Mechanical Keyboard for work - UK Layout

I have always absolutely always sworn by the Filco Majestouch II. Its switches are beautiful, and a new set of key caps (once the coating wears off) is pretty cheap.

I have however after much deliberation decided to go wireless, and have ordered a Keychron Q6 Max, arriving tomorrow. Can let you know how it feels after a few days of usage?

Programmer/light gaming usage here.
 
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Thanks for the reply. I'm looking for one that is more pleasing on the eye like the RK Royal Kludge but with UK keyboard layout
 
Yeah I'll grant you the Q6 isn't pretty, but you can get custom keycaps for 'em.

Really like the Royal Kludge cream colour.
 
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Looking for a KB for work that isn't a "gaming" one. I like the ones that have a retro look like this: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/duck...ry-mx-speed-silver-vintage-per-dck-00946.html

But with some color. Any recommendations? Will be using it a lot for 8+ hours a day
What do you mean by some colour, as in leds or coloured keycaps themselves? You can always look at aftermarket keycap sets to get whatever combination of colours you want.

Last year I got an epomaker th80 pro to try a wireless keyboard, mostly a 'classic/retro' colour scheme but with a bit of colour and have been enjoying it, actually retired my ducky mini with GH60 orange/black keycaps and just use this at the moment.
 
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What do you mean by some colour, as in leds or coloured keycaps themselves? You can always look at aftermarket keycap sets to get whatever combination of colours you want.

Last year I got an epomaker th80 pro to try a wireless keyboard, mostly a 'classic/retro' colour scheme but with a bit of colour and have been enjoying it, actually retired my ducky mini with GH60 orange/black keycaps and just use this at the moment.

Yes that's exactly the kind I'm looking for. The epomaker th80 looks great in reviews but what puts me off is some reviews saying after months of use some keys require you to press hard or multiple times to register the key stroke.

I really do like the Epomaker RT100 98 but again worried it won't last a year with 8 hours a day 5 days a week office use.

Hence I'm looking for a brand that is sold by UK retailers like Overclockers and other well know computer shops
 
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Yes that's exactly the kind I'm looking for. The epomaker th80 looks great in reviews but what puts me off is some reviews saying after months of use some keys require you to press hard or multiple times to register the key stroke.

Hence I'm looking for a brand that is sold by UK retailers like Overclockers and other well know computer shops
Yeah I took a slight risk as did read some horror stories over bad customer service and issues etc, had it coming up for a year I'd guess now and it's been basically flawless, sometimes the wireless connection takes a while to connect as I switch between computers but in terms of actual typing no issues so far.

I feel like you can't go wrong with Ducky, or as others have said keychron would be a good shout, and then potentially either a full keycap set or some novelty ones to make it a bit more interesting.
 
Ok I'll look at keycaps for that ducky I linked in the original post

Edit: which colour switches shall I go for? The one I had was brown and I liked it but was a tad too loud in terms of the echoing click noise

The Cherry KC MX 200 is a good brand but it looks a bit meh. Can the keycaps be swapped on it? Their website doesnt mention it
 
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I'd suggest Nuphy Air96 v2 for low profile or Halo96 v2 but they don't make them with UK layout unfortunately, IIRC:/ Unless something's changed.

Love their colourways, particularly the Lunay Gray for Air and Blue Lagoon and Mojito for Halo, and they also feel and sound very good out of the box. They also have their custom switches as a collab with Gateron, I use Wisteria and really like them.

Were it not for the lack of a UK layout, those would be right up your street, I think. A bit more colour than usual, solid feel and great build quality.

Other than that, Keychron is probably a safe bet, especially if you need full layout.
 
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I use the Keychron Q6 Max for both gaming and work while at home - great keyboard. So much so the Mrs asked if I could buy her one.
 
Thanks for the recommendations. I'm still kea img towards the Ducky Vintage or the Cherry one mainly as they are sold within UK online retailers and not coming from China.
 
First impressions of the Keychron Q6 pro are good. Nice response feeling, feels good for work so far. Not done any programming yet mind you, nor any heavy duty typing. Will see how it feels after a days work.
 
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Thanks for the recommendations. I'm still kea img towards the Ducky Vintage or the Cherry one mainly as they are sold within UK online retailers and not coming from China.
Just be careful when choosing a switch type - if it's clicky blue or tactile brown switches, they can be noisy and disturb your co-workers.

I've got a Nuphy Halo 65 that's perfect for work as it's 65% layout, has 2.4ghz, bluetooth and USB and the baby kangaroo switches aren't too noisy.

I did have to silence the spacebar as that had zero padding as to make an audible thunk when using it for feedback but my co-workers complained.

You can use 2mm (or thereabouts) strips of neoprene to dampen the keyboard if needed.

Keyboards these days are often so good that it's hard to make a bad choice - The Royal Kludge is a very highly rated KB.

See RTings.com for their list of recommended keyboards.
 
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If it's typing quality you are after then the Keychron Q6 Max and the others in its lineup of similar weight (2.1KG) cannot be beaten.

I now have the Ducky one X (new inductive switches, very nice), Keychron Q6 Max and Wooting two HE. I have also had the Ducky One 3 Pro Nazca Line and the Ducky Zero 6108 for reference.

The Ducky one X and Q6 Max are the outright winners. For actuation distance control it's the One X, it's also heavy at 1.6KG but the sharper cut keycaps and lower acoustic damping vs the Q6 Max makes the Q6 Max feel like the superior typing experience, not that the One X is bad at all as it's much nicer than any other mech keyboard I have owned or used that isn't a Keychron.
 
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Yes them two are on my shortlist. For now I bought a cheap ADX Firefight Mechanical Keyboard for £20. Not sure what switches are in it but it's not that disimiler from my Hyper X Alloy I bought for £100 4 years ago
 
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If it's typing quality you are after then the Keychron Q6 Max and the others in its lineup of similar weight (2.1KG) cannot be beaten.

I now have the Ducky one X (new inductive switches, very nice), Keychron Q6 Max and Wooting two HE. I have also had the Ducky One 3 Pro Nazca Line and the Ducky Zero 6108 for reference.

The Ducky one X and Q6 Max are the outright winners. For actuation distance control it's the One X, it's also heavy at 1.6KG but the sharper cut keycaps and lower acoustic damping vs the Q6 Max makes the Q6 Max feel like the superior typing experience, not that the One X is bad at all as it's much nicer than any other mech keyboard I have owned or used that isn't a Keychron.
My mate raves about his Ducky One X, I might need to have a shot and see what I think.
 
I would get a Keychron with ISO in a base colour that you want, get your own switches and key caps.

The actual base is the easy part, I spent far more time deciding what switches to get, and equally more time for key caps.

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Cool looking board, but no details?

It's a Keychron Q1 (not wireless).
I was using Gateron Oil Kings in the photo but since switched to Milky Yellow Pros switches.
Keycaps is call Cherry PBoW by Novelkeys.

It has a lot of mods done to it though, tape mod between the top and bottom metal chassis, masking tape under PCB and foam mod in the space bar.
 
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