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Keyboard Thread.

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Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci

abraker wrote:

Tad Fibonacci wrote:

abraker's steelseries review

abraker wrote:

One of the best keyboards you can get
It's one of the best in production stock keyboard that you can buy right now, yes.

Look wise, even though I don't like floating key designs and gamer keyboards, it looks pretty clean ngl.

Build quality is again average for a modern mechanical keyboard with metal mounting plate and braided cables.

The most interesting thing about the whole board though are the switches. The switches on the alpha block on this board are hall effects switches, which means they're contactless switches and therefore super smooth.
I don't have this keyboard but I've tried it on keyboard meetups before and the key feel is one of the smoothest I've felt. And because the switches are hall effects, the life time could potentially reach billions of keystrokes before you wear out one switch. So durability wise, it's literally imortal, unless you deliberately want to break it.

Being hall effects switches also means that you could set the actuation point of the switch so, despite it being light like cherry MX reds, I don't get nearly as many typos on it as I do with MX red switches. So that's one of the board's best feature imo.

There's also a screen on this keyboard that could display game related stuffs or animations or sruffs that you draw on it which is a nice touch.

Now on to the downsides.
First of all, the price. It's pretty pricey. With the same price you could get several other keyboards.
And there isn't a wide variety of switch choices either.
You can only get linear switches on this board. Although admittedly, they're one of the best linears out there.

The 2nd downside is that only the keys on the alpha block are hall effect switches. The others are normal mechanical switches.
Though this is a bit disappointing but I guess it's understandable since it'll be ridiculously priced if the whole board were to use hall effects switches.
I'd rather have the board only have hall effects on the alpha keys and stay at a reasonable price than to add more to the already high price tag.

3rd downside is the keycaps.
You'd think for the price they'd give you decent keycaps, but no they're just keycaps coated in black paint and then lasered.
This makes for very sharp looking keycaps and it makes the back lighting shines through quite well, but these caps aren't very durable and can wear off relatively quick, turning into blobs of light depending on how often you uses it.

Overall, a pricey premium keyboard but it actually have interesting features to back up it's high price.

8/10
I can not confidently say it doesn't deserve that rating. At least the expanded variant with the numpad. For some reason the numpad switches are glitching, barely registering input. Oddly enough the 2 keys I use for mania don't have this issue as much. So maybe it's dust? Even the omnipoint switches I rarely press dont have the issue, so dunno.
Well that's probably because the numpad switches aren't hall effect switches.

One down side to the Apex Pro is that only the 61 switches in the alpha block are hall effects and the other keys are all regular contact based MX switches, so your numpad switches probably failed after such a long time playing osu on them.

Nowadays if you want a keyboard with all contactless switches and adjustable actuation point, then the Razer Huntsman V2 Analog would be a good choice. It uses optical switches instead of hall effects like the Apex Pro, but they are functionally similar with similar strengths like smoothness, durability and actuation point adjustment.
Although, the Huntsman V2 Analog is $50 more expensive than the Apex Pro.
Last edited by Tad Fibonacci , edited 1 time in total.
Patatitta
1,380 posts
Joined February 2020
Patatitta
I have a second hand membrane keyboard I got 5 years ago which space bars jam if you press it too fast, you cannot baet that
abraker
Global Moderator
8,355 posts
Joined July 2014
abraker

Tad Fibonacci wrote:

Nowadays if you want a keyboard with all contactless switches and adjustable actuation point, then the Razer Huntsman V2 Analog would be a good choice. It uses optical switches instead of hall effects like the Apex Pro, but they are functionally similar with similar strengths like smoothness, durability and actuation point adjustment.
Although, the Huntsman V2 Analog is $50 more expensive than the Apex Pro.
I cri
bakachungus
55 posts
Joined July 2020
bakachungus


sorry about the lighting it's a bit shit

kbdfans d84 with milky yellows and akko neons
kaffeine
27 posts
Joined July 2020
kaffeine

black and white

black - my first build, simple and unambitious
  1. Aluminum GK61
  2. Aluminum plate
  3. Tealios v2, lubed and filmed
  4. Stock plate mount stabs, lubed
  5. Razer PBT keycaps
white - a little more ambitious
  1. WKL KBD8X, gummy worm modded
  2. Polycarbonate plate
  3. Ink Black v2s, lubed and filmed
  4. C3 Equalz v3 pcb mount stabs, lubed, bandaid modded, and holee modded
  5. NP PBT keycaps (kbdfans)
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci

gamer13254 wrote:



sorry about the lighting it's a bit shit

kbdfans d84 with milky yellows and akko neons
Aesthetically speaking, it's a pretty clean looking keyboard.
Although the keys are a little bit clumped together, I would much prefer if it's an exploded 75% look, but that's just personal preference.

Build quality wise, this board is another full aluminium keyboard so the build quality is obviously very good. It's literally a machined out slab of metal so yeah, it's heavy, thick and you can use it as a makeshift bludgeon weapon.

The keycaps are made by akko, and are PBT doubleshot. So they're made out of the most durable material and with the most durable legend printing method, so they are basically immortal unless you grind on the surface with a grinder or somehow break the stem off or something.
The font is a nice normal font and the keycap set has a very interesting colour way. I personally don't think it's a ugly colour combination, but I would personally prefer something more subtle, but that's just me of course and I can see that the colour scheme can work for certain set ups.
I do notice however, some shining of the keycaps on the Z and C keys. Unlike how alot of people think, PBT keycaps just like ABS keycaps, do shine up with use. However, PBT keycaps takes a lot longer than ABS to shine.
So I guess the Z and C keys were your main Osu keys for quite a while on that keyboard.

Gateron milky yellows are pretty nice budget linear switches. They are a "in between" switch in terms of weighting so they are comfortable for most people. And because of the milky housing, they sound quite a lot better than stock Gateron yellows, a lot deeper and fuller, although they do sound a lot more muted than regular yellows.
The milky housing doesn't really improve the smoothness of the switch over stock yellows either so smoothness wise, they're about the same as regular Gateron yellows.

This board also supports QMK to modify the keys and layouts.

Overall, a solid and sturdy keyboard that's obviously been well loved by it's owner.
7/10
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci

kaffeine wrote:


black and white

black - my first build, simple and unambitious
  1. Aluminum GK61
  2. Aluminum plate
  3. Tealios v2, lubed and filmed
  4. Stock plate mount stabs, lubed
  5. Razer PBT keycaps
Aesthetic wise, it looks okay. It's a bit hard to make out how it looks like from the picture you posted but from what I can see at least, it looks quite simplistic, almost to a point of being generic.

Build quality wise, due to the case being made out of aluminum, it's pretty good. However the GK61's alu case is usually thinner than other enthusiast cases and from the picture you can see, or rather in this case cannot see the case bezels at all. So it's well built, but not as well built as most other alu boards.

Razer's PBT keycaps is an interesting choice.
I guess if you want shinethrough keycaps for backlighting RGBs then it makes sense since they are doubleshot PBT, meaning they are super durable and Razer chose to go with a very rational, elegant and good looking font as well, unlike a lot of other mainstream gamer gear brands.

The switches are probably the most expensive component of this build aside from the case itself. Tealios switches are very expensive and smooth premium switches. Their weighting is around mid to heavy and is very smooth and well sought after amongst enthusiasts.
If it's smoothness you're after then contactless switches are still a better investment in my opinion. Although with a board like this you have a wider range of switches to pick from to use.

I'm not sure if this is an old or new model of the GK61, they seem to have quite a number of revisions, but the newer ones tend to have wireless capability, RGB control and several custom layouts to swap to.

Overall, a decent first build.
6.7/10
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci

kaffeine wrote:


black and white

white - a little more ambitious
  1. WKL KBD8X, gummy worm modded
  2. Polycarbonate plate
  3. Ink Black v2s, lubed and filmed
  4. C3 Equalz v3 pcb mount stabs, lubed, bandaid modded, and holee modded
  5. NP PBT keycaps (kbdfans)
This is a pretty good looking board. The colour scheme is simplistic. However, the keycap sublegends makes it looks more interesting and pop out more. The lack of Windows key also makes it looks more retro and nicer in my opinion.
No windows keys also means longer spacebar, which is a plus in my book since longer spacebars are more satisfying.

This board is made out of machined aluminum so build quality wise, it's one of the best. It also has a brass weight at the bottom to increase the weight even further, however this doesn't really make the build quality better but is just a way to add weight to this already heavy keyboard to give off a certain premium feel.
I do find it pretty funny how a lot of enthusiast keyboards these days have a literal metal ingot inside of the case to make it heavier though lol.

The keycaps are dyesubbed PBT so they are very durable and should last you for a long time. It's in a profile called NP which I personally have not tried but it looks like another uniformed height keycap profile.
These keycaps looks good, but for me at least I don't like uniformed height keycap profiles like DSA, XDA etc since It's hard to tell which row my fingers are on with flat keycaps and it slows my typing speed down quite a lot.
But it's personal preference of course.
The font aren't really normal Helvetica font but looks more like those fonts on Apple's keyboards. They look fine in my opinion, but not as good as regular Helvetica. The sublegends are in Japanese Katakana and makes it looks pretty retro and interesting.

