Mechanical Keyboard Autism Thread - Because Cherry MX switches get you laid.

[malt ipecac]

Does anybody have experience ordering from KBDFans? Preorders, specifically (not group buy). I've been burned by that before where they say

"oh yeah this'll take 20 days to fulfill."

THEN 8 MONTHS LATER...

I don't even want to bother with it if it's going to be like that.

KBDfans is legitimate, despite the appearance of their website. They ship the product from their location in China pretty quickly and you'll get a tracking ID, so you'll know what is going on.

 

[Bongocat]

So, word of advice if you're getting into this because you want your 'perfect keyboard' and you're not interested in the building process itself: get a kit.

I wish like hell somebody had warned me about this from the beginning. The (nice mid-range) kits come in at 300-350 bucks. You may think you're going to 'rough it' and spend less to get an equal quality product by obtaining the parts yourself. It's not going to work out like that. Between the murderous shipping costs + trial and error when selecting parts, you're going to end up spending far more than you would have if you just shelled out initially OR wind up with a piece of crap board that does not sound like what you want.

Even if you're interested in the building process, I'd still recommend getting a kit first so you can break it down and see first hand how things fit together, because it's not always obvious just from watching videos.

I would also strongly recommend a hot-swap kit, because until you are DEAD SET on the switches you want, (de)soldering is one hell of a lot of effort to experiment. Youtube videos can be terribly misleading of what switches actually sound like, especially after they've been worn in or the lube has settled.

 

[Bongocat]

Double posting because it's half a month later.

Not that I expected anything different, but this is THE MOST cargo-cult ridden community I've ever come across. When asking for advice on what style you should try, the only response you'll ever get is "It's all preference", and then they proceed to berate you for not doing exactly what they did. Even if you inform them that you tried it their way and didn't like it, and DO like it your way, they'll still get on your case.

God help you if you say to some other newcomer "hey before you try it <the standard way> which is hard to undo, why not try this first and see if you like it?".

To make matters worse, it's filled with kids that can't read and they'll frequently ask you questions you already answered in the post they're responding to.

 

[Pee Cola]

Not that I expected anything different, but this is THE MOST cargo-cult ridden community I've ever come across.

/r/MechanicalKeyboards would have to be one of the top 10 most autistic subreddits on the whole of Reddit, which is saying something.

 

[Bongocat]

Somebody combined the Holy Panda housing with the Cherry Brown stem to make the Holy Shit

 

[AmpleApricots]

Some of the keyboards on that subreddit just look plain impractical. It's just a bunch of plastic trash nobody will ever use or need to use. You can't put it anymore simpler than this. This actually would be fine if people would be trying new things in order to reach some kind of innovation but they just copy off each other, do exactly the same thing and then take picture of their acquired product to receive praise of the community. It's consumerism in it's purest and most mindless form. The worst thing for me are these absolutely stupid and pointless cheap chinese GX16 connectors on the USB cables for some reason. I have no idea why this vexes me so much out of everything else there but somehow it just does.

 

[Bongocat]

Some of the keyboards on that subreddit just look plain impractical. It's just a bunch of plastic trash nobody will ever use or need to use. You can't put it anymore simpler than this. This actually would be fine if people would be trying new things in order to reach some kind of innovation but they just copy off each other, do exactly the same thing and then take picture of their acquired product to receive praise of the community.

I can understand that to an extent, because experimentation in this hobby is outrageously expensive. In that sense, there's nothing wrong with identifying what it is you want and trying to mimic it. Else, you'd likely spend $10,000 before zeroing in on it. What makes it annoying is the self-aggrandizement that goes along with it.

The impractical aspect comes down the hobby being filled with kids and Peter Pans. Lots of gimmicky, tacky shit that any functional adult would be embarrassed to show off. That's not unique to this stuff though. Imagine putting this monstrosity on your desk.

Also why is there a fucking sponge.

