that's many years ago. iinm, outemu was known as one of prominent key switch suppliers for mechanical keyboards used in cyber cafes, in cn. (cyber cafes is a big business in cn. this was when mx style key switches, especially clicky blue, were getting more attentions) back then, their key switches were made as cheap as possible, so that cyber cafe owners could replace them when they were faulty. even if failure rates were high, replacement parts were readily available and very affordable.

tuned outemu is ok.

Gazzew U4 series are also manufactured by outemu

yes i managed to finish up the o-ring yesterday. So far it still has noises, just dampened a little, but if i type softer, it's almost entirely silent. Slightly louder than me typing on my Macbook right now. But the typing sensation is slightly different.....How come i don't feel pain typing on macbook keyboards? hmm...

This post has been edited by miyakochan89: Jul 7 2023, 10:03 PM

lol. those macbook keyboards must be suit to your typing style? lol
Do you like the O-ring typing feel?

I don’t know, it doesn’t hurt me. It should be much thinner than membrane keyboards right? So there’s not a lot of space for the force to go away? Weird.

I don’t know about the o-ring feel yet. Monday I will know when I need to type more. Haha!

from your descriptions, maybe what you actually want is switches with lighter springs.

again, you should explore more later. only you know what you want, and only with sufficient basics you can determine that with more confidence.

no idea. maybe cause its my own macbook so i type softer. just generally gentler, like how im typing right now. And in the office, im more forceful onto the membrane keyboards provided and it was so painful at the end of the day on my tips of my fingers.

The last few days i have been using keychron and it doesnt hurt me, quite a nice typing experience. only the tak tak tak tak... lol!

I see some keycaps easily go up to RM100 to RM300?? What’s so special about them?

Rough guide.
Rm100 is dye sub or laser printed legends (eg the alphabets) ----> will fade over time
Rm300 is doible shot ---> can see the legends forever.

Rm600 above normally GMK brand (clones are in the market) ----> limited run with specific colorway.

Buy what ever color you like. But the rm100 will blur and fade and sometimes the printed alphabet is senget which you will never unsee.

ABS will shine. PBT will take longer to shine.
ABS can do nicer brighter colors

Conclusion? Up to you bro. Preferance.

correction: dye sub is relatively as permanent as multi-shots. however it's susceptible to scratching by hard objects.

Oops, my bad.

the key differences are the 'overall qualities' and 'features' (e.g., printing technology used, support for multiple layouts, availability of base and sub kits).

a number of qualities are used to determine whether a key cap set is good. some are physical, while others are visual, e.g.,
- physical: straightness of long keys, presence of warped keys, thickness of key cap walls, stem tolerance, etc. (basically this means how closely the keycaps are manufactured based on mx style key cap standards);
- visual: printing outcomes, qualities of legends/sub legends, color consistency, presence of light bleeds, how close the real thing match with renders, etc.

tbh, the above is an over-simplified list about qualities. there are other details, e.g., purity of materials used, and unique design details. to achieve more desired qualities, costs for things like materials, manufacturing, and quality control will increase. this is especially true for multipleshot key cap sets.

additionally, support for multiple layouts, and presence of additional sub/accent kits should also be taken into account when checking out the price of a keycap set.

you can also simplify your quality requirements to the minimal, or according to your preferences. however, you will eventually look at the same qualities for comparisons, so that you can get what you actually want.

a collector can spend more than 1k myr to get a complete key cap set. however, they are collectors. they most likely get few more base sets with required sub kits for daily use.

edit: again, first-hand experience is better, e.g., those who use gmk sets will know that each key cap has stem hole tolerance that is pretty consistent. this is why they fit nicely on key switches with stems that follow standards. if you feel that the installation has more resistance, you should check for oversized stems, and fix that first.

This post has been edited by horns: Jul 11 2023, 08:43 AM

I have to agree on the GMK.
I compare it to the JTK and the YMDK keycap. I installed it to my Emogogo tactiles switches and the GMK is nice and tight across all the keys.
But for the JTK, there are some keys that are slightly loose and slightly tight. Like for the enter key, I had to change to a diff color to make it fit nicely, the green color was too loose and needed to get the grey one to use. Using the JTK 9009 set. Think I will skip JTK in the future.
For YMDK is was very tight and I had to use the trimmer to trim down the keycap stem hole to make it fit nicely. lolx

This post has been edited by zzzz52: Jul 10 2023, 01:37 PM

this is one of the main reasons why gmk is still at the top in terms of strict adherence to standards, and capability to deliver products with such qualities. the rest are relatively close, but there are still gaps.

to me, these gaps are tolerable. to those who want the best, gmk it is.

this makes jtk a hit-or-miss. i thought jtk 9009 was good, because there are few that have bad long keys (older batches than 9009), but recent batches are all ok. this is sad indeed. even domikey is taking over them (however domikey had colorway mismatch issues in multiple sets)

I think need PBT now

I have just installed the keykobo Keycaps and the consistency is better vs JTK. Below is just some photos showing the keycaps tested on the Frog TKL:
1. GMK
2. JTK
3. Keykobo

i heard praises for keykobo too. i will get some later haha

how do you find geon tkl, compared to m3?

It’s just overpriced plastic, people got overhyped to these during covid and it’s now crashing down. Better value buy cheaper keycaps,don’t fall for the hype and these scalpers

I'm not sure how to describe it.
The M3 is finicky as no matter how I tune the stabs, it somehow will have some issue such as slight ticking, stuck when returning. I just think that the PCB + plate combo when it is secure into the case, there is a slight warping.
Maybe I just received a lemon.

Comparing both, without any foam build, the Frog sound is just "tight" compared to the M3. There are also chamfered edges of the Frog that made holding or picking it up more comfortable.

I think the word can be used is refined. The Frog just seems to be more refined, from the fittings, sound, finishing, machining.

But as the Frog is like 3 to 4 times more expensive vs the M3, it is just not a fair comparison. lolx.

Is this typical how the comparison is between a "premium" vs a "more budget" board, even though both are of metal casing?


On a side note, the hype for mechanical keyboards seems to have waned somewhat recently. It maybe a good thing as we do not need to rush to buy it.

This post has been edited by zzzz52: Jul 11 2023, 04:25 PM

it's not m3 being 'finicky'. it's very likely due to a precision issue that is typical in entry-level kits. for m3, you can try to put supporting 1-mm foams under the wire to see if it helps.

it has nothing to do with metal casings. yes, frog tkl is more refined. at that price, it should be. you get what you pay for. from your own experience, you should know that there is no comparison needed between the classes.

.. and don't bother to go after hypes. go for those which you're truly interested in.