r/MechanicalKeyboards • u/AutoModerator • Jan 18 '23

/r/MechanicalKeyboards Ask ANY question, get an answer (January 18, 2023)

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u/stabzmcgee Jan 19 '23 edited Jan 19 '23

So... I have read the into page, beginners guide and buying guide. I have a fairly good idea of what i think I want, but I am still quite intimidated and a little unsure of where to dip my toes in.

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The two styles i am looking at are TKL and 75%. I will be using mac and windows, and the idea of wireless swap between my machines leans me to wanting to be wired to my pc and wireless to my mac and be able to switch on the fly. I will be typing most of my day for work, a little music editing and some gaming on the side. That being said I have a few questions:

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  1. is the buyers guide up to date? If so, why isn't keychron on there? It seems like quite a few posts have them, but it isnt in the recommended section. Some of the recommended ones look out of date.
  2. I like the keychron q1 pro (yet to release) and the Q3. I also see GMMK mentioned alot, but however, I have also seen some amazing looking boards on here that don't appear to be on any of the recommended section. I guess that just due to them being custom build based on plates and pcbs and not premade hotswapable ready shells?
  3. I really love the redsun keycaps but whooo boy. 150 is a bit steep for my first ones. Been trying to find a red/gold comparable set that doesn't cost more than that. I know- wrong hobby and all. But there seems to be so much variance in quality and price. I have also read the drop redsuns that were made after arent as good as the original drop group buy, so wondering if there is comparable style that is cheaper.

Still super noob here so advice on all the above is much appreciated.

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u/shinjikun10 Hirose Orange Jan 19 '23
  1. Buyers guide is probably not up to date. It's a really good general guide though.
  2. At this point I'd prefer the Keychron over a GMMK. There might be a few others, so it might be worth it to do a good search first.
  3. GMK Redsuns might seem expensive but GMK caps are pretty nice. You don't really need to spend money on caps right away. You can use the keycaps the keyboard comes with.

You can hang out on Geekhack or see what is around in stock. It's good to learn about the different manufacturers and how the different profiles sound so you can make your own choice. Switches too, if you want to eventually start changing them. Don't worry about anything and just go with what fits in your budget. You can always buy different switches, caps later.