Hey man! There are a lot of Keyboard creators out there, feel free to reach out to any of us if you need additional info on them! There's a lot of keyboards out there and NZXT is a start, but definitely not the end!
Nice to see you here! And it's great to provide additional info to Jayz on the topic! I am buying my first mechanical hot-swappable keyboard, not the most expensive one and your channel helped me with it. I am going for Akko Monsgeek MG108B with Akko V3 Pro Cream Yellow switches, but I had a hard time (and partially still have) to decide if I should not order Akko V3 Pro Cream Blue switches instead... Have you got some recommendation out of your rich experiences when it comes to deciding between these two switches?
@@geeker9545I was going to buy the cream yellows, BUT ACCIDENTALLY ORDERED the blues and turned out LOVING them. People say the sound isn’t too different between them, but the tactility does change the sound profile. They’re pretty loud compared to the yellows, but I guess neither are classified as silent switches…
@@geeker9545The blues force you to press down the key all the way down with every press (or at least, as deep as the tactile bump is noticeable), thus making subtle typing quite difficult whereas on the yellows you would have an easier time, since they don’t have that bump.
@@Rayu25Demon this is probably true for most people, but for me to type my max 140+WPM i have to use linear switch keys, membrane or laptop keyboards just cant keep up with me it seems. also having a keyboard that you personally enjoy the feel and sound of, is a pretty nice addition.
@@Rayu25Demon I feel differently. A membrane key works well enough, but I personally prefer a mechanical because of the way it feels while typing. And having specific actuation points means my sloppy hands (and typing) can actually hit a letter I normally would have missed be cause I barely tapped it. It's enough to actuate a mechanical, but wouldn't be enough to depress a membrane. Unless it's a very soft membrane... I know some make them softer for easier depresses. Now, "worth the price"? That's a whole other convo, as most probably are not. So I agree with you there, for the most part. I have a K70 RGB MK.2, and I love this keyboard. But it was not worth the $150 I spent at the time.
@@Rayu25Demon TBH I buy them for typing. The only advantage they confer for gaming is really that they'll reliably last 10 years. a membrane board if it ever happens to hit the dew point in your room has weeks to live. Humidity will end a membrane. A mechanical gaming keyboard is more likely to fail because you broke a solder joint with brute force lol
@@cooleyzz after buying and reselling many keyboards, i ended up with fullsize ANSI keyboard that has cherry MX silent red, is basically a mechanical switch with Rubber 🤣i realy missed the rubber feeling of my old cheap keyboards and controllers now its hard for to switch for another one
I think its pretty good to do videos like this every couple years. Refresher for veterans (who can chime in) and gets newer folks informed on what to look for in their peripherals. Tech changes so fast that if you aren't an enthusiast you just fall out of touch with what you might actually be looking for but get something that sounds familiar. Appreciate the vid to give me something to jump off of and look into getting a keyboard to suit my preferences.
So, just to help out a little, the Cherry Profile actually refers to the height and shape of the keycaps, the "cross" is the MX Style of keycap. You were really close on this, but I didn't want people to get confused. The "doing" noise can be fixed if you pop the switch itself open and use some lube on the sides and a little on the ends of the spring (or a lighter lube on the whole spring). There's also Hall Effect switch keyboards and this is the real gamer keyboard. It has even more adjustability on the actuation. The famous one is the Wooting60 and the new comer with a great HE keyboard is the Zoom75 HE keyboard. You may wanna look into that in comparison to Optical.
I was just wondering about it, thanks. I remember the praise by competitive FPS players for Wooting, and was wondering if anyone else came out with another good HE / analogue keyboard, especially would be nice if it was closer to 100 EUR than to 200 like Wooting and Zoom are.
They already ran a Kickstarter for the Q1 HE, but that's going to be over that 200 dollar mark... the Akko MOD007b HE is only 139 for the PC edition. Now that they're starting to release Akko compatible HE switches (which are different from the Wooting and some other keyboards, like the Keychron for instance) they're also going to be making a NEO HE PCB for the NEO65 (which I am waiting on since i have the keybaord already)@@SelecaoOfMidas
Reminder that hall effect keyboards have been around since the 1960s as well (Micro Switch [now owned by Honeywell I think] was a massive producer of such switches). They generally have lifetimes that far exceed that of mechanical switch (sometimes in the billions, vs 50-100 million for cherry style switches). Hence, hall effect keyboards have traditionally been used in areas where it is mission critical that the switch will work.
I got into the keyboard hobby a few months ago and I have learned so much. To the point where I have built three custom keyboards so far. There is an endless combination of switches, keycaps, stabilizers and so on. What I really love about this hobby is that no two keyboards are the same, since we all combine different switches, keycaps, keyboard cases ect. Not only do they all look different, they all sound and feel different as well. And that is very satisfying. They are kinda like custom PCs. Sure they all have the same basic components, but you will never see two custom PCs that are exactly alike. I used to be like Jay and thought that I could never use anything but a full size keyboard. But when I got into the hobby, I built a 65% keyboard (no F row and no number pad on the right side), but it still has the arrow keys and I loved it. I realized that I never, ever use the F keys and I only use the number pad when I have to word in Excel. So when I am not working, the 65% board works just fine for me. I hope that more people look into custom keyboards. There are so a many other boards out there that are better and even cheaper than the traditional pre-built keybords from gaming companies.
Get to the point you can see the FEEL of a switch by looking at it's graph? There is a switch I would love to use made by KAILH: Box Royal Navy. It's B-shaped rather than P-shape tactile feel. Problem? The switch wears out quickly - like months or weeks and turns into a liner. :( I find AKKO switches to be quite good. Not as scratchy as Kailah, good price and packaging. About $16 for 45 switches.
Coming from years deep in the custom keyboard hobby i can only say a few things: 1. Inform yourself well, don't buy these "gamer" oriented brands and boards. You will not get the value and quality you'd want. 2. It's all preference and you will only know by trying and testing yourself - Don't let anyone talk down on your likes. 3. Don't be surprised by prices, it's a luxury goods hobby
Gotta especially agree with #2, and also add a fourth. 🙂 If you're looking around online, a lot of people don't think much of the more "clicky" switches (like MX Blues, for example). They immediately became my favorite when actually trying them, though. With a catch (here's my #4 🙂 ): I have a computer completely setup for writing, from the ground up. For that, clicky switches were my absolute favorite. But I also have a gaming machine. On that one, I still love the more tactile switches (with a "bump" in the feel as you press down), but I don't want the clicking as I'm talking through my mic. So I'd say a 4th point is that depending on your use-case, you might find one thing works great for one thing you do, but a different thing is best for something else.
Well, 1 is not entirely true there are some good brands that make good products for gamers such as Corsair or the mouse I have from MSI, good products come at a higher price point but my K100 is worth the price, my MSI mouse wasn't that expensive but it is the most comfortable mouse that I had since I can remember using mice, and I have been a gamer since the age of 5.
@@leagueaddict8357to be that guy, just because the K100 isn't bad, doesn't mean it's good. If it's been a bit since you last looked into keyboards you can get pretty good keyboards with hot-swappable switches for under $100. That means for the price of the K100 you can also get a different set of keycaps and switches to suit your preferences (and probably still have money left over). Mice are a different story and is not what we're talking about.
@@BelacDarkstorm Well, I got it a while ago and it is working well the K100 is a good keyboard, you don't want it to be I don't know why but it is that is just a fact, even after 3 years it still is a good keyboard. I have no intend on swapping them out they feel good, they are responsive they are fast I get feedback, not a single key is damaged after 3 years of being used a lot, and it has a polling rate of 8000hz which is 8 times faster than most keyboards out there.
@@leagueaddict8357As I said, it's not necessarily a bad keyboard, but $250 is A LOT for a keyboard in today's market. I can say with a decent amount of confidence that a lot of $100 boards on Amazon have more features that matter (hot-swap; 2.4ghz wireless) and feel better to type on (most mechanical keyboard switches come pre-lubed anymore). Unless you are a very high level professional gamer, 8khz is doing nothing but eating your CPU cycles.
@@ChrisJames024 Yeah... the heydays of keycult are more less over... still good keyboards though. But KBDfans, Wind, Keychron and alike are still pretty active designers of keyboards.
Well, as far as Wind, Daring Running is their sub company (Like NEO is to Qwertykeys, which is in turn to OwlLabs, LOL) and I am waiting for my DR-70F which looks pretty good.@@QoraxAudio
I love my G915, as well. The low profile switches and keycaps are a massive plus for me personally as I have early onset arthritis and it allows for a much more comfortable feel as opposed to full size switches and keycaps with less inclination in the wrist and less bending of the knuckles.
Good video, pretty good info for beginners. Something to note, with mechanical keyboards, if you want to adjust your actuation point you can, you just have to swap out different switches. "Speed" switches generally have a 1-1.2 mm actuation point, standard switches have actuation at 2 mm, and there are various in betweens. You can also get switches with shorter or longer travel, the standard is 4mm while there are short-travel switches with around 3mm travel, and again all types in between. If being able to change actuation point is truly important to someone, though, I'd suggest Hall-effect magnetic switches.
I used Logitech for years, loved them, but I bought a SteelSeries Apex Pro a couple years ago and the key feel has been a life changer. The magnetic key switches are smooth and you can adjust the activation distance can be adjusted on a per key basis. Basically, analog keys. The LCD screen built in has been fun as well.
Given that Jay mentioned the Logitech G915, I just wanted to say my job requires me to literally type ALL day, and my keyboard for close to 3 years now has been a refurbished G915. I absolutely love the feel of it and it doesn't hurt my hands at all to type. In fact, it's the opposite and has been the best keyboard I've ever used in terms of hand cramps. 10/10 would recommend!
