So I thought I'd share my mechanical keyboard hunting experience

[z3n]

Apparently people get more excited about keyboards than I previously realized, who knows maybe even some of you guys do. I figured since we have quite the collection of tech enthusiasts it might be worth writing this review up.

Since I value my typing (and gaming) experience to some extent, I spent a lot of time looking for the "perfect" keyboard and came to the conclusion every brand has quality control issues, either due to the apparent size of their market or the simple fact that they are quite poorly put together. A particular stand out for bad quality keyboards however is anything Logitech.

Logitech's Romer G switches have little holes their keycaps fit into, unfortunately this leads them to snap off. I counted about 5 different instances where this occurred in my G910. Granted, the board itself isn't the worst. I took it apart and examined the soldering, even soldered a bit onto it for fun. Seems like they do have pretty good soldering QA. However, their keycaps leave a lot to be desired. I'm not sure if that's planned obsolence or what, but I'd stay away from them. Another issue is that the Romer G switch means that the keycaps are proprietary to some extent and rarely ever will a custom built keycap set appear on the market.


So I started to look around for other options; I'd heard of the K70 and didn't like the look of the board aesthetically if I'm honest. However, I thought I'd give them a chance since they were on sale and I quite liked the volume roller.

Some brief observations; I hear a distinct "spring" sound when typing. Presumably this is from the spacebar, maybe the stabilizers within the keyboard. Overall however the keyboard feels quite nice, and reminds me of my Cherry MX Brown switch experience.

I don't really care about my keycaps and what type they are (I've had ABS, PBT, etc etc.) but the keycaps are pretty soft and feel easy to type on for extended periods of time so far. I don't really miss keystrokes and I'm pretty happy with the typing experience on these Cherry MX Red switches; they're pretty quiet and similar in volume level to the G910. I was concerned about volume level since mechanical keyboards, while pleasant to type on, can be bothersome to other people within the house or even yourself.


So if you're not familiar with the commonly mentioned brands, here's a few; Ducky, GMMK, and Durgod. I briefly considered a Ducky keyboard before seeing that it was out of stock, lacked a volume roller (I genuinely love my volume roller, and missing it would be like missing a key), only came in the TKL (tenkeyless i.e. no number pad on the right) variety, lacked media keys, no braided cable, had no LED's, not as much user software, entirely plastic construction aside from a steel backplate (anything metal is good), not certain about their keyboard drivers if they even exist.


The pros of Ducky are that it doesn't seem to have too many quality control issues, however apparently a tiny bit of water will fry the Ducky keyboard completely according to the current top amazon review. Generally these "bad" reviews on amazon do point out the real issues with keyboards, for example the G910 top bad review points out the issue that cropped up in my G910 keyboard; with the keycap stems breaking off into the Romer G switches, preventing any new keycap replacement from entering into the switch properly and requiring you to use a soldering iron to partially melt and pry or pull the plastic stem out.

GMMK, this brand had quite a few things going for it. For example, the fact that its switches were hot swappable (pretty cool), the questionable part came when reading their user reviews. It seemed like quality control issues cropped up quite a bit in their keyboards. Apparently they have issues with their cable, a common refrain in the bad reviews being that the slightest bump can disconnect their cables. This raises the question about faulty electronics and or wiring. Which really makes me hesitant to buy such an expensive keyboard with faults like that.


Durgod Taurus was the keyboard I ordered, unordered, ordered, unordered before finally settling on the K70. It's a very good keyboard, but again there are slight quality control issues with the added drawback of an unresponsive seller on amazon (where I would have ordered from). This made me a bit sketched out by the prospect of ordering it, and the return process. Plus it was a TKL keyboard, and I wasn't sure if I would like the spacing for my hand size and the fact that it had less features for the price.


My little venture into the world of mechanical keyboards resulted in two clear options; Corsair or Ducky. You'll notice that on certain sites there is a large following for either one of these keyboards; maybe its their marketing teams? I'm not really sure. Anyway, it's generally down to what you prefer and are looking for.

