Hi keyboard enthusiasts
Keen to see what type of mechanical keyboard are ppl using at home, wired or wireless and recommendation. Looking at 70% to 100% size keyboard, RBG, quiet switches (can't stand the loud clicking noises). There are so many brands, different features and prices, having trouble to decide as it's an expensive investment.
Thanks all
The term "mechanical" in keyboards is really poorly defined (people imagine cherry mx style switches, but there isn't any "catch all" definition so to speak especially now that we have more interesting switches like Hall Effect switches in keyboard). I kinda think it's used to describe fancy keyboards that feels nice to type (then there are keyboards like MX Keys that screws that definition up).
I do wonder why we started to call mechanical keyboards mechanical keyboards.
I bought a Darkflash/Aigo GD101 with red switches from Aliexpress and the build quality is top notch. It does not have a backlight but I do touch typing so it does not matter. I also bought a Keychron K4 with brown switches; honestly, that felt flimsy compared to this, so I returned it.
I have changed the red switches with Keychron Pro banana switches ($23 from bpctech) which are far more tactile and the keyboard just feels perfect now. The red ones were a bit mushy. I charged it over a month ago and the low battery sign has not kicked in yet. My suggestion would be to also buy a wristrest to make your experience great. I got the 'HyperX Wrist Rest Tenkeyless' and it is great.
I started with keychron - they’re generally good quality. If you just want something that feels nice and is pretty quiet, I’d recommend their low profile red switches.
I ended up wanting to try different switches (like ‘silent’ ones), different keycaps, and a more ergonomic layout - so have gone to aliexpress for cheap experiments/combos until I find a setup worth investing in
I use RK ROYAL KLUDGE RK96 RGB Limited Ed. Nice keyboard. A significant upgrade from Logitech G613. Feels more clickty but not that noisy at all. Magnetic wrist rest. Wish the on and off button on the side not the bottom.
I can tell you what I would NOT recommend.. And that's the Logitech G613. I bought 2 of them. Both of them have had to be replaced because of phantom key presses. The new ones did exactly the same thing.
I had to disassemble the units and go through and reflow every single diode, resistor and capacitor on the board that I could find and reassemble. This has only made a slight improvement. It also doesnt like voltage sag. Anything less than full batteries and it starts to wig around again.
Last time I had to replace the batteries because it was playing up was at a voltage of 1.38v. New batteries I put in were 1.52v. You cant use rechargables in it, because they are typically 1.2~ volts and the keyboard just errors constantly. And this is the same across all 4 of these keyboards I have used.
Same here. I have to change from G613 twice due to duplicate keys issues
Logitech is headquartered In Lausanne's tech park not far from the Olympic Museum. Whilst there for a few weeks I had to provide a keyboard for a Taiwanese visitor to type in French.
I asked them students there and they recommended a Microsoft one to top their "best".
Talking about phantom letters appearing, even 3 swaps could not help on that operating system brand. So there is definitely worse stuff out there.
I bought a Keychron Q6 Max (100% size) and it's been so nice to type on. I was a little worried that the height profile would bother me coming from a DAS Keyboard 4 Professional sitting flat but with the Keychron silicon wrist pad it completed it for me.
Really solid keyboard, it weighs 2.2kg, literally could use it for self defence if you were getting house invaded.
I added the aviator keyboard cable for some sweet desk bling - looks amazing.
But yeah keys feel so much better to type on that my DAS which I had been using for four years or more.
Keychron bit more expensive but the build quality and overall use for the last couple of weeks has been noticeably enjoyable.
My keyboard refuses to die or I would try a Logitech MX
Cheap basic keyboards lasts forever as they're so basic, there's little room to F up.
We have a basic Microsoft keyboard that is probably at least 20 years old.
Kinesis Gaming RBG!
I'm not even a gamer, but got this because it's
mecahnical (dark brown keys)
RGB, and customisable
Split keyboard.
It was like $400 or something, worth more than my phone or laptop, but i imagine that it will last over 10 years.
There are so many good Chinese keyboards that popped up in market over the years, that I think it's dificult to give a "bang for the buck" recommendation without it getting outdated in less than a year.
If you are looking for a new keyboard and is looking at mechnical keyboards few things I will flag are:
I personally liked and bought a few AKKO keyboards from PC Case Gear, Monsgeek (which from my understanding is from same company as AKKO) was getting touted as bang for the buck for the aluminum body keyboards until wireless keyboard trend caught on.
If I were getting a new keyboard right now I would probably have my eyes on Bridge75 which is on pre-order right now (just because of the price and the features it ticks off). Though I would not be surprised if there are better value for the money options out there.
If you are after low profile switches that are quiet, Razer Deathstalker V2 is a good option. They use low profile switches with silicone dampeners inside.