@@Gnrnrvids I have a k845. It is fine and has through key lights for the secondary's on the numbers and main keys, but is missing that for the 'F' keys. Compared to my last keyboard I miss the dedicated macro keys, per key rgb, context based lighting, usb hub, detachable cable, and enough structure and mass to double as an emergency defense weapon.
Same! They are very pricy here in India because they’re imported (they don’t even sell them here) so I had my cousin get it for me from Canada. I’m no keyboard expert but I wanted a premium mainstream keyboard and I really love it ❤
What a great video to lay out the basics of Keyboards as a single place to get a good idea what all of the different 'specs' are for getting a new keyboard. Thanks.
Something I’ve learned is that stabilizers make a huge difference! I’ve only used a couple different mechanical keyboards: I started with a ducky one 2 SF, and ended with a Dygma raise, and both have been phenomenal (but don’t get me started on the Raise not coming with the tenting kit, and being sold out on their website… It’s literally the reason for the name of the product). In the middle, I built my own GMMK Pro. I absolutely love the switch and keycap combo that I came up with, and the board is overall amazing… Except for the fact that the stock stabilizers literally make it garbage. When the keys are depressed, they stick, and sometimes take a few seconds to release. I know it’s just a matter of stock lube, being too heavy, but it seriously destroys the entire typing experience. I can’t believe that they would’ve even shipped boards like that, or not had a recall. Took such an amazing product, and now I just hang it on my wall because I can’t stand using it.
I bought a RK87 with brown switches and it's pretty decent. Perfect sized TKL and it's kinda heavy but that's perfect for me cause its main purpose is on my lap while gaming on the couch.
If you have doubleshot keycaps, then shinethrough will not be an issue. And doubleshot does not mean thicker necessarily. Doubleshot means that 2 different colors of plastic are used (one for the legend, and one for the rest of the keycap. The letters go through the keycaps entirely so it is not possible to wear off the legends unless you wear through the entire keycap (which you will not do). You might be confusing it with shine, which is when you slightly wear the texture of the keycap off so the keycaps become shiny, but the legend is still clearly visible with no light bleed. Keycaps that have lightbleed are not doubleshot. They are transparent keycaps that are painted (black usually) except for where the letter is. once you wear through the paint layer, then it will have lightbleed.
took my kid to best buy to try out as many as he could. of course he picked out the steelseries apex pro tkl, lol. it's crazy how you can program the actuation of the keys, the color of each individual key. it's nice, but i think he just liked the way it felt in the store and the rgb, he's 12. i have an old cherry mx brown logitech with white lights on the keys that can be turned off entirely, love the way the browns feel.
Hello @jayztwocents another important parameter for a keyboard is the max number of simultaneous key pressed: the PCB can, sometime, be unable to handle some combinations, or more than a specific number of simultaneously pressed keys (usually noticed using Alt + shift + ctrl) Some IDE use such combinations, I think for programmers and enthusiast this information might be usefull. Love from Italy
You'll never get me to give up my Das Keyboard 4 Ultimate. It is completely blacked out, no markings, no RGB, fantastic switches. It is just _chef's kiss_ perfection. I've had it since October of 2020 and I'm a writer. I spend 8 to 10 hours a day typing. I'll then use it for a few hours gaming. I also love it because no one can use my computer because it's blank and I'm the only person I know that touch types. It is an awesome deterent for my niece and nephew to keep them off my computer. They don't know where any of the letters are. There is a smooth spot on the right side of my spacebar where my right thumb hits it. Speaking of which, I've been meaning to email them to see if they can sell me just a new spacebar. Their customer service is awesome. I absolutely love it and will never buy a keyboard from anyone else.
I have an EVGA Z12. It was $20 on sale and is perfect for me. I am also the last person to talk to for special keyboards. I am a light-touch typist and learned on actual typewriters. I don't wear out keyboards, I have a nearly 20-year-old Microsoft Internet keyboard in the closet that is still 100% and I only had to replace it because of size and space issues on the desk.
You know, the EVGA Z15 is an awesome gateway keyboard, it's a full sized keyboard with hot-swappable Kailh Speed Silver (Linear) or Kailh Speed Bronze. It's got a 10,000Hz polling rate, per key RGB (which is compatible with SignalRGB out of the box), a magnetic wrist rest, and can often be found on sale for around 50 to 75 dollars (or less on eBay). It has some flaws, like an integrated aluminum plate and those weird non-hot swap switch media keys. But I recommend it to someone who just wants something more mainstream that won't break the bank and gets you int he door of the keyboard hobby.
@@ChrisJames024 I got my Z15 for $40 bucks and I would daresay it is comparable to alot of the corsair, etc $100+ gaming keyboards and has pretty much all of the same features as those pricey-er gaming keyboards. I'm a big fanboy for EVGA, and am deeply saddened that there will be no more video cards from them. Guess my next video card will be Intel....amd is out of the question
I grabbed a steel series pro Tkl. I love that I can customize the key sensitivity individually. Down to .1mm or up to 4mm. Very nice to play around with.
HE switches are awesome. I've been torn to order one of the new wave of keebs just to play with them. my layout is a bit weird frl-1800, so it may be a minute before I get one I stick with
@@CaptainCoel the wooting two HE is probably your best bet at the moment but it has the function keys at the top and is basically just a full size HE keyboard. i really love the new 75% layouts that are coming out. I ended up getting the CYBER 01 by Melgeek and have been loving it so far. Way better than my corsair K63
1:30 forté? I'm pretty sure he meant FORAY. I'm more of a mechanical keyboard user myself, always appreciated the clack noise they make (even from years ago before mechanical keyboards were a specialty item).
Thank you I've been actually wanting to learn more about keyboards, I've got a reddragon keyboard $30 been using it for 3 years spilled on it soda and water more than 4 times, and it's still working great and sounds great and feels great, some people think more money means better which isn't work, but you can get great keyboards for a reasonable price
The kicker is you're not really getting better quality buying a Corsair or whatever typical name brand. The keycaps are not better and for the most part they're generally still not hotswap so what are you even getting for an extra $100? RGB integration? That's a nah from me. There's real decent keyboards around in the $130 range that trash most mainstream stuff.
Yeah you can get keyboards for a reasonable price these days for sure, Leobog, Rainy75 are great budget keyboards that look, sound and feel great. But a reddragon is just not it 😅Its best value is probably that it's a $30 keyboard, but saying it "sounds great" just makes it so apparent you've never ever heard a keyboard that *actually* sounds great. But ignorance is bliss I guess. Better to not be poisoned by actual quality that sends you down a rabbit hole of non-stop buying and exploring 😆
@@fuckERLa bruh? Attacking me for a keyboard i know what a good keyboard sounds like and it is subjective if you want to hear how it sounds I have no problem showing you, i know it's not a great quality keyboard but to me quality means durability and to me spending 30$ on a keyboard i use no less than 5 hours a day for 3 years+ and have spilled sodas and drinks on multiple times and it still works and looks great and SOUNDS GREAT too if that's ignorance than i am blessied to be ignorant a keyboard is not worth more than 100$ i spend money on actually good hardware like GPU/s and CPU's RAM etc.
I just wanted to shoutout all you pc building/ gaming TH-cam channels for inspiring me to take a leap and build my own rig. It is one of the most satisfying things I've ever done and this year was the year to be able to afford it. So thank you 😌
I still use an old Steelseries Merc Stealth gaming keyboard. Bought one in 2009, and bought a spare in 2010...still have both and will never replace until they both no longer work.
I got my first keyboard that has hot swappable switches, the Keychron Q5 Pro. It's so cool to be able to swap out switches until you find your favorite, rather than buying a whole new keyboard every time you want to try a different switch. Worth the extra price IMO.
I was getting a new keyboard every couple months and got a Yunzii 87 key keyboard 3 years ago and I haven't looked at keyboards since. It does exactly what I want. Go to a computer store, pick out a switch type you like, get the keyboard format you like, and buy a good keyboard with the features you need. Unless you spill something on it, it will last you a very long time
I recently watched your video on your health. I'm sorry your going through this and wanted to share good wishes. I hope you get some improvement. We're all rooting for you! I know your concerned about the channel, but I support whatever you decide and whats in your best interest. I personally have no concerns about who faces the channel.
Thanks, nice discussion. One factor not mentioned is feedback. I chose my keyboard (Corsair K70 mk2) in part because it was available with Cherry MX Brown switches that feature a tactile bump when typing. I tried a K68 with linear Red switches (no feedback bump) and it was nice for gaming but horrible for typing. Of course I grew up on IBM PC keyboards and they featured that tactile bump.
I think a good way to approach keyboard reviews, isn’t just the type of switches used, but also talking about the difference between wireless or wired (does it have a USB slot availability impact with various cases and motherboard setups?). Can you use compressed air for ease of cleaning keyboards? Are keyboards compatible with Windows (all versions or some), how how Linux (all distros or some?), MacOS or iOS, how about Android? Longevity of various keyboard brands? Customization (do you need special keyboard accessories for music making, volume setting, visual mixing?) Do any keyboard brands have any proprietary softwares or is it open source with brands being more of an aesthetic choice hardware wise? There’s a lot of layman stuff to cover here Jay. Please do once in a while, or provide us a youtuber who does this already. What about keyboard ergonomic accessories for wrist support? What about the disabled community that help them use keyboards in some way? Lot of sponsorship you could chase down too.