It doesn't really seem like you'll get an absolutely "perfect", "buy it for life" type of keyboard but you might come close with one of the two assuming you don't spill water on your Ducky keyboard. Hopefully this helps one of you.

[Love Mountain]

Apparently people get more excited about keyboards than I previously realized, who knows maybe even some of you guys do. I figured since we have quite the collection of tech enthusiasts it might be worth writing this review up.

Extremely guilty of this sin.

Since I value my typing (and gaming) experience to some extent, I spent a lot of time looking for the "perfect" keyboard and came to the conclusion every brand has quality control issues, either due to the apparent size of their market or the simple fact that they are quite poorly put together. A particular stand out for bad quality keyboards however is anything Logitech.

Logitech's Romer G switches have little holes their keycaps fit into, unfortunately this leads them to snap off. I counted about 5 different instances where this occurred in my G910. Granted, the board itself isn't the worst. I took it apart and examined the soldering, even soldered a bit onto it for fun. Seems like they do have pretty good soldering QA. However, their keycaps leave a lot to be desired. I'm not sure if that's planned obsolence or what, but I'd stay away from them. Another issue is that the Romer G switch means that the keycaps are proprietary to some extent and rarely ever will a custom built keycap set appear on the market.

Gaming companies have tried to build as much proprietary crap into their keyboards as possible in the early 2010s. This trend has largely died out as these companies realized that,

A. Nobody likes it.
B. The costs of tooling to create an extensive accessory eco-system probably outweigh the cost of competing with existing standards.

So I started to look around for other options; I'd heard of the K70 and didn't like the look of the board aesthetically if I'm honest. However, I thought I'd give them a chance since they were on sale and I quite liked the volume roller.

Some brief observations; I hear a distinct "spring" sound when typing. Presumably this is from the spacebar, maybe the stabilizers within the keyboard. Overall however the keyboard feels quite nice, and reminds me of my Cherry MX Brown switch experience.

Can be anything. I'd have to hear the actual sound plus run a few tests to know for sure. I'm not a "super guru", but these problems are pretty common. Lubing everything generally fixes all of these issues. It also changes the feel of the keyboard, for better or worse.

I don't really care about my keycaps and what type they are (I've had ABS, PBT, etc etc.) but the keycaps are pretty soft and feel easy to type on for extended periods of time so far. I don't really miss keystrokes and I'm pretty happy with the typing experience on these Cherry MX Red switches; they're pretty quiet and similar in volume level to the G910. I was concerned about volume level since mechanical keyboards, while pleasant to type on, can be bothersome to other people within the house or even yourself.


So if you're not familiar with the commonly mentioned brands, here's a few; Ducky, GMMK, and Durgod. I briefly considered a Ducky keyboard before seeing that it was out of stock, lacked a volume roller (I genuinely love my volume roller, and missing it would be like missing a key), only came in the TKL (tenkeyless i.e. no number pad on the right) variety, lacked media keys, no braided cable, had no LED's, not as much user software, entirely plastic construction aside from a steel backplate (anything metal is good), not certain about their keyboard drivers if they even exist.


The pros of Ducky are that it doesn't seem to have too many quality control issues, however apparently a tiny bit of water will fry the Ducky keyboard completely according to the current top amazon review. Generally these "bad" reviews on amazon do point out the real issues with keyboards, for example the G910 top bad review points out the issue that cropped up in my G910 keyboard; with the keycap stems breaking off into the Romer G switches, preventing any new keycap replacement from entering into the switch properly and requiring you to use a soldering iron to partially melt and pry or pull the plastic stem out.

GMMK, this brand had quite a few things going for it. For example, the fact that its switches were hot swappable (pretty cool), the questionable part came when reading their user reviews. It seemed like quality control issues cropped up quite a bit in their keyboards. Apparently they have issues with their cable, a common refrain in the bad reviews being that the slightest bump can disconnect their cables. This raises the question about faulty electronics and or wiring. Which really makes me hesitant to buy such an expensive keyboard with faults like that.


