I’ve had a ROG Azoth (don’t judge) keyboard for about a year now. Been using it for both programming and gaming, and I really like it, but there are a few issues (software being the obvious one). So I’ve decided it’s time to put together my own keyboard. I started watching some YouTube and yeah… I’m out of my depth here.
So I was wondering if maybe people could share things they wish they knew when starting out so I don’t mess up to badly.
I’ve already found this switch tester which I figured would give me a general idea of what kind of switches might be for me. Other than that, I’m not really sure how to proceed 😅.
I’m not interesting in doing any soldering.
Yeah, build was not the right term I see. If one buys a “base set”, switches, key caps, and puts them together, what would one call that?
That base set is what’s the problem, I don’t think places sell that, they might either sell you an assembled keyboard, or the PCB and connectors for you to solder and add your controller, switches, key caps, etc.
Honestly look for something preassembled in the form factor you want with hot swappable switches. For example my old keyboard was a RedDragon k530 with brown switches is an excellent 60% model that you can get with your preferred switches and if you want to change them in the future (I for example changed mine for some silent ones, plus added some padding and o-rings to make it extra quiet).
If you want split ortholineal keyboards the Moonlander is a great choice, although I never got one because they’re too expensive and shipping is not great to Europe. Personally I quite enjoyed soldering my own crkbd kit, but I know it’s not for everyone.
Ah, gotcha. I’ll have to read the product descriptions more thoroughly!
Thanks!