The switches are Gateron Ink Blacks, which are mid to heavy switches in terms of weighting and they are very popular amongst enthusiasts for their smoothness and sound profile. They are pretty expensive, but nowhere near as expensive as ZealPC's switches. They do sound pretty deep and satisfying, but they are pretty muted compared to other clacky switches so if you use headphones, it's hard to appreciate the sound of the switches.

Overall, a well built enthusiast keyboard with nice switches.
8/10
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci

NEW KEYBOARD ALERT


It's been a while and ya boy got another keyboard. This time it's quite a special one.
Introducing,

IBM Model F AT




This keyboard probably doesn't need much introduction for keyboard enthusisasts, but for those who doesn't know, this keyboard is a predecessor to the very popular and well respected IBM Model M.
The IBM Model M, considered by many to be "The best keyboard ever" and I do agree to this to a degee. But not many people know that the IBM Model M was actually a cut down, cost saving version of the IBM Model F. So, in many ways, the IBM Model F is a lot better and in some aspect, worse than the IBM Model M.

Overall, the IBM Model F generally has better build quality, switch longevity, key feel and it's also capacitive, so it inherently have N key rollover (Yes, a 40 years old keyboard has N key rollover) unlike the 2 key roll over on the model M.
However, the Model M does have a better keyboard layout, which is basically the classic 101 standard layout whereas you can only find model Fs in AT, XT and 122 layouts. And another advantage of the model M is that you can still get it brand new with USB made by Unicomp whereas Model Fs are always used, unless you get one from the Model F repro project by some enthusiasts, but it costs somewhere around $400 a board and it takes ages to deliver.

I have wanted to own this keyboard since a long time ago. You can say that this was one of my "dream keyboard". It's especially hard to find hardwares like these where I live, since the computer market in Vietnam during the 80s (or even the 90s to a degree), is almost non existence. So my only choice is to either get one from the West, or to get one from other enthusiasts. But since it's very hard to come by and the only people who actually owns them knows what they are, they tend to keep them for themselves and only rarely sell them off, and even when they do it's almost always at a very inflated price.
I got mine for around $140, which is not cheap, but I think I got a relatively fair deal especially for something that I've always wanted.

-----------------------------------------------------


Aesthetically speaking, in my opinion it's a gorgeous looking keyboard. Although the layout is basically only a TKL but switch the Nav cluster to the numpad and put the F keys on the side, it has a very impressive foorprint, it's bigger than some of my fullsized keyboards.
I always loved retro aesthetics and theme and this keyboard just screams retro. It's a beautiful keyboard from the layout, the shape of the case, the feets and the badge, I absolutely love how it looks.
It looks very substancial, impressive and elegant in my opinion.

Well, I think we all know how impressively built IBM Model M keyboards are. Well, this is a model F, so it's even more well built. This one in particular is the AT model, so it doesn't have the metal backplate of XT model Fs, but it's still an extremely well built keyboard. The case is made out of dense plastic and it also has a metal barrel plate that holds the switch assembly in place and a steal plate that holds everything together under the PCB.
The weight of this board is around 2.5 kg. Or in dumb unit, 5.51156 pounds.
So yes, this keyboard is basically a tank.

On the sides are 2 knobs you can rotate to extend the feet of the board. This is a very elegant solution in my opinion since it looks nice and you don't have to turn your keyboard over to extend ot retract them like other implementations of this feature. Although having the knobs stick out like that does make it prone to snap off. The ones on this board however is still working just fine and hasn't snapped.

This is how it looks like extended.


The Keycaps are very thick dye subbed PBT and the printing quality is very sharp. For dye subbed keycaps, it is not unusual for the legends to be slightly fuzzy or blurry, but the printing on these caps are extremely sharp. Although, because of it's age, the legends are a little bit bleached.
Note that they are one part keycaps instead of 2 parts like on the Model M.




The only inconsistency of the printing that I see however, is on 2 of the keys on the F keys.

You can see that the legends on the F1 and F3 keys are thicker than the others.

The switches on this keyboard are the well renowned Buckling Springs, which is the same switch mechanics on the Model M keyboard. However, unlike the Model M version, the Model F uses capacitive sensing PCB instead so they lasts a lot longer and has N key rollover unlike the 2 keys rollover of the Model M.
The feel of the switch is one of the smoothest switch I have ever felt ever, and is certainly the smoothest clicky switch I've felt to date. The tactility of the switch is nice, sharp and crisp, it's a delight to use.
Compared to the Model M, the Model F is quite noticably smoother and feel more refined, however the model M is slightly more tactile. Not that the switches on the Model M are bad or mediocre mind you, they are excellent switches, but the ones on the model F are even better, just goes to show how good they are.

One thing to mention is that the spacebar of this keyboard is really heavy. This is back when manufacturers makes spacebars heavier to avoid typing mistakes, but for me at least, it makes the spacebar too heavy so I miss space sometimes but it's not too bad once you're used to it. There's also a way to make the spacebar lighter but that requires disassembly of the entire keyboard so I just kept it how it is originally.

The badge on this board is very nice looking, although I can't find any mention of a white badge Model F anywhere on the internet, so I think one of the previous owners of this board must've modified it or something.
Although I do prefer the original badge, I think this one looks very nice as well too.



Overall, I love this keyboard. I've wanting to have it for so long now and it lived up to my expectations of it. The condition of the board is not perfect, but it's still very good only missing 2 screws on the back and some wear and tear on the chasis, it even still have the original legs still being functional. It's a beast of a keyboard and I'm very happy with my purchase.
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci


Typing demo for anyone interested. Sorry for the shaky camera, I couldn't find a good way to hold it steady to record.
abraker
Global Moderator
8,355 posts
Joined July 2014
abraker

Tad Fibonacci wrote:

...
ok that's special but since we are flexing old keyboards, I might as well. Nothing as special as yours tho.

Introducing the Acekey Ack-200






<insert description here /shrug>

It's a keyboard that features a very old connector. It's at least from the early 90's or late 80's. I do know this thing has been sitting in storage for over 20 years. Also features cyrillic lettering along with latin, which is neat. Dunno much more about it. Never even plugged it in to try... not that I have a port I can plug it into to try.
Last edited by abraker , edited 1 time in total.
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci

abraker wrote:

Tad Fibonacci wrote:

...
ok that's special but since we are flexing old keyboards, I might as well. Nothing as special as yours tho.

Introducing the Acekey Ack-200






<insert description here /shrug>

It's a keyboard that features a very old connector. It's at least from the early 90's or late 80's. I do know this thing has been sitting in storage for over 20 years. Also features cyrillic lettering along with latin, which is neat. Dunno much more about it. Never even plugged it in to try... not that I have a port I can plug it into to try.
Owh pogge it looks to be in really good condition.
The keycaps are sick, if it's MX or Alps mount I bet you could sell it for a pretty nice price.

The connector looks to be 5 pin plug but I'm not sure. But if it is, I think you can find a converter for it pretty easily if you wish to try it out.
AccountWontWork
2,088 posts
Joined March 2021
AccountWontWork

Introducing The K550


(aka shit box)




Fantastic frame, as you can see that it collects dust very well which is known to add extra polling rate



As you can see, some of the lights arent on, this is called "speed mode" which adds extra tapping speed, however it is a permanent once turned on.



this is my favourite feature, as you can see the keyboard has on board memory, it is able to remember where you tap, this is very helpful indeed.
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci
AccountWontWork's keyboard

AccountWontWork wrote:

Introducing The K550


(aka shit box)




Fantastic frame, as you can see that it collects dust very well which is known to add extra polling rate



As you can see, some of the lights arent on, this is called "speed mode" which adds extra tapping speed, however it is a permanent once turned on.



this is my favourite feature, as you can see the keyboard has on board memory, it is able to remember where you tap, this is very helpful indeed.

TLDR of this keyboard: It's a very average cheap Chinese mechanical keyboard with some modifications done to it.

Aesthetics wise, it looks okay. It looks like any other gamer mechanical keyboard out there.
It has LED backlighting, however I don't think it's RGB, but rather multiple monochrome LEDs in each row of the keyboard. This lighting style is very popular on cheap Chinese mechanical keyboards as a cost saving thing.
Honestly though, in my opinion, if they can't afford RGB on their keyboards then having single monochrome backlighting is way better.

Build quality is average in terms of regular mechanical keyboards you can find on the market. It does have a floating key design, so the switches are vulnerable from side knocks, but it has an metal mounting plate, so it's not too bad.
So yeah, the build quality isn't horrible, but it's not remarkable either.

I can't find any information on the keycaps so I can't comment on how durable they are, but the font is fucking diarrhea. Seriously I hate those gamer edgy looking fonts, they are ugly and barely legible. It's something that an 8 year old would think looks cool.

The ones I found on the internet only comes with red or blue switches. They don't really specify which brands they are but considering this is a cheap board they are probably some Chinese clone brands like Outemus or TCC or something. I've said quite a lot about them in other reviews before so I won't say more about them. They are okay.
The mod you did to the board I assume is to replace the switches of the middle row with Gateron speed switches. Honestly I think it's quite pointless but I guess it's for Osu or something.

Overall, an uninteresting, average gamer keyboard with some Tom Hackery done to it.