 

[stupidpieceofshit]

I can understand that to an extent, because experimentation in this hobby is outrageously expensive. In that sense, there's nothing wrong with identifying what it is you want and trying to mimic it. Else, you'd likely spend $10,000 before zeroing in on it. What makes it annoying is the self-aggrandizement that goes along with it.

The impractical aspect comes down the hobby being filled with kids and Peter Pans. Lots of gimmicky, tacky shit that any functional adult would be embarrassed to show off. That's not unique to this stuff though. Imagine putting this monstrosity on your desk.

View attachment 1831506

Also why is there a fucking sponge.

Honestly that looks more like WB paid a parts maker or OEM to build an adverting PC and this is some promo shoot.

 

[Bongocat]

Honestly that looks more like WB paid a parts maker or OEM to build an adverting PC and this is some promo shoot.

I can believe that, but don't underestimate reddit autism.

 

[Kheapathic]

The impractical aspect comes down the hobby being filled with kids and Peter Pans. Lots of gimmicky, tacky shit that any functional adult would be embarrassed to show off. That's not unique to this stuff though. Imagine putting this monstrosity on your desk.

And here I was thinking the Arcade/MAME/Pinball communities were bad. I love my clickity-clacks as much as the next autist, but for fucks sake, it's a keyboard. (The setup looks nice no doubt, but come on).

 

[Kikkoman]

Also why is there a fucking sponge.

Dude spent all of his money on LEDs and pipe and cant afford a $9 wrist rest.

 

[twerjlh]

I can understand that to an extent, because experimentation in this hobby is outrageously expensive. In that sense, there's nothing wrong with identifying what it is you want and trying to mimic it. Else, you'd likely spend $10,000 before zeroing in on it. What makes it annoying is the self-aggrandizement that goes along with it.

The impractical aspect comes down the hobby being filled with kids and Peter Pans. Lots of gimmicky, tacky shit that any functional adult would be embarrassed to show off. That's not unique to this stuff though. Imagine putting this monstrosity on your desk.

View attachment 1831506

Also why is there a fucking sponge.

Sponge is probably because his retarded hard loop leaks.

That said, after spending $500 on fucking watercooling it better look unique, if not good. If you're not going to turn it into some weird art project or don't have XOC in mind, you're better off getting off the shelf AIO coolers

Edit: the longer I look at it the worse it gets. Why do you need a 360mm (or maybe even 420mm) radiator for a fucking off the shelf i7 (there's no way that's an i9 with only 4 RAM slots)

Why didn't you spend that money on something better than a bottom shelf mic and what look like fitness IEMs? Are you getting that sweaty playing Arkham Asylum that you need the water resistance?

I'm pretty sure that's a Thermaltake P5, where's the glass cover? probably why your loop leaks, you bump that shit once and its all over.

And finally: all that work and you couldn't spring the extra $100 for a GPU cooler?

Edit 2: and at least peel the EK sticker off the fucking waterblock if you're going to use TT fans, a TT case, and TT fittings, please.

 

[Bongocat]

Sponge is probably because his retarded hard loop leaks.

That said, after spending $500 on fucking watercooling it better look unique, if not good. If you're not going to turn it into some weird art project or don't have XOC in mind, you're better off getting off the shelf AIO coolers

Edit: the longer I look at it the worse it gets. Why do you need a 360mm (or maybe even 420mm) radiator for a fucking off the shelf i7 (there's no way that's an i9 with only 4 RAM slots)

Why didn't you spend that money on something better than a bottom shelf mic and what look like fitness IEMs? Are you getting that sweaty playing Arkham Asylum that you need the water resistance?

I'm pretty sure that's a Thermaltake P5, where's the glass cover? probably why your loop leaks, you bump that shit once and its all over.

And finally: all that work and you couldn't spring the extra $100 for a GPU cooler?

