Any Computer Keyboard Enthusiasts?

[HubertTheMad]

So my old Logitech keyboard has started to die (switches becoming unresponsive), and I started reading more and more about mechanical keyboards. Needless to say, out of the millions of hobbies that have their rabbit holes to spiral downwards into, this one officially has its hooks on me! I'm officially addicted to mechanical keyboards and all the different aspects of them.

 

Over the past month or so, I've learned about mechanical keyboard terms like stabs, switches, PBA, ABS, double-shot, dye-sublimated, gateron, cherry xm, QMK/VIA, the list goes on and on. I've always gamed on membrane keyboards and found out that my old Logitech keyboard had Cherry MX brown switches(apparently, a switch is underneath the keycaps and what registers what key(s) you are pressing on a keyboard).

 

Anyways, what are your current or previous keyboards that you use on a daily basis for work/gaming or that you used to use?

 

Currently, I'm using a quiet Keychron K2 for work, and am waiting for a NuPhy Air60 for traveling, and a Royal Kludge100 for gaming.

 

Keychron K2

 

Keychron V2. 75% keyboard, double-shot ABS keycaps, Gazzew Bobagum quiet linear switches.

 

 

 

NuPhy Air60

 

NuPhy Air 60. 60% low-profile keyboard with Gateron red switches. Waiting on it to arrive! This is the stock image on their website.

 

 

Looking forward to my Royal Kludge 100 for gaming to arrive in the mail!

 

Royal Kludge (RK) 100

 

Compact full-size keyboard. Going to put the same quiet switches as my work keyboard (Gazzew Bobagums) and get a set of botanical keycaps to swap the stock ones with.

 

 

Again, feel free to post your favorite current or past keyboards, or any that you wish you had!

 

Edit: Feel free to check out my YouTube channel with a few sound tests of keyboards! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaPdlJFl252U_d6aKAS8V1A

Edited February 1, 2023 by HubertTheMad
shameless plug for my youtube channel

[Misdeal]

I use pretty much complete opposite of a mechanical keyboard.

https://cougargaming.com/products/keyboards/vantar/

Low profile silent keys

[HubertTheMad]

19 minutes ago, Misdeal said:

I use pretty much complete opposite of a mechanical keyboard.

https://cougargaming.com/products/keyboards/vantar/

Low profile silent keys

Holy crap, that looks legit! Have you always used low profile keyboards for gaming? If not, how do they compare with other keyboards? I have smallish hands/fingers, so I may consider actually using a low profile board so I can reach the F keys better 

[koods]

Most of the time I use a Votex Tab90 because the F-keys are closer to the rest so it's better for osrs. Used to use a white Ducky Shine 4 forget the names of the caps, but brown switches in both.

[Misdeal]

2 hours ago, HubertTheMad said:

Holy crap, that looks legit! Have you always used low profile keyboards for gaming? If not, how do they compare with other keyboards? I have smallish hands/fingers, so I may consider actually using a low profile board so I can reach the F keys better 

I love it, it feels like a laptop keyboard. I've tried mechanical keyboards in the past but I almost found like I was mistyping more than this one

[Ghost Sabre]

Nice bros i have never done a keyboard build before but i have a lot of keyboards

 

Right now i am looking at the GMMK Pro 

 

Koods your keyboards are pimp af

[HubertTheMad]

47 minutes ago, koods said:

Most of the time I use a Votex Tab90 because the F-keys are closer to the rest so it's better for osrs. Used to use a white Ducky Shine 4 forget the names of the caps, but brown switches in both.

Damn, that's amazing! The bottom keycaps almost look porcelain. What type of keycaps are those? I was looking at the Vortex Race 3, but I've been waiting for months for mechanicalkeyboards.com to restock and they keep pushing the restock date back. How is your experience with the Vortex? I read how they're one of the best you can get. Also, you're a madman for being able to type on legendless keycaps haha.