5/10
ClevelandsMyBro
879 posts
Joined April 2018
ClevelandsMyBro
rainbows are for gays.
Karmine
1,027 posts
Joined November 2015
Karmine

ClevelandsMyBro wrote:

rainbows are for gays.
gaymers
Patatitta
1,380 posts
Joined February 2020
Patatitta
if you're playing osu 90% chances you're gay
z0z
521 posts
Joined February 2018
z0z

Patatitta wrote:

if you're playing osu 90% chances you're gay
why are there so many anime girl bgs then
Karmine
1,027 posts
Joined November 2015
Karmine

z0z wrote:

Patatitta wrote:

if you're playing osu 90% chances you're gay
why are there so many anime girl bgs then
PP farming is not considered "playing" :P
z0z
521 posts
Joined February 2018
z0z

Karmine wrote:

z0z wrote:

Patatitta wrote:

if you're playing osu 90% chances you're gay
why are there so many anime girl bgs then
PP farming is not considered "playing" :P
gatekeepin'
Penguin
323 posts
Joined August 2013
Penguin
NEW KEYBOARD ALERT!!

Bauer Lite w/ HMX Clouds (63.5g) and GMK DMG 3
IT'S BEEN 3 YEARS AND WE'RE BACK WITH A BANGER!!!

LET'S FUCKING GO!







https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/737221082133692476/1267603240917270711/IMG_1265.jpg?ex=66a96303&is=66a81183&hm=69d803c9dc31a1ea9d46ae509ab3d35dc391333e61f8bd88534cedb776e9e95c&

I love it so much!

We're back baby.

I absolutely love "entry-level" injection molded keyboards, so when I found out that Omnitype finally released their Bauer Lite after all these years, I had to purchase one. I bought the bundle they have on their site which comes with a nice set of GMK keycaps. I have to say that I am very pleased. The entire process of ordering, unboxing and building was one of the BEST experiences I've had with this hobby.

The overall build experience was very pleasant. This board comes with a very nice instruction pamphlet that is easy to digest and understand. All the screws and hardware are separated into their own individual marked baggies, so it's virtually impossible to mix anything up. The tolerances on this keyboard are absolutely perfect. No warping or anything like that. The only complaint that I had was that it was a little hard to get the daughterboard cable set properly in the bottom case when trying to close everything up. It kept getting caught on the Zinc weight that I added to this build. VERY minor nitpick, which most people don't have to worry about because the zinc weight is an extra that a majority of people didn't purchase.

As for the keycaps, this is my first set of GMK keycaps and I absolutely adore them. They are very nice to the touch and the lettering is incredibly crisp and sharp. The colors are very bright and vivid. They produce a lot more of a higher pitched clackier sound profile compared to your run of the mill PBT keycaps. It pairs very nicely with the switches that I bought.

Speaking of the switches.. I've been out of the keyboard hobby for quite some time, so coming back and trying to learn which switch manufacturers are on the top of the game was a fairly daunting task. After a fair bit of researching, I decided to get a set of HMX Clouds. HMX are apparently some of the best factory lubed switches on the market right now, and I really did not want to spend hours upon hours of lubing, so it seemed like a no brainer. HMX is known for their "clacky" "poppy" and "bright" sound signature, and oh boy, that's exactly what they are. These are definitely my clackiest switches and I fricken love it maaaan. Most HMX switches are very light switches weighing in around 40g bottom out, but I ain't no bitch so I ordered the 63.5 gram versions.

The days of individually hand-lubing switches is long behind me now. I think the stock lube on these HMX switches are truly superb. I really don't see myself lubing switches anymore as long as I can purchase a set of HMX switches. It sounds and feels amazing. Plus, the tolerances are phenomenal. Almost NO stem wobble, no need to film them whatsoever.

This board didn't come with stabs, so I bought some Durock V2 screw-ins which work perfectly fine. I think they are probably the best stabs I've used to far. Very little modification to make them sound good. Just some lube and that's it.

I also purchased a 232g zinc weight that you can screw into the bottom of the case. I don't think it changes the sound signature too much, but it really adds a nice hefty feel to the board whenever you carry it. Definitely worth the extra little money I spent on it. Makes the board feel more "premium" overall. It also just looks cool.

It didn't come with a carrying case unfortunately, so I had to purchase a third-party case. I wish it came with one, but it's whatever.

Overall, this is probably my favorite keyboard I've built so far. :thumbsup:



Lapizote
121 posts
Joined January 2016
Lapizote
oh wow a blast from the past

i will post my current keyboard in a bit
great_elmo
200 posts
Joined March 2024
great_elmo

Yep. K270 user. Feels out of place with my decently expensive mouse.
Lapizote
121 posts
Joined January 2016
Lapizote
the old rakk ilis that i had when i was 16 died like a year ago. i think i accidentally spilled some water on it and the pcb just gave up. rest in peace.

now a year ago I bought a rakk lam-ang pro barebones and fitted in the red outemus from the ilis. worked okay so far, then a month or so ago i decided to mod it a bit, and here is the result:

picture (Rakk Lam-Ang Pro; Boba U4Ts + Akko CS Ocean Blue; cheap chinese keycaps)

keycaps need some cleaning lol

around 3/4s (65 out of 87 switches, for the alphanumeric keys) of the keyboard is fitted with boba u4ts (i have no idea if its the 62g or 68g variant) that i bought from a friend for around $16 (it was just lying around and he didnt use it for around 2 years). he already lubed it with krytox 205g0, which i know is usually not recommended for tactiles (i had a friend try it out by playing mania once, he commented that the upstroke felt a lil slow which was messing up his long note releases) - but i don't really have the motivation to open up the switches just to remove 2 year-old lubing. still feels great for typing regardless

the rest of the switches are just akko ocean blues that i had lying around, i lubed them with krytox 205g0.

the stabilizers are just the stock ones that it came with. it was already pre-lubed when i opened it up, but i decided to lube it some more with krytox 205g0 (both the stems and the wire). also tried out the holee mod but i just couldn't get it right so i just removed it.

the keycaps are a random set of cinnamoroll-themed PBT keycaps that I got off datablitz for $14 (idk why the listing says royal kludge keycaps, they are not royal kludge keycaps). i don't have any more to say about them other than they feel better than the stock keycaps that the lam-ang pro came with.

the casing itself isn't really special, just a simple tray-mounted plastic case that was also already fitted with foam from the factory (i may try replacing it with eva foam to see if it changes the sound). as for the pcb i did 2 layers of the tempest mod.

as for the miscellaneous stuff: the keyboard has a bluetooth function (no 2.4 ghz though) but i never bothered to actually try it out so idk if its any good. it also has some extra features like a windows/super key disable button (actually useful as i tend to fat finger it when playing games) and a scroll wheel for adjusting rgb brightness and system volume (both of which is sadly removed in the pro max version in favour of a TFT screen - would love to try that one out sometime though because its actually gasket-mounted).

here is a typing test that i did, apologies for the sort-of crappy mic and background noise:


overall i'm pretty happy with this $60-ish (cheating because of the cheap-ass bobas i snagged) build (though I don't really have much to compare it to besides my old rakk ilis and a friend's royal kludge r65). maybe i would try changing the stabs but its not really in my priority right now (as i don't want to spend any more money on keyboards as of the moment lol)
Last edited by Lapizote , edited 3 times in total.
Kaaruumii
860 posts
Joined November 2021
Kaaruumii
tad alr knows what my keyboard looks like but once again here ya go (i edited out my foot this time lmao also i use a diff keyboard now but same keycaps this pic was hyperX alloy origins core reds nows its ck530 reds)


to give a slightly better explanation this keyboard is the CK530 with gateron reds from coolermaster, for osu mania it feels really solid and the switches press down very smoothly with next to no resistance which is perfect to me. i actually ended up swapping 4 of the keycaps with real PBT keycaps just for mania (these ones were advertised as PBT but it really doesnt feel like they are) tad predicted that the keys were going to get damaged easily and only for the W and S keys they have somewhat because of my abnormal middle finger (bike accident in 5th grade) which has a thicker nail because all of the rest of the keys are fine (slight scratches on the previous mania keys but mostly good). The best part for me was this keyboard was only 35 bucks on amazon (used but still very nice) and i would def buy another and i tried another this time with browns but i fucked up and bought the CK530 V2 which is a LITERAL downgrade, 500hz polling rate instead of 1000hz, the keyswitches are TTC aka cheap chinashits that break in a few months and even the software for the V2 doesnt properly load your lighting settings until you manually open the software and click on the lighting tab EVERY TIME YOU WANT TO LOAD YOUR CORRECT RGB SETTINGS, meanwhile the original CK530 software lets you save your rgb settings and you dont ever need to use the software ever again!

basically i think its a really nice keyboard for mania/rhythm games in general especially at a good price for what you get (yes the keycaps i bought that were not even PBT cost more than this keyboard but i love kurumi so its ok 👍
Last edited by Kaaruumii , edited 1 time in total.
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci
Penguin's new kb

Penguin wrote:

NEW KEYBOARD ALERT!!

Bauer Lite w/ HMX Clouds (63.5g) and GMK DMG 3
IT'S BEEN 3 YEARS AND WE'RE BACK WITH A BANGER!!!

