Keyboard recommendation under 80$

[Mr.Turtle2820]

I don't know much about keyboard but I want to buy a full size mechanical keyboard my budget is 80$

Any suggestions

[emosun]

47 minutes ago, Mr.Turtle2820 said:

I don't know much about keyboard but I want to buy a full size mechanical keyboard my budget is 80$

Any suggestions

does it have to be mechanical? if you dont know much then a membrane keyboard will work fine as well.

[saintlouisbagels]

$80 is basically the lowest you can find a 100% mechanical keyboard with hot-swappable functionality.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08CN9TWJK/

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09JG8H5R8/

 

Hot-swappable means the keyboard switch can easily be replaced instead of requiring soldering.

 

I started off with Brown switches because I enjoy the subtle tactility and the loudness. I've switched to Reds because I realized I actually preferred the smoothness of linear... and they're still basically as loud.

[Bi0]

Mechanical keyboards have gotten so cheap as long as you don't care about brand you can find something somewhere. That being said here's a 98% that is so good, for dumb cheap. This will let you do some moding, highly recommend it.

https://www.amazon.com/AULA-Mechanical-Swappable-Progammable-ICECRYSTAL/dp/B0C39QNJH1/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3EV9R8P0OQ3MV&keywords=98%2Baula%2Bkeyboard&qid=1703010237&s=electronics&sprefix=98%2Baula%2Bkeyboard%2Celectronics%2C53&sr=1-1-catcorr&th=1

 

[saintlouisbagels]

On 12/19/2023 at 1:30 PM, Bi0 said:

Mechanical keyboards have gotten so cheap as long as you don't care about brand you can find something somewhere. That being said here's a 98% that is so good, for dumb cheap. This will let you do some moding, highly recommend it.

https://www.amazon.com/AULA-Mechanical-Swappable-Progammable-ICECRYSTAL/dp/B0C39QNJH1/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3EV9R8P0OQ3MV&keywords=98%2Baula%2Bkeyboard&qid=1703010237&s=electronics&sprefix=98%2Baula%2Bkeyboard%2Celectronics%2C53&sr=1-1-catcorr&th=1

 

jesus christ, what hell-on-earth conditions are these factory workers experiencing to make boards this cheap

[GarlicDeliverySystem]

1 hour ago, saintlouisbagels said:

jesus christ, what hell-on-earth conditions are these factory workers experiencing to make boards this cheap

Good question.

However, I also wonder how much of of the costs for a keyboard like this is labor, and how much are parts, logistics and RnD.

• what do switches cost nowadays? Are there some super cheap ones from factories using phased out old equipment?
• keycaps must be dirt cheap by now, considering how thin and flimsy some of them are. I also noticed that apparently a lot of the cheap brands use the same style or even the same molds.
• What are the costs on those PCBs?
• The material costs for the cases can't be that much, if they make high enough numbers of them to offset the tooling costs (or got super cheap tooling from somewhere)