there are a number of sifus using kbd75 (and maybe tina) at mymkb fb page. you should check with them for their thoughts there because they are more active at fb.

notes on gk64 - mystery solved. it's confirmed that stock stabs on gk64 are crappy. i bought few sets of china-made stabs from taobao (they came before genuine cherry stabs), so i just applied the same mods (minus band-aid mod; will add this later).

the differences are real. everything is much better now: very minimal rattles when i tap the space bar at the sides; smooth up-down movement is now even across the key (meaning no matter which part of space bar you tap, it will move down and up evenly)

Hi fellow MKB Sifus. A lot of questions here from newbie so I truly appreciate any given answers and suggestions.

Is the quality of Leopold good? Are they worth the money as of right now compared to other similar 1800 layout (looking at the fc980m) with numpad included but still compact. Cause the shipping fee alone cost $54 which bugs me quite a bit. Not looking at compact 60% size since I already have Anne pro and one TKL board. This 3rd keeb is primarily for typing and so I want a numpad with it.

And also do anyone here own an IBM model M? What's your take on it? Kinda want 1 for the feel of it

Lastly can someone tell me what materials are the keycaps Logitech used on the G pro gaming keyboard. Are they ABS?

Thanks

hahaha... dammit... I guess it's like what others said, some stabs are beyond saving... and these stock stabs on GK64 are some of them. LOL...

hi and welcome.

yes, leopold is one of better prebuilts. for me yes it's worth it.

i know nothing about ibm model m. it's too bulky for me. not sure about key caps on logitech g pro too; it's very likely abs caps.

yeah i didn't know it's this bad. the differences are too obvious.

edit: further tests showed that chinese stabs that i bought are actually relatively decent.

here is a note about the recent revisions of gk64 pcb. just recently i bought one for kailh box switches. upon inspection i noticed that it has pcb sockets for switches that i'm not sure if they're from kailh. (different design and shape, no kailh logo; and honestly the soldering job is not as good and clean as first batch) now i'm not sure if the new pcb sockets can stand up to 100 cycles like kailh's.



although pcb sockets are replaceable (it's like soldered switches), imo it's important that manufacturers should stick to the specs as is for CIY pcb (unless the new parts have equal or better qualities in them)

This post has been edited by horns: Feb 2 2018, 02:41 PM

for fellow mkb users here, this is the brief walk-through on how to build your own 60% custom CIY boards based on gk64 pcb. the reference that i am referring to is this:



imo the advantages of a CIY board are that it makes custom board building very convenient for anyone (i.e. you can enhance the board further with switches and stabs of your choice, mods, etc., with minimal efforts), and it provides additional convenience, including on-the-fly switch hot swapping.

note that i'm not comparing this to custom boards with soldered switches. imo they are still the best option for a custom board, because soldering switches provides a solid reinforcement of physical structure to a board in the long run. however, i think it's much better than key switch testers, so as to give a better idea to individuals on the actual typing experience (with a functional board), before you decided to use the combos in permanent builds, with higher-end parts.

for assembly of CIY boards, you just need three tools:
1. keycap puller
2. switch puller, https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=542535561635
3. a philips-head screw driver (for laptop repairs; a cheap box set found in computer shops will also do the jobs fine)

base parts that you need (sources: taobao, kbdfans)


the assembly process is simple and very straight forward (with some basic mods to make it relatively better)


that's about it actually lol

usually you can complete all the above in under 15 minutes, or less. (if you minus time-consuming tasks like switch lubing and mods, because you can always apply them later if you want)

--

additional notes

1. lubes


2. switches


3. stabilizers


4. compatible top plates and cases


5. shots, based on the prebuilt version, in comparison with stock/prebuilt gk64


6. proprietary driver/software and firmware



This post has been edited by horns: Mar 5 2018, 04:23 PM

did u face any problems using gk64 setup on 5 degree kbd case?

will update you guys with more proper details later. my 5-degree is on the way.

afaik, in terms of parts, the main difference between stock gk64 and kbd-5 degree is the top plate and bottom case. i have read that some standoffs in kbd 5-degree case needs proper insulation, and that's about it. hope to find out more when the real thing is here.

somehow i cannot get more accurate information about screws (the exact model numbers) some told me to use 'normal screws', which is still quite meaningless to me for now. (maybe they are just m2 * 4mm to 6mm, as this was what i found out when i looked up potential screw sizes for cases)

edit: there are indeed valid reasons for people to like kailh box switches. testing with stock red/black (linear, no click bar):
- they are smooth out-of-box (pre-lubed, no scratchy feel; so you can just use them as is. additional lubing does nothing);
- their stems wobble less;
- somehow they are relatively louder than cherry mx and gateron linear switches when they bottoms out. (maybe it's just me)

the first two characteristics bring a relatively better and solid typing feel right out-of-box. i think kaihua really put a good amount of efforts to make their switches better this time. for those who are still haunted by their old switches, just give this one a try. pricing wise, they're relatively cheaper (with pre-lubed switches; less wobbly stems; anti-dust/water ip56 stuff).

the first impression is really nice and impressive. however, the switches are still in their fresh states. it will take a while to find out if there are inconsistency in them, or any other weird effects.

