Hi guys.

Trying to build a custom 104 mechanical keyboard for wife's work.

She types a lot.

Want to diy a 104 mechanical keyboard for her.

Can recommend case, pcb and such. Please provide link.

Switch would be outemu silent white. No need back light and such.

Budget around rm300.

Hello typing enthusiasts, I'm finally looking to take the plunge into Topre switches, currently using the Romer-g based Logitech G810 and really like the feeling of it. The keyword here is "really like", not love. So I'm still in search for the perfect keyboard for me.

So far I have the pros and cons for the two keyboards I'm looking at, I'm open to suggestions btw!

Leopold FC980C
+Generally hear good things about Leopold and their build all over the internet
-Navigation keys (Ins, Del, Home, End, PgUp, PgDn) is absent
-Out of stock

Realforce R2
+Standard keyboard layout
+In stock right now
-Could be inferior feeling, sound and build compared to Leopold?

Will I be missing out a huge difference in experience from getting a Realforce over a Leopold? I could be wrong, this is just what I've observed based on searching around. Cheers!

My IKBC F108 has been suffering key chattering on the 'O' key, based on google I would need to solder a new switch. Could you guys recommend me solder iron and solder (Never soldered) before, or alternative fix

I ordered and received 1 unit keychron over the MCO period, no issues whatsoever. go ahead and order, and if you need a referral code, please let me know!

for that budget, you can try this one, https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=536060210170

however, be warned that there are risks getting these budget kits.

Thanks man. if i were to up the budget up to rm500 what are my choices?

Bro.. where did you get your Keychron from? Their official website?

yessir!

this is my latest build, with leopold's sp-star grey, everglide 63.5g gold-plated springs, and kelowna switch films.



leopold sp-star grey is a good alternative for cherry mx, minus relative scratchiness.

Nice. You test your builds on a hotswap board first right? Is there an appreciable difference in sound and feel after you move it to a non-hotswap board and solder it?

yes, there are obvious differences in terms of typing sound and feel, mainly due to the differences on parts and constructions of these hot-swap and solderable kits. to me the better build is still permanently soldered builds.

i use gk64 as the main break-in unit, because it supports 5-pin switches, and it has the 64-key layout that i prefer. using hot-swap boards to test and tune stuff is efficient. you can even do almost everything on-the-fly.

normally there is not much left to tune when i move them to a soldered build.

Ok thanks. That's what I was afraid of. Was just considering a hotswap board for my daily driver. Will have to reconsider.

Just came across this thread! Banzaaii!

I have just gotten myself a Keychron V2 and I was unsure where to get keycaps for them. Any suggestion guys? Wanna get some pastel blue caps to customise my keyboard

any physical stores or online stores i can get custom/special keycaps? thinking of spice up a little on my rk71!

From cheap to expensive (more or less) .
Taobao
Aliexpress
Lazada
Taihao
https://shop.tai-hao.com/products
Ilumkb
https://ilumkb.com/collections/groupbuy
Zfrontier
https://en.zfrontier.com/collections/groupbuy

Be carefull with whats in the kit for the bottom row.
What you have now is prolly oem profile. Other profiles available like cherry, sa, xda...
Generally pbt better than abs except for gmk or maxkey SA keycaps.

Ultimate rabbit hole is geekhack.com

https://drop.com/mechanical-keyboards/drops.
Expensive but creative design thou.

Drop keyboards have double keypress and poor stab issues. And the magnet feet slips off if you move the kb around. But pretty lah.
I feel better build your own with kbdfans stuff.
I got a few pre orders coming next year. Have to tell myself to stop buying kits and keycaps. Research properly, build one and stop. No one needs more than one kb per pc.