building Custom keyboard

[Bobby529]

I want to build it myself I do not ming buying stuff from different places

Budget: I do not really know how much these things cost

Keycaps: Type tactile or linear

I do not care about RGB but it needs to look good

Hot spot

I will be happy to answer any question

[SorryBella]

10 minutes ago, Bobby529 said:

I do not really know how much these things cost

Well thats just one way to rip-off-ville anywhere else. Always have a set budget coming in the door for anything, but for a decent prebuilt board the start-off point is around 100-150$, which would point you towards most Keychron V and K v2 models. You can also find a bunch of Akko Model 50 and ACR which are also similarly well built. @saintlouisbagels recommends the nuphy line a lot and they are in that 100-150 range too, but i personally have no hands on yet.

 

https://www.keychron.com/collections/keychron-v-series-keyboard

https://www.keychron.com/collections/keychron-k-pro-series-keyboard

https://www.keychron.com/collections/keychron-k-series-keyboard

 

https://en.akkogear.com/product/mod-007-pc-mechanical-keyboard/

https://en.akkogear.com/product/acr-pro-75-mechanical-keyboard/

https://en.akkogear.com/product/blacksilver-5075b-plus-mechanical-keyboard/

 

https://nuphy.com/collections/keyboards/products/halo75

[johnt]

End game beginners keyboard: https://a.co/d/2SlQzeS Drop Alt high profile. It’s on sale for $150. It’s an aluminum case, simple plate Mount design. Bad stabilizers and hollow interior. It has a lot of room to learn and customize. Durock stabilizers are $12 and foam is like $25 form stupid fish. Or just cut it yourself. The only issue with this board is the pcb only accepts 3 pin switches and not 5. But the two extra pins are plastic and easy to cut off with side cutters. It is a board to learn from. It’s not perfect by any means. Just depends if you like to tinker. 

 

i recommend Gateron yellows for switches and drop skylight series for caps to start. The switches are around $40 and caps go on sale every other week to $35. 

 

Edit: Here is a ready-to-use board for $170 with tactile switches: https://www.amazon.com/Drop-ALT-High-Profile-Mechanical-Keyboard/dp/B083TFZ9KC

[johnt]

This is mine. I still use it to daily drive. 

[GarlicDeliverySystem]

4 hours ago, Bobby529 said:

I want to build it myself I do not ming buying stuff from different places

Budget: I do not really know how much these things cost

Keycaps: Type tactile or linear

I do not care about RGB but it needs to look good

Hot spot

I will be happy to answer any question

Which region are you in and what shops are available to you? Also, is ANSI layout ok for you, or do you need ISO layout with special characters?

 

If this is your first one, then I would recommend something along the Keychron V series: easy to work with, plenty of options from keychron directly or most third party sites which offer MX compatible switches and caps. If you are in NA or are willing to pay for shipping and taxes, you can also find modding supplies specifically for keychron boards.

 

switches: One thing I would say is to not expect to find the "best" or "perfect" switch immediately. Personal preference is hard to judge from descriptions and reviews, so you most likely want to try a few over time. Therefore, I'd recommend to go with more standard/cheaper switches like Gateron G Pro 2.0, of which you can get about 3 sets for the price of one 'fancy' set.

So, hold off on buying expensive switches until you have a feeling what you like in a switch and maybe how that translate into marketing speak.

 

RGB comes as a standard in most customs now, but usually it can be deactivated etc.

 

Keycaps are more difficult, especially when you need ISO in different languages. Don't get me wrong, there are tons and tons of keycap sets out there. In my (arguably limited) experience though, quality varies a lot and doesn't always correlate well with price. Fortunately it should be possible to find reviews and detailed pictures of a lot of the more expensive sets. And boy can they get expensive....

[Bobby529]

11 hours ago, GarlicDeliverySystem said:

Which region are you in and what shops are available to you? Also, is ANSI layout ok for you, or do you need ISO layout with special characters?

 

If this is your first one, then I would recommend something along the Keychron V series: easy to work with, plenty of options from keychron directly or most third party sites which offer MX compatible switches and caps. If you are in NA or are willing to pay for shipping and taxes, you can also find modding supplies specifically for keychron boards.

 

switches: One thing I would say is to not expect to find the "best" or "perfect" switch immediately. Personal preference is hard to judge from descriptions and reviews, so you most likely want to try a few over time. Therefore, I'd recommend to go with more standard/cheaper switches like Gateron G Pro 2.0, of which you can get about 3 sets for the price of one 'fancy' set.

So, hold off on buying expensive switches until you have a feeling what you like in a switch and maybe how that translate into marketing speak.

 

RGB comes as a standard in most customs now, but usually it can be deactivated etc.

 

Keycaps are more difficult, especially when you need ISO in different languages. Don't get me wrong, there are tons and tons of keycap sets out there. In my (arguably limited) experience though, quality varies a lot and doesn't always correlate well with price. Fortunately it should be possible to find reviews and detailed pictures of a lot of the more expensive sets. And boy can they get expensive....

You are the solution as you game me a good adive and i reallly need to research some stuff first