I'm one of those peons who prefers a $50 membrane keyboard to a mechanical any day of the week. I prefer the softer strokes and especially the quietness of a membrane over a mechanical. I've tried many supposedly "silent" mechanical keyboards with all kinds of silent switches, mx brown, mx cherry, etc., and all are just too loud and clicky for me. The Cherry Stream and the Steelseries Apex 3 are amazingly quiet and still built quite well, they keep me quite happy since my k740 died, and kept my wallet happy as well. I know many enjoy mechanical keyboards, and that's great for those who do, but I will happily go with my membrane keyboards for the foreseeable future. Also, anyone who thinks a well-built membrane keyboard is any worse in a video game vs a mechanical is crazy. People act like their skills are high enough that the milliseconds of difference in a button press is key enough to cause them to win or lose. I promise that you could buy the most expensive, responsive peripherals on the market, and a player like Shroud would still beat you every time even if he was using a $5 laptop mouse and a $10 Walmart keyboard lol. At a certain point, there are severe diminishing returns for peripherals, and as far as I am concerned any more than $75 on a keyboard or mouse is unnecessary, unless you just like collecting and making nice expensive peripherals. But they certainly aren't necessary for gaming or anything, not nearly as much as people make them out to be.
Same here for membranes. Having used both now, I can say I prefer membranes for the same reasons. I like the super quiet operation and the softer feel of the keys is just much nicer to me. I do have a K70 mechanical keyboard I've been using over the past 3 years with the low profile speed silver keys as part of my mechanical experiment I took on 3 years ago. It's alright, I do also like it, but I have to say I do sometimes still think of cutting my losses on it and just picking up a nice membrane keyboard sometimes.
Jay, I like my G915 Wireless (Tactile) also. Was wondering if you might know where to get replacement keys. Keep up the awesome work and great videos :D
Funny you would release this as I've been on a 3 day custom keyboard research binge. I'm leaning towards skipping the big brands and looking at Epomaker, Aula, Royal Kludge, Yunzii, or Cidoo. I just want a well aligned 75% with a knob and backlighting. 😊
I changed to my first optical keyboard this year (Steelseries Apex Pro) and oh boy, i don't like to type on any "normal" keyboard anymore! It's just about the feeling, i can't describe what it is but it feels so much better on an optical keyboard! Thanks for this video Jay :)
Apex pro is not Optical, they use magnetic switches with the Hall Effect instead of a lazer in the Optical. That's why you can adjust the activation point even more then on the optical switches and use the rapid trigger effect.
@@simonbromsaxelsson7064 I don't know why my answer didn't show up, i already "answered" to you. I'll try again: Thanks for the clearification, i am not that much into the Keyboard theory but i hope I will be soon :)
I love my G815. I've bought like 3 of them so far (all renewed, you can save a lot of money) One for my gf, one for home, and one for work. What I hate about traditional mechanical keyboards is that the keys feel too chunky. My main complaint is that the keyboard is hard to clean but as long as you have a toothbrush you are good.
Awesome that this exists, I've just completed my first PC build, and right now I'm looking at peripherals. I've got a nice Logitech MX Anywhere 3 for Mac mouse, that I've been using for the last 4 years, and I know what kind of extra monitor that I would like to purchase, but I'm still debating on what kind of mechanical keyboard I want for my daily driver. I do a lot of programming and writing for my job but I also use my computer for gaming. Right now, I'm using a borrowed Apple membrane keyboard, from the mid 2000s, and I find that I often create typos. This is because I really need to slam the keys down, otherwise it doesn't register the key press and I'm starting to notice that it's causing me some typing fatigue. Before this, I was using the built in keyboard for my Lenovo Ideapad 5, but those keys bottom out so easily it's like I'm just slamming my fingers on the desktop, and I really don't like how small the arrow keys are. I was looking at a Keychron K10 Pro, or K4 Pro, but then I learned that apparently Keychron have terrible customer service, they don't sell the K10 Pro or K4 Pro keyboards in any Canadian retail stores, and I refuse to buy anything from Amazon, so that's kind of a deal breaker for me. But, given I've heard some good things about Logitech's mechanical keyboards, and now the NZXT Function, I'll definitely be considering those options. I definitely wouldn't be opposed to seeing you make some videos about different peripherals, especially keyboards since they're way more complicated than they used to be. Thanks for the video Jayz!
I personally am kind of a keyboard snob who built my keyboard and I generally don't regret spending that money and effort on doing so. I found that my sweet spot is something heavier than average - 55g for linears (Akko Jelly Black), 67g for tactiles (Durock T1 Clears), the sound these produce is very pleasing and the feel is awesome. By going to mechanical keyboard I learned to type without even looking at my keys. Previously on a membrane keyboard it was ridiculous.
I learned to type without looking on cheap plastic over membrane keyboards (without rubber domes that comes with almost every modern cheap keyboard) and used regularly almost every kind of computer keyboard made since the 1980's. I honestly can't see why anyone can't learn how to properly type on any keyboard. Period. Thats too snob even for snobs. OTOH, good switches have very little to no wiggle at all. THIS annoy the crap out of me on any keyboard. For this reason (and only this reason) I got an "cheap" "gaming keyboard" with replaceable switchs and slapped some good quality switches (Glorious Pandas, I'm into tactile but not clicky switches and linears kinda annoy me as well) and even with all the additional noise I'm noticeably happier.
@@SVW1976 I started out with a Royal Kludge RK 84. It's a cheaper "entry level" Chinese made board that actually pretty good quality, and the brand most other cheaper crap Chinese boards copy to make their boards. A lot of the enthusiast group with a ton of expendable money will tell you to go with something else, but if you just want a place to start that will feel and sound good after all the mods that won't break the bank then RK boards are the way to go imo.
@@SVW1976keychron is well-regarded, as are the Glorious boards. The KBD fans boards and the Novelkeyz boards are also pretty friendly and a little easier on the budget
Was honestly hoping that you'd surprised us with a custom keeb but this is still a good coverage from the gaming brands with their mech keeb offerings.
Milky yellows on polycarbonate is so underrated. I highly recommend trying out gateron oil kings in the gmk67, i have some in a gmk87 and it sounds fantastic
This was great to watch, I've been wanting to get a new keyboard and mouse for a few months now as they are pretty basic and starting to wear down after a few years. So NZXTs entries make me consider them now for a 100% full keyboard, probably an optical one.
I just found an old but newer keyboard that allows for all the custom keys, so this is perfect timing, love the break downs from a consumer point of view.
Used to play on mainstream gaming keyboards for all my time.. then i bought my first wooting and it just feels so much nicer. Also its worth hand lubing the switches.
Personal preference is mostly correct: reliability and longevity of the hardware is very important as well. For example: who makes the clickers in the mouse matters a lot. I bought a Logitech G500 in 2010 when the clickers were still made in Japan and it lasted until 2022 before one of the buttons finally needed to be replaced. I bought a G500 hero to try out and the right click started having issues less than two years into owning it. I did hate the lit gaming keyboard until I got one and realized it actually helps a lot with interfacing the keyboard--I only ever use the zone lighting.
I used to be like you where I could never see myself using a tkl or smaller keyboard as I loved (and still do love) the numpad. That being said, for gaming, I think a 75% is the perfect size. My first foray was a Asus ROG Falchion, but the lack of the F-row on a 65% was a constant annoyance. I now have the Azoth with some custom caps and love it. Plan on changing the switches, but still haven't decided on which ones to go with.
I am like Jay I use a logitech g915 wireless keyboard I don't know why people seem to hate it if they do it is a great keyboard especially when you have a 48 inch 4k 120hz OLED panel sitting up close isn't all that comfortable I am very happy with my keyboard and the feature set it comes with.
Excellent explanations for all this stuff as always. I have delved into the keyboard stuff and did a handful of mods to keyboards that I like using for different things but it definitely gets complex.
I've been gaming for about 15 years now, used quite some different keyboards both mechanical and non mechanical but ended up to use a Logitech Ergonomic keyboard in the end. I originally had to use it for work for health reasons and therefore also used it for gaming since back then it was the same desk, took me a few days to get used to but I'll be honest I never want to go back, mechanical keyboards have their advantages but the flat ergo keyboard literally does everything I need and helps my hands too
My preference has always been a split ergonomic keyboard. I used the Microsoft Keyboard 4000 for years until they were discontinued. ( A keyboard would last until I spilled something on it, anywhere from 1 to 5 years. I used to have several on the shelf.) I like the optical explanation. I am unsure how it handles coffee, but with the moving part being replaceable, I may get even longer use out of my keyboard.
Nice coincidence seeing this release today. A friend and I were talking about keyboards; they were completely in the dark about various attributes and I was able to point her toward this. Conversation came up because I started talking about how I'm keyboard shopping. My Roccat Vulcan 100 is dying, so I'm looking for something similar with better longevity.
It's always interesting as a diehard keyboard nerd to see how the mainstream tech channels portray mechanical keyboards, and I hadn't seen one in a while, not since Linus' attempt to make one. Couple things I would like to note: Foam does not always equal better, it just makes it so that you can hide bad sounds if a keyboard isn't built that well. In an ideal world, keyboards would need minimal accessories, if any at all to be stuffed inside to cause a non-zero chance of a fire hazard. Some people like the foam sounds, and that's fine, but they should know that they are not hearing the keyboard anymore, they're hearing foam. Opticals also typically don't come like this where they have multiple infrared sensors, that looks like a first for me which is interesting, but typically only Hall Effect switches like the Wooting, Steelseries Apex Pro line, and so many more, have a truly modular system for actuation distance because of their analog nature. Seeing the switch puller go east-west instead of north-south to press in the clips of the switch hurt a bit, though. Please don't pull them east-west lest you break the switch. East-West should only be for if you are pulling the top half of the switch to do some old-school modding, which requires a plate specifically cut to do that.
