I think it was about 6 months ago when I started this mechanical keyboard thing. Lately. I’ve been modifying my only keyboard, Rexus Daxa M71 Pro and it was pretty much an end game now. I will share my final built later on this post also for your reference.
While I’ve been actively sharing about my built, some of my friends have been asking me about mechanical keyboard recommendations. Thought that this would be helpful, here are pretty much some guidance for you guys when selecting the mechanical keyboards.
First, the layout, a mechanical keyboard can come with a variety of layout as following:
Those were only the most common and popular layouts used. Mine was even much different, I will show you later. The layout is really important as it will depend on your daily usage, “do you need a num pad for faster number typing?”, or “do you need the F1-F12 button?”, and any other button.
Second, the connectivity, the options are wired, wireless with Bluetooth, or wireless with Bluetooth dongle. For me, since I’m a casual user, I just use it for casual typing and not even gaming, I simply use wired.
Choose Bluetooth if you want to use it for multiple devices like your phone or tablet, most decent Bluetooth keyboard can be connected to multiple devices, you can just press a shortcut to change the device. If you want to go for the Bluetooth one, please do pay attention to the Bluetooth specification, as I see currently at the market, they have Bluetooth 3.0–5.0 if I’m not mistaken. Of course, the greater the version number, the better connection they are. Note: make sure your laptop or any other device also have the version you need, or else it would be a bottleneck.
Choose Bluetooth with a dongle if you need your keyboard to be as responsive as it can. Usually, these keyboards are used for gaming purposes, since the user needs a fast response to stay competitive.
Third, consider the switch color (and brand if you also wonder). Basically, the switch is the button you press that gives you the typing experience.
There are many switch brands in the market. The most common that you need to know is Outemu and Gateron. Most cheaper keyboard use Outemu and the less cheap use Gateron. From my experience, Gateron switches tend to be more stable (less wobble) than the Outemu. But if you have not tried any other switch, Outemu is not a bad choice.
More important, you have to determine the color of the switch that you want. Note that regardless of the brand, the common switch color would have similar characteristics.
Red is a linear switch, they tend to be more silent than other switches below, really light to be pressed, not recommended for gaming use purpose since your key would become too sensitive.
Brown is a tactile switch, they tend to give feedback when you press them. Less silent than the Red but more silent than the Blue. This is one of the popular switches for beginner users.
Blue is a clicky switch, as the name when you press the switch, they would result in loud clicky sound. Quite popular among the gaming user, the sound would be so familiar if you ever been to Warnet.
Those are, I think, the most important factor to be considered when you decided to buy your first keyboard. Note that this guide is for beginner users, so I summarize them into only 3 crucial factors.
If you already have your keyboard, and also familiar with these but still not satisfied with the typing experience, your keyboard sound, or else, please do not hesitate to discuss it with me. Also, for reference to any keyboard brand, I may share my experience or knowledge about the brand. I would love to share my experience or any advice for anything about mechanical keyboards.
To end this guidance, I would like to share my current primary keyboard.
I would update the typing sound, I have one with the previous keycaps, it’s quite different but I think it’s good for your reference. Please remember to choose your keyboard wisely and contact me if you have any inquiries. Cheers!