Hi all,
I'm in the market for a small form factor keyboard to go with my Legion Go that I recently purchased. I should mention that I'm not overly fond of the sound most "gaming" keyboards make when using them. I prefer linear switches when possible.
Price is not an issue (within reason ofc).
Seconded. I recently bought this from Temu which is 68 keys (I need dedicated arrows), during the recent 50% rebate.
Wasn't a fan of the pudding keys, but was the only one with red switches and full RGB. I'll have some fun modding it when I decide on replacement keys. For me, It's a cheap way of getting into more serious modding and OK if I break it. GMK87 is next
Buy a hotswap keyboard and choose your own switches. Don't need to spend big bucks to get the sound/feel you want. Look into getting silent switches possibly?
Do you have any recommendations for hotswap boards? This sounds like a rather fun DIY project.
There's a reddit sub for mech keyboards, you're much better asking there than here.
But essentially, get something where you can hotswap switches, preferably unpopulated, then put in some silenced linear switches.
There's probably a zillion choices these days, loads of Aliexpress options and some 'nicer' options.
Thought about buying a diy kit, and pairing it with whichever switches and keycaps you like?
I bought this alice layout as a base, pre-lubed linear switches and went from there. Thinking about swapping over to 'silent' switches next, using the same keycaps and keyboard base.
Edit: it's super easy to install/remove the switches - they include a removal tool.
I changed from a Ducky One Mini with Cherry MX switches to a Razer Huntsman with Optical Switches. The Razer is much quieter but still gives some of the tactile response you get from mechanical switches. It also has flashy RGB that is linked to the video content or what actions you are doing in a particular game. If that is what tickles your pickle. (It does not for me).
AJAZZ (Amazon or AliExpress) is said to be a good budget choice, better than the RKs and bottom shelf stuff.
Otherwise Akko/Monsgeek for a something more (reasonably) premium.
I've only come across a handful of RKs, but each one has been remarkably high quality. One of them gives my Realforce a run for it's money in terms of key feel.
I'd say it depends on which line you are looking at - there's always half a dozen RK61s being dumped into FB Marketplace/Gumtree so they must not be that good.
On the other hand I have a RK98, which admittedly has pretty good build quality, so I think there's merit to the theory that RK rebrands their products from multiple factories (and that some are worse than others).
I would be surprised if RK simply rebadges. They produce a huge range of keyboards (look for one of their catalogues, the range is insane with some whacky experimental stuff that would never be available outside of China). I suspect they might OEM for other brands.
there's always half a dozen RK61s being dumped into FB Marketplace/Gumtree so they must not be that good.
I'd say that's the mostly the case because a) it's extremely popular and b) people upgrade from those boards - once you start looking into mech keyboards it can get expensive pretty quickly XD
Maybe you could buy a whole keyboard and trim it down?