Why a Custom Mechanical Keyboard Might Not Be for You
It’s a mechanical keyboard with more steps. While everyone’s been hyping it up, here’s why you don’t want one.
My search for a mechanical keyboard started when I was in college.
Besides occasionally tinkering with my laptop, I didn’t know much about computer peripherals and hardware. So I ventured to YouTube and discovered a wide array of tech channels that offered great tutorials on PC building.
This was because I had a class where our final exam was to reassemble a computer. I binged all the tutorials I could find — mostly because I wanted to pass. But it wasn't long until I became interested in the content itself.
To no one’s surprise, I didn’t stop watching these videos even after passing the test. Eventually, I stumbled upon peripherals and hyper-focused on that.
A broke college student like myself at the time had no means to buy a PC anyway.
I suddenly received a gift in the form of the Razer Blackwidow Chroma V2.
Now for the enthusiasts out there who want to laugh — same. For the non-enthusiasts, now you know what not to get on your first click-clacking adventure.
I know it was not the best decision I’ve made, but my dad was offering to buy it for me as a birthday present... I’m not about to decline a free keyboard.
In the days of the aggressive gamer fonts and obnoxious RGB lights, this was what I thought was the best. I also didn’t know about the lesser-known brands that sold mechanical keyboards at a better price like Ducky or Royal Kludge.
For a time, I was happy to own the Razer Blackwidow Chroma V2.
It was only years down the rabbit hole of YouTube that I found out the harsh truth:
I was a heathen.
During the pandemic, I stumbled upon the likes of Taeha Types, Switch and Click, and :3ildcat. It was there that I discovered the world of custom mechanical keyboards.
I learned that your keyboard can be a reflection of yourself. And with just a few tweaks, you can make your boring typing experience into something you look forward to doing every day.
What is a custom mechanical keyboard?
To explain it simply, it’s a mechanical keyboard with more steps. You buy the parts, and then you build the device. It’s similar to assembling a computer. The main difference is that it’s even more of a hassle since keyboard parts are harder to come by.
Besides being a massive migraine, a custom keyboard has its perks. You determine what exactly goes into your device. This allows you to fine-tune how it looks, feels, and sounds to have a unique typing experience.
Here’s everything you need to build a custom keyboard.
I’ll only be listing down the main parts of the device. I won’t go in-depth on what these are and what they do. However, Switch and Click’s guide goes through all of these pretty well if you’re interested.
1. PCB & Case
The main component. The PCB is the brain of your keyboard. It’s what registers each keystroke to the computer and determines what features are built into it. The case is the housing that keeps it together. They‘re usually bundled when buying a custom board.
2. Key Switches
These are the buttons you press when typing. They determine what kind of sounds come out of your keyboard, how it feels to type on, and how each key actuates.
3. Keycaps
These are what go on top of your key switches to make them look pretty. They also affect how the keys feel to the touch.
4. Stabilizers
These are what hold the larger keys — like the space bar and the enter key — to keep them from wobbling. This usually comes with the PCB and case.
5. Tools
Essential tools to build a keyboard would be a screwdriver, a keycap puller, a switch puller, and a soldering tool if your keyboard requires it.
6. Cable
The cable that connects your keyboard to the computer. This usually comes with the PCB and case too. But if you’re feeling extra picky, then you can have one custom-made or you can make one yourself.
7. Extras
These include keyboard lube, dampening foam, tape, etc. These are all little things you can buy to modify your board.
Does that look like a lot? Yeah, it definitely was for me.
It took me about half a year of snooping around to find out what I needed. Luckily with the growing popularity of the hobby, there are now multiple guides on building a custom keyboard.
Now that I had a list of parts, I did a little window shopping to see what was available. I initially had no plans of buying anything because it was so expensive.
But I made one fatal mistake. I added all of the items to my cart.
It didn’t take long for me to give in during one of Lazada and Shopee’s sales. With the high of having won a shopping voucher from work, I purchased everything.
At least the voucher covered some of the cost.
This is what I bought and how much I spent:
My old Razer Blackwidow Chroma V2 cost around ₱7,000 while the custom keyboard is about ₱11,000. Their prices aren’t too far off, but the aluminum board is definitely worth the money. Its build quality alone and features speak for themselves. This has led me to believe that Razer’s wired and plastic keyboard is marked up in price because of their brand more than anything.
As much as I love my custom mechanical keyboard, I realized that it isn’t for me.
This is why you shouldn’t buy a custom keyboard.
1. It’s expensive
I bought the GK64XS Aluminum Kit because it was the cheapest yet best board I could get my hands on without waiting for a group buy. It was advertised to have Bluetooth compatibility too, so I thought that it would be worth the price.
It was not.
The Bluetooth was — to put it eloquently — janky. It works, but when you use the keyboard wirelessly on any game you’ll definitely feel the latency. Sometimes it just gets stuck pressing one key… I learned that the hard way.
To add to that, I wanted a keyboard I could bring around. I didn’t realize that the aluminum case would be so hefty. This was my greatest oversight. Yes, steel is heavier than feathers… In this case, metal is heavier than plastic.
I don’t know why I didn’t realize that earlier.
2. It’s time-consuming
Another gripe was the process of finding the parts and assembling the board. It just wasn’t my thing, and it took ages to finish. Finding the components I wanted took months.
As for the assembly, I did it in a few hours. My friends wanted to watch how it worked, so I streamed my suffering via Discord which made things bearable. As much as I love DIY projects, lubing every switch did not spark joy. Luckily I decided to get a hot-swappable board, so I didn’t have to also go through the process of soldering every switch too.
The process of building a keyboard is more frustrating than building a PC, mostly due to its grossly repetitive nature.
What’s worse is that since you’ve built the board, you’ll see every flaw it has. Suddenly, you will be wasting more time trying to fix it. This ranges from feeling that one stabilizer is better lubed than the other, to finding that the board rests slightly uneven after putting it all together.
Being hyper-aware of your keyboard is maddening.
3. It’s not practical
Realistically you’d have to be either terribly well off, or have an unhealthy obsession with how your keyboard looks, feels, and sounds to even consider buying a custom keyboard.
A regular mechanical keyboard is enough; a custom board isn’t a practical decision for your time and money.
If you don’t care too much about the typing experience, some good membrane keyboards cost even less. They won’t have the same feel and sound as mechanical keyboards, but they serve their purpose just as well.
4. The difference between a custom keyboard and a mechanical keyboard is minimal
The biggest distinction you’d notice when you switch from a mechanical keyboard to a custom keyboard would be its looks. You decide the