Mechanical Keyboard for a Beginner?

[Kristy373]

Hi Guys,

I'm completely new to Mechanical Keyboards and to be honest I didn't even know they existed till a few days back.
Now, I'm a programmer and a hardcore gamer, and I'm trying to find the best keyboard that will best suit my needs.

Remember, extended periods of coding or gaming, and even content writing. And I will prefer some kind of backlighting.

so far I've tried to do a lot of research on Google and narrowed my options a bit.

I'm currently considering Redragon K561. I read some good reviews about it and this mechanical keyboard guide helped me to put it as one of my main choices.

Please help me go for the right keyboard.

[TuxKey]

i did a quick search .. and it seems to be a aliexpress board.
Nothing wrong with that ..but is that where you intent to buy your keyboards.?

The reason i ask is if that's your shop then it's useless to recommend a board that isn't available from there

[TuxKey]

also what's your price range..what are you willing to spend.
i see this board is $50..

And must it be a TKL size ?
i prefer something to be around 65% just google Tada68.. that's a 60% with arrow cluster..
Currently i'm typing on my FC660M from Leopold..that is with Cherry mx-clear switches..
But because your going to be gaming i would not recommend heavy tactile switches these are more for typing and coding not gaming..

For gaming i would go with reds or speed switches..but if you want tactile and light then go with brown..
The reason why i don't say Cherry here is that you could go for Kailh, or Gateron..

You cold have a look at KBDFans site kbdfans.cn
They also have a Aliexpress store front..
And KPrepublic on Aliexpress.

if you plan to go with a budget board with back light i would ad sum budget pbt keycaps..
Keep in mind they are not the best but way,way better than the keycaps you get with yours..
Only thing to keep in mind is the function printing on the caps, you know the extra's that is not default.

Just search for this on aliexpress.
taihao pbt double shot keycaps for diy gaming mechanical keyboard Backlit Caps oem profile light through red blue white grey

Can you answer these two questions ?

1) price range
2) size of keyboard : TKL , full size, 65% and so on..

[Menuhin]

...
... trying to find the best keyboard that will best suit my needs.
...
... extended periods of coding or gaming, and even content writing...
... prefer some kind of backlighting
...

Let me first assume you are not trying to promote your keyboard products.

$50 is not a good place to start when you want "the best keyboard", but a decent one can be acquired new from the $100-$150 range (junk yard finds and garage sales are some other stories).

I will recommend Cherry MX linear switches, possibly red or black, and the newer (retooled) versions, for the sake that these switches can be backlit easily, with the primary support from PCB suppliers, and are very compatible with key cap sets out there. There are some decent Chinese clones, arguably comparable to Cherry's offers, but if you are going to have only 1 board, then go with Cherry.
At least when people pull a cap, they may believe "you know something" when they see Cherry - of course this is again controversial here.

This is the time I will recommend discount shops like KBDfans.cn (Google it and you will find their shop) - they will easily solve your case, PCB, and key cap set problems. Any option other than the basic case (tray-mount) regardless of the layout and the keyboard size will make your board x2 and x3 or even more times the price range of $100-$150.

It's not going to be "the best" - at least for quite some people out there in the mechanical keyboard forums.
But I believe you will probably like it.

If after a few more months you return and show a $500+ built truly worthy of praise with the choice and careful preps of parts, or that you return and show a legendary keyboard relic unearthed by you,
then the virtual community will genuinely endorse you.

[Blaise170]

Reddragon is pretty common. They've been a middle tier manufacturer for a few years, cheaper than the Razers and Logitechs of the world but better than the Lingyi and AJazz etc. It's okay for what it is.

[Menuhin]

Reddragon is pretty common. They've been a middle tier manufacturer for a few years, cheaper than the Razers and Logitechs of the world but better than the Lingyi and AJazz etc. It's okay for what it is.

They said they have some "Cherry (e.g. blue) equivalent" - what manufacturer(s) can be likely behind these switches?
In the past I might suggest Kailh, but Kailh is now of higher tier.

[Blaise170]

As far as I know they've always used Kailhs though I think some of their models might be using Outemu now.

[TuxKey]

Reddragon is pretty common. They've been a middle tier manufacturer for a few years, cheaper than the Razers and Logitechs of the world but better than the Lingyi and AJazz etc. It's okay for what it is.

oh i did not know about Reddragon, being common..
it's never to late to learn.. hahah..

[Blaise170]

No big deal, like I said they are more of a higher tier Chinese manufacturer than the usual generics but still not a huge name (Sharkoon is a similar company, cheap but not crap Chinese stuff). I think I first heard of them around 2013 when they were releasing gaming mic. I personally wouldn't buy one, but for $30 on Amazon, not bad.