This post has been edited by horns: Feb 4 2018, 01:50 AM

I just changed my Kailh box browns and blacks to Gateron silent reds and blacks. Okay, the first thing is the obvious difference in decibels. I haven't tried the much superior Cherry silent red(as reviewed by many others) variant yet, so I can't compare between them at the moment. Bottoming out will be a lot softer sound instead of the "clack" on normal switches. Anyway, perhaps this is the bad part on these Gateron silent reds, the rough scratchiness feel of the switches. Slightly less profound on the blacks but the reds are just horrible. You can even hear the scratchy sound. As if there's a layer of powder or sand in the switch. This is going to take some getting use to.

don't use them as is. lube them first. all silent switches from cherry mx and gateron are scratchy at stock state. lubing gets rid of the scratchiness entirely.

tbh lubed gateron silent is just slightly quieter than lubed normal gateron linear. still, they are great switches, and i like them. but in terms of building silent board, gateron silents are not as optimal as cherry mx silents.

now i really hope kailh box will have a silent version very soon hahaha!

Lots of work to lube every single switch but perhaps that is the only way to go now then. I also noticed that it's slightly more wobbly compared to box switches. The spacebar wobbles way more than before. Either that or it's the damn placebo effect. Hahaha...

Anyway, do you have issues securing the cherry silent switches on the plate? Somehow, these Gaterons won't secure itself nicely no matter how hard I push them in. After snipping off the 2 extra legs (it's a 5 legs/pcb mount switch) I managed to push it in but the back section of the switch won't snap on the plate. Meaning only the front part (where the 2 connectors are) managed to snap on. What I did is, I had to snip off the 2 tiny little legs on the other end of the switch, if you can understand what I'm saying. Only after that, the switch snap on perfectly. Perhaps the plate were a tiny wee bit too thick? Hmmmm... Or perhaps Gateron switches are a little thicker than Kailh box?

This post has been edited by antaras: Feb 6 2018, 09:08 AM

yes it took some time to lube all of them but it's worth it. right kailh box switches wobble the least compared to cherry mx and gateron switches.

i have no issue securing mx silents on the plate. (i have both rgb and normal versions; basically they are the same as the normal red rgb that came with my gk64)

now this part is weird. i do have cherry mx and gateron pcb-mount blacks, and they are secured nicely to the plate without leg-cutting also. (just retested them. they sit flush to the plate. yes it's relatively but slightly harder to push them in compared to plate-mount switches) in fact i think pcb-mount switches are relatively better to be used with gk64, because the additional legs add more rigidity to the switches. btw gk64 that i'm typing on now are actually consisting of gat red (plate-mount) + gat silent black (pcb-mount).

edit: this is a good point about type of switches that i forgot to mention. updated the walk-through a bit to reflect this. there were plenty of tests and experiments that i haven't had time to reorganize yet. i will try to add as much as possible into a better guide later.

This post has been edited by horns: Feb 6 2018, 04:57 PM

Do you all get your items/parts from Taobao (KBDfans's shop)?

not really. there are plenty of good places to get parts for mkbs.

oh good for you. as long as you're happy with it then it's all good

Any other places for me to start looking for parts? Coming intl this cold just reading alot of guides online, but all the suggested vendors are either US based or AliExpress..

which parts are you looking for? afaik many shops are from those places.

Am looking for all the parts to make a custom keyboard, PCB, casing, switches, keycaps etc...

oh nice. you might wanna start browsing the following:
- kbdfans.cn
- kprepublic.com
- winkeyless.kr
- gonskeyboardworks.com
- keyclack.com
- switchtop.com
- zfrontier.com
- www.novelkeys.xyz
- banggood.com
- mechanicalkeyboards.com
- massdrop.com

the list is just based on what popped out in my head just now. i'm a beginner so yeah

Can anyone help to suggest best bang for bucks mechanical keyboard?

what's the budget? which form factor do you prefer?

usually new mkbs with decent overall qualities start with 300+