LET'S FUCKING GO!







https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/737221082133692476/1267603240917270711/IMG_1265.jpg?ex=66a96303&is=66a81183&hm=69d803c9dc31a1ea9d46ae509ab3d35dc391333e61f8bd88534cedb776e9e95c&

I love it so much!

We're back baby.

I absolutely love "entry-level" injection molded keyboards, so when I found out that Omnitype finally released their Bauer Lite after all these years, I had to purchase one. I bought the bundle they have on their site which comes with a nice set of GMK keycaps. I have to say that I am very pleased. The entire process of ordering, unboxing and building was one of the BEST experiences I've had with this hobby.

The overall build experience was very pleasant. This board comes with a very nice instruction pamphlet that is easy to digest and understand. All the screws and hardware are separated into their own individual marked baggies, so it's virtually impossible to mix anything up. The tolerances on this keyboard are absolutely perfect. No warping or anything like that. The only complaint that I had was that it was a little hard to get the daughterboard cable set properly in the bottom case when trying to close everything up. It kept getting caught on the Zinc weight that I added to this build. VERY minor nitpick, which most people don't have to worry about because the zinc weight is an extra that a majority of people didn't purchase.

As for the keycaps, this is my first set of GMK keycaps and I absolutely adore them. They are very nice to the touch and the lettering is incredibly crisp and sharp. The colors are very bright and vivid. They produce a lot more of a higher pitched clackier sound profile compared to your run of the mill PBT keycaps. It pairs very nicely with the switches that I bought.

Speaking of the switches.. I've been out of the keyboard hobby for quite some time, so coming back and trying to learn which switch manufacturers are on the top of the game was a fairly daunting task. After a fair bit of researching, I decided to get a set of HMX Clouds. HMX are apparently some of the best factory lubed switches on the market right now, and I really did not want to spend hours upon hours of lubing, so it seemed like a no brainer. HMX is known for their "clacky" "poppy" and "bright" sound signature, and oh boy, that's exactly what they are. These are definitely my clackiest switches and I fricken love it maaaan. Most HMX switches are very light switches weighing in around 40g bottom out, but I ain't no bitch so I ordered the 63.5 gram versions.

The days of individually hand-lubing switches is long behind me now. I think the stock lube on these HMX switches are truly superb. I really don't see myself lubing switches anymore as long as I can purchase a set of HMX switches. It sounds and feels amazing. Plus, the tolerances are phenomenal. Almost NO stem wobble, no need to film them whatsoever.

This board didn't come with stabs, so I bought some Durock V2 screw-ins which work perfectly fine. I think they are probably the best stabs I've used to far. Very little modification to make them sound good. Just some lube and that's it.

I also purchased a 232g zinc weight that you can screw into the bottom of the case. I don't think it changes the sound signature too much, but it really adds a nice hefty feel to the board whenever you carry it. Definitely worth the extra little money I spent on it. Makes the board feel more "premium" overall. It also just looks cool.

It didn't come with a carrying case unfortunately, so I had to purchase a third-party case. I wish it came with one, but it's whatever.

Overall, this is probably my favorite keyboard I've built so far. :thumbsup:




Oh man, it's been a long time.
Here we go.

Aesthetically speaking, it looks really nice. I love the semi transparent chassis of the board, it gives it a very retro look. Reminds me a lot of old handhelds like the Gameboy or GBA.
The lack of Windows keys also help with the retro aesthetics. Some people might complain of the lack of windows keys but personally I almost never use them, so it's not a great loss to me and the board does looks nicer without them so it's a plus for me personally.

For build quality, although made out of plastic, the keyboard itself looks dense. I'm sure it has a lot of foam or rubber inside as well so it looks like a sturdy board, even though it's not as well built as other boards that are made out of aluminium.

The keycaps are GMK so I'm guessing that they're doubleshot ABS, the legends are sharp and the Japanese sub legends looks nice as well. The colorway is beige and grey with a few purple accent keys which to some people may look bland, but to me they look great and fits with the retro aesthetics of the board very well.

I have not tried those switches before but they sound very interesting. Definitely super clacky.

Overall, a nice keyboard that looks fun to build and use.

7/10
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci

great_elmo wrote:


Yep. K270 user. Feels out of place with my decently expensive mouse.
I don't rate cheapo rubber domes anymore since I don't want to fill the rankings with too mundane keyboards.

But my opinion on it is that it's a keyboard.
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci
Lapizote's new keyboard

Lapizote wrote:

the old rakk ilis that i had when i was 16 died like a year ago. i think i accidentally spilled some water on it and the pcb just gave up. rest in peace.

now a year ago I bought a rakk lam-ang pro barebones and fitted in the red outemus from the ilis. worked okay so far, then a month or so ago i decided to mod it a bit, and here is the result:

picture (Rakk Lam-Ang Pro; Boba U4Ts + Akko CS Ocean Blue; cheap chinese keycaps)

keycaps need some cleaning lol

around 3/4s (65 out of 87 switches, for the alphanumeric keys) of the keyboard is fitted with boba u4ts (i have no idea if its the 62g or 68g variant) that i bought from a friend for around $16 (it was just lying around and he didnt use it for around 2 years). he already lubed it with krytox 205g0, which i know is usually not recommended for tactiles (i had a friend try it out by playing mania once, he commented that the upstroke felt a lil slow which was messing up his long note releases) - but i don't really have the motivation to open up the switches just to remove 2 year-old lubing. still feels great for typing regardless

the rest of the switches are just akko ocean blues that i had lying around, i lubed them with krytox 205g0.

the stabilizers are just the stock ones that it came with. it was already pre-lubed when i opened it up, but i decided to lube it some more with krytox 205g0 (both the stems and the wire). also tried out the holee mod but i just couldn't get it right so i just removed it.

the keycaps are a random set of cinnamoroll-themed PBT keycaps that I got off datablitz for $14 (idk why the listing says royal kludge keycaps, they are not royal kludge keycaps). i don't have any more to say about them other than they feel better than the stock keycaps that the lam-ang pro came with.

the casing itself isn't really special, just a simple tray-mounted plastic case that was also already fitted with foam from the factory (i may try replacing it with eva foam to see if it changes the sound). as for the pcb i did 2 layers of the tempest mod.

as for the miscellaneous stuff: the keyboard has a bluetooth function (no 2.4 ghz though) but i never bothered to actually try it out so idk if its any good. it also has some extra features like a windows/super key disable button (actually useful as i tend to fat finger it when playing games) and a scroll wheel for adjusting rgb brightness and system volume (both of which is sadly removed in the pro max version in favour of a TFT screen - would love to try that one out sometime though because its actually gasket-mounted).

here is a typing test that i did, apologies for the sort-of crappy mic and background noise:


overall i'm pretty happy with this $60-ish (cheating because of the cheap-ass bobas i snagged) build (though I don't really have much to compare it to besides my old rakk ilis and a friend's royal kludge r65). maybe i would try changing the stabs but its not really in my priority right now (as i don't want to spend any more money on keyboards as of the moment lol)

Aesthetics wise, it's not really my cup of tea, but I can see how some people may like it. It's a relatively clean looking keyboard.

The case itself has okay build quality by the looks of it. Also comes with a volume wheel, media buttons and bluetooth which are welcomed features.

Keycaps are made out of dyesubbed PBT which are very durable indeed, but personally, I just don't like the look of lol. The profile of the caps seems to be DSA or XDA or something similar and those profiles usually gives the board a very nice deep sound.

I haven't tried the boba switches but I've heard they're a solid tactile option. It sounds pretty nice in the typing demo. Quite deep and pleasant sounding. I can't really comment on feel though since I haven't tried them out yet.

Overall, a solid build. The chassis seems to be quite old now but it's still quite okay. This is a very nice budget build and seems quite fun to use.

7/10
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci
Kaarumii's new keyboard

Kaaruumii wrote:

tad alr knows what my keyboard looks like but once again here ya go (i edited out my foot this time lmao also i use a diff keyboard now but same keycaps this pic was hyperX alloy origins core reds nows its ck530 reds)


to give a slightly better explanation this keyboard is the CK530 with gateron reds from coolermaster, for osu mania it feels really solid and the switches press down very smoothly with next to no resistance which is perfect to me. i actually ended up swapping 4 of the keycaps with real PBT keycaps just for mania (these ones were advertised as PBT but it really doesnt feel like they are) tad predicted that the keys were going to get damaged easily and only for the W and S keys they have somewhat because of my abnormal middle finger (bike accident in 5th grade) which has a thicker nail because all of the rest of the keys are fine (slight scratches on the previous mania keys but mostly good). The best part for me was this keyboard was only 35 bucks on amazon (used but still very nice) and i would def buy another and i tried another this time with browns but i fucked up and bought the CK530 V2 which is a LITERAL downgrade, 500hz polling rate instead of 1000hz, the keyswitches are TTC aka cheap chinashits that break in a few months and even the software for the V2 doesnt properly load your lighting settings until you manually open the software and click on the lighting tab EVERY TIME YOU WANT TO LOAD YOUR CORRECT RGB SETTINGS, meanwhile the original CK530 software lets you save your rgb settings and you dont ever need to use the software ever again!

basically i think its a really nice keyboard for mania/rhythm games in general especially at a good price for what you get (yes the keycaps i bought that were not even PBT cost more than this keyboard but i love kurumi so its ok 👍

Aesthetically speaking this is definitely not my cup of tea lmao.
Rainbow vomit aside, the keycaps looks horrible and seems to be lasered ABS which is not very durable.