Edit 2: and at least peel the EK sticker off the fucking waterblock if you're going to use TT fans, a TT case, and TT fittings, please.

lol calm down

 

[malt ipecac]

The impractical aspect comes down the hobby being filled with kids and Peter Pans. Lots of gimmicky, tacky shit that any functional adult would be embarrassed to show off. That's not unique to this stuff though. Imagine putting this monstrosity on your desk.

View attachment 1831506

Also why is there a fucking sponge.

Ironically, the guy's keyboard is a relatively cheap prebuilt that wouldn't look too tacky if the lights were turned off.

He's missing the pièce de résistance:

 

[AmpleApricots]

I can understand that to an extent, because experimentation in this hobby is outrageously expensive. In that sense, there's nothing wrong with identifying what it is you want and trying to mimic it. Else, you'd likely spend $10,000 before zeroing in on it. What makes it annoying is the self-aggrandizement that goes along with it.

The impractical aspect comes down the hobby being filled with kids and Peter Pans. Lots of gimmicky, tacky shit that any functional adult would be embarrassed to show off. That's not unique to this stuff though. Imagine putting this monstrosity on your desk.

View attachment 1831506

Also why is there a fucking sponge.

I'm the window blinds that are difficult to reach and probably get never opened.

 

[Ginger Piglet]

I can understand that to an extent, because experimentation in this hobby is outrageously expensive. In that sense, there's nothing wrong with identifying what it is you want and trying to mimic it. Else, you'd likely spend $10,000 before zeroing in on it. What makes it annoying is the self-aggrandizement that goes along with it.

The impractical aspect comes down the hobby being filled with kids and Peter Pans. Lots of gimmicky, tacky shit that any functional adult would be embarrassed to show off. That's not unique to this stuff though. Imagine putting this monstrosity on your desk.

View attachment 1831506

Also why is there a fucking sponge.

And this is why RGB is embarrassing. If you're going to spend loads of money on a custom setup, make it meaningful to you, not just themed around some consoomerist intellectual property. Like, I dunno, a build that looks like a classic boombox if you're into music, or a steampunk-style wooden case with brass wire mesh and incandescent lightbulbs or nixie tubes. Actually be creative you fools!!!!!!!

 

[Orange Rhymer]

Ironically, the guy's keyboard is a relatively cheap prebuilt that wouldn't look too tacky if the lights were turned off.

He's missing the pièce de résistance:
View attachment 1836048

The font NEEDS to be comic sans

 

[Xerxes IX]

Ironically, the guy's keyboard is a relatively cheap prebuilt that wouldn't look too tacky if the lights were turned off.

He's missing the pièce de résistance:
View attachment 1836048

Where's the GMK GAMERS RISE UP keycap set?

Frankly you understand the fads in the MK community when you realize "impractical but ridiculously expensive" is the name of the game in the customs hobby. 60% are their favorite form factor not because they don't need all those extra keys, but because it's expensive to get these aesthetic cases and keycap sets and fancy switches.

The coiled cable with the aviator connection obsession I don't get though. Apparently those cables are useful for people who switch keyboards a lot—so, rich people who can afford multiple, most likely custom, boards—and other people started following them and deciding they NEED a $30 custom cable because it's a fad.

 

[twerjlh]

The coiled cable with the aviator connection obsession I don't get though. Apparently those cables are useful for people who switch keyboards a lot—so, rich people who can afford multiple, most likely custom, boards—and other people started following them and deciding they NEED a $30 custom cable because it's a fad.

Not sure what specific cable you're talking about but if I pay more than $50 for a piece of tech it better come with a swappable cable, period. Nothing I hate more than having to either solder a new USB cable or throw out something because my cat got to it or the cable was made of cardboard and wore out after 6 months

 

[Max Doof]

Got a Ducky keyboard for more than half it's price off on ebay and minus the rgb as a first time mechanical keyboard user, I'm a fan.
Kinda miss the numberpad though but it's nicely built.