Mechanical Keyboard Club!

[kelvinhall05]

@TheDailyProcrastinator to clarify, they are marked out of stock so that people don't place orders after GB closed so I don't need to buy extra stuff. I currently will have 7 extra gold boards but some of those are already claimed, and I have 3 extra silver prototypes (basically identical).

[kelvinhall05]

When even your cat has a great taste in keyboards

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[kelvinhall05]

Got this bad boy in today in trade for two Wyse converters. Surprisingly this one has white Alps, not blue, although the previous owner was speculating with others on Deskthority that this was a replacement board or something, or potentially that the sliders have been replaced. Either way, they feel and sound great.

 

The keycaps are fucking awesome and a mix of doubleshot and dyesubs made by Alps themselves. Case is quite nice, cable is very nice and quite thick.

 

Tomorrow I will make a converter for it. Shouldn't be too hard as it's documented.

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[Letgomyleghoe.]

I wish building keyboards was a bit more mainstream because as of right now by the time anything comes into stock i'll be celebrating the start of the 22nd century.

[CheeseGaming43]

Im building my first mechanical keyboard,what is a good hotswap pcb thats in stock?

[kelvinhall05]

22 minutes ago, CheeseGaming43 said:

Im building my first mechanical keyboard,what is a good hotswap pcb thats in stock?

GMMK is good starter hotswap.

[Dr0y]

1 hour ago, CheeseGaming43 said:

Im building my first mechanical keyboard,what is a good hotswap pcb thats in stock?

I second the gmmk ... there's 3 different vairant being with num pad, without num pad (tkl) or 60% .. If you're not sure about the layout just ask yourself if you would miss the key and if you use them that often.  For my part I don't miss the numpad at all ... I bought a used 60% to see if I could adapt to that layout and to see if I was able to use the fn key for the second layer. 

 

As for the switches you will have to decide which great category of switches you like better.  clicky, tactile or linear ... If you don't really know about them just watch some video and maybe a switch tester can help you decide.  Feel free to ask for advice here. 

[DailyProcrastinator]

21 hours ago, Gundar said:

I wish building keyboards was a bit more mainstream because as of right now by the time anything comes into stock i'll be celebrating the start of the 22nd century.

It really depends, there is in stock items on several sites, depends what you are looking for and what your budget is.

 

11 hours ago, CheeseGaming43 said:

Im building my first mechanical keyboard,what is a good hotswap pcb thats in stock?

GMMK is a great hot swap option as a way to get your feet wet. Solid construction, with a ton of switch options, in 3 different layouts. I got my fullsize almost 2 months ago now and am very happy with it. I recommend getting the switch sample pack. 

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[Dr0y]

11 hours ago, TheDailyProcrastinator said:

It really depends, there is in stock items on several sites, depends what you are looking for and what your budget is.

 

GMMK is a great hot swap option as a way to get your feet wet. Solid construction, with a ton of switch options, in 3 different layouts. I got my fullsize almost 2 months ago now and am very happy with it. I recommend getting the switch sample pack. 

 

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That's a kailh box white right ? How do you like it compared to the blue ?  How is the sound different ?

 

I love my tkl gmmk ... and I'm tempted to get a 60% ...

[kelvinhall05]

7 minutes ago, Dr0y said:

 

That's a kailh box white right ? How do you like it compared to the blue ?  How is the sound different ?

 

I love my tkl gmmk ... and I'm tempted to get a 60% ...

I have BOX navy and they are by far the best modern switch I've ever tried and likely will never move from that spot. I even like them more than some vintage switches...

[Dr0y]

13 minutes ago, kelvinhall05 said:

I have BOX navy and they are by far the best modern switch I've ever tried and likely will never move from that spot. I even like them more than some vintage switches...

I'm afraid that the weight of the box navy might a bit heavy for me ... I'm used to lighter switches and I've never tried heavier ones.  For now I'm using kailh speed copper which are supposed to be 50g actuation 60g bottom out ... that 60g actuation and 90g bottom out on the navy is frightening. 

 

Also I wonder about the sound ... I don't like clicky much but I thought I might try to like them and I wanted something like a light and subtle click.  I heard that the box white would be something like that.   I tried outemu blue and they are horrible with a lot of "other" sounds (spring ping, rattling and such) that are worst than the click ... I tried cherry mx blue and you can hear the click more than those "other" sounds but it's not quite right.   How is the box navy sound ?  

[kelvinhall05]

9 minutes ago, Dr0y said:

I'm afraid that the weight of the box navy might a bit heavy for me ... I'm used to lighter switches and I've never tried heavier ones.  For now I'm using kailh speed copper which are supposed to be 50g actuation 60g bottom out ... that 60g actuation and 90g bottom out on the navy is frightening. 

 

Also I wonder about the sound ... I don't like clicky much but I thought I might try to like them and I wanted something like a light and subtle click.  I heard that the box white would be something like that.   I tried outemu blue and they are horrible with a lot of "other" sounds (spring ping, rattling and such) that are worst than the click ... I tried cherry mx blue and you can hear the click more than those "other" sounds but it's not quite right.   How is the box navy sound ?  

Click jacket switches like MX Blue and clones sound fucking horrible because they have a plastic clicker that rattles when clicked. Clickbar switches like BOX navy or click leaf switches like Alps SKCM have metal clickers (bars and leaves, respectively) that don't rattle and have a much more pleasing sound regardless.

 

I have a recording of BOX navy at home, I will send it in a minute along with a recording of SKCM white (although I posted that here recently).

[kelvinhall05]

@Dr0y

Left is Alps, right is BOX Navy. Keep in mind chassis, keycaps, etc will all make a difference, and my shitty recording equipment doesn't give the Navies justice.