@tFraz Foams are flammable or melt, sometimes both. It's a very minute chance, but a non-zero one regardless. I've seen my fair share of batteries that die and take other things because of the foam, or got messed up as a result of too much foam. It's a design consideration in some of the customs that rely on foam, too. Very rare circumstance a diode or fuse busts from an overcurrent and wrecks the MCU and takes other things with it, too.
Yeah I use Kensington Pro Fit Wireless Media Desktop Set with Keyboard and Mouse because I do music production and I need the media keys to hit play/Pause. Stop, Forward, backwards. I'm sure there's a better one out there.
I'm a big fan of my basic mechanical keyboards not in the market for another, but this was a good watch... learned some things and why people want to build super custom ones.
I've been using a Corsair K70 for so long I can't remember when I bought it. It has not moved an inch. Everything feels and looks like brand new. The only thing I can see is that maybe the keys I use most a maybe a little bit shinier/polished than the rest, but it is near unnoticeable.
About to build my new rig and was researching keyboards and mice. I was going to get the Logitech G915 LIGHTSPEED and Logitech G502 X Plus Lightspeed Wireless as I've never had any problems with Logitech but I decided to look around, especially when I realized that the G15 is almost 5 years old, yet costing $200 US on sale. This video definitely came in handy.
I just have a $40 mechanical keyboard from Amazon with per-key RGB that works with OpenRGB. Works great. Coworker has a Corsair keyboard that quit working one day. After some research, I discovered the KB has its own BIOS that had to be reset. Kinda blew my mind that a keyboard, of all things, would have a BIOS and its own advanced firmware.
To anyone watching this: hall effect sensor for fps games. Now there are plenty out there, and probably any with rapid trigger will do. The original was wooting60he, look it up. Rest of the kbd market is pretty much the same; when it comes to gaming.
I'd be interested to see you do some reviews on Redragon's gaming keyboards. I got one a couple years ago and the only time I started having issues, was when some dust or cat hair had made its way into a switch causing it not to register key strokes. Pulled the key off, switch and did some thorough cleaning and now it works flawlessly again. Would be interested to get your thoughts on their products.
I've been using their K582RGB V2 keyboard for a few months now and have had no issues with it. I've used their M686 mouse for a few years now and it's still working great.
I'd definitely be up for more of this kind of content. I built a PC about a year ago for the first time (with a lot of help from this channel!) and a friend helped me with what to buy as time was an issue, so I'm always finding I'm a little bit lost when it comes to this type of stuff. When it comes time to upgrade/replace stuff, this kind of content is invaluable. I've also been wanting to write you an email to ask if you'd do a noobs video about best practices with storage set ups. I've got two 1TB NVME drives on the motherboard but I'm actually a digital artist more than a gamer, so storing all my .psd's and .blend files along with Steam eating up all my space meant I had to move steam onto an external SSD (it's all I had available - pretty broke RN). Works fine for now, but should I just get a cheap massive HDD for storage, or are they now totally obsolete, and would it make more sense to put games or art stuff on it or an SSD equivalent? Also my OS is on the slower of the two NVME's because that was the one I had originally, but does it matter, is it movable, is that a risk just not worth taking for the performance gains it may or may not bring... All the questions haha! Love your content. You are my go to for all things computer related. Hope things are going ok with your health stuff also.
What Jay said about keyboards being a personal thing is very true. I've been using a Roccat Ryos MK Pro with Cherry MX Blue switches since I built this PC nearly a full ten years ago (May 2014). Before I bought this keyboard, I went to my local computer store and they had keyboards with various switch types and allowed me to try them out at the store to see how they feel, so I could decide what kind of switches I wanted for my keyboard. There are a lot of components - and other items - that people have a tendency to buy based just on reviews and nothing else, but keyboards - specifically because of switches - are one of those things that you should at least try out to see if they're what you want or not. If there is a major computer chain near you - such as Micro Center in the USA or Canada Computers in Canada - they tend to have enough variety of stock that it's not unreasonable for you to be able to go in and ask to try them out. (Also, this PC is very much a PC of Theseus these days, as all that remains of the original thus far are the keyboard, the SSD, and the registration code for installing Windows...)
Switches have come a long way since then and you would be amazed how many options there are and how much better they can sound and feel than even quality old switches!
@@802GarageOh I'm aware. My point is that testing out switches to find the kind you like is much better than just going by whatever ones various websites say you might enjoy because, as Jay said, it's all personal preference.
Really liked this video Jay. Have seen your content for many, many, years and have always enjoyed your content. Your skunkworks videos inspired me to build my first watercooled pc in a TT Tower 900 case and two loops. It took me three years to build it, between 2017 and 2020. It was so much fun, 😅. Thanks for your inspiration.
Keyboards are a rabbit hole that I’m not sure 90% of people need to even venture down. 😂 it’s so much. All the switches and keycaps, different boards, hot swap etc. but it’s super fun to build your own.
I have the same keyboard since 2014, an old logitech with membrane, as much as i like the sound of mechanical ones i never found the need to get one, regardless of how much membrane starts to become ''sticky'' and ''pushes back'' after a while. Now if i gamed competitively i think a mechanical one would be a must.
Hi- not sure If I missed it in the video or if it was previously commented on - but please make sure your keyboard is “hotswapable” before you try pulling switches out of your board. Some boards this isn’t an option.
You are awesome Jay! Thank you for this great video. Perfect idea for a vid. I learned a lot as always. Your presence on camera is amazing! Wishing you and your family and crew the very best. Cheers
My issue with keyboards are, there are so many different kinds of switches, that there is really no way to tell if you like it or not without buying a keyboard first. Thankfully you can get a good quality mechanical keyboard pretty cheap now. I just picked up an AOC keyboard from Newegg from a group buy, for like 20 bucks, with cherry MX blue switches, and it feels just like my old favorite keyboard, my g skill Ripjaws KM780. I also enjoyed The Patriot viper keyboard with khail box white switches, as well as EVGA's K20 with the clicky optical switches.
![[UNCUT] The Loyal Pin ปิ่นภักดิ์ EP.4 (4/4)](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/d3l5rxl5CVo/mqdefault.jpg)
Hey man! There are a lot of Keyboard creators out there, feel free to reach out to any of us if you need additional info on them!
There's a lot of keyboards out there and NZXT is a start, but definitely not the end!
Nice to see you here! And it's great to provide additional info to Jayz on the topic!
I am buying my first mechanical hot-swappable keyboard, not the most expensive one and your channel helped me with it. I am going for Akko Monsgeek MG108B with Akko V3 Pro Cream Yellow switches, but I had a hard time (and partially still have) to decide if I should not order Akko V3 Pro Cream Blue switches instead...
Have you got some recommendation out of your rich experiences when it comes to deciding between these two switches?
They’re not even scratching the surface, keyboard king!
(By the way, Hipyo, your arms are really skinny!)
@@geeker9545I was going to buy the cream yellows, BUT ACCIDENTALLY ORDERED the blues and turned out LOVING them.
People say the sound isn’t too different between them, but the tactility does change the sound profile. They’re pretty loud compared to the yellows, but I guess neither are classified as silent switches…
@@geeker9545The blues force you to press down the key all the way down with every press (or at least, as deep as the tactile bump is noticeable), thus making subtle typing quite difficult whereas on the yellows you would have an easier time, since they don’t have that bump.
@@geeker9545If you’re uncertain about which you would enjoy the most, you purchase them and then return them if you don’t like them…?
I’ve been into PC gaming for 30 years now. Never understood all the keyboard lingo. This was much appreciated. Thanks Jay!
as a person who is buying expensive keyboards they are not worth the price a membrane keyboard can do the job.
i just like them for the keycaps look
@@Rayu25Demon this is probably true for most people, but for me to type my max 140+WPM i have to use linear switch keys, membrane or laptop keyboards just cant keep up with me it seems. also having a keyboard that you personally enjoy the feel and sound of, is a pretty nice addition.
@@Rayu25Demon I feel differently. A membrane key works well enough, but I personally prefer a mechanical because of the way it feels while typing. And having specific actuation points means my sloppy hands (and typing) can actually hit a letter I normally would have missed be cause I barely tapped it. It's enough to actuate a mechanical, but wouldn't be enough to depress a membrane. Unless it's a very soft membrane... I know some make them softer for easier depresses. Now, "worth the price"? That's a whole other convo, as most probably are not. So I agree with you there, for the most part. I have a K70 RGB MK.2, and I love this keyboard. But it was not worth the $150 I spent at the time.
@@Rayu25Demon TBH I buy them for typing. The only advantage they confer for gaming is really that they'll reliably last 10 years.
a membrane board if it ever happens to hit the dew point in your room has weeks to live.
Humidity will end a membrane. A mechanical gaming keyboard is more likely to fail because you broke a solder joint with brute force lol
@@cooleyzz after buying and reselling many keyboards, i ended up with fullsize ANSI keyboard that has cherry MX silent red, is basically a mechanical switch with Rubber 🤣i realy missed the rubber feeling of my old cheap keyboards and controllers
now its hard for to switch for another one
I think its pretty good to do videos like this every couple years. Refresher for veterans (who can chime in) and gets newer folks informed on what to look for in their peripherals. Tech changes so fast that if you aren't an enthusiast you just fall out of touch with what you might actually be looking for but get something that sounds familiar. Appreciate the vid to give me something to jump off of and look into getting a keyboard to suit my preferences.