 

42 minutes ago, Misdeal said:

I love it, it feels like a laptop keyboard. I've tried mechanical keyboards in the past but I almost found like I was mistyping more than this one

That's really good to know. I'll look into using a low-profile for gaming and overall use then instead of just once in a while and see how it feels.

 

21 minutes ago, Ghost Sabre said:

Nice bros i have never done a keyboard build before but i have a lot of keyboards

 

Right now i am looking at the GMMK Pro 

 

Koods your keyboards are pimp af

Wow, the GMMK Pro is literally one of the keyboards everyone talks about being the "endgame" keyboard. So much great customization and features with limitless possibilities for switches and keycaps, etc. If you buy it, definitely let us know how it is. All the videos I watch show off just incredible the GMMK looks and sounds!

Edited July 23, 2022 by HubertTheMad

[Ghost Sabre]

25 minutes ago, HubertTheMad said:

Wow, the GMMK Pro is literally one of the keyboards everyone talks about being the "endgame" keyboard. So much great customization and features with limitless possibilities for switches and keycaps, etc. If you buy it, definitely let us know how it is. All the videos I watch show off just incredible the GMMK looks and sounds!

I am thinking about it. The main reason I want it is because I really want a true 75% keyboard.

 

Right now my main keyboard is a razer 60% w/ linear optical switches 1.0mm actuation.

 

I want the F keys for battlefield games and the arrow keys would also be convenient.

 

The GMMK pro has the most compact external dimensions out of all of the 75% keyboards I have seen. This is important to me to save desk space because I use a razer tartarus pro keypad to the left of my keyboard.

 

I have several TKL keyboards, as well as some 60% and 65%, but I dont have something right in the middle of those two categories. The F key row on a compact board is the key for my purchase decision.

 

I have also owned and tried a lot of the cheaper budget sub $40 keyboards online but I have given them all away.

[HubertTheMad]

11 minutes ago, Ghost Sabre said:

I have several TKL keyboards, as well as some 60% and 65%, but I dont have something right in the middle of those two categories. The F key row on a compact board is the key for my purchase decision.

That's awesome. Do you find that having keyboards with different layouts is worth it? I know obviously one keyboard is fine for many uses, and maybe it's just me being excited about learning of a new hobby, but I really feel like having keyboards with different layouts is definitely a goal for me in the future. Again, I just started the hobby, so I'd like to know your thoughts on having all the layouts since it seems like you have a lot of experience with different boards!

 

Quote

This is important to me to save desk space because I use a razer tartarus pro keypad to the left of my keyboard.

That looks absolutely sick. Did it take you a while to get used to it? And is it just for macros for various different games, or just for F keys when you use a layout that doesn't have them?

 

Quote

The GMMK pro has the most compact external dimensions out of all of the 75% keyboards I have seen.

I didn't know that, yet another reason why it's so good I guess!

[Ghost Sabre]

1 hour ago, HubertTheMad said:

That looks absolutely sick. Did it take you a while to get used to it? And is it just for macros for various different games, or just for F keys when you use a layout that doesn't have them?

It did take a few weeks to build the muscle memory and I am normally extremely quick to adapt to new controllers, keyboards, and control/key mappings themselves.

 

I use it because it is so ergonomic for my hand. I use it for all FPS games besides battlefield. I also use it for OSRS.

 

On OSRS I have all my F keys mapped to it and I have the arrow keys mapped to WASD. I would never PK on OSRS without it now that I have built the muscle memory. 

 

As far as multiple layouts honestly its just because I either "upgraded" or wanted a specific feature/size for my desk in my smaller apartment a few years ago.

[Hecs]

I've had the same setup for years, haven't really felt any desire to upgrade it. Primekb Prime_M pad + Vortex POK3R with Cherry MX clears and Granite PBT DSA caps

[HubertTheMad]

3 hours ago, Hecs said:

I've had the same setup for years, haven't really felt any desire to upgrade it. Primekb Prime_M pad + Vortex POK3R with Cherry MX clears and Granite PBT DSA caps

Wow, such a clean and solid look with this! You and Koods make me excited for whenever my Vortex Race 3 comes. For the Pok3r, did the colorful keys come in addition with the keyboard itself?

