$150 or Less RGB Keyboards?

[Wittwe AB Grw]

Hello, swear I am cursed my razor ornate. V2 ended up frying apparently last night. Can’t explain how or why. Because certain keys work, and others do not. And really can’t figure out why. I already tried multiple USB ports and everything. Even reinstalled the software to no avail.
 

so I’m wanting to find $150 keyboard or preferably less that has RGB and some style but still has usability to connect to other rgb software options as well. As much as would be gushing to have a Corsair K100 optical with the optional IQ Nexus accessory, that is just not in my price range. Unless I can find a deal on Facebook, maybe. but two keyboards I am highly considering are listed below. And I was wondering if anyone else might have any other suggestions that I should check out. 

 

Akko 5108B Plus (Stock is Backoedered)

EPOMAKER RT100

 

edit: curently cant use my pc, and can order on 12th. So going to be stressful week.

[Dedayog]

Cherry MX 3.0 has been outstanding for me, love the feel and sound of the subdued keys... $99 wired, $149 wireless looks like...

 

Amazon.com: CHERRY MX Board 3.0 S Wired Mechanical Keyboard Aluminum Housing MX Red Silent Switches for Gaming and Office : Video Games

[Wittwe AB Grw]

That looks like a nice option, thanks.

 

didnt know cherry made full boards too.

[saintlouisbagels]

On 2/5/2024 at 6:44 AM, Wittwe AB Grw said:

That looks like a nice option, thanks.

 

didnt know cherry made full boards too.

Wow I would not order that Cherry keyboard. That keyboard is as out of touch and old as their key switches. Mini-USB B ?! No hot-swappable switches? No internal foam or dampeners? For $99 that is terrible in this day and age of affordable keyboards with robust features.

 

I'm a massive fan of NuPhy's keyboards. Looks like you really want a NumPad, so I would recommend the Halo 96.

https://nuphy.com/collections/keyboards/products/halo96

 

Alternatively, Keychron has a large selection of great quality boards. Here's a link with 96% and 100% filters.

https://www.keychron.com/collections/all-keyboards?sort_by=price-ascending&filter.p.tag=96%+Layout&filter.p.tag=100%+Layout

[Wittwe AB Grw]

On 2/7/2024 at 7:59 AM, saintlouisbagels said:

Wow I would not order that Cherry keyboard. That keyboard is as out of touch and old as their key switches. Mini-USB B ?! No hot-swappable switches? No internal foam or dampeners? For $99 that is terrible in this day and age of affordable keyboards with robust features.

 

I'm a massive fan of NuPhy's keyboards. Looks like you really want a NumPad, so I would recommend the Halo 96.

https://nuphy.com/collections/keyboards/products/halo96

 

Alternatively, Keychron has a large selection of great quality boards. Here's a link with 96% and 100% filters.

https://www.keychron.com/collections/all-keyboards?sort_by=price-ascending&filter.p.tag=96%+Layout&filter.p.tag=100%+Layout

Will give those a look too

[Dedayog]

On 2/7/2024 at 8:59 AM, saintlouisbagels said:

Wow I would not order that Cherry keyboard. That keyboard is as out of touch and old as their key switches. Mini-USB B ?! No hot-swappable switches? No internal foam or dampeners? For $99 that is terrible in this day and age of affordable keyboards with robust features.

 

I'm a massive fan of NuPhy's keyboards. Looks like you really want a NumPad, so I would recommend the Halo 96.

https://nuphy.com/collections/keyboards/products/halo96

 

Alternatively, Keychron has a large selection of great quality boards. Here's a link with 96% and 100% filters.

https://www.keychron.com/collections/all-keyboards?sort_by=price-ascending&filter.p.tag=96%+Layout&filter.p.tag=100%+Layout

Lots of buzz words and features listed, but the keyboard feels good, types very well, and sounds great.  Isn't it about the experience?  Or do you epeen your keyboard too?

 

Keyboardphiles are as bad as audiophiles

 

Guide the audience.

[saintlouisbagels]

13 minutes ago, Dedayog said:

Lots of buzz words and features listed,

USB mini-B and foam are buzz words now?

 

13 minutes ago, Dedayog said:

... but the keyboard feels good, types very well, and sounds great

Guide the audience.

If those are the qualifications of a good keyboard, why you are guiding them to wasting money on a $99+ keyboard when a $20 keyboard would just as easily meet all of those qualifications?

[GarlicDeliverySystem]

16 minutes ago, Dedayog said:

Lots of buzz words and features listed, but the keyboard feels good, types very well, and sounds great.  Isn't it about the experience?  Or do you epeen your keyboard too?

 

Keyboardphiles are as bad as audiophiles

 

Guide the audience.

Hey, at least keyboards don't cost as much as the audiophile stuff. Also we are still a few orders of magnitude in snake oil away from some of the outright scams in the audiophile world.

 

But to give you an idea why the board is not a good recommendation anymore:

• Micro-B connection. The connector itself is considered by many to be inferior to USB-C, mostly over concerns of fragility and that it can be put in only one orientation. This is not really "bad", just really dated by now.
• Hotswap sockets. This is honestly the most important to me. It means you can simply remove and replace any switch without the need for soldering. Meaning once a switch goes bad, it is replaceable by the user within a minute. Specialized tools for this are delivered with about any keyboard now, or cost 10-20$ on amazon. Plus it allows you to swap out switches for better/different ones later on without buying a whole new keyboard. Really good switches can be had for as little as 24$ per 110.
• "foam and dampeners". This is where the preference thing comes in and the first hints of "keyboardphiles" stuff really comes in. Foams, either between the plate and PCB or inside the case modify the sound of a keyboard, towards something that many people describe as really satisfying. It is preference, but a lot of people seem to like it. Having said that, there is a trend now with manufacturers to come up with ever more crazy mounting systems or more and more foam options. Same with dampeners: they are there to modify the sound and make the typing experience nicer.

And yes, people like to open their keyboards to clean them, or modify them etc.

So while the first point is more a technical thing, the latter two can really affect the overall experience you will have with the keyboard.

Especially considering that at this price point you can get better stuff.

[Wittwe AB Grw]

Thinking saving up and using my olk logi k350 with m570 setup mes bought so long ago keys get stuck or intermittent functionality. But would alow for a more quality item like a corsair k100 otr o

logi g pro x tkl. Defently prefer a number pad but use it fir ATS American Truck Simulator controlls then any other. Can alwys invest in a switch box for that