So, just to help out a little, the Cherry Profile actually refers to the height and shape of the keycaps, the "cross" is the MX Style of keycap. You were really close on this, but I didn't want people to get confused.
The "doing" noise can be fixed if you pop the switch itself open and use some lube on the sides and a little on the ends of the spring (or a lighter lube on the whole spring).
There's also Hall Effect switch keyboards and this is the real gamer keyboard. It has even more adjustability on the actuation. The famous one is the Wooting60 and the new comer with a great HE keyboard is the Zoom75 HE keyboard. You may wanna look into that in comparison to Optical.
I was just wondering about it, thanks. I remember the praise by competitive FPS players for Wooting, and was wondering if anyone else came out with another good HE / analogue keyboard, especially would be nice if it was closer to 100 EUR than to 200 like Wooting and Zoom are.
There are several more options at varying proces, look at the Akko MOD007b HE which is a less costly alternative.@@_APV_
Keychron is also working on a Hall Effect keyboard. Still only has a mailing list for updates at the moment.
They already ran a Kickstarter for the Q1 HE, but that's going to be over that 200 dollar mark... the Akko MOD007b HE is only 139 for the PC edition. Now that they're starting to release Akko compatible HE switches (which are different from the Wooting and some other keyboards, like the Keychron for instance) they're also going to be making a NEO HE PCB for the NEO65 (which I am waiting on since i have the keybaord already)@@SelecaoOfMidas
Reminder that hall effect keyboards have been around since the 1960s as well (Micro Switch [now owned by Honeywell I think] was a massive producer of such switches). They generally have lifetimes that far exceed that of mechanical switch (sometimes in the billions, vs 50-100 million for cherry style switches). Hence, hall effect keyboards have traditionally been used in areas where it is mission critical that the switch will work.
I got into the keyboard hobby a few months ago and I have learned so much. To the point where I have built three custom keyboards so far. There is an endless combination of switches, keycaps, stabilizers and so on. What I really love about this hobby is that no two keyboards are the same, since we all combine different switches, keycaps, keyboard cases ect. Not only do they all look different, they all sound and feel different as well. And that is very satisfying. They are kinda like custom PCs. Sure they all have the same basic components, but you will never see two custom PCs that are exactly alike. I used to be like Jay and thought that I could never use anything but a full size keyboard. But when I got into the hobby, I built a 65% keyboard (no F row and no number pad on the right side), but it still has the arrow keys and I loved it. I realized that I never, ever use the F keys and I only use the number pad when I have to word in Excel. So when I am not working, the 65% board works just fine for me. I hope that more people look into custom keyboards. There are so a many other boards out there that are better and even cheaper than the traditional pre-built keybords from gaming companies.
Have you built a split columnar one yet? Or just try something like a Dygma Rise, Moonlander, Zsa Voyager,.... for another thing to customize.
Get to the point you can see the FEEL of a switch by looking at it's graph? There is a switch I would love to use made by KAILH: Box Royal Navy. It's B-shaped rather than P-shape tactile feel. Problem? The switch wears out quickly - like months or weeks and turns into a liner. :( I find AKKO switches to be quite good. Not as scratchy as Kailah, good price and packaging. About $16 for 45 switches.
Coming from years deep in the custom keyboard hobby i can only say a few things:
1. Inform yourself well, don't buy these "gamer" oriented brands and boards. You will not get the value and quality you'd want.
2. It's all preference and you will only know by trying and testing yourself - Don't let anyone talk down on your likes.
3. Don't be surprised by prices, it's a luxury goods hobby
Gotta especially agree with #2, and also add a fourth. 🙂
If you're looking around online, a lot of people don't think much of the more "clicky" switches (like MX Blues, for example). They immediately became my favorite when actually trying them, though. With a catch (here's my #4 🙂 ):
I have a computer completely setup for writing, from the ground up. For that, clicky switches were my absolute favorite. But I also have a gaming machine. On that one, I still love the more tactile switches (with a "bump" in the feel as you press down), but I don't want the clicking as I'm talking through my mic. So I'd say a 4th point is that depending on your use-case, you might find one thing works great for one thing you do, but a different thing is best for something else.
Well, 1 is not entirely true there are some good brands that make good products for gamers such as Corsair or the mouse I have from MSI, good products come at a higher price point but my K100 is worth the price, my MSI mouse wasn't that expensive but it is the most comfortable mouse that I had since I can remember using mice, and I have been a gamer since the age of 5.
@@leagueaddict8357to be that guy, just because the K100 isn't bad, doesn't mean it's good. If it's been a bit since you last looked into keyboards you can get pretty good keyboards with hot-swappable switches for under $100. That means for the price of the K100 you can also get a different set of keycaps and switches to suit your preferences (and probably still have money left over). Mice are a different story and is not what we're talking about.
@@BelacDarkstorm Well, I got it a while ago and it is working well the K100 is a good keyboard, you don't want it to be I don't know why but it is that is just a fact, even after 3 years it still is a good keyboard.
I have no intend on swapping them out they feel good, they are responsive they are fast I get feedback, not a single key is damaged after 3 years of being used a lot, and it has a polling rate of 8000hz which is 8 times faster than most keyboards out there.
@@leagueaddict8357As I said, it's not necessarily a bad keyboard, but $250 is A LOT for a keyboard in today's market. I can say with a decent amount of confidence that a lot of $100 boards on Amazon have more features that matter (hot-swap; 2.4ghz wireless) and feel better to type on (most mechanical keyboard switches come pre-lubed anymore). Unless you are a very high level professional gamer, 8khz is doing nothing but eating your CPU cycles.
Wait till Jay finds out about HE boards like Wooting, Arbiter & Boog75 lol
Wait till Jay finds out about custom keyboard kits like KBDfans and Keycult.
Keycult, I think that he's going to need a time machine for that one, LOL@@QoraxAudio
@@ChrisJames024 Yeah... the heydays of keycult are more less over... still good keyboards though.
But KBDfans, Wind, Keychron and alike are still pretty active designers of keyboards.
Well, as far as Wind, Daring Running is their sub company (Like NEO is to Qwertykeys, which is in turn to OwlLabs, LOL) and I am waiting for my DR-70F which looks pretty good.@@QoraxAudio
@@ChrisJames024I been out of the game for the last year or so, what happened to Keycult?
Word of Advice? ..... don't go down this dark dark DEEP rabbit hole of custom keyboards lol..... You will thank me later.
Shhhh, don't tell about handwired custom keyboards
True, it will mess you up 😂
Why?
I love my G915, as well. The low profile switches and keycaps are a massive plus for me personally as I have early onset arthritis and it allows for a much more comfortable feel as opposed to full size switches and keycaps with less inclination in the wrist and less bending of the knuckles.
Good video, pretty good info for beginners. Something to note, with mechanical keyboards, if you want to adjust your actuation point you can, you just have to swap out different switches. "Speed" switches generally have a 1-1.2 mm actuation point, standard switches have actuation at 2 mm, and there are various in betweens. You can also get switches with shorter or longer travel, the standard is 4mm while there are short-travel switches with around 3mm travel, and again all types in between. If being able to change actuation point is truly important to someone, though, I'd suggest Hall-effect magnetic switches.
I used Logitech for years, loved them, but I bought a SteelSeries Apex Pro a couple years ago and the key feel has been a life changer. The magnetic key switches are smooth and you can adjust the activation distance can be adjusted on a per key basis. Basically, analog keys. The LCD screen built in has been fun as well.
Given that Jay mentioned the Logitech G915, I just wanted to say my job requires me to literally type ALL day, and my keyboard for close to 3 years now has been a refurbished G915. I absolutely love the feel of it and it doesn't hurt my hands at all to type. In fact, it's the opposite and has been the best keyboard I've ever used in terms of hand cramps. 10/10 would recommend!
Only problem is the keycaps, they stain and look greasy after a while
I have the G815 and it is a phenomenal keyboard, with only one issue in that the SHIFT key functions are not lit, such as @#$ etc.
@@Gnrnrvids I have a k845. It is fine and has through key lights for the secondary's on the numbers and main keys, but is missing that for the 'F' keys. Compared to my last keyboard I miss the dedicated macro keys, per key rgb, context based lighting, usb hub, detachable cable, and enough structure and mass to double as an emergency defense weapon.
@@barongerhardt Yeah I love the heft of of the G815. Nice and beefy.
I love my G915, which I bought when you talked about it a couple of years back.
Same! They are very pricy here in India because they’re imported (they don’t even sell them here) so I had my cousin get it for me from Canada. I’m no keyboard expert but I wanted a premium mainstream keyboard and I really love it ❤
What a great video to lay out the basics of Keyboards as a single place to get a good idea what all of the different 'specs' are for getting a new keyboard. Thanks.
Something I’ve learned is that stabilizers make a huge difference! I’ve only used a couple different mechanical keyboards: I started with a ducky one 2 SF, and ended with a Dygma raise, and both have been phenomenal (but don’t get me started on the Raise not coming with the tenting kit, and being sold out on their website… It’s literally the reason for the name of the product). In the middle, I built my own GMMK Pro. I absolutely love the switch and keycap combo that I came up with, and the board is overall amazing… Except for the fact that the stock stabilizers literally make it garbage. When the keys are depressed, they stick, and sometimes take a few seconds to release. I know it’s just a matter of stock lube, being too heavy, but it seriously destroys the entire typing experience. I can’t believe that they would’ve even shipped boards like that, or not had a recall. Took such an amazing product, and now I just hang it on my wall because I can’t stand using it.