Edited July 23, 2022 by HubertTheMad

[Hecs]

27 minutes ago, HubertTheMad said:

Wow, such a clean and solid look with this! You and Koods make me excited whenever my Vortex Race 3 comes. For the Pok3r, did the colorful keys come in addition with the keyboard itself?

Thanks! Unfortunately not, paid about £80 for the set back in 2016 when you could only get them from massdrop. Looks like you can get clones now for much cheaper.

[koods]

14 hours ago, HubertTheMad said:

Damn, that's amazing! The bottom keycaps almost look porcelain. What type of keycaps are those? I was looking at the Vortex Race 3, but I've been waiting for months for mechanicalkeyboards.com to restock and they keep pushing the restock date back. How is your experience with the Vortex? I read how they're one of the best you can get. Also, you're a madman for being able to type on legendless keycaps haha.

 

Pretty sure these were the keycaps, but I think I remember getting them through Massdrop so I'm not sure how easy they'd be to find https://drop.com/buy/imperial-porcelain-abs-keycap-set

I really like my Vortex Tab90, saves a good amount of desk space by removing some of the extra spacing compared to my Ducky Shine, but you still keep the numpad and most keys. I don't really like the idea of having to use macros for keyboard functions so I haven't jumped down to 60/75 yet.

[HubertTheMad]

6 hours ago, Hecs said:

Thanks! Unfortunately not, paid about £80 for the set back in 2016 when you could only get them from massdrop. Looks like you can get clones now for much cheaper.

 

Definitely a great price. They still look brand new and I'm sure will still be the same for another 6+ years. I'm going to try PBT for the first time as I've always used cheap ABS caps, and I hope mine last as long as yours do.

 

Looks like massdrop is an awesome website for keyboards and accessories from all the info that I've read from here and on Reddit. I bought a Sennheiser headset from them many years ago and never realized they sold keyboard stuff!

 

3 hours ago, koods said:

Pretty sure these were the keycaps, but I think I remember getting them through Massdrop so I'm not sure how easy they'd be to find https://drop.com/buy/imperial-porcelain-abs-keycap-set

I really like my Vortex Tab90, saves a good amount of desk space by removing some of the extra spacing compared to my Ducky Shine, but you still keep the numpad and most keys. I don't really like the idea of having to use macros for keyboard functions so I haven't jumped down to 60/75 yet.

 

Man, they look freaking amazing. That form factor for the Tab90 seems perfect for office and gaming use. I'm also glad that it seems like there are more and more options for those that do want the numpad even if the smaller layouts seem more popular these days.

[Ghost Sabre]

Been looking at 75% boards more and didn't realize keychron had the k2. I only knew about the keychron q1.

 

K2 looks pretty cool but unfortunately the aluminum one including red switches are sold out rn.

 

https://www.keychron.com/products/keychron-k2-wireless-mechanical-keyboard?variant=31063869718617

[HubertTheMad]

16 hours ago, Ghost Sabre said:

Been looking at 75% boards more and didn't realize keychron had the k2. I only knew about the keychron q1.

 

K2 looks pretty cool but unfortunately the aluminum one including red switches are sold out rn.

 

https://www.keychron.com/products/keychron-k2-wireless-mechanical-keyboard?variant=31063869718617

What a coincidence!

 

I've been trying a K2 aluminum version, and it was really satisfying to type on out of the box without lubing the stabilizers (they pre-lube them) and just using the Gateron reds (also pre-lubed) with their keycaps.

 

I know that typically people tell you to lube your own stabs and switches, or clean off whatever factory lubed things there are and then re-lube them yourself, but it was during the work week and I didn't have time to do so until the weekend and it sounded and felt fine to me (but I don't yet have that acquired ear to know what's "perfectly" lubed or not).