Durgod Taurus was the keyboard I ordered, unordered, ordered, unordered before finally settling on the K70. It's a very good keyboard, but again there are slight quality control issues with the added drawback of an unresponsive seller on amazon (where I would have ordered from). This made me a bit sketched out by the prospect of ordering it, and the return process. Plus it was a TKL keyboard, and I wasn't sure if I would like the spacing for my hand size and the fact that it had less features for the price.

To be honest, the choice of keyboards largely comes down to what feature set you want, and just how into customization you are. Gaming keyboards from Razer, Logitech, and Steelseries are actually quite good depending on what you are looking for. That said, I almost always prefer to customize my own board. I do own a wireless gaming keyboard for on-the-go gaming and typing, but even then, it's mostly a backup, rather than a full time device.

I suggest doing a lot of research into mechanical keyboards because really, you can get exactly what you want, for a rather reasonable price.

GMMK is actually my highest suggestion because it allows pretty much full customization at a very reasonable price. It's probably the best starter keyboard for anyone looking to get a taste of the hobby without it being rocket science.

As for the quality control, it is bad, but only because mechanical keyboard enthusiasts have a general crossover with competitive gamers, and thusly, have some of the highest standards imaginable to man. For 99% of people who just want a fun office keyboard that they can customize and play Total War on, the keyboard will be perfectly fine. If you actually get a really bad unit, get it exchanged.

My little venture into the world of mechanical keyboards resulted in two clear options; Corsair or Ducky. You'll notice that on certain sites there is a large following for either one of these keyboards; maybe its their marketing teams? I'm not really sure. Anyway, it's generally down to what you prefer and are looking for.

It doesn't really seem like you'll get an absolutely "perfect", "buy it for life" type of keyboard but you might come close with one of the two assuming you don't spill water on your Ducky keyboard. Hopefully this helps one of you.

I mean honestly, once you know what you are doing, you can build a solid, completely custom mechanical keyboard for under $200 easily. Some people even like the challenge of making as cheap and good of a build as possible.

Personally, I own several pre-built keyboards, and couple custom ones. At work, I use a very professional looking Realforce R2 US5. My wife also calls me insane, so there is that.

[z3n]

Extremely guilty of this sin.



Gaming companies have tried to build as much proprietary crap into their keyboards as possible in the early 2010s. This trend has largely died out as these companies realized that,

A. Nobody likes it.
B. The costs of tooling to create an extensive accessory eco-system probably outweigh the cost of competing with existing standards.



Can be anything. I'd have to hear the actual sound plus run a few tests to know for sure. I'm not a "super guru", but these problems are pretty common. Lubing everything generally fixes all of these issues. It also changes the feel of the keyboard, for better or worse.



To be honest, the choice of keyboards largely comes down to what feature set you want, and just how into customization you are. Gaming keyboards from Razer, Logitech, and Steelseries are actually quite good depending on what you are looking for. That said, I almost always prefer to customize my own board. I do own a wireless gaming keyboard for on-the-go gaming and typing, but even then, it's mostly a backup, rather than a full time device.

I suggest doing a lot of research into mechanical keyboards because really, you can get exactly what you want, for a rather reasonable price.

GMMK is actually my highest suggestion because it allows pretty much full customization at a very reasonable price. It's probably the best starter keyboard for anyone looking to get a taste of the hobby without it being rocket science.

As for the quality control, it is bad, but only because mechanical keyboard enthusiasts have a general crossover with competitive gamers, and thusly, have some of the highest standards imaginable to man. For 99% of people who just want a fun office keyboard that they can customize and play Total War on, the keyboard will be perfectly fine. If you actually get a really bad unit, get it exchanged.




I mean honestly, once you know what you are doing, you can build a solid, completely custom mechanical keyboard for under $200 easily. Some people even like the challenge of making as cheap and good of a build as possible.

