Source
r/MechanicalKeyboards•
xtsi

[buying] What's the absolute best quality TKL/75% keyboard (not including customs)?

buying

So I recently learned about this community and right away I can tell this is going to cost me lots of money.

Like with other things, I find that I'll save much more money in the long term and have more enjoyment if I just save up for the best of the best and do that right away.

So what are the best TKLs/75% boards out there? I am sort of in love with the Race 3 layout which my company paid for. For my own dollars, I'd like to go for that but some amazing build quality. From my own research it looks like RAMA is pretty close to perfection, but they don't have a layout that I like. Is there any other company in the space?

Same question for:

  • Switches (I thought Cherry was the best, but looks like others are considered even better these days like Kailh and Gateron?)
  • Keycaps (assuming I just want something simple and clean, no fancy jelly designs).

Posted Jan 28, 2019, 8:54 PM UTC

29
heloitsameTX60 (Holy Zeal V1) | Leaf60•

like the other comment says, not many 75% noncustoms.

as for tkl noncustom, the best ones would be leopold fc750r pd (best overall), ikbc mf87 (best case/build quality), massdrop ctrl (above average build quality, but hotswappable so you can try out switches easily)

2
poochzagTX-CP, TX60, Mira SE, kbd67, Campine Mk.3•

Depends on your definition of what is or is not a custom.

A pre-built KBD75 or KBD8x would probably be the best non-custom, if you consider that a non-custom (very controversial topic!)

On the cheaper side of that, anything by Leopold is very good, as well as Varmilo, Ducky and vortex. There aren't too many pre-buil 75%'s outside the Vortex Race, but TKLs are easy to find

Cherry are not necessarily better than gateron or kailh. Many would argue that stock, gateron linears are smoother than cherry. If you aren't buying an OEM board switch choice really opens up

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PikaBonk•

I''m going to supplement the other comments. Besides the current selection, I'd also recommend the Vortex Tab75, Teedacus mentioned it but iirc the current one available has a plastic chassis. I'd say that once they release the aluminum variant, it may be on par with the KBD75. It's much more limited in terms of what kind of switches you can get, but if you don't mind the limited selection it may even be a better option than the KBD75 which I would say it's pretty up there right now :).

For switches, it's really the same as any other part of the hobby, it's really personal preference. However, I would say that a lot of people find the standard Cherry switches to be pretty scratchy in comparison to Kailh and Gateron. The current most popular cherry switch within this hobby, is I'd have to say Cherry MX Black (retooled ofc). For Gateron and Kailh, it's really a trade off between the two switches at this point. Gateron's are known to be really smooth, albeit a little wobbly (the wobble isn't noticeable during normal typing sessions). While Kailh's Box switches at lease, solve the wobble issue, though I'm unaware if their standard mx stems have a wobble issue or not. But I'd also say that box switches have their own caveats of getting "stuck" or "stucky" more notably, in Box Jades/Navies. Now I've never used box jades or navies, it's just from what I've read a few times. Regardless, every switch type has it's own caveats and there isn't exactly a "perfect" switch with 0 issues. A lot of those issues are more often than not, fixed by modifying the switch in some shape or way, could be stickering the switch so it wobbles less, or switching out the spring, or lubing the switch etc. There are many ways to go about these issues. So I wouldn't say that there is a "best" switch, it's just what is best for YOU.

As for keycaps, pretty much follows the same motto. It's really preference. I'm not entirely say what you mean by "fancy jelly designs"?? More clarification and maybe some colorways or examples of what you prefer would be helpful!

2
Mohh18•

The Vortex Race aluminium case is pretty thin, stabilisers aren't in the GMK stabilisers level, QMK is way better than what Vortex offers.

​

No it won't be a better option.

-1
PikaBonk•

Apologies, it's my terrible wording. I mean to say that the Tab 75M is a worthy competitor to the KBD75. Yeah, you are paying a lot less, but for high quality keycaps as well, relatively good build quality, and (hopefully soon) an aluminum chassis.

I don't know what stabilizers vortex uses (cherry or OEM), but they're not rattly (at least in the case of the race 3) so I wouldn't say it's a huge issue. They feel good, and sound fine. I also believe they have been coming in lubed as well.

QMK is definitely king here. I don't have an argument here.

But the only thing is you're paying another what could be $100-$200 more for all of these features that the OP may or may not need. To me, and maybe you it's worth paying for so I don't disagree with you on any levels. Though for what you are paying for, I'd say it's a worthy opponent. Some people may like the low profile look, and the way aluminum looks and feels, but would prefer it to be lighter so it can be more portable. Who knows? I really do think it's up to the user, and that may be paying much less for the features that they need. So yeah, I'd say it might be a better option.

2
Mohh18•

Pre assembled KBD75 or KBD8X from KBDFans

2
[deleted]•

[deleted]

1
TeedacusKeeblade | Zen | GNAP 2.0 | Ducky One•

There aren't a lot of 75% boards that aren't customs, is there a reason why you're excluding them?

It's not out yet, but the Vortex Tab 75 looks decent. You could get the KBD75 from KBDFans, and pay for assembly, if you don't want to build it.

1
xtsiOP•

I like the Vortex Tab 75, but from what I've seen I prefer the look of the Race 3 (including the larger escape/delete keys). Also, the Race 3 includes mac-specific keycaps which is awesome. I guess I just don't see where the Tab 75 would improve on the keyboard for my use case.

I excluded custom boards just because I'm not great at soldering, but if you've got some worth looking at I'd love to check them out.

1
lazerbeamspewpewHHKB | M60-A | Modern M0110 | Lumina | SKB60 | G60 | Leaf60•

Probably a Leopold FC750, but you won't get many options for those other switches in a prebuilt board (Leopolds only come with Cherry MX). If you want some of the better switches, you'll need to go custom.

If you like TKLs, I would actually make a plug for the Niz Plum 87. The switches are a clone of Topre, which is a high-quality rubber dome and some of the best tactile switches out there. But I would replace the domes with BKE Ultra Lights and you've got yourself a really nice feeling board that's compatible with MX keycaps (Topre usually isn't). It also comes in an RGB variant, which Leopold does not offer.

As for keycaps, you'll probably want a nice PBT set, as they won't develop shine as easily as ABS. Check out EnjoyPBT sets or PBT MT3 sets (/dev/tty and Godspeed).

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