I recently bought a drunkdeer a75 and its a hall effect rapid trigger keyboard if you are interested in them. It's not as good as a wooting although it looks and sounds better than a wooting in my opinion. It's also a lot cheaper and I got it for $160 AUD on sale compared to an almost $300 wooting. Its in 75% which in my opinion is perfect. The only problem is taking it apart is very hard so modding it or deep cleaning it is a hassle but it's preinstalled with mods which make it sound great already. I would definitely recommend this keyboard or a hall effect keyboard in general they are noticeably better to other keyboards on the market and I can definitely vouch for a drunkdeer a75
Excluding the ones I've built with barebone kits my current daily driver is the Lofree Block retro keyboard and Langtu LT104 wireless with different switches. The Langtu's display for settings is pretty much the same as a lot of other Chinese brands and you can set it to play a GIF all the time. Good if you're wanting a "themed" keyboard with custom keycaps.
Soon I'll be getting the AJAZZ AKP846 with the cool 10.1" display.
Have multiple G915s with no issue.
Wooting 60HE
Nothing else comes close in features or performance.
I feel like that's… probably not true?
Don't get me wrong, Wooting has been amazing with my Wooting 2 HE and the supports that they provided when I reached out for spare parts have been beyond what I would expect (I bought mine from 2021). That said, new switches came out and newer generation hall effect switches are a thing now.
Wooting is not the only company that's making hall effect keyboard nowadays and I think that basically stops blanket statement on features or performance (since many of the advantages came from the fact that they've been one of the first companies to utilise hall effect switch's analogue capacity. I think Wooting is trying new things, like 8K polling rate with 80HE, but I feel like their target demographic is more towards competitive gamers rather than for someone who want a nice keyboard for different reasons.
Analog Input (without the need for software)
Web Based software
Neither Steelseries or Razer's offering has these things, sure they use switches capable of this and could offer these things but they dont.
Analog input has been there with Steelseries for a while now I believe. Razer had analog input features, but it's bit limited (due to how optical switches work from my understanding). While I agree that Wooting has been one of the first companies to really utilise analog input, it kinda became the "new mechanical keyboard" of gaming keyboard. Even Corsair has introduced a hall effect keyboard, which I personally think is saying a lot.
Anyways, Chinese companies are trying to get into that market, AKKO, Keychron, and more, so I don't think you can really say those features are something that you can only get from Wooting. I frankly love the fact that this is happening, since more and more hall effect switches from Gateron are actually popping up.
In terms of software, I wasn't even aware that Wootility also was available on the web like VIA is. That actually is amazing, given how VIA and QMK tend to be what people look for because of how terrible keyboard softwares can be.
If analog input and typing experience is something I really was looking for, I would probably go for something like Q1 HE or Zoom75 HE since they use the same technology. Wooting's offering really feels like a gaming keyboard company's offering, with similar oversights you would see from gaming companies (not saying one is better than the other, but rather different priorities from different companies).
When I was getting mine, Wooting was the only company that I can think of that had features like rapid trigger, but now, there are more options out there. So I don't think I can say, get wooting keyboard, look into other options if you are interested in hall effect switches and keyboards.
@iridiumstem: Razer is limited to only working with software
Steelseries doesnt support full 0% to 100% analog movement, it only has 2-in-1 Action Keys as advertised. (feel free to corect me with proof, Ive tried to find it somewhere but cannot.)
Having Analog switches is one thing but no one but Wooting actually has the software for it to be utilised.
I remember this from the fact that Steelseries introduced feature after the feature became big with Wooting and competitive game players (and laughed at how they pretended that this is something revolutionary that has never happened before).
My understanding is that the smaller window of adjustment is due to how they use optical sensors instead of hall effect sensors.
I basically copied and pasted the exact sentences so that you can find it easily on the respective websites. Since there has been surge of keyboards, there have been new cool toys that piqued my interest.
I feel like the next feature sets that would slowly become the "norm" would be:
8Khz polling rate given how talks have been on 8khz polling rates on mouse (and how smaller companies started to look into that as a feature):
Different switches like:
This supposedly has better stability (which I am guessing is talking about off-center presses and how that can be an issue on keys like capslock).
This apparently sound better as it has closed bottom housing (instead of open one like Lekker switches).
I am kinda hoping things from Cherry MX style switches flow through (things like longer spring or 2 stage springs on linear, different housing material etc) onto hall effect switches. I bet it's going to happen soon enough given how Gateron produces a lot of those switches and newer companies are joining the party.
Ducky One 2 SF. Have 2 of them. Ducky is GOAT.
Kailh BOX Silent Pink is what you want. Silent, non-tactile, but a semi-firm feel for typing and gaming.
Keychron is my recommendation for people who want a trouble free experience and don't want to read through pages of reviews.
VIA firmware is decent if you need to customise keys.
I'm currently using a Q2 with browns. I planned on buying barebone but there was no stock at the time. I swapped keycaps but the stock switches faces been fine.
How do you define the word mechanical?
My Commodore had a crappy keyboard.
100 keyboards later I use the loudest $25 wired Kmart mini for $25.
At least I know when the button registeres.