Build quality wise, it seems okay, it's as well build as any other gamer keyboard out there. But the floating exposed switches design makes it a bit more vulnerable from side knocks and drops.

The keycaps are HIDEOUS. Not to mention being super cheap lasered ABS, although I'm quite surprised it's lasted this long, but this material still attracts dirt and dust like a motherfucker and doesn't feel very good.
Not to mention, the legends and prints are horrible, barely even legible and on some keys there are no legends at all, which would be fine if you don't look at your keyboard while typing, but whilst gaming, looking for certain keys may be difficult.

The switches are Gateron reds which are okay. They don't feel or sound super crazy and there's nothing special about them. They're the switches that manufacturers often put in gamer keyboards. They feel a bit smoother than Cherry MX reds though.

Overall, it's a typical gaymer keyboard, not very special and not much to say about, but it functions and is still better than a typical Dell office keyboard.

5/10
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci
Here's a quick sound test on my current keyboard btw.
It's a FL Esports OG87 with Kailh Ice Silver linear switches.

Everything is STOCK.
I did not mod, lube or do anything to this board.

Winnyace
754 posts
Joined June 2016
Winnyace
I used to be big into keyboards some time ago, but not anymore. I just want a keyboard that works. Although, if any of y'all got a cheap, red switch based board to recommend, please do. I was looking at some RedDragon 60% board a local online shop has here. The one I've now is SHIT!
Last edited by Winnyace , edited 1 time in total.
Ymir
1,925 posts
Joined June 2020
Ymir
I have an RK61, it's red switches and it feels like its good quality by my standards; but my standards are SUPER low.
Winnyace
754 posts
Joined June 2016
Winnyace

Ymir wrote:

I have an RK61, it's red switches and it feels like its good quality by my standards; but my standards are SUPER low.
this?
Ymir
1,925 posts
Joined June 2020
Ymir

Winnyace wrote:

Ymir wrote:

I have an RK61, it's red switches and it feels like its good quality by my standards; but my standards are SUPER low.
this?
yep, though mine is both wired and wireless
Kaaruumii
860 posts
Joined November 2021
Kaaruumii

Tad Fibonacci wrote:

Overall, it's a typical gaymer keyboard, not very special and not much to say about, but it functions and is still better than a typical Dell office keyboard.
i find it kinda funny i think the same way about custom keyboards with the very high prices and stuff like that, i really never understood why pay $300+ for a keyboard when a mechanical gaming keyboard does the same thing. personally if i wasnt a mania player id invest in a better keyboard just to experience the quality difference but id rather spend 35 bucks every year when it eventually breaks rather than 350 bucks every year but thats just me ig

ty for the honest review even though i really like the keycap design XD these dont seem to attract dirt or dust but grease does build up from what ive experienced and its hard to clean out
Karmine
1,027 posts
Joined November 2015
Karmine
How do you even break a mechanical keyboard? I've had mine for at least 5 years, played osu a lot on it and it's still good as new.
Kaaruumii
860 posts
Joined November 2021
Kaaruumii

Karmine wrote:

How do you even break a mechanical keyboard? I've had mine for at least 5 years, played osu a lot on it and it's still good as new.

not me
Last edited by Kaaruumii , edited 1 time in total.
Winnyace
754 posts
Joined June 2016
Winnyace

Kaaruumii wrote:

Overall, it's a typical gaymer keyboard, not very special and not much to say about, but it functions and is still better than a typical Dell office keyboard.

i find it kinda funny i think the same way about custom keyboards with the very high prices and stuff like that, i really never understood why pay $300+ for a keyboard when a mechanical gaming keyboard does the same thing. personally if i wasnt a mania player id invest in a better keyboard just to experience the quality difference but id rather spend 35 bucks every year when it eventually breaks rather than 350 bucks every year but thats just me ig
Some treat this as a hobby and that's fine. If they have the money to buy such expensive things, their money. If it works for them, that's great. If your current keyboard works for you, that's great.
Last edited by Winnyace , edited 1 time in total.
Reyalp51
966 posts
Joined April 2021
Reyalp51

Kaaruumii wrote:

Karmine wrote:

How do you even break a mechanical keyboard? I've had mine for at least 5 years, played osu a lot on it and it's still good as new.

not me
i actually do this to my keyboard in mania
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci

Kaaruumii wrote:

i find it kinda funny i think the same way about custom keyboards with the very high prices and stuff like that, i really never understood why pay $300+ for a keyboard when a mechanical gaming keyboard does the same thing. personally if i wasnt a mania player id invest in a better keyboard just to experience the quality difference but id rather spend 35 bucks every year when it eventually breaks rather than 350 bucks every year but thats just me ig

ty for the honest review even though i really like the keycap design XD these dont seem to attract dirt or dust but grease does build up from what ive experienced and its hard to clean out

Usually, it's the feel, the sound, build quality and special features that the more expensive keyboards have that a cheap gaming one doesn't.

A well built $100 keyboard often will feel significantly better than a $40-$60 one. But yeah, feel is super subjective and not everyone cares about that too much.

A more expensive keyboard would often sound better as well as manufacturers can prelube stabilizers, mitigating stab rattle which can be an annoying sound, and they can put in better keycaps and switches that significantly affects the sound of the board. Not to mention high quality, thick plastic chassis can make the keyboard sound significantly better than a floating switch design that many gamer keyboards have.

And lastly, functionality. More expensive keyboards have special functions such as keymaps, macros, wireless and bluetooth etc which can be useful depending on your use case.

One very good example of this is the Wooting 60HE+, which is a Hall effect keyboard that allows you to manually change the actuation point of each individual keyswitches, not to mention rapid trigger, which literally gives you a significant advantage in FPS games or Rhythm games like Osu.

So yeah, depending on your use case, a luxurious expensive keyboard might be ridiculous but you do get what you pay for most of the time.
But I do get what you mean since a lot of $1000 keyboard builds are just expensive and jacked up cause of brand names and artisans and such and does not effect the overall quality and usage of the board themselves. Those I consider to be similar to an Iphone - Overall good, but overpriced.

TLDR: Cheap kb is like a regular car, it drives and take you to places. Expensive kb is like a sports car, it still drives and take you to places but it's cooler, faster and feel nicer.
Last edited by Tad Fibonacci , edited 2 times in total.
Farfocele
1,101 posts
Joined April 2020
Farfocele
I have a Purple Keychron Q1 with tactile switches. I will post and describe it later, but I love it.
Last edited by Farfocele , edited 2 times in total.
ColdTooth
1,107 posts
Joined June 2012
ColdTooth
i dont feel like posting an image but i've had a logitech g213 for what i can feel like is a decade, gone through three of them
Last edited by ColdTooth , edited 1 time in total.
abraker
Global Moderator
8,355 posts
Joined July 2014
abraker

Tad wrote:

3rd downside is the keycaps.
You'd think for the price they'd give you decent keycaps, but no they're just keycaps coated in black paint and then lasered.
This makes for very sharp looking keycaps and it makes the back lighting shines through quite well, but these caps aren't very durable and can wear off relatively quick, turning into blobs of light depending on how often you uses it.
It's been 4 years since and there is absolutely no noticeable wear off the paint or whatever you think it is. It's as sharp as day 1. That's even after giving the 4 specific keys for mania and 2 for standard proper use over the years.
Last edited by abraker , edited 2 times in total.
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci

abraker wrote:

Tad wrote:

3rd downside is the keycaps.
You'd think for the price they'd give you decent keycaps, but no they're just keycaps coated in black paint and then lasered.
This makes for very sharp looking keycaps and it makes the back lighting shines through quite well, but these caps aren't very durable and can wear off relatively quick, turning into blobs of light depending on how often you uses it.
It's been 4 years since and there is absolutely no noticeable wear off the paint or whatever you think it is. It's as sharp as day 1. That's even after giving the 4 specific keys for mania and 2 for standard proper use over the years.
That's surprising.
Usually lazered ABS keycaps like those would deteriorate and would shine up quite quickly.
One of my old keyboard have those kind of caps too and they shined up quite badly and looked disgusting. Although the legends haven't faded yet but tbf I didn't use that board that extensively.
Kaaruumii
860 posts
Joined November 2021
Kaaruumii

Tad Fibonacci wrote:

abraker wrote:

Tad wrote:

3rd downside is the keycaps.
You'd think for the price they'd give you decent keycaps, but no they're just keycaps coated in black paint and then lasered.
This makes for very sharp looking keycaps and it makes the back lighting shines through quite well, but these caps aren't very durable and can wear off relatively quick, turning into blobs of light depending on how often you uses it.
It's been 4 years since and there is absolutely no noticeable wear off the paint or whatever you think it is. It's as sharp as day 1. That's even after giving the 4 specific keys for mania and 2 for standard proper use over the years.
That's surprising.
Usually lazered ABS keycaps like those would deteriorate and would shine up quite quickly.
One of my old keyboard have those kind of caps too and they shined up quite badly and looked disgusting. Although the legends haven't faded yet but tbf I didn't use that board that extensively.
the majority of my keycaps have no noticeable wear whatsoever so im pretty sure it has to do with nail length, my assumption is that tad has longer nails than abraker does therefore its not as bad as you would think
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci

