I want to buy a new mech board but not looking to drop a lot of money on it. What’s the best pre-built budget mech keyboard you’ve ever tried? ~$100 or less.
Keychron Keychron Keychron Keychron Keychron Keychron Keychron Keychron Keychron Keychron Keychron Keychron Keychron Keychron Keychron Keychron Keychron Keychron Keychron Keychron.
Yep! I’m going to go with the C1 Pro for $80!
Keychron and nothing else. None of the gaming branded keyboards even come close, the value is insane.
Keychrons are nice at the US$100 budget, but if you go really cheap there are some bargains to be had. Akko makes some nice stuff, and the Chinese ecommerce sites are swamped with decent stuff that goes on sale at various times.
Akko boards are nice too, but keychron has consistently been better at the same price for all the ones I tried.
If you’re not against buying chinese products, Redragon has a good reputation and I’m satisfied with my keyboard from them
Agreed, my wife and I both have a red dragon and they serve their purpose while being pleasant.
I’ve only tried keychron and redragon, but the keychrons feel quite a bit better. The C2 is budget friendly. Only issue I had was the white keys with white back light. But I’m pretty sure they come in different colors or rgb for under $100.
Take a look at the 8bitdo keyboard.
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I thought it had Gateron Browns.
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It depends on where you live. A quick rerview with local seller to get what in stock first. I live in third world country. The entry level usually: Akko, Keychron, NJ
If you want ULTRA budget, I’ve used this cheap ass keyboard daily for 4 years now: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CLYNW78/
I’ve beat the crap out of it, but it’s still good as new. Some of the switches I’ve swapped out for Silent Black since my newborn was sleeping next to me at the time, but the original switches all work fine. It’s got all the RGB bells and whistles, but I leave it on white.
If you do not mind 60% keyboards, some of the Dierya products might be the way to go, e.g.:
- Dierya DK61SE, available for $25.99
- Dierya DK61E available for $49.99
Both are available with brown, red or blue switches. Comes in nice packaging for budget keyboard (here some unpacking, testing and review).
I have the Dierya DK61SE. It is nicely built, and I can take in my work laptop case, if I am traveling and working away from office, but wanna use a mechanical keyboard instead of my laptop built-in keyboard.
I looked into getting these, too! I ended up being gifted a keychron C1. I really like it. Then I got GSA caps and Fekker switches, and now I love it.
I am a big TLK fan so I opted to get a Keychron K8 - it’s got bluetooth, solderless replaceable switches, VIA keymapping, RGB LED lighting etc.
Overall I’m very pleased with the keyboard for the price
I’m super happy with my keychain c1, though it is my first so I’ve got nothing to compare to. dunno how much I paid, wasn’t much tho
Sharkoon Skiller Mech SGK3. It’s a full size keyboard, if that doesn’t put you off. Featuring a heavy sheet of metal for the surface, and you can choose from linear, tactile and clicky switches (non-swappable). For 60-80 €, that’s a real steal.
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I feel the same. However, if Mac compatibly matters to you go for the keychron
We have 2 Tecware Phantom RGB at home that have been great. They have a decent number of options and we’ll under $100.
I just use the RGB for backlighting, but SO had the pudding caps and they look great if you’re into that. The software hasn’t been too bad for us either.