[TuxKey]

Speaking of KBDfans.

if i was going to start in this hobby.. i would grab the " Tina x Maxkey SA Dolch" oeffff that's a good looking keyboard.
And i would go for Layout 4. yah i'm addicted to the arrow cluster.
Total cost $255 for the Gateron Red and $260 for the Silent Gateron red..The Cherry red option is $270

But if you must have a TKL and want to grab a good quality board.. check out the KBDFans 8X. Price without switch or caps. $225 Assembly service is $17 ....

Btw i have a tada68 kit on route with with 200 springs. 80 Kailh Pro purple. 200led's hahha yah a few spares never hurt anyone.. nice Aluminum gray case.. total cost with extra shipping (just to be sure my order goes true the UK first)
$220..

[samuelcable]

Speaking of KBDfans.

if i was going to start in this hobby.. i would grab the " Tina x Maxkey SA Dolch" oeffff that's a good looking keyboard.
And i would go for Layout 4. yah i'm addicted to the arrow cluster.
Total cost $255 for the Gateron Red and $260 for the Silent Gateron red..The Cherry red option is $270

But if you must have a TKL and want to grab a good quality board.. check out the KBDFans 8X. Price without switch or caps. $225 Assembly service is $17 ....

Btw i have a tada68 kit on route with with 200 springs. 80 Kailh Pro purple. 200led's hahha yah a few spares never hurt anyone.. nice Aluminum gray case.. total cost with extra shipping (just to be sure my order goes true the UK first)
$220..

over 200 dollars isn't the amount a starter is gonna pay if they've never had a mechanical keyboard

[Menuhin]

...

over 200 dollars isn't the amount a starter is gonna pay if they've never had a mechanical keyboard

Total true, neither I was prepared to pay over $200.
My old self might think my current self as a kind of insane on this hobby, although I am actually not yet there compared to the persistence and dedication other members have shown to this hobby.

But for all those who stayed in this hobby, and for years, we eventually know getting some components that we don't actually want but just to complete a build is most of the time a waste of money and effort. This can be true for many hobbies.
It's a game of getting to know what one wants and then optimizing what one can reach, based on the time and effort and money one can afford to dedicate.

[zslane]

Beginners also don't typically want to have to build, mod, or hack anything. They just want an out-of-the-box solution at a reasonable price (usually under $100).

[Blaise170]

Yes, even though I've been around for 5 years now, even I'm still loathe to hack stuff together. At first it was a bit fun to tear stuff apart and try to get it working (referencing vintage stuff here) but now I just want something that works. I just spent $200 on the Massdrop CTRL group buy and even that seemed like a lot to me. I can't imagine those who spend literal thousands in their keyboards. I think my limit would be $500 and that's only for a complete Space Cadet (I know, complete pipe dream here). I kind of wish I had this much choice when I was still new, but maybe that's why I had so much fun back then, before the cheap Chinese manufacturers started the race to the bottom, as seems to happen with any technology that gets too popular. I used to think my Ducky Shine 3 for $120 was way too much...

[Chyros]

I like how the site of that guide is called "No Fluff Tech" and all the keyboards on that list are nothing but 100% fluff :p .

Don't try to start out with the only keyboard you'll ever need. Even if you succeeded, you would't fully appreciate it unless you've tried something else . I'd just get a cheap mechanical clone keyboard from China with switches of the colour that you think will suit you. Doesn't even matter too much who made the switches, they're all pretty close.

[Blaise170]

I don't completely agree - the really cheap no-name clones are pretty bad. I'd try to at least stuck with a lesser known but still name brand switch (Outemu, Gaote, Switch Master, etc).

[Menuhin]

...
I think my limit would be $500 and that's only for a complete Space Cadet (I know, complete pipe dream here).
...
before the cheap Chinese manufacturers started the race to the bottom...
I used to think my Ducky Shine 3 for $120 was way too much...

There is hope to get a Space Cadet keyboard within a $500 limit? I haven't followed the price really - I just gave up hope as they went for over a thousand easily.
$500 will be a good point to acquire a relatively comprehensive set of SA key caps from the Round 5/6/7 group buy including the Space Cadet imitation though - but that needs a lot of patience to wait too.

As you mentioned them, I just realize it is possible to get mechanical keyboards from Amazon starting from 30€-50€ - they took some interesting names:
Sharkoon, Lioncast, and dragons.
Perhaps later on Eagle, also Kangaroo and Crocodiles, Angry hippo and Giant centipede, etc.

The cheapest is to score a used mechanical keyboard from thrift stores (usually no backlighting though), like how Chyros trolled everyone from time to time for his less than 5€ finds. Again, that requires making multiple trips and a lot of patience.

There is a thread called "Deskthority Rabbit Hole kit" that Wodan put together using the keyboards he scored during his repeated trips to recycling centers. Those are good deals too if you don't want to make the trips yourself - but again there is no backlighting on these vintage keyboards also.