Personally, I own several pre-built keyboards, and couple custom ones. At work, I use a very professional looking Realforce R2 US5. My wife also calls me insane, so there is that.

Don't tempt me with the GMMK keyboard.

Lubing seemed like a potentially good idea but you're right, it would change the keyboards feel, I'll definitely take that into consideration.


I'm curious as to your favourite type of keycaps for Cherry MX switches (specifically red if it matters). I've been scouting out various caps, since I figure I may have to replace these someday.

[Love Mountain]

Don't tempt me with the GMMK keyboard.

Lubing seemed like a potentially good idea but you're right, it would change the keyboards feel, I'll definitely take that into consideration.


I'm curious as to your favourite type of keycaps for Cherry MX switches (specifically red if it matters). I've been scouting out various caps, since I figure I may have to replace these someday.

It also matters which parts specifically you lube. what kind of lube you use, and what kind of switch you are using. There's quite a few variables and testing out different combinations is obviously time consuming, and possibly expensive. I've spent a few thousand dollars on this hobby and I don't particularly recommend getting that into it, but it is fun if you're into customization.


In terms of anatomy of the entire keyboard, both switches and keycaps will have an effect on your typing experiences.

I personally prefer nice and thick ABS keycaps in either the Cherry profile or the retro-style SA profile that resembles typewriters. This is what top-tier Cherry style keycaps look like, and this is what top-tier SA style (a similar profile is MT3) looks like.

A quality set of keycaps is important for several reasons.

1. The legends won't wear out. These top-tier sets use a very durable method, typically dye sublimation or double-shot style key-caps.
2. The thick plastic produces a very nice, full, bassy, and solid-feeling sound when typing. The sound reminds me of old-school vintage typing that produces the best kind of nostalgia.

In terms of keycaps, it really depends on what you prefer.

I would also consider the switches out eventually, soldering is not particularly difficult, just extremely time consuming if you rarely do it (like myself).

Cherry MX style switches are by far, the most dominant switches. However, in the keyboard community, it's long been known that Cherry themselves, make rather boring switches that aren't even the highest quality switches available on the market. There used to be a time where Chinese Kailh and Gateron clones were looked down on by the keyboard community, but those days are long gone. In fact, Chinese manufacturers now dominate the DIY market beating out Chery not only in the sheer variety of switches available, but in quality too.

Cherry MX Brown and Cherry MX Blue are widely considered to be some of the grossest switches by feel within the keyboard community. There are exceptions of course, but in general, most enthusiasts don't like them.

Cherry MX Red is a decent, linear switch, but it's really just a "start pack" so to say. Black Ink v2 is a top tier linear switch, some consider it the best (an eternally debated subject).

[zzzms]

After many years and many keyboards, I have finally found a fantastic keyboard: SteelSeries Apex 7 with Cherry Reds. It costs a chunk, but already it has outlived many of my previous keyboards - Razer, Logitech, Thermaltake, Roccat, Microsoft, Compaq to name but a few. My only complaint is the crap software!

[z3n]

Huh interesting, so they do have good keyboards. I stayed away from SteelSeries after an encounter with poorly done soldering within my headphones I had bought at one point from them. Nowadays I use Audio Technica's PRO5X studio headphones.

[zzzms]

Huh interesting, so they do have good keyboards. I stayed away from SteelSeries after an encounter with poorly done soldering within my headphones I had bought at one point from them. Nowadays I use Audio Technica's PRO5X studio headphones.

Personally speaking, I think so, but they cost! I like their mice too, I usually need a new mouse every 18 months or so, but I've had a Rival 600 for nearly 3 years now. As an aside, I'm using my monitoring headphones for gaming: Beyer Dynamic DT 770's, I have some Razer Blackshark v2's, that are appallingly built and don't sound at all good!

[Narf]

I've had a corsair for some time now, an uhh K95 RGB Platinum, and I've never had issues with it, very impressed!