 

If it makes a difference, the aluminum portions of the keyboard are only the outside "rails" of the board on the top, bottom, left and right. They literally screwed in these aluminum rails onto a plastic case, and in my opinion, only makes it slightly slimmer and heavier and doesn't affect the overall keyboard too much. I actually screwed and slid them off just to see what the difference was, and it definitely looks nicer for sure, but the sound seemed the same (maybe slightly more pingy with the aluminum rails on).

 

I saw that ordering from Keychron directly might be cheaper for the keyboard, but the shipping seems super high even though they ship them out of China. I think it ranged from $25 to $30 via DHL, so I just went the Amazon route. I think also if you do decide on returning it if you buy Keychron products on their website, they charge YOU to pay the return shipping, whereas the simple free returns with Amazon. I think Divinikey also sells Keychron products out of California (I think, definitely US though) without needing to pay the crazy shipping from China if you go the non-Amazon route.

 

I'm going to try out the V1, but it won't arrive until Friday. I went with the barebone knob without any switches, but I'm pretty sure you have to order from Keychron themselves as it just came out last week and it hasn't reached Divinikey or Amazon as far as I am aware of. It's basically a budget version of their Q1. Plus the K series are all Bluetooth wireless, which is cool. 

 

What did you think of the Q1 after looking at it?

 

edit: grammar

Edited July 25, 2022 by HubertTheMad

[HubertTheMad]

Had a super humbling and awesome experience over the past few days regarding the low-profile Keychron K5SE. My version was the RGB backlit one with hot-swappable Keychron optical switches (I chose the mint switches).

 

So I originally got it on Monday, and was super excited to try it out after work. When that time came, I typed on it a little bit, but didn't like how rattly sounding the stabs were, so I took everything apart to lube the stabs (decided to lube the switches as well, because why not?). After lubing everything, I wanted to also throw in a thin layer of PE foam that came with the box, because I figured it would be nice to fill in the space between the bottom case and the PCB. I also figured I'd try out the Tempest tape mod, which is basically applying layers of non-conductive carpenter's/painter's tape on the back of you PCB to make the sound when typing more "poppy".

 

Well, I put everything together, realized there wasn't enough room for both a foam mod and a tape mod, took out the tape mod, and... the keyboard didn't work.

 

The LEDs and RGB lighting all worked, but no keys actually responded to my presses. 

 

So, I spent the next few days researching and asking for help on r/BudgetKeebs and was pretty bummed out about the whole ordeal. My very first keyboard that I took apart and modded and I broke it! 

 

As I was finishing up work today, I got a response from someone on r/BudgetKeebs who told me to look for a reset switch under the spacebar area on the PCB as Keychron keyboards sometimes have this switch. I reluctantly opened everything back up again and was sad to see that there was no switch. However, there was some weird yellow residue and some tape residue from the tape mod (at this point, I just took out the foam as well because I thought bringing everything back to a stock version might've helped).

 

Without hoping for anything, I used a cotton swab with isopropyl alcohol and cleaned the yellow residue along with the PCB overall.

 

Popping the battery connector in, I put a few switches into the PCB to test the keyboard and... IT WORKED!

 

Cleaning the PCB from the residue and whatever grime was on there totally fixed my problem and I was so happy! I learned that sometimes, you have to start from the ground up when troubleshooting and in my case, it was making sure that the PCB was clean. I had thought that I fried my PCB because my painter's tape had some sort of conductive acrylic, but it was just a matter of making sure that the PCB was clean.

 

Anyways, I'm going to put the foam back in there tomorrow and see how everything sounds and feels. The stabs are WAY better after lubing them, and I'm pretty happy with the mint switches (a tactile copy of the holy panda switches). So far, I'm liking the keyboard for a low profile tactile typing experience. I'll be using it interchangeably with my other work keyboard and am looking forward to when my V1 arrives to mod that as well if need be!

 

Pictures were uploaded to my Imgur here.