I have a Royal Kludge mechanical typewriter-style keyboard with circular keys I got off Amazon and I love it :)
Royal Kludge makes awesome boards for the money.
@@802Garage Their RK-100 is very nice. Compact, with a Numpad for about $70.
I just bought my Royal yesterday! RK100. I can't wait it's my first new keyboard in years.
I just bought a RK M75 to use for my media pc thinking it would be average. I like it so much I kind of want to use it for my main
I bought a RK87 with brown switches and it's pretty decent. Perfect sized TKL and it's kinda heavy but that's perfect for me cause its main purpose is on my lap while gaming on the couch.
If you have doubleshot keycaps, then shinethrough will not be an issue. And doubleshot does not mean thicker necessarily. Doubleshot means that 2 different colors of plastic are used (one for the legend, and one for the rest of the keycap. The letters go through the keycaps entirely so it is not possible to wear off the legends unless you wear through the entire keycap (which you will not do).
You might be confusing it with shine, which is when you slightly wear the texture of the keycap off so the keycaps become shiny, but the legend is still clearly visible with no light bleed.
Keycaps that have lightbleed are not doubleshot. They are transparent keycaps that are painted (black usually) except for where the letter is. once you wear through the paint layer, then it will have lightbleed.
took my kid to best buy to try out as many as he could. of course he picked out the steelseries apex pro tkl, lol. it's crazy how you can program the actuation of the keys, the color of each individual key. it's nice, but i think he just liked the way it felt in the store and the rgb, he's 12. i have an old cherry mx brown logitech with white lights on the keys that can be turned off entirely, love the way the browns feel.
Hello @jayztwocents another important parameter for a keyboard is the max number of simultaneous key pressed: the PCB can, sometime, be unable to handle some combinations, or more than a specific number of simultaneously pressed keys (usually noticed using Alt + shift + ctrl)
Some IDE use such combinations, I think for programmers and enthusiast this information might be usefull.
Love from Italy
You'll never get me to give up my Das Keyboard 4 Ultimate. It is completely blacked out, no markings, no RGB, fantastic switches. It is just _chef's kiss_ perfection. I've had it since October of 2020 and I'm a writer. I spend 8 to 10 hours a day typing. I'll then use it for a few hours gaming. I also love it because no one can use my computer because it's blank and I'm the only person I know that touch types. It is an awesome deterent for my niece and nephew to keep them off my computer. They don't know where any of the letters are. There is a smooth spot on the right side of my spacebar where my right thumb hits it. Speaking of which, I've been meaning to email them to see if they can sell me just a new spacebar. Their customer service is awesome. I absolutely love it and will never buy a keyboard from anyone else.
Pro tip almost zero tech tubers talk about is to stay away from the "gaming" brand keyboards if you want much more value for your money.
it is in their interest to appeal to the brands they've been appealing since forever
I have an EVGA Z12. It was $20 on sale and is perfect for me. I am also the last person to talk to for special keyboards. I am a light-touch typist and learned on actual typewriters.
I don't wear out keyboards, I have a nearly 20-year-old Microsoft Internet keyboard in the closet that is still 100% and I only had to replace it because of size and space issues on the desk.
You know, the EVGA Z15 is an awesome gateway keyboard, it's a full sized keyboard with hot-swappable Kailh Speed Silver (Linear) or Kailh Speed Bronze. It's got a 10,000Hz polling rate, per key RGB (which is compatible with SignalRGB out of the box), a magnetic wrist rest, and can often be found on sale for around 50 to 75 dollars (or less on eBay).
It has some flaws, like an integrated aluminum plate and those weird non-hot swap switch media keys.
But I recommend it to someone who just wants something more mainstream that won't break the bank and gets you int he door of the keyboard hobby.
@@ChrisJames024 I got my Z15 for $40 bucks and I would daresay it is comparable to alot of the corsair, etc $100+ gaming keyboards and has pretty much all of the same features as those pricey-er gaming keyboards. I'm a big fanboy for EVGA, and am deeply saddened that there will be no more video cards from them. Guess my next video card will be Intel....amd is out of the question
I grabbed a steel series pro Tkl. I love that I can customize the key sensitivity individually. Down to .1mm or up to 4mm. Very nice to play around with.
sounds like a toy.
@@kaimojepaslt oh it absolutely is
Still using my razer black widow from 2015. Still going strong.
Thanks jay for being practical rather than what ever is most expensive.
Brown switches gang where ye at?!?! 😎
hall effect magnetic switches are the wave rn Jay
HE switches are awesome. I've been torn to order one of the new wave of keebs just to play with them. my layout is a bit weird frl-1800, so it may be a minute before I get one I stick with
@@CaptainCoel the wooting two HE is probably your best bet at the moment but it has the function keys at the top and is basically just a full size HE keyboard. i really love the new 75% layouts that are coming out. I ended up getting the CYBER 01 by Melgeek and have been loving it so far. Way better than my corsair K63
The akko mod007he is another option, it comes with either akko cream yellow magnetic switches or kailh sakura magnetics
Boog 75 is a nice contender to wooting he60
drunk deer A75, M1HE by Monsgeek, and the keychron Q1HE are all great options as well @@W1nt3rFox
1:30 forté? I'm pretty sure he meant FORAY.
I'm more of a mechanical keyboard user myself, always appreciated the clack noise they make (even from years ago before mechanical keyboards were a specialty item).
Thank you I've been actually wanting to learn more about keyboards, I've got a reddragon keyboard $30 been using it for 3 years spilled on it soda and water more than 4 times, and it's still working great and sounds great and feels great, some people think more money means better which isn't work, but you can get great keyboards for a reasonable price
The kicker is you're not really getting better quality buying a Corsair or whatever typical name brand.
The keycaps are not better and for the most part they're generally still not hotswap so what are you even getting for an extra $100? RGB integration?
That's a nah from me. There's real decent keyboards around in the $130 range that trash most mainstream stuff.
Yeah you can get keyboards for a reasonable price these days for sure, Leobog, Rainy75 are great budget keyboards that look, sound and feel great. But a reddragon is just not it 😅Its best value is probably that it's a $30 keyboard, but saying it "sounds great" just makes it so apparent you've never ever heard a keyboard that *actually* sounds great. But ignorance is bliss I guess. Better to not be poisoned by actual quality that sends you down a rabbit hole of non-stop buying and exploring 😆
@@fuckERLa bruh? Attacking me for a keyboard i know what a good keyboard sounds like and it is subjective if you want to hear how it sounds I have no problem showing you, i know it's not a great quality keyboard but to me quality means durability and to me spending 30$ on a keyboard i use no less than 5 hours a day for 3 years+ and have spilled sodas and drinks on multiple times and it still works and looks great and SOUNDS GREAT too if that's ignorance than i am blessied to be ignorant a keyboard is not worth more than 100$ i spend money on actually good hardware like GPU/s and CPU's RAM etc.
You make the computer rabbit hole not as deep and give me alot of knowledge with your explanations on all your videos. Thank you!!
Keyboard snobs and coffee snobs equally scare the Hell out of me.
I just wanted to shoutout all you pc building/ gaming TH-cam channels for inspiring me to take a leap and build my own rig. It is one of the most satisfying things I've ever done and this year was the year to be able to afford it. So thank you 😌
I have fallen in love with silent switches. not having a sharp sound when it bottoms out is very satisfying for some reason.
Another option is o-rings on the shafts under the keycaps if there's a switch you prefer the feel of that isn't silent
I still use an old Steelseries Merc Stealth gaming keyboard. Bought one in 2009, and bought a spare in 2010...still have both and will never replace until they both no longer work.
Howdy from Texas! I enjoy your tech videos!
Cougar Vantar, that's all I need, wired, thin, scissor switches, softwareless backlight, reliable.
Just get a wooting, asus strix 96 or Keychron Q6 pro in that order.
Tbf Arbiter 65% and Boog75 are better but ye
@@HaanSoIo "for beginners"
Been building PC's for years. Finally just a few months ago jumped in and built my first keyboard and I can't believe how much happier I am.
I got my first keyboard that has hot swappable switches, the Keychron Q5 Pro. It's so cool to be able to swap out switches until you find your favorite, rather than buying a whole new keyboard every time you want to try a different switch. Worth the extra price IMO.
Congrats for 4 million subscribers!
I was getting a new keyboard every couple months and got a Yunzii 87 key keyboard 3 years ago and I haven't looked at keyboards since. It does exactly what I want. Go to a computer store, pick out a switch type you like, get the keyboard format you like, and buy a good keyboard with the features you need. Unless you spill something on it, it will last you a very long time
I recently watched your video on your health. I'm sorry your going through this and wanted to share good wishes. I hope you get some improvement. We're all rooting for you! I know your concerned about the channel, but I support whatever you decide and whats in your best interest. I personally have no concerns about who faces the channel.
Thanks, nice discussion. One factor not mentioned is feedback. I chose my keyboard (Corsair K70 mk2) in part because it was available with Cherry MX Brown switches that feature a tactile bump when typing. I tried a K68 with linear Red switches (no feedback bump) and it was nice for gaming but horrible for typing. Of course I grew up on IBM PC keyboards and they featured that tactile bump.
I think a good way to approach keyboard reviews, isn’t just the type of switches used, but also talking about the difference between wireless or wired (does it have a USB slot availability impact with various cases and motherboard setups?).
Can you use compressed air for ease of cleaning keyboards?
Are keyboards compatible with Windows (all versions or some), how how Linux (all distros or some?), MacOS or iOS, how about Android?
Longevity of various keyboard brands?
Customization (do you need special keyboard accessories for music making, volume setting, visual mixing?)