Kaaruumii wrote:

the majority of my keycaps have no noticeable wear whatsoever so im pretty sure it has to do with nail length, my assumption is that tad has longer nails than abraker does therefore its not as bad as you would think
Nah, I always have my nails trimmed.
Kaaruumii
860 posts
Joined November 2021
Kaaruumii

Tad Fibonacci wrote:

Kaaruumii wrote:

the majority of my keycaps have no noticeable wear whatsoever so im pretty sure it has to do with nail length, my assumption is that tad has longer nails than abraker does therefore its not as bad as you would think
Nah, I always have my nails trimmed.
interesting... maybe i just dont use the other keys as much as i think lol
Last edited by Kaaruumii , edited 1 time in total.
Farfocele
1,101 posts
Joined April 2020
Farfocele
(warning: excessive yapping incoming)

I own a Keychron Q1 board, which I got on a rather big sale, when it was pretty much the best option for the price in Poland. (like $75 off of the regular $200 price in Poland)

Aesthetics
The keyboard is just your regular keyboard in terms of looks. It's an exploded 75% layout in a regular rectangular shape. The keycaps are doubleshot PBT keycaps with a OSA profile. The keycaps are mostly a dark gray, but the accents are a nice purple color. (Enter and Esc especially are a discord sorta color.) The cable is nothing special - just a normal USB-C cable. The case is also a nice purple color - I would call it dark purple but it does become lighter under light.

Build Quality
The keyboard is held together with some screws (like most keyboards honestly), and it sorta has 2 parts to it - the top part and bottom part, as you could see in the pics. It has a CNC aluminum body, and a regular steel plate afaik. Other than that, I cannot really speak more about the build quality, but it is a rather heavy board - I feel like I could use it as a weapon if need be.

Switches
The switches used by the keyboard are the K Pro Banana switches. They are tactile switches, which are supposed to feel like Holy Pandas. I unfortunately do not have any Pandas on me to test them out, but the switches do feel and sound pretty good. They do not ping much, and are pretty clacky switches, all things considered. They were pre-lubed - I think they were lubed pretty well, but I do not doubt a professional lubing switches would do a better job.

Typing Sound
As for the typing sounds, I will provide them down in a sound test - full disclosure though, the keyboard was modded with swapping out the bottom foam for a thicker one, the force break mod, tape mod (3 layers), and PE foam mod with the old bottom foam (it was rather thin.)

Extra Features
There are some pretty handy features in the keyboard - adjustable RGB (there are some presets in VIA, although you can use QMK to make your own.) - I just set the lights to purple though. With VIA, you can also create some macros, VIA is just a great keyboard firmware. The keyboard also is gasket mounted, although after all the mods the flex from that is sorta minimal. You can also remap the keys of your choosing on another layer and access it with a key dedicated to the other layer. The keyboard also has south-facing LEDs, which eliminates interference when using certain keycaps. Other than that, the keyboard also has hotswap switches - although that's to be expected, it would be more shocking if it did not have hotswap at that price point. Oh, and it also has a knob.

Pricing
The same keyboard can be bought on Keychron's website for $179, but the keyboard cost ~$125 for me, and that was on a sale from $200 because prices in Poland tend to be higher due to the 23% VAT. If there was a price which would be the fairest to judge the keyboard on, it would be the $179 one, since it would likely be the one that applies to the most.

Pictures + Sound tests

The front of the keyboard.


the butt back of the keyboard.

---- Sound Tests ----


A chill sound test (~100WPM)



A full-speed sound test (200WPM+)
Last edited by Farfocele , edited 7 times in total.
anaxii
15,180 posts
Joined December 2022
anaxii

Farfocele wrote:

(warning: excessive yapping incoming)

I own a Keychron Q1 board, which I got on a rather big sale, when it was pretty much the best option for the price in Poland. (like $75 off of the regular $200 price in Poland)

Aesthetics
The keyboard is just your regular keyboard in terms of looks. It's an exploded 75% layout in a regular rectangular shape. The keycaps are doubleshot PBT keycaps with a OSA profile. The keycaps are mostly a dark gray, but the accents are a nice purple color. (Enter and Esc especially are a discord sorta color.) The cable is nothing special - just a normal USB-C cable. The case is also a nice purple color - I would call it dark purple but it does become lighter under light.

Build Quality
The keyboard is held together with some screws (like most keyboards honestly), and it sorta has 2 parts to it - the top part and bottom part, as you could see in the pics. It has a CNC aluminum body, and a regular steel plate afaik. Other than that, I cannot really speak more about the build quality, but it is a rather heavy board - I feel like I could use it as a weapon if need be.

Switches
The switches used by the keyboard are the K Pro Banana switches. They are tactile switches, which are supposed to feel like Holy Pandas. I unfortunately do not have any Pandas on me to test them out, but the switches do feel and sound pretty good. They do not ping much, and are pretty clacky switches, all things considered. They were pre-lubed - I think they were lubed pretty well, but I do not doubt a professional lubing switches would do a better job.

Typing Sound
As for the typing sounds, I will provide them down in a sound test - full disclosure though, the keyboard was modded with swapping out the bottom foam for a thicker one, the force break mod, tape mod (3 layers), and PE foam mod with the old bottom foam (it was rather thin.)

Extra Features
There are some pretty handy features in the keyboard - adjustable RGB (there are some presets in VIA, although you can use QMK to make your own.) - I just set the lights to purple though. With VIA, you can also create some macros, VIA is just a great keyboard firmware. The keyboard also is gasket mounted, although after all the mods the flex from that is sorta minimal. You can also remap the keys of your choosing on another layer and access it with a key dedicated to the other layer. The keyboard also has south-facing LEDs, which eliminates interference when using certain keycaps. Other than that, the keyboard also has hotswap switches - although that's to be expected, it would be more shocking if it did not have hotswap at that price point. Oh, and it also has a knob.

Pricing
The same keyboard can be bought on Keychron's website for $179, but the keyboard cost ~$125 for me, and that was on a sale from $200 because prices in Poland tend to be higher due to the 23% VAT. If there was a price which would be the fairest to judge the keyboard on, it would be the $179 one, since it would likely be the one that applies to the most.

Pictures + Sound tests

The front of the keyboard.


the butt back of the keyboard.

---- Sound Tests ----


A chill sound test (~100WPM)



A full-speed sound test (200WPM+)
This is going to be my next keyboard for sure. I currently have a GXT 863 Mazz and it's slowly breaking itself.
Farfocele
1,101 posts
Joined April 2020
Farfocele

I AM VERY SMART wrote:

Farfocele wrote:

(warning: excessive yapping incoming)

I own a Keychron Q1 board, which I got on a rather big sale, when it was pretty much the best option for the price in Poland. (like $75 off of the regular $200 price in Poland)

Aesthetics
The keyboard is just your regular keyboard in terms of looks. It's an exploded 75% layout in a regular rectangular shape. The keycaps are doubleshot PBT keycaps with a OSA profile. The keycaps are mostly a dark gray, but the accents are a nice purple color. (Enter and Esc especially are a discord sorta color.) The cable is nothing special - just a normal USB-C cable. The case is also a nice purple color - I would call it dark purple but it does become lighter under light.

Build Quality
The keyboard is held together with some screws (like most keyboards honestly), and it sorta has 2 parts to it - the top part and bottom part, as you could see in the pics. It has a CNC aluminum body, and a regular steel plate afaik. Other than that, I cannot really speak more about the build quality, but it is a rather heavy board - I feel like I could use it as a weapon if need be.

Switches
The switches used by the keyboard are the K Pro Banana switches. They are tactile switches, which are supposed to feel like Holy Pandas. I unfortunately do not have any Pandas on me to test them out, but the switches do feel and sound pretty good. They do not ping much, and are pretty clacky switches, all things considered. They were pre-lubed - I think they were lubed pretty well, but I do not doubt a professional lubing switches would do a better job.

Typing Sound
As for the typing sounds, I will provide them down in a sound test - full disclosure though, the keyboard was modded with swapping out the bottom foam for a thicker one, the force break mod, tape mod (3 layers), and PE foam mod with the old bottom foam (it was rather thin.)

Extra Features
There are some pretty handy features in the keyboard - adjustable RGB (there are some presets in VIA, although you can use QMK to make your own.) - I just set the lights to purple though. With VIA, you can also create some macros, VIA is just a great keyboard firmware. The keyboard also is gasket mounted, although after all the mods the flex from that is sorta minimal. You can also remap the keys of your choosing on another layer and access it with a key dedicated to the other layer. The keyboard also has south-facing LEDs, which eliminates interference when using certain keycaps. Other than that, the keyboard also has hotswap switches - although that's to be expected, it would be more shocking if it did not have hotswap at that price point. Oh, and it also has a knob.

Pricing
The same keyboard can be bought on Keychron's website for $179, but the keyboard cost ~$125 for me, and that was on a sale from $200 because prices in Poland tend to be higher due to the 23% VAT. If there was a price which would be the fairest to judge the keyboard on, it would be the $179 one, since it would likely be the one that applies to the most.