[Dr0y]

I think the alps sounds a bit more "clunky" if I can describe it like that ... but the sound is lower pitch which I prefer.   Navy sound is more precise and solid, higher pitch and louder maybe ...

 

damn it's hard to make a choice ... maybe navy with sa keycaps would be a good pairing ... like wine and cheese ...

[geo3]

1 hour ago, Dr0y said:

I think the alps sounds a bit more "clunky" if I can describe it like that ... but the sound is lower pitch which I prefer.   Navy sound is more precise and solid, higher pitch and louder maybe ...

 

damn it's hard to make a choice ... maybe navy with sa keycaps would be a good pairing ... like wine and cheese ...

 

3 hours ago, kelvinhall05 said:

Keep in mind chassis, keycaps, etc will all make a HUGE difference

So much so that it's utterly pointless to compare switches in different boards.

[DailyProcrastinator]

6 hours ago, Dr0y said:

That's a kailh box white right ? How do you like it compared to the blue ?  How is the sound different ?

I love my tkl gmmk ... and I'm tempted to get a 60% ...

I personally do not like loud clicky switches. That's just my preference, for the most part I like tactile and heavy linear switches. So if I had to grade either they would be at the bottom of my list. But IF I was compelled to make a choice I would prefer Box Whites, kinda going on what @kelvinhall05 said:

5 hours ago, kelvinhall05 said:

Click jacket switches like MX Blue and clones sound fucking horrible because they have a plastic clicker that rattles when clicked. Clickbar switches like BOX navy or click leaf switches like Alps SKCM have metal clickers (bars and leaves, respectively) that don't rattle and have a much more pleasing sound regardless.

 

Yeah GMMK is solid I am impressed with it for the price. If you go 60% change it up! 

[DailyProcrastinator]

Anyone here use Zilent  and Zealios switches? Loving my Zealios 65g but wondering how the Zilents hold up, do they truly feel the same?

[geo3]

1 hour ago, TheDailyProcrastinator said:

Anyone here use Zilent  and Zealios switches? Loving my Zealios 65g but wondering how the Zilents hold up, do they truly feel the same?

No, They feel mushy and not quite as smooth. The tactile bump is the same however.  I was super disappointed in my so I just  removed the stems to make use housings and experiment with linear switches. 

[DailyProcrastinator]

8 hours ago, geo3 said:

No, They feel mushy and not quite as smooth. The tactile bump is the same however.  I was super disappointed in my so I just  removed the stems to make use housings and experiment with linear switches. 

Ahhhh that's disappointing, but kinda what I was reading else where. I mean the Zealios switches are not that loud or clangy anyways. I'll just lube them then see how that feels, likely go for a second set. Thanks for the insight!

[Helpful Tech Witch]

So, IDK if this is the best place to ask, but is the Reddragon K552 any good? It has "red" switches. The reviews seem mixed. Some think it's a great build, and sturdy, others say it breaks quickly. Does anyone hare have experience with it?

[DailyProcrastinator]

1 hour ago, HelpfulTechWizard said:

So, IDK if this is the best place to ask, but is the Reddragon K552 any good? It has "red" switches. The reviews seem mixed. Some think it's a great build, and sturdy, others say it breaks quickly. Does anyone hare have experience with it?

It's normally a $100cad (currently $75) keyboard so for the price you'll get 'less premium' quality, but the reviews on Amazon seem mostly positive overall. SBut I'm not sure about alternatives in that price range.

 

The lack of "Cherry MX" is telling, they are knock off switches. And the warranty is very short from what I have read (30days it seems) so there are some bad apples in the bunch for sure. If you can find a Ducky keyboard for a bit more it may be worth the price for longevity's sake. But if you want a 'gaming' RGB board it seems like an average option. Personally for that price point I would want genuine Cherry MX Switches at the very least. 

 

Unfortunately I do not have much knowledge in that segment of the keyboard market, so I don't know of a better option at a similar price point. Hopefully someone else can provide some direction. 

 

I recommend posting a thread asking for a mechanical keyboard recommendation with your given budget. Include your country/region and features you want. Might get more responses. 

[Helpful Tech Witch]

3 minutes ago, TheDailyProcrastinator said:

It's normally a $100cad (currently $75) keyboard so for the price you'll get 'less premium' quality, but the reviews on Amazon seem mostly positive overall. SBut I'm not sure about alternatives in that price range.

 

The lack of "Cherry MX" is telling, they are knock off switches. And the warranty is very short from what I have read (30days it seems) so there are some bad apples in the bunch for sure. If you can find a Ducky keyboard for a bit more it may be worth the price for longevity's sake. But if you want a 'gaming' RGB board it seems like an average option. Personally for that price point I would want genuine Cherry MX Switches at the very least. 

 

Unfortunately I do not have much knowledge in that segment of the keyboard market, so I don't know of a better option at a similar price point. Hopefully someone else can provide some direction. 

 

I recommend posting a thread asking for a mechanical keyboard recommendation with your given budget. Include your country/region and features you want. Might get more responses. 

In the US, it $37. Ill create a thread though.

[DailyProcrastinator]

4 minutes ago, HelpfulTechWizard said:

In the US, it $37. Ill create a thread though.

Oh wow... sucks for Canadians lol.

Seems like a steal then? Maybe these will help:

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[Nowak]

48 minutes ago, TheDailyProcrastinator said:

The lack of "Cherry MX" is telling, they are knock off switches.

Excuse me, Gateron, Outemu and Kailh are not "knock off" switches... especially when they're higher quality than Cherry's own offerings.

 

In this case, Outemu is fairly standard in cheaper boards. They aren't amazing especially compared to Kailh and Gateron offerings, but they're still better than Cherry MX lol

[kelvinhall05]

Z keys always have the coolest secondary legends

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Also, thicc boi

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