Do any keyboard brands have any proprietary softwares or is it open source with brands being more of an aesthetic choice hardware wise?
There’s a lot of layman stuff to cover here Jay. Please do once in a while, or provide us a youtuber who does this already.
What about keyboard ergonomic accessories for wrist support?
What about the disabled community that help them use keyboards in some way?
Lot of sponsorship you could chase down too.
I'm one of those peons who prefers a $50 membrane keyboard to a mechanical any day of the week. I prefer the softer strokes and especially the quietness of a membrane over a mechanical.
I've tried many supposedly "silent" mechanical keyboards with all kinds of silent switches, mx brown, mx cherry, etc., and all are just too loud and clicky for me. The Cherry Stream and the Steelseries Apex 3 are amazingly quiet and still built quite well, they keep me quite happy since my k740 died, and kept my wallet happy as well.
I know many enjoy mechanical keyboards, and that's great for those who do, but I will happily go with my membrane keyboards for the foreseeable future. Also, anyone who thinks a well-built membrane keyboard is any worse in a video game vs a mechanical is crazy.
People act like their skills are high enough that the milliseconds of difference in a button press is key enough to cause them to win or lose. I promise that you could buy the most expensive, responsive peripherals on the market, and a player like Shroud would still beat you every time even if he was using a $5 laptop mouse and a $10 Walmart keyboard lol. At a certain point, there are severe diminishing returns for peripherals, and as far as I am concerned any more than $75 on a keyboard or mouse is unnecessary, unless you just like collecting and making nice expensive peripherals. But they certainly aren't necessary for gaming or anything, not nearly as much as people make them out to be.
Same here for membranes. Having used both now, I can say I prefer membranes for the same reasons. I like the super quiet operation and the softer feel of the keys is just much nicer to me. I do have a K70 mechanical keyboard I've been using over the past 3 years with the low profile speed silver keys as part of my mechanical experiment I took on 3 years ago. It's alright, I do also like it, but I have to say I do sometimes still think of cutting my losses on it and just picking up a nice membrane keyboard sometimes.
Jay, I like my G915 Wireless (Tactile) also. Was wondering if you might know where to get replacement keys. Keep up the awesome work and great videos :D
Funny you would release this as I've been on a 3 day custom keyboard research binge. I'm leaning towards skipping the big brands and looking at Epomaker, Aula, Royal Kludge, Yunzii, or Cidoo. I just want a well aligned 75% with a knob and backlighting. 😊
I changed to my first optical keyboard this year (Steelseries Apex Pro) and oh boy, i don't like to type on any "normal" keyboard anymore! It's just about the feeling, i can't describe what it is but it feels so much better on an optical keyboard! Thanks for this video Jay :)
Apex pro is not Optical, they use magnetic switches with the Hall Effect instead of a lazer in the Optical. That's why you can adjust the activation point even more then on the optical switches and use the rapid trigger effect.
@@simonbromsaxelsson7064 thanks for explaining! I am not into the keyboard knowledge yet, but hopefully soon 😅
@@simonbromsaxelsson7064 I don't know why my answer didn't show up, i already "answered" to you. I'll try again: Thanks for the clearification, i am not that much into the Keyboard theory but i hope I will be soon :)
@@big_darkside2716 you have to start some where. :) what did you use before your steelseries?
@@simonbromsaxelsson7064 nothing special, KLIM Chroma
Thank you for explaining all this.
These types of videos from Jay are what made me subscribe to the channel initially when I was putting together my first build.
20 minute ads for overpriced plastic/ABS keyboards?
Literally was looking for an explained video for keyboards! Thanks Jay
I love my G815. I've bought like 3 of them so far (all renewed, you can save a lot of money) One for my gf, one for home, and one for work. What I hate about traditional mechanical keyboards is that the keys feel too chunky. My main complaint is that the keyboard is hard to clean but as long as you have a toothbrush you are good.
Awesome that this exists, I've just completed my first PC build, and right now I'm looking at peripherals. I've got a nice Logitech MX Anywhere 3 for Mac mouse, that I've been using for the last 4 years, and I know what kind of extra monitor that I would like to purchase, but I'm still debating on what kind of mechanical keyboard I want for my daily driver. I do a lot of programming and writing for my job but I also use my computer for gaming.
Right now, I'm using a borrowed Apple membrane keyboard, from the mid 2000s, and I find that I often create typos. This is because I really need to slam the keys down, otherwise it doesn't register the key press and I'm starting to notice that it's causing me some typing fatigue. Before this, I was using the built in keyboard for my Lenovo Ideapad 5, but those keys bottom out so easily it's like I'm just slamming my fingers on the desktop, and I really don't like how small the arrow keys are.
I was looking at a Keychron K10 Pro, or K4 Pro, but then I learned that apparently Keychron have terrible customer service, they don't sell the K10 Pro or K4 Pro keyboards in any Canadian retail stores, and I refuse to buy anything from Amazon, so that's kind of a deal breaker for me. But, given I've heard some good things about Logitech's mechanical keyboards, and now the NZXT Function, I'll definitely be considering those options.
I definitely wouldn't be opposed to seeing you make some videos about different peripherals, especially keyboards since they're way more complicated than they used to be.
Thanks for the video Jayz!
I personally am kind of a keyboard snob who built my keyboard and I generally don't regret spending that money and effort on doing so. I found that my sweet spot is something heavier than average - 55g for linears (Akko Jelly Black), 67g for tactiles (Durock T1 Clears), the sound these produce is very pleasing and the feel is awesome. By going to mechanical keyboard I learned to type without even looking at my keys. Previously on a membrane keyboard it was ridiculous.
Lol I love building keyboards to much, I've built like 15 in the past year I love morandi switches right now!
Is there a decent entry level mechanical keyboard that you would recommend for a novice? Reasonably priced?
I learned to type without looking on cheap plastic over membrane keyboards (without rubber domes that comes with almost every modern cheap keyboard) and used regularly almost every kind of computer keyboard made since the 1980's. I honestly can't see why anyone can't learn how to properly type on any keyboard. Period. Thats too snob even for snobs.
OTOH, good switches have very little to no wiggle at all. THIS annoy the crap out of me on any keyboard. For this reason (and only this reason) I got an "cheap" "gaming keyboard" with replaceable switchs and slapped some good quality switches (Glorious Pandas, I'm into tactile but not clicky switches and linears kinda annoy me as well) and even with all the additional noise I'm noticeably happier.
@@SVW1976 I started out with a Royal Kludge RK 84. It's a cheaper "entry level" Chinese made board that actually pretty good quality, and the brand most other cheaper crap Chinese boards copy to make their boards. A lot of the enthusiast group with a ton of expendable money will tell you to go with something else, but if you just want a place to start that will feel and sound good after all the mods that won't break the bank then RK boards are the way to go imo.
@@SVW1976keychron is well-regarded, as are the Glorious boards. The KBD fans boards and the Novelkeyz boards are also pretty friendly and a little easier on the budget
Was honestly hoping that you'd surprised us with a custom keeb but this is still a good coverage from the gaming brands with their mech keeb offerings.
I'm not sure about snob but I like to tinker for sure, I have a GMK67 with milky yellow pros, nothing special but fun to mess with
Milky yellows on polycarbonate is so underrated. I highly recommend trying out gateron oil kings in the gmk67, i have some in a gmk87 and it sounds fantastic
@@W1nt3rFox yeah I'm enjoying them. I did eye up the oil kings but they were pretty pricey at the time
This was great to watch, I've been wanting to get a new keyboard and mouse for a few months now as they are pretty basic and starting to wear down after a few years. So NZXTs entries make me consider them now for a 100% full keyboard, probably an optical one.
liked the video when i noticed phil hand just pop out of nowhere, love the team just learning new stuff from every videos
I just found an old but newer keyboard that allows for all the custom keys, so this is perfect timing, love the break downs from a consumer point of view.
Used to play on mainstream gaming keyboards for all my time.. then i bought my first wooting and it just feels so much nicer.
Also its worth hand lubing the switches.
I barely looked down the custom keyboard rabbit hole but have been tempted to build one recently. This video was a fun coincidence.
Personal preference is mostly correct: reliability and longevity of the hardware is very important as well.
For example: who makes the clickers in the mouse matters a lot. I bought a Logitech G500 in 2010 when the clickers were still made in Japan and it lasted until 2022 before one of the buttons finally needed to be replaced. I bought a G500 hero to try out and the right click started having issues less than two years into owning it.
I did hate the lit gaming keyboard until I got one and realized it actually helps a lot with interfacing the keyboard--I only ever use the zone lighting.
I used to be like you where I could never see myself using a tkl or smaller keyboard as I loved (and still do love) the numpad. That being said, for gaming, I think a 75% is the perfect size. My first foray was a Asus ROG Falchion, but the lack of the F-row on a 65% was a constant annoyance. I now have the Azoth with some custom caps and love it. Plan on changing the switches, but still haven't decided on which ones to go with.
I am like Jay I use a logitech g915 wireless keyboard I don't know why people seem to hate it if they do it is a great keyboard especially when you have a 48 inch 4k 120hz OLED panel sitting up close isn't all that comfortable I am very happy with my keyboard and the feature set it comes with.
YES! A keyboard Video! I am here for this!
Great video. Just bought a keyboard recently and it wasn’t easy to get one that fits
Excellent explanations for all this stuff as always. I have delved into the keyboard stuff and did a handful of mods to keyboards that I like using for different things but it definitely gets complex.