 

[Ghost Sabre]

I just got this in the mail for work. I chose the model with Cherry Mx Quiet Reds. I'm pretty excited and hopefully by "tenting"/tilting each half of the keyboard and reducing forearm pronation it will reduce fatigue and inflammation on not only my wrists and hands but also my neck, chest, shoulders, back, etc. by allowing my chest and shoulders to remain open and neutral while typing at the desk.

 

Once I set it up and use it for a few days I will let you guys in on the experience. 

On 7/25/2022 at 12:13 PM, HubertTheMad said:

What a coincidence!

 

I've been trying a K2 aluminum version, and it was really satisfying to type on out of the box without lubing the stabilizers (they pre-lube them) and just using the Gateron reds (also pre-lubed) with their keycaps.

 

I know that typically people tell you to lube your own stabs and switches, or clean off whatever factory lubed things there are and then re-lube them yourself, but it was during the work week and I didn't have time to do so until the weekend and it sounded and felt fine to me (but I don't yet have that acquired ear to know what's "perfectly" lubed or not).

 

If it makes a difference, the aluminum portions of the keyboard are only the outside "rails" of the board on the top, bottom, left and right. They literally screwed in these aluminum rails onto a plastic case, and in my opinion, only makes it slightly slimmer and heavier and doesn't affect the overall keyboard too much. I actually screwed and slid them off just to see what the difference was, and it definitely looks nicer for sure, but the sound seemed the same (maybe slightly more pingy with the aluminum rails on).

 

I saw that ordering from Keychron directly might be cheaper for the keyboard, but the shipping seems super high even though they ship them out of China. I think it ranged from $25 to $30 via DHL, so I just went the Amazon route. I think also if you do decide on returning it if you buy Keychron products on their website, they charge YOU to pay the return shipping, whereas the simple free returns with Amazon. I think Divinikey also sells Keychron products out of California (I think, definitely US though) without needing to pay the crazy shipping from China if you go the non-Amazon route.

 

I'm going to try out the V1, but it won't arrive until Friday. I went with the barebone knob without any switches, but I'm pretty sure you have to order from Keychron themselves as it just came out last week and it hasn't reached Divinikey or Amazon as far as I am aware of. It's basically a budget version of their Q1. Plus the K series are all Bluetooth wireless, which is cool. 

 

What did you think of the Q1 after looking at it?

 

edit: grammar

Thats good info! I appreciate it. I was looking at a few of their keyboards, Q1, K2, and C1. Ended up not getting them for now. I decided for my gaming setup I can't move back from optical switches due to latency. I'm going to sell my Razer Huntsman TKL v1 and get the Razer Huntsman TKL v2 instead of a 75% for right now.

[HubertTheMad]

21 hours ago, Ghost Sabre said:

I just got this in the mail for work. I chose the model with Cherry Mx Quiet Reds. I'm pretty excited and hopefully by "tenting"/tilting each half of the keyboard and reducing forearm pronation it will reduce fatigue and inflammation on not only my wrists and hands but also my neck, chest, shoulders, back, etc. by allowing my chest and shoulders to remain open and neutral while typing at the desk.

 

Once I set it up and use it for a few days I will let you guys in on the experience. 

 

 

Wow, that looks sick! I've seen those ALICE type keyboards where the keys are separated and wavy, but I haven't seen this type of ergo keyboard before. I feel like this one is better since you can actually move the two parts around. Typing ergonomics are definitely something that's super important when typing for long periods of time. Like you said, definitely let us know how the overall experience is. 

 

 

Quote

Thats good info! I appreciate it. I was looking at a few of their keyboards, Q1, K2, and C1. Ended up not getting them for now. I decided for my gaming setup I can't move back from optical switches due to latency. I'm going to sell my Razer Huntsman TKL v1 and get the Razer Huntsman TKL v2 instead of a 75% for right now.

