I want to buy a new mech board but not looking to drop a lot of money on it. What’s the best pre-built budget mech keyboard you’ve ever tried? ~$100 or less.
Keychron and nothing else. None of the gaming branded keyboards even come close, the value is insane.
I agree here. I have several of them now and while I have some much higher end ones, I feel like I learned everything from the Keychron boards. (Q series mainly)
Keychrons are nice at the US$100 budget, but if you go really cheap there are some bargains to be had. Akko makes some nice stuff, and the Chinese ecommerce sites are swamped with decent stuff that goes on sale at various times.
Akko boards are nice too, but keychron has consistently been better at the same price for all the ones I tried.
Can’t go wrong with Keychron: https://www.keychron.com/collections/normal-profile-keyboards
But it does depend on what you’re after
This is a personal choice. I’ve had Keychron and theyr’e very good entry level … but I DESPISE the fact that they have Bluetooth only. The fact that you have to press a key to wake the keeb up and then wait 2-3 seconds for Bluetooth to pair before you start typing bothers me to no end.
I ended up selling mine to buy a RoyalKludge one which is an amazon clone … it’s pretty much the same thing but it has a 2.5GHZ dongle that doesn’t have that same delay.
It also has RGB LEDs programmable software, hot swappable switches and it costs under a hundo …
Been using it for 2 years now, very happy with it.
Hmm I don’t think you’re using the right Keychron boards. Mine has USB.
I’m not worried about that because I hard wire my keyboards anyway.
I agree, my current daily driver is a Keychron and so far I haven’t had a problem with the Bluetooth when I use it. I use it wired most of the time but a 2.5Ghz dongle would be fantastic.
I just saw the Royal Kludge RK918 today and it looks just like the out of production Anker keyboard I have. It is solidly built and looks great. The only drawback I see is it appears to be like the Anker in that it is a hardwired cable, no customizing with aviator cable or such. Not all RK keyboard are like this and many have the dongle like yours.
I really think those Amazon brands would see noticeable sales improvement if they paid a native English speaker $10 to come up with a better name than “Royal Kludge”.
What are you talking about? All of my keychron boards have a hard wired connection and Bluetooth
My Keychron has a dongle, although it was one of their more costly models.
I love Keychron. I have a K2. Was thinking about a C1 Pro Custom. Only $80.
So many options from them, really. You could also look at epomaker, and even Drop has a few options, but you’ll get most bang from Keychron
The first board that made me fall into this rabbit hole was a K2, it’s a great budget board! My friend has a C2 and is quite happy with it.
Can’t really go wrong with that, if you like it, go for it!
If you’re not against buying chinese products, Redragon has a good reputation and I’m satisfied with my keyboard from them
Have a redragon myself, not too shabby. I’d also look at nuphy
Agreed, my wife and I both have a red dragon and they serve their purpose while being pleasant.
We have 2 Tecware Phantom RGB at home that have been great. They have a decent number of options and we’ll under $100.
I just use the RGB for backlighting, but SO had the pudding caps and they look great if you’re into that. The software hasn’t been too bad for us either.
Take a look at the 8bitdo keyboard.
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I thought it had Gateron Browns.
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Sharkoon Skiller Mech SGK3. It’s a full size keyboard, if that doesn’t put you off. Featuring a heavy sheet of metal for the surface, and you can choose from linear, tactile and clicky switches (non-swappable). For 60-80 €, that’s a real steal.
If you want ULTRA budget, I’ve used this cheap ass keyboard daily for 4 years now: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CLYNW78/
I’ve beat the crap out of it (literally, nodejs be frustrating af sometimes), but it’s still good as new. Some of the switches I’ve swapped out for Silent Black since my newborn was sleeping next to me at the time, but the original switches all work fine. It’s got all the RGB bells and whistles, but I leave it on white.
Friend got a cheapie on sale, US$7.50 give or take a few cents. Bog standard 104 keyboard, Ducky-like clone, and came with Cherry Reds and PBT keycaps. Nothing significantly good but the overall build and feel were easily better than quite a few keyboards at 5-7x the price.
If you do not mind 60% keyboards, some of the Dierya products might be the way to go, e.g.:
- Dierya DK61SE, available for $25.99
- Dierya DK61E available for $49.99
Both are available with brown, red or blue switches. Comes in nice packaging for budget keyboard (here some unpacking, testing and review).
I have the Dierya DK61SE. It is nicely built, and I can take in my work laptop case, if I am traveling and working away from office, but wanna use a mechanical keyboard instead of my laptop built-in keyboard.
I looked into getting these, too! I ended up being gifted a keychron C1. I really like it. Then I got GSA caps and Fekker switches, and now I love it.
It depends on where you live. A quick rerview with local seller to get what in stock first. I live in third world country, the entry level usually is: Akko, Keychron, NJ
Keychron Keychron Keychron Keychron Keychron Keychron Keychron Keychron Keychron Keychron Keychron Keychron Keychron Keychron Keychron Keychron Keychron Keychron Keychron Keychron.
Yep! I’m going to go with the C1 Pro for $80!
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I feel the same. However, if Mac compatibly matters to you go for the keychron