Yeah, beginners typically do not want to make 5+ trips to drift stores to look for dirty old keyboards, and beginners typically do not want to wait for more than a few weeks to get their merchandise shipped.

[Strg-F17]

Hmm, I think these are strange recommendations for a beginner.
My first idea, when it comes to beginners, is: get one of those infamous Lauer-Fischer G80-1800 that are available for 6-8 €. Advantage is, they are available in white, so you won't need a backlight.
From my point of view I would strongly discourage a beginner from buying a backlit keyboard, as they often come with very bad keycaps. The manufacturers tend to use transparent caps they cover with a black rubbery coating (often advertised as "anti-slip coating"), that immediately wakes associations with poisonous plasticisers. Moving your finger over the surface of these caps feels disgusting, similar to scratching over a blackboard with your fingernails. Also these keyboards are virtually unusable in the dark if you are not able to blind type, because even on the darkest setting they are so bright that they will distract you from your monitor, which is rather annoying. Turning the backlight off isn't a solution either, because then you won't be able to read the legends. Finally you will constantly have fingerprints on these keycaps. Although the "yoghurt cup"-keycaps on a modern G80 don't have the best reputation, they will feel like heaven after using this crap.
I also would not recommend MX Browns to a beginner. They seem to be the perfect compromise on paper, but with this in mind they can only be disappointing. IMHO they are mechanical switches that try to imitate the feel of a rubberdome keyboard, so they are not a big step forward if you don't like the feel of rubberdomes. My advice would be: Go for a MX Black board or a Model M. They are both widely available and affordable and they feel very different to a rubberdome.
No offence though, this is just what I have learnt from my experiences and mistakes since early 2016, when I was a newbie in mechanical keyboards myself.

[Blaise170]

There is hope to get a Space Cadet keyboard within a $500 limit?

No way. Space Cadets will easily reach over $1000 or more on eBay. On the other hand, I live a few miles away from MIT where these were originally envisioned so maybe I can get lucky someday and find one for sale locally.

[fohat]

maybe I can get lucky someday and find one for sale locally.

I used to have a job where I did a lot of in-town driving, so I would often pop in to thrift shops, salvage stores, and yard sales. 95%-99% of the time there would be nothing, but occasionally I would find something interesting for a couple of dollars (usually filthy and often not working). Not until I had been doing that for a few months did I actually go on ebay and spend tens of dollars on old filthy IBM gear and other things that I had read about. This way, I learned a lot of details by simply cleaning and repairing stuff.

The most I have ever paid for a single keyboard was $200 (F-107 with xwhatsit from Orihalcon), although I eventually had around $400 invested in lot_lizard's project (which he returned in full).

[Blaise170]

Yeah the thrift stores in Greater Boston have surprisingly little considering it's a pretty big tech hub. I found a few cool things in Kentucky over the years but nothing here.

[mike52787]

Ive found lots of neat stuff at thrift stores, however I go quite often, around once a week. most times I find nothing, but when I do it makes it worth it.

[zslane]

If the OP could stretch the budget a bit, there's this:

https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/in ... ail&p=3616

It is available with Cherry MX SIlver switches, which would ostensibly be good for gaming.

[fohat]

the thrift stores in Greater Boston have surprisingly little considering it's a pretty big tech hub.

I found a few cool things in Kentucky over the years

It probably works the other way: Boston nerds snatch up items that hillbillies leave to languish.

[codemonkeymike]

the thrift stores in Greater Boston have surprisingly little considering it's a pretty big tech hub.

I found a few cool things in Kentucky over the years

It probably works the other way: Boston nerds snatch up items that hillbillies leave to languish.

Eh I think it is more that wealthy costal areas don't have as many thrift stores and they are generally badly stocked. Not that the stock goes down faster.

[Blaise170]

True that. Most of the thrift stores don't have much of anything, much less keyboards. I've seen plenty of laptops though (being sold for way more than they are worth).

[gAmmingmachine]

I am also a beginner and currently have a Logitech G105 (membrane) Keyboard but i want to buy a fancy RGB mechanical keyboard. My budget is around 40$. Thanks for all answers

[zslane]

Fancy--mechanical--cheap ($40). You can only have two of those. Choose wisely.

[gAmmingmachine]

ok max 80$

[savantstrike]

Reddragon is pretty common. They've been a middle tier manufacturer for a few years, cheaper than the Razers and Logitechs of the world but better than the Lingyi and AJazz etc. It's okay for what it is.

They said they have some "Cherry (e.g. blue) equivalent" - what manufacturer(s) can be likely behind these switches?
In the past I might suggest Kailh, but Kailh is now of higher tier.

Redragon uses Outemu switches.

They have a recent board (K556 Vara) with a brushed aluminum body and brushed aluminum plate which is pretty nice to type on. Too bad it only comes in Outemu browns as any value proposition is gone if you have to replace all the switches if you want clicky switches.