I've had a Razer Blackwidow Stealth for a good while now, but the day has finally come: it's dead. Like, dead-dead.
It seems like Razer has kind of enshittified since I started using their stuff though, so idk if I want to get another of their products to replace it. Got that one on the advice from a mechanical keyboard enthusiast, and I honestly kinda miss the lighter touch and quieter input of a membrane switch. Fighting words, I know... my bad!
I am kind of intrigued by the magnetic switch mechanicals though - if there's a model of those that operates quietly and has short range to bottom out, I'd be interested. Kinda shooting for the feel of like an old school Lenovo laptop keyboard - hair trigger, if that makes any sense.
The rest of my feature wish list:
-
Backlit. Idgaf about RGB, but some faint red glow or something not too glaring: I just want to be able to glance down when it's dark and see which key is which.
-
Wrist rest. The Razer' was only like an inch, but the trash temporary one I dug out of my bin-of-electronics has none, and even that little difference is driving me nuts. I've seen models with a much wider area for the wrists to land on - would gravitate toward those. Edit - built in wrist rest. The ones that sit on the desk separately from the keyboard won't work - my computer chair is the living room couch, so the rest and keyboard would have to move together as one unit.
-
Programmable keys. Low priority on this one, but if it's an option, I'd get some use out of it. If not, that's not a deal breaker.
-
Wireless? I've always thought these weren't good for gaming due to a noticeable delay in keystroke vs the action it's supposed to cause, but I've been told that's not really a problem anymore. If it doesn't impact performance, wireless would be great! My computer chair is the living room couch lol, so the less cable clutter the better.
-
Price... I know some peripherals get pretty crazy pretty fast. Shelling out hundreds of dollars for one of these seems insane to me, especially after forking it out for the Blackwidow and not really loving it. If there's a $150 option that checks all the boxes, I'd be pretty tempted: if there's a $50 option that gets close, that's probably what my cheap ass will go for.
Anyway, if you've got any recommendations, please hit me with em!
Thanks all!!
Seconding keychron. I have the K2 HE and it seems to have everything you're looking for (except a wrist rest but I think you can just buy one separate??? Idk I don't use one).
Keys and backlight are both reprogrammable from a browser through their website.
Wireless is possible with either Bluetooth or a 2.4ghz USB dongle, which has a functionally identical latency to wired
Normally goes for about $150 but it's currently on sale for $112 on their website and Amazon
They also have a "base" version, about $10 cheaper that doesn't have any wood accents but I believe is otherwise identical
I'm on the fence between the K2 HE base model and the Gamakay TK75HE V2, which came up in a related video when looking for reviews.
They look pretty similar, but the 'phoenix' switches used in the Gamakay seem some of the most silent on the market. The Nebula switches in the K2 don't seem bad though - kind of just a 'thud' when they bottom out - still much quieter than mechanicals are known for.
Any insight on Gamakay?
No insight sorry. I'm not a keyboard person and just wanted to get one that (based on reviews) I knew would be pretty good and that I wouldn't have to upgrade for a long time for. If the Gamakey has all the same features as the keychron, or at least the ones that are important to you, then I would just grab whichever is cheaper