 

Absolutely, I agree that the optical switches beat everything Keychron has to offer, even if you use their keyboards wired or even if you buy the wired only versions of their keyboard.  I'm sure the v2 will keep you happy for a while as well. It also makes me excited for the future that just a few years ago, the majority of the mechanical keyboard market wasn't as accessible for newcomers due to the price point and variety. Hopefully that means in a few years, as long as demand keeps increasing, the technology gets better and better.

 

It's a little outside my budget, and I'm not sure how I'd fare without dedicated arrow keys, but the Wooting 60E seems to be getting great reviews for a gaming keyboard because of how you can customize their actuation point and that rapid trigger option with their new analog switch. Maybe if they come out with a version between their 60% and their full size, I might be more interested. It's great to see how the companies are already starting to come up with new ideas to push each other to be better!

 

[Corbula]

Love a good keyboard discussion. For work i have to use a basic dell rubber dome keyboard but I have a CM Storm with cherry browns for diablo, poe, sc2 etc. Plus the pic is my Vortex ViBE with reds that I use day to day on my personal, although I see there's a version with a numpad and that just has Christmas written all over it

[HubertTheMad]

3 hours ago, Corbula said:

Love a good keyboard discussion. For work i have to use a basic dell rubber dome keyboard but I have a CM Storm with cherry browns for diablo, poe, sc2 etc. Plus the pic is my Vortex ViBE with reds that I use day to day on my personal, although I see there's a version with a numpad and that just has Christmas written all over it

Ey! Another Vortex user I see. They make such solid boards. How long did it take you to get accustomed to the 40% layout on it? 

 

I almost got a Storm for my brother, but decided to go another route. That's a sweet board as well.

 

I'll post a few more pictures once I have time, but I've recently been working on and finally completed (for now) a NovelKeys N87 Entry Edition that I realized matched the same colors as the clan seems to use (purple and green).

 

 

Keyboard: (Barebones Kit NK87 EE Batch 1)

Stabilizers: (Lubed Durock V2 Screw Ins since the stock ones that came with the keyboard were all missing screws)

Switches: (Lubed 52g Gazzew Bobagums)

Keycaps: (The First Machine clones)

Edited August 20, 2022 by HubertTheMad

[Corbula]

It's an ongoing process getting use to it haha, the layout is us and not uk, I think, so the @ , " , £ lettering get mixed up. Plus there isn't a hash symbol here. all slight annoyances as it is great to type on. especially in word or another programme that sorts your grammar out for you haha.

 

I love the colours and imo that's the ideal size of keyboard that people need. Once I have some disposable income i want to get in to building my own, or at least getting some custom caps and cords.

[HubertTheMad]

2 hours ago, Corbula said:

It's an ongoing process getting use to it haha, the layout is us and not uk, I think, so the @ , " , £ lettering get mixed up. Plus there isn't a hash symbol here. all slight annoyances as it is great to type on. especially in word or another programme that sorts your grammar out for you haha.

 

I love the colours and imo that's the ideal size of keyboard that people need. 

That's awesome to hear. There are a few budget 40% layouts that I've been eyeing, so I may give it a try once the one I was looking at comes back in stock.

 

I really like the colors as well, especially how the other keys are labeled on the sides of the legends. I definitely feel like it would make learning how to type on it a lot easier!

 

Quote

Once I have some disposable income i want to get in to building my own, or at least getting some custom caps and cords.

Amen to that. I have built and used a somewhat expensive mechanical keyboard, and it's definitely a joy to type on and use, but my favorite current keyboards have been the super cheap ones ($20-$30) that I've just taken apart to mod and make them sound amazing. There's something about getting an insane deal, then just putting a little time and effort to make it sound and feel 10x what you paid for it!

[HubertTheMad]

Hey all!

 

I wanted to share some of my builds that I completed over the past few weeks. Hoping to eventually film sound tests for all of them with detailed descriptions since the wife told me I had to sell a majority of them haha.

 

https://imgur.com/a/j9DQ7VF