I've been gaming for about 15 years now, used quite some different keyboards both mechanical and non mechanical but ended up to use a Logitech Ergonomic keyboard in the end. I originally had to use it for work for health reasons and therefore also used it for gaming since back then it was the same desk, took me a few days to get used to but I'll be honest I never want to go back, mechanical keyboards have their advantages but the flat ergo keyboard literally does everything I need and helps my hands too
My preference has always been a split ergonomic keyboard. I used the Microsoft Keyboard 4000 for years until they were discontinued. ( A keyboard would last until I spilled something on it, anywhere from 1 to 5 years. I used to have several on the shelf.)
I like the optical explanation. I am unsure how it handles coffee, but with the moving part being replaceable, I may get even longer use out of my keyboard.
Nice coincidence seeing this release today. A friend and I were talking about keyboards; they were completely in the dark about various attributes and I was able to point her toward this. Conversation came up because I started talking about how I'm keyboard shopping. My Roccat Vulcan 100 is dying, so I'm looking for something similar with better longevity.
Wooting 60 customised with a KBD Tofu Redux is the way to go! Hall effect switches are the step after optical switches.
It's always interesting as a diehard keyboard nerd to see how the mainstream tech channels portray mechanical keyboards, and I hadn't seen one in a while, not since Linus' attempt to make one.
Couple things I would like to note: Foam does not always equal better, it just makes it so that you can hide bad sounds if a keyboard isn't built that well. In an ideal world, keyboards would need minimal accessories, if any at all to be stuffed inside to cause a non-zero chance of a fire hazard. Some people like the foam sounds, and that's fine, but they should know that they are not hearing the keyboard anymore, they're hearing foam.
Opticals also typically don't come like this where they have multiple infrared sensors, that looks like a first for me which is interesting, but typically only Hall Effect switches like the Wooting, Steelseries Apex Pro line, and so many more, have a truly modular system for actuation distance because of their analog nature.
Seeing the switch puller go east-west instead of north-south to press in the clips of the switch hurt a bit, though. Please don't pull them east-west lest you break the switch. East-West should only be for if you are pulling the top half of the switch to do some old-school modding, which requires a plate specifically cut to do that.
A fire hazard? Really dude?...
@tFraz Foams are flammable or melt, sometimes both. It's a very minute chance, but a non-zero one regardless. I've seen my fair share of batteries that die and take other things because of the foam, or got messed up as a result of too much foam. It's a design consideration in some of the customs that rely on foam, too. Very rare circumstance a diode or fuse busts from an overcurrent and wrecks the MCU and takes other things with it, too.
@@CheeseManFuu keyboards don't get that hot. Settle down.
@@ProjectFrazyou know nothing lol
@@joenuts6722 yeah sure I don't. It's not like I use keyboards every fucking day, all day. /s *eyeroll*
I’ve been using a $10 Walmart keyboard since elementary school, and I’m not gonna stop now.
Thank you, Dr. TwoCents 🤓
Yeah I use Kensington Pro Fit Wireless Media Desktop Set with Keyboard and Mouse because I do music production and I need the media keys to hit play/Pause. Stop, Forward, backwards. I'm sure there's a better one out there.
I'm a big fan of my basic mechanical keyboards not in the market for another, but this was a good watch... learned some things and why people want to build super custom ones.
I've been using a Corsair K70 for so long I can't remember when I bought it. It has not moved an inch. Everything feels and looks like brand new. The only thing I can see is that maybe the keys I use most a maybe a little bit shinier/polished than the rest, but it is near unnoticeable.
very informative i have heard all kinds of terms on gaming keyboards and mice had no clue
About to build my new rig and was researching keyboards and mice. I was going to get the Logitech G915 LIGHTSPEED and Logitech G502 X Plus Lightspeed Wireless as I've never had any problems with Logitech but I decided to look around, especially when I realized that the G15 is almost 5 years old, yet costing $200 US on sale. This video definitely came in handy.
I just have a $40 mechanical keyboard from Amazon with per-key RGB that works with OpenRGB. Works great.
Coworker has a Corsair keyboard that quit working one day. After some research, I discovered the KB has its own BIOS that had to be reset.
Kinda blew my mind that a keyboard, of all things, would have a BIOS and its own advanced firmware.
To anyone watching this: hall effect sensor for fps games. Now there are plenty out there, and probably any with rapid trigger will do. The original was wooting60he, look it up. Rest of the kbd market is pretty much the same; when it comes to gaming.
Yes! You mentioned paintball. Thank you.
I'd be interested to see you do some reviews on Redragon's gaming keyboards. I got one a couple years ago and the only time I started having issues, was when some dust or cat hair had made its way into a switch causing it not to register key strokes. Pulled the key off, switch and did some thorough cleaning and now it works flawlessly again. Would be interested to get your thoughts on their products.
I've been using their K582RGB V2 keyboard for a few months now and have had no issues with it. I've used their M686 mouse for a few years now and it's still working great.
More videos like this one would be much appreciated!
Love my Keychron. Bluetooth and mechanical for around $80.
I'd definitely be up for more of this kind of content. I built a PC about a year ago for the first time (with a lot of help from this channel!) and a friend helped me with what to buy as time was an issue, so I'm always finding I'm a little bit lost when it comes to this type of stuff. When it comes time to upgrade/replace stuff, this kind of content is invaluable.
I've also been wanting to write you an email to ask if you'd do a noobs video about best practices with storage set ups. I've got two 1TB NVME drives on the motherboard but I'm actually a digital artist more than a gamer, so storing all my .psd's and .blend files along with Steam eating up all my space meant I had to move steam onto an external SSD (it's all I had available - pretty broke RN). Works fine for now, but should I just get a cheap massive HDD for storage, or are they now totally obsolete, and would it make more sense to put games or art stuff on it or an SSD equivalent? Also my OS is on the slower of the two NVME's because that was the one I had originally, but does it matter, is it movable, is that a risk just not worth taking for the performance gains it may or may not bring... All the questions haha!
Love your content. You are my go to for all things computer related. Hope things are going ok with your health stuff also.
I just bought my new keyboard last night...... This is scary that you just uploaded this.
I was just looking for new ones
What Jay said about keyboards being a personal thing is very true. I've been using a Roccat Ryos MK Pro with Cherry MX Blue switches since I built this PC nearly a full ten years ago (May 2014). Before I bought this keyboard, I went to my local computer store and they had keyboards with various switch types and allowed me to try them out at the store to see how they feel, so I could decide what kind of switches I wanted for my keyboard. There are a lot of components - and other items - that people have a tendency to buy based just on reviews and nothing else, but keyboards - specifically because of switches - are one of those things that you should at least try out to see if they're what you want or not. If there is a major computer chain near you - such as Micro Center in the USA or Canada Computers in Canada - they tend to have enough variety of stock that it's not unreasonable for you to be able to go in and ask to try them out.
(Also, this PC is very much a PC of Theseus these days, as all that remains of the original thus far are the keyboard, the SSD, and the registration code for installing Windows...)
Switches have come a long way since then and you would be amazed how many options there are and how much better they can sound and feel than even quality old switches!
@@802GarageOh I'm aware. My point is that testing out switches to find the kind you like is much better than just going by whatever ones various websites say you might enjoy because, as Jay said, it's all personal preference.
@@MindstabThrull Definitely! I just wasn't sure if you had tried some more recent switches. It's kinda crazy hahaha. Not knocking you at all. :)
Really liked this video Jay. Have seen your content for many, many, years and have always enjoyed your content. Your skunkworks videos inspired me to build my first watercooled pc in a TT Tower 900 case and two loops. It took me three years to build it, between 2017 and 2020. It was so much fun, 😅. Thanks for your inspiration.
The Gamakay Silent tactile switches on Amazon are amazing.
I like the feeling of tactile but not the annoying clicking.
Keyboards are a rabbit hole that I’m not sure 90% of people need to even venture down. 😂 it’s so much. All the switches and keycaps, different boards, hot swap etc. but it’s super fun to build your own.
I have the same keyboard since 2014, an old logitech with membrane, as much as i like the sound of mechanical ones i never found the need to get one, regardless of how much membrane starts to become ''sticky'' and ''pushes back'' after a while. Now if i gamed competitively i think a mechanical one would be a must.
i’m so far down the rabbit hole to where i’ve been designing my own pcb’s lmao
Can you do a video, deep diving into building custom ergo split wireless keyboards?
I've ran the G910 for years myself, always preferred wired. Some of this new stuff is interesting though.
Hi- not sure If I missed it in the video or if it was previously commented on - but please make sure your keyboard is “hotswapable” before you try pulling switches out of your board. Some boards this isn’t an option.
I finally am building my first pc and was really surprised at all the keyboard jargon which I didn’t expect at all
You are awesome Jay! Thank you for this great video. Perfect idea for a vid. I learned a lot as always. Your presence on camera is amazing! Wishing you and your family and crew the very best. Cheers
loved the video, personally I love gear review vids and id rather watch your take on mice/keyboards etc than other content creators
My issue with keyboards are, there are so many different kinds of switches, that there is really no way to tell if you like it or not without buying a keyboard first.
Thankfully you can get a good quality mechanical keyboard pretty cheap now. I just picked up an AOC keyboard from Newegg from a group buy, for like 20 bucks, with cherry MX blue switches, and it feels just like my old favorite keyboard, my g skill Ripjaws KM780.
I also enjoyed The Patriot viper keyboard with khail box white switches, as well as EVGA's K20 with the clicky optical switches.
optical switches are so last year, they are being superceeded by hall effect switches. Could have also talked about rapid trigger.
I just bought an NZXT case, and I flipping love it. I now know what my next keyboard is going to be :)