I have a Corsair K63 that i got on sale. i haven't really heard good things about it and am thinking of upgrading. Without going down the custom keyboard blackhole that seems to draw me ever closer, what would be the best keyboard I could get for £200 or under.
Keyboard is fine.
If you want to go custom keyboard for that money I'd suggest doing research first, it's a rabbit hole mate. Personally I've given up on them as I think most are a waste of money especially if you are the only person using them.
Ironically my fav keyboard these days isn't mechanical, it's a Logi K950 Slim as it fits my needs best (multi device, very quiet, wireless).
If you want to go custom keyboard for that money I'd suggest doing research first, it's a rabbit hole mate. Personally I've given up on them as I think most are a waste of money especially if you are the only person using them.
Ironically my fav keyboard these days isn't mechanical, it's a Logi K950 Slim as it fits my needs best (multi device, very quiet, wireless).
Soldato
I'm a big fan of Ducky keyboards, but if your keyboard works just keep using it, not worth creating e-waste.
Going down the custom keyboard rabbit hole can be quite daunting, And expensive...
But the good thing is, is that it doesn't have to be. I guess it depends if you want features like Stuff the Wooting keyboards provide then your options do shrink, but there are some REALLY good keyboards Out there which won't break the bank and are just miles better than anything all the mainstream keyboard manufacturers like Corsair, Asus, Razer offer at a lower price, in terms of build quality and feel.
Considering you're coming from a K63, If you wanted to stay with the TKL lay out, I'd check out the MonsGeek M3W, just over £100 at the moment, trimode, rgb and all that good stuff. If you're willing to go down to 75% which I personally think is a wonderful sweet spot then the options open up even more.
But the good thing is, is that it doesn't have to be. I guess it depends if you want features like Stuff the Wooting keyboards provide then your options do shrink, but there are some REALLY good keyboards Out there which won't break the bank and are just miles better than anything all the mainstream keyboard manufacturers like Corsair, Asus, Razer offer at a lower price, in terms of build quality and feel.
Considering you're coming from a K63, If you wanted to stay with the TKL lay out, I'd check out the MonsGeek M3W, just over £100 at the moment, trimode, rgb and all that good stuff. If you're willing to go down to 75% which I personally think is a wonderful sweet spot then the options open up even more.
Budget brands like Keychron, Monsgeek etc. are really great for the price.
Most gaming brands have gotten away with rehashing the same old plastic junk for too long and it really shows when these newcomers can come in offering 80% of the enthusiast benefits for a rock-bottom price.
Most gaming brands have gotten away with rehashing the same old plastic junk for too long and it really shows when these newcomers can come in offering 80% of the enthusiast benefits for a rock-bottom price.
Exactly, and with far superior build quality. It's only now that the mainstream brands are beginning to care about stuff like acoustics, which is tied to materials and build quality amongst other things, but they want to try and charge ridiculous prices like $500... Looking at you Asus... Where at that point you can get a plethora of far superior premium custom boards *cough* Mode Designs *cough*.
If you don't mind trying 75% boards, I would highly recommend the Wobkey Rainy75, this thing has no right being priced so cheap, it's easily punching above it's price point in terms of build quality etc.
Other 75% boards within the price range you could check out:
Bridge 75 - https://shortcutofficial.com/ (they even have an HE version if that's something you're looking for)
Womier SK75 - https://womierkeyboard.com/products/womier-sk75
Any of these 3 boards would be superior to anything from the mainstream brands, and you could use the money you'd save on some fancy keycaps or different switches... OR BOTH!
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Just picked up a Nuphy Air60 HE. Low profile hall effect with a solid build. Amazing if you don't mind the smaller size.
Soldato
I went for a custom keyboard mainly because I wanted to try a mechanical keyboard and I also liked the idea of cool keycaps (rather than the normal boring black). I bought a Keychron (last Black Friday) as I heard they were good for beginners and decent quality for the pretty low price ) I paid less then £80 for a V3.
Out of the box it was nice, but I obviously wanted to try out different switches and keycaps. Ultimately I am glad I did as I ended up getting some cheap tactile clone switches and some SA Profile keycaps. I love the keyboard to type on now, it makes a nice noise, has a nice feel but it showed me the custom keyboard word isn't for me as I hated the actual process of removing all the keycaps and switches, then installing new ones. It was slow and laborious and I just didn't enjoy it.
I know for certain I won't be getting another keyboard as I can't use two at the same time and I don't have anywhere else that would require another keyboard. I do know if I ever was in a position where I needed two full time keyboards in the house, I would get another keychron with tactile switches and some SA profile keycaps and be done, if however it was a keyboard for say sitting in a cupboard for using with a server, I would use whatever cheap thing I could find.
Edit - another reason I liked the keychron the ISO layout - for me it is a deal breaker, I had a US layout laptop for a while and hated it.
Edit 2 - Oh yeah and the knob!
Out of the box it was nice, but I obviously wanted to try out different switches and keycaps. Ultimately I am glad I did as I ended up getting some cheap tactile clone switches and some SA Profile keycaps. I love the keyboard to type on now, it makes a nice noise, has a nice feel but it showed me the custom keyboard word isn't for me as I hated the actual process of removing all the keycaps and switches, then installing new ones. It was slow and laborious and I just didn't enjoy it.
I know for certain I won't be getting another keyboard as I can't use two at the same time and I don't have anywhere else that would require another keyboard. I do know if I ever was in a position where I needed two full time keyboards in the house, I would get another keychron with tactile switches and some SA profile keycaps and be done, if however it was a keyboard for say sitting in a cupboard for using with a server, I would use whatever cheap thing I could find.
Edit - another reason I liked the keychron the ISO layout - for me it is a deal breaker, I had a US layout laptop for a while and hated it.
Edit 2 - Oh yeah and the knob!
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I recently got a Keychron V1 Max (ISO). Was pretty much perfect out of the box.
I did decide to get some silent switches and different key caps, but even with those mods it came to around £160.
Only draw back with ISO is the availability of key caps, much better options with ANSI.
I did decide to get some silent switches and different key caps, but even with those mods it came to around £160.
Only draw back with ISO is the availability of key caps, much better options with ANSI.