Pictures + Sound tests

The front of the keyboard.


the butt back of the keyboard.

---- Sound Tests ----


A chill sound test (~100WPM)



A full-speed sound test (200WPM+)
This is going to be my next keyboard for sure. I currently have a GXT 863 Mazz and it's slowly breaking itself.
You should definitely consider it. Idk what the poster will rate the board, but it's gotta be at least a 5/10 XD
Polyspora
475 posts
Joined September 2019
Polyspora

Farfocele wrote:

(warning: excessive yapping incoming)

I own a Keychron Q1 board, which I got on a rather big sale, when it was pretty much the best option for the price in Poland. (like $75 off of the regular $200 price in Poland)

Aesthetics
The keyboard is just your regular keyboard in terms of looks. It's an exploded 75% layout in a regular rectangular shape. The keycaps are doubleshot PBT keycaps with a OSA profile. The keycaps are mostly a dark gray, but the accents are a nice purple color. (Enter and Esc especially are a discord sorta color.) The cable is nothing special - just a normal USB-C cable. The case is also a nice purple color - I would call it dark purple but it does become lighter under light.

Build Quality
The keyboard is held together with some screws (like most keyboards honestly), and it sorta has 2 parts to it - the top part and bottom part, as you could see in the pics. It has a CNC aluminum body, and a regular steel plate afaik. Other than that, I cannot really speak more about the build quality, but it is a rather heavy board - I feel like I could use it as a weapon if need be.

Switches
The switches used by the keyboard are the K Pro Banana switches. They are tactile switches, which are supposed to feel like Holy Pandas. I unfortunately do not have any Pandas on me to test them out, but the switches do feel and sound pretty good. They do not ping much, and are pretty clacky switches, all things considered. They were pre-lubed - I think they were lubed pretty well, but I do not doubt a professional lubing switches would do a better job.

Typing Sound
As for the typing sounds, I will provide them down in a sound test - full disclosure though, the keyboard was modded with swapping out the bottom foam for a thicker one, the force break mod, tape mod (3 layers), and PE foam mod with the old bottom foam (it was rather thin.)

Extra Features
There are some pretty handy features in the keyboard - adjustable RGB (there are some presets in VIA, although you can use QMK to make your own.) - I just set the lights to purple though. With VIA, you can also create some macros, VIA is just a great keyboard firmware. The keyboard also is gasket mounted, although after all the mods the flex from that is sorta minimal. You can also remap the keys of your choosing on another layer and access it with a key dedicated to the other layer. The keyboard also has south-facing LEDs, which eliminates interference when using certain keycaps. Other than that, the keyboard also has hotswap switches - although that's to be expected, it would be more shocking if it did not have hotswap at that price point. Oh, and it also has a knob.

Pricing
The same keyboard can be bought on Keychron's website for $179, but the keyboard cost ~$125 for me, and that was on a sale from $200 because prices in Poland tend to be higher due to the 23% VAT. If there was a price which would be the fairest to judge the keyboard on, it would be the $179 one, since it would likely be the one that applies to the most.

Pictures + Sound tests

The front of the keyboard.


the butt back of the keyboard.

---- Sound Tests ----


A chill sound test (~100WPM)



A full-speed sound test (200WPM+)
is that the polish layout?
Farfocele
1,101 posts
Joined April 2020
Farfocele

Polyspora wrote:

Farfocele wrote:

(warning: excessive yapping incoming)

I own a Keychron Q1 board, which I got on a rather big sale, when it was pretty much the best option for the price in Poland. (like $75 off of the regular $200 price in Poland)

Aesthetics
The keyboard is just your regular keyboard in terms of looks. It's an exploded 75% layout in a regular rectangular shape. The keycaps are doubleshot PBT keycaps with a OSA profile. The keycaps are mostly a dark gray, but the accents are a nice purple color. (Enter and Esc especially are a discord sorta color.) The cable is nothing special - just a normal USB-C cable. The case is also a nice purple color - I would call it dark purple but it does become lighter under light.

Build Quality
The keyboard is held together with some screws (like most keyboards honestly), and it sorta has 2 parts to it - the top part and bottom part, as you could see in the pics. It has a CNC aluminum body, and a regular steel plate afaik. Other than that, I cannot really speak more about the build quality, but it is a rather heavy board - I feel like I could use it as a weapon if need be.

Switches
The switches used by the keyboard are the K Pro Banana switches. They are tactile switches, which are supposed to feel like Holy Pandas. I unfortunately do not have any Pandas on me to test them out, but the switches do feel and sound pretty good. They do not ping much, and are pretty clacky switches, all things considered. They were pre-lubed - I think they were lubed pretty well, but I do not doubt a professional lubing switches would do a better job.

Typing Sound
As for the typing sounds, I will provide them down in a sound test - full disclosure though, the keyboard was modded with swapping out the bottom foam for a thicker one, the force break mod, tape mod (3 layers), and PE foam mod with the old bottom foam (it was rather thin.)

Extra Features
There are some pretty handy features in the keyboard - adjustable RGB (there are some presets in VIA, although you can use QMK to make your own.) - I just set the lights to purple though. With VIA, you can also create some macros, VIA is just a great keyboard firmware. The keyboard also is gasket mounted, although after all the mods the flex from that is sorta minimal. You can also remap the keys of your choosing on another layer and access it with a key dedicated to the other layer. The keyboard also has south-facing LEDs, which eliminates interference when using certain keycaps. Other than that, the keyboard also has hotswap switches - although that's to be expected, it would be more shocking if it did not have hotswap at that price point. Oh, and it also has a knob.

Pricing
The same keyboard can be bought on Keychron's website for $179, but the keyboard cost ~$125 for me, and that was on a sale from $200 because prices in Poland tend to be higher due to the 23% VAT. If there was a price which would be the fairest to judge the keyboard on, it would be the $179 one, since it would likely be the one that applies to the most.

Pictures + Sound tests

The front of the keyboard.


the butt back of the keyboard.

---- Sound Tests ----


A chill sound test (~100WPM)



A full-speed sound test (200WPM+)
is that the polish layout?
There are different ISO versions (no polish ones though), but this was the ANSI layout (pretty much a normal keyboard with no big enter key)
Last edited by Farfocele , edited 1 time in total.
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci
Farfocele's keyboard

Farfocele wrote:

(warning: excessive yapping incoming)

I own a Keychron Q1 board, which I got on a rather big sale, when it was pretty much the best option for the price in Poland. (like $75 off of the regular $200 price in Poland)

Aesthetics
The keyboard is just your regular keyboard in terms of looks. It's an exploded 75% layout in a regular rectangular shape. The keycaps are doubleshot PBT keycaps with a OSA profile. The keycaps are mostly a dark gray, but the accents are a nice purple color. (Enter and Esc especially are a discord sorta color.) The cable is nothing special - just a normal USB-C cable. The case is also a nice purple color - I would call it dark purple but it does become lighter under light.

Build Quality
The keyboard is held together with some screws (like most keyboards honestly), and it sorta has 2 parts to it - the top part and bottom part, as you could see in the pics. It has a CNC aluminum body, and a regular steel plate afaik. Other than that, I cannot really speak more about the build quality, but it is a rather heavy board - I feel like I could use it as a weapon if need be.

Switches
The switches used by the keyboard are the K Pro Banana switches. They are tactile switches, which are supposed to feel like Holy Pandas. I unfortunately do not have any Pandas on me to test them out, but the switches do feel and sound pretty good. They do not ping much, and are pretty clacky switches, all things considered. They were pre-lubed - I think they were lubed pretty well, but I do not doubt a professional lubing switches would do a better job.

Typing Sound
As for the typing sounds, I will provide them down in a sound test - full disclosure though, the keyboard was modded with swapping out the bottom foam for a thicker one, the force break mod, tape mod (3 layers), and PE foam mod with the old bottom foam (it was rather thin.)

Extra Features
There are some pretty handy features in the keyboard - adjustable RGB (there are some presets in VIA, although you can use QMK to make your own.) - I just set the lights to purple though. With VIA, you can also create some macros, VIA is just a great keyboard firmware. The keyboard also is gasket mounted, although after all the mods the flex from that is sorta minimal. You can also remap the keys of your choosing on another layer and access it with a key dedicated to the other layer. The keyboard also has south-facing LEDs, which eliminates interference when using certain keycaps. Other than that, the keyboard also has hotswap switches - although that's to be expected, it would be more shocking if it did not have hotswap at that price point. Oh, and it also has a knob.

Pricing
The same keyboard can be bought on Keychron's website for $179, but the keyboard cost ~$125 for me, and that was on a sale from $200 because prices in Poland tend to be higher due to the 23% VAT. If there was a price which would be the fairest to judge the keyboard on, it would be the $179 one, since it would likely be the one that applies to the most.

Pictures + Sound tests

The front of the keyboard.


the butt back of the keyboard.

---- Sound Tests ----


A chill sound test (~100WPM)



A full-speed sound test (200WPM+)

Aesthetically speaking, it's a very coherent look and Looks like a very thematically coherent build. I personally don't like purple though and monochrome purple with grey is a bit dark looking. It it was me I'd try to put something gold colored in since purple and gold is a classic combo.
But overall, a good looking keyboard.

As for the build quality, the Q1 is from the Q line of Keychron, which is the luxury line and it was built very well. It's literally a slab of machined aluminium and would undoubtedly give someone head trauma if you were to use one as a weapon.
It also looks like from the picture of the bottom that the screws are brass screws as well so that's also a plus in terms of build quality.
If I were to nitpick though, then the board doesn't have any adjustable feet but it looks like it's already in a quite comfortable typing angle so it's not very necessary.

As for switches, again, I have not tried them before but you did mention that they were supposed to feel like Holy Pandas which I have tried. Personally I don't really like how Holy Pandas feel, but they do produce a very interesting poppy sound and that's also true with this keyboard.

It sounds very poppy and clacky which is to be expected from a aluminium case.
Plastic cases tend to sound better in my experience but this is a pretty good sounding keyboard.

As for special features, I won't comment much on RGB since I never uses that function but it's there. And remapping is pretty useful in some cases so being remappable with VIA is definitely a plus.
Volume knob is also pretty useful too.

Overall, quite a nice keyboard for a decent price.

8/10
Last edited by Tad Fibonacci , edited 1 time in total.
Farfocele
1,101 posts
Joined April 2020
Farfocele

Tad Fibonacci wrote:

Farfocele's keyboard

Farfocele wrote:

(warning: excessive yapping incoming)

I own a Keychron Q1 board, which I got on a rather big sale, when it was pretty much the best option for the price in Poland. (like $75 off of the regular $200 price in Poland)

Aesthetics
The keyboard is just your regular keyboard in terms of looks. It's an exploded 75% layout in a regular rectangular shape. The keycaps are doubleshot PBT keycaps with a OSA profile. The keycaps are mostly a dark gray, but the accents are a nice purple color. (Enter and Esc especially are a discord sorta color.) The cable is nothing special - just a normal USB-C cable. The case is also a nice purple color - I would call it dark purple but it does become lighter under light.

Build Quality
The keyboard is held together with some screws (like most keyboards honestly), and it sorta has 2 parts to it - the top part and bottom part, as you could see in the pics. It has a CNC aluminum body, and a regular steel plate afaik. Other than that, I cannot really speak more about the build quality, but it is a rather heavy board - I feel like I could use it as a weapon if need be.

Switches
The switches used by the keyboard are the K Pro Banana switches. They are tactile switches, which are supposed to feel like Holy Pandas. I unfortunately do not have any Pandas on me to test them out, but the switches do feel and sound pretty good. They do not ping much, and are pretty clacky switches, all things considered. They were pre-lubed - I think they were lubed pretty well, but I do not doubt a professional lubing switches would do a better job.

Typing Sound
As for the typing sounds, I will provide them down in a sound test - full disclosure though, the keyboard was modded with swapping out the bottom foam for a thicker one, the force break mod, tape mod (3 layers), and PE foam mod with the old bottom foam (it was rather thin.)

Extra Features
There are some pretty handy features in the keyboard - adjustable RGB (there are some presets in VIA, although you can use QMK to make your own.) - I just set the lights to purple though. With VIA, you can also create some macros, VIA is just a great keyboard firmware. The keyboard also is gasket mounted, although after all the mods the flex from that is sorta minimal. You can also remap the keys of your choosing on another layer and access it with a key dedicated to the other layer. The keyboard also has south-facing LEDs, which eliminates interference when using certain keycaps. Other than that, the keyboard also has hotswap switches - although that's to be expected, it would be more shocking if it did not have hotswap at that price point. Oh, and it also has a knob.

Pricing
The same keyboard can be bought on Keychron's website for $179, but the keyboard cost ~$125 for me, and that was on a sale from $200 because prices in Poland tend to be higher due to the 23% VAT. If there was a price which would be the fairest to judge the keyboard on, it would be the $179 one, since it would likely be the one that applies to the most.

Pictures + Sound tests

The front of the keyboard.


the butt back of the keyboard.

---- Sound Tests ----


A chill sound test (~100WPM)



A full-speed sound test (200WPM+)

Aesthetically speaking, it's a very coherent look and Looks like a very thematically coherent build. I personally don't like purple though and monochrome purple with grey is a bit dark looking. It it was me I'd try to put something gold colored in since purple and gold is a classic combo.
But overall, a good looking keyboard.

As for the build quality, the Q1 is from the Q line of Keychron, which is the luxury line and it was built very well. It's literally a slab of machined aluminium and would undoubtedly give someone head trauma if you were to use one as a weapon.
It also looks like from the picture of the bottom that the screws are brass screws as well so that's also a plus in terms of build quality.
If I were to nitpick though, then the board doesn't have any adjustable feet but it looks like it's already in a quite comfortable typing angle so it's not very necessary.

As for switches, again, I have not tried them before but you did mention that they were supposed to feel like Holy Pandas which I have tried. Personally I don't really like how Holy Pandas feel, but they do produce a very interesting poppy sound and that's also true with this keyboard.

It sounds very poppy and clacky which is to be expected from a aluminium case.
Plastic cases tend to sound better in my experience but this is a pretty good sounding keyboard.

As for special features, I won't comment much on RGB since I never uses that function but it's there. And remapping is pretty useful in some cases so being remappable with VIA is definitely a plus.
Volume knob is also pretty useful too.

Overall, quite a nice keyboard for a decent price.

8/10
great rating, thanks!
Patatitta
1,380 posts
Joined February 2020
Patatitta
I initially didn't have planned to post anything on this thread, but today I was playing osu, look at the kb and thought it was funny

guess with what keys I play ctb



(the third key I use to dash is also teared out like that)
Polyspora
475 posts
Joined September 2019
Polyspora

Patatitta wrote:

I initially didn't have planned to post anything on this thread, but today I was playing osu, look at the kb and thought it was funny

guess with what keys I play ctb



(the third key I use to dash is also teared out like that)
gamer
Lapizote
121 posts
Joined January 2016
Lapizote
pata does your skin sweat out acid or something
Nikolai
587 posts
Joined December 2014
Nikolai
my endgame



Lin Dolphin v3 🇰🇷
Baionlenja Bias r2 🇫🇮
TGR Jane v2 CE 🇲🇾
Realforce 88u 🇯🇵
HHKB Professional 🇯🇵



Last edited by Nikolai , edited 2 times in total.
Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci

Nikolai wrote:

my endgame



Lin Dolphin v3 🇰🇷
Baionlenja Bias r2 🇫🇮
TGR Jane v2 CE 🇲🇾
Realforce 88u 🇯🇵
HHKB Professional 🇯🇵



Naise

I like your style
abraker
Global Moderator
8,355 posts
Joined July 2014
abraker
ahegao keycaps is still ahegao
and ya know how excited gmt is about ahegao

Nikolai
587 posts
Joined December 2014
Nikolai
yall lame as fuck
keremaru
228 posts
Joined November 2017
keremaru

keremaru wrote:

i can't take a picture of my laptop keyboard (because my tablet keeps crashing whenever i try to open the camera), so just imagine a 70 keyboard with a bunch of dead skin cells stuck to the keycaps.
and a touchstyk with a missing cushion, so there's a crap ton of (insert whatever the hell managed to get inside the gaps of my practically unusable touchstyk) that built up in the corners.
and more dead skin cells in the gaps between the keycaps.
keychron v2 keyboard w/ magegee keycaps

DeletedUser_32597938
DeletedUser_32597938

great_elmo
200 posts
Joined March 2024
great_elmo
Aight which board should I buy

g413

MageKey board (ignore start menu)

RedDragon full sized


Probably not the best place to ask but oh well.
Nikolai
587 posts
Joined December 2014
Nikolai

great_elmo wrote:

Aight which board should I buy
Corsair k63 so god
zyxxke
0 posts
Joined October 2016
zyxxke
Realforce FD01D0 (absolute grail of mine, only 200 were made)
Realforce 89UB (my daily work keyboard)
Realforce x G-Tune
Realforce EDIUS
JDL EKUJ7
Mitsubishi M-6905 (low topre go brrr)
ASCII Sono1 ASKeyboard (converted for modern pc, alps go brrr)
HHKB Professional 2 (BKE domes and resin hipro keycaps)
Sony BKE-2010 (not a keyboard really)

FD01D0:



ASCII, HHKB and Realforce EDIUS:



Tad Fibonacci
112 posts
Joined August 2015
Topic Starter
Tad Fibonacci

buz wrote:

Realforce FD01D0 (absolute grail of mine, only 200 were made)
Realforce 89UB (my daily work keyboard)
Realforce x G-Tune
Realforce EDIUS
JDL EKUJ7
Mitsubishi M-6905 (low topre go brrr)
ASCII Sono1 ASKeyboard (converted for modern pc, alps go brrr)
HHKB Professional 2 (BKE domes and resin hipro keycaps)
Sony BKE-2010 (not a keyboard really)

FD01D0:



ASCII, HHKB and Realforce EDIUS:



Those looks sick.

I'm personally not into topre but they're nice sometimes. Simple high quality rubber domes.
Farfocele
1,101 posts
Joined April 2020
Farfocele
I will get new stabs and a different plate for my keyboard soon, will update as soon as that's done!
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