this post was submitted on 27 Jun 2023
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Mechanical Keyboards

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I'm planning to buy my first "proper" keyboard (Keychron V6). What keycaps and switches should I go with? (self.mechanicalkeyboards)
submitted 1 year ago by osbo9991 to c/[email protected]
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I have been using a cheap TKL AliExpress hot swap board for a little while, and I want to upgrade because:

  1. I miss the numpad
  2. Build quality is better than the average membrane keyboard, but still not great

I'm planning to get the keychron V6 because it is is one of the few keyboards that are:

  1. Not ultra expensive
  2. Full size
  3. Has a knob for volume control
  4. Reasonable build quality
  5. Hot swap
  6. QMK/VIA support is nice

The only issue is that I am not sure what switches and keycaps to get. I was considering saving my money and going with stock switches (keychron k pro reds) and keycaps (in-house "OSA" profile), but I do not know if I will like this keycap profile. My current board has OEM profile keycaps, and those are fine, but I want to try more "spherical" rather than "cylindrical" profiles, and it doesn't seem like the stock keychron keycaps are particularly spherical, at least in photos. If they are more spherical in person, I might go this route.

My other plan I was considering was to try keychron's other in-house profile, "KSA", which seems more spherical to me (https://www.keychron.com/products/double-shot-ksa-pbt-keycap-full-keycap-set), or maybe a mt3 set (but I'm not sure about getting an abs set, my current keycaps are getting shiny). For switches, I was thinking of buying the tried-and-true gateron milky yellows, but I am not sure if there are better bang for the buck options out there for smooth linear switches.

TL;DR: Should I go with stock switches and keycaps to start out? Or should I get the bare bones keychron V6, a spherical keycap set (KSA or mt3), and budget linears like gateron milky yellows?

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[–] osbo9991 1 points 1 year ago

I unfortunately do not have a switch tester. The problem I have with switch testers is how much they cost. That switch tester is only $30 cheaper than the entire keyboard I am buying (for the cheaper acrilic one)! The smaller cheaper ones won't be as helpful either. I wish there was a company that let you rent a giant switch tester for a week or so so that I could test a ton of switches without wasting money on the full cost of the switch tester.

I guess I could just try to return it after, but that's a lot of hassle.