that you did a TLDR better than 99% of the "guides" i found on google.

with your and @Bananasplit_00's advice i have come to the conclusion.

Keychron Q6 barebones (US layout)
 

Kailh BOX Royal literally the same price as the brown ones

Keycaps undecided but i`ll look around. 

and thanks for the advice on lubing the stabilizers 

 

[person123456789]

8 hours ago, seon123 said:

Durock/JWK T1 (and their rebrands)

this irritates me

stop calling jwk switches recolours

[person123456789]

On 8/22/2022 at 2:28 AM, lw88 said:

He literally used an entirely different word to recolour. Might want to re-read what he actually posted.

rebrand means that its the same product but branded differently

the most common way to rebrand a switch is to change the colour of it.