Most of us are on the headphones, should be okay. Also half of the time everyone is working from home as well. But yes it’s best to keep it softer. I’m thinking of red switches. Any recommendations for a decent low profile mechanical keyboard?

Oh what’s the keyboard that you are using in the office?


Yeah I feel that my boss punching on the membrane keyboards are louder! Hahaha but mechanical keyboard will definitely have that signature sound, unavoidable.

The keyboard that my company provided, both Lenovo and microsoft one, they aren’t the cheap type but definitely not comfortable. Especially the Microsoft ones, I feel like my fingers joint hurt after using them. Lol!

i don't follow prebuilts in the market for quite a while now. i have no option for you at that price range. you should wait for our friends for suggestions.

I use Logitech MX Keys.

https://www.logitech.com/en-my/products/key.../mx-keys-s.html

Right now I’m typing in the office and I’m so annoyed. And my fingers hurt from just typing like seriously. Hahaha! I’m really considering getting Keychron Low Profile. It’s expensive yes but if it could last me for a long time then I think it’s worth it. This is the one I’m looking at, I will get the red one, what do you think?

https://s.lazada.com.my/s.gEC5h

If you find membrane too hard, you shouldnt get a K series because they are tray mounted.
You should at least look at the v or q series.
You can also test type at shops like mykb (subang) or mecha (sunway).
Low profile has 2mm travel vs 4mm on a normal switch. That might also be an issue for you. Also lighter springs might help.
But for rm200, you're looking at used stuff or maybe royal kludge that kinda range which might still be tray mount. Look for gasket mounted. And cheap gasket mounted is as hard as tray mount due to hard silicon gaskets.
Slowly try try. Dun buy the first thing you see.

You can look at Tecware or the royal kludge keyboards which are quite good for the price.
I concur that you go and type on some physical keyboards around your place to get a feel of the keys.

follow what krayden say.
if you feel hand/finger pain then you shouldnt ever look on lowprofile,
as the lowprofile almost no travel distance, mean you will bottom out real fast causing your finger stressed.

don worry, take time to survey.

krayden has a better explanation and suggestion for you.

Is that why membrane keyboard is causing the stress on your fingers? Cause it’s not deep enough? Strangely I don’t feel it when I’m using laptop keyboard. Hmmm..

I will definitely go and check out the shops that you mentioned!

This post has been edited by miyakochan89: Jul 3 2023, 12:46 PM

I spent some time there and walked away with a Keychron. It’s red switches though but I still feel that it’s kinda loud, but loud without slamming on the keyboard. I guess my next step to dampen the sound is to put o-ring?

In hindsight maybe I should have bought a 2nd one. Aiyo, no choice la. Considered it as long term investment then.

This post has been edited by miyakochan89: Jul 3 2023, 08:41 PM

Which Keychron did you picked up?

Red switch, Keychron k4 pro. 96%, kinda heavy. Currently gonna lug the entire thing to the office. Lol! Have a feeling that it’s going to make a lot of noises though. But good thing is I don’t have to slam it so hard.

er q or v series are supposed to be better options in your case, if you looked for softer typing experience.

anyway, have fun with this one. with that many foams inside, it's not that loud at work place. you can still replace the key switches to silent ones if necessary.

It's still loud I feel.
What are the other switches that I can opt for? I will put in O-Ring first. Also what can i do with the space bar? It's damn loud. Hahah!

Ok I take it you like having a numpad, so 96 is a good size for you.

Try the Orings, maybe you'll like it and that will be it.
You can lube the switches for a more pleasant sound (subjective). Or change to silent switches if its still too loud.

Why would you need to buy a second one?
Long term investment? This QK100 below will be a long term mid tier can retire after this keyboard.

https://www.rebultkeyboards.com/collections/qk100

I dun mean to poison you but better this than you buying another K, V and Q and then find yourself still disatisfied.

Again, dun buy the first thing you see. Or in your case I think its safer if you hold all purchases for 5days. If you really want it in 5 days then you can buy. Dun worry there're not flying off the shelves.

ok. i think it's the keycaps. you can try o-rings first. (i assumed stock keycaps are of taller profiles, e.g., oem, osa)

alternatively, replace key caps with cherry profile thick pbt (without o-rings), lube key switches with 205g0. you can also replace key switches to silent linears, like wuque ws silent linear white. (make sure you read the specs first to see if you're ok with it)

I just replaced my switches from the Vertex V1 to the Gazzew U4 silent. My colleague asked me, are you typing or not? lolx

haha right, silent switches are good at keeping quiet, especially after you tuned them, then put them on fully foamed builds with thick pbt. everything else will be louder than them.

alternatively, as long as you type lightly (touch typing without bottoming out), you can also reduce the typing noise significantly, relatively speaking, e.g., i can type like that on this board with fff. it makes minimal typing noise.

edit: tbh, typing can be relaxing and fun if you don't hammer keys like the whole world owes you something. i was once like that. since i changed my typing habits, it's a different story now.

This post has been edited by horns: Jul 4 2023, 02:10 PM

No la, I meant buying a 2nd hand ones, hahaha!
But I don’t get painful fingers today! But my colleagues did mention hearing tack tack tack the entire day. Lol.

So I’m going to start with o-ring first since it’s the cheapest options. And then maybe keycaps then only consider changing switches. I assume that’s the most expensive ones? How do I lube them???

Where do you get those keys?

I have a k4 v2 in the office.
Using the tactile haimu whisper silent switches.
https://pantheonkeys.com/products/haimu-whi...actile-switches

It’s more quiet than membrane keyboards.

They have a linear silent version and it is even more quiet.
Another of my build with the heartbeat linear switches is more quiet than laptop scissor switches.
They do not have as much of a mushy feeling as other silent switches too. They are also prelubed.

I also did foam and tape mod. But K4 pro comes with foam so you don’t need to do that. Just need replace the switches.

Switches. Keycaps. Keyboard builds/mods all contributes to the sound signature. But silent switches easily eliminates 80-90%+ of the sound

This post has been edited by LegendLee: Jul 4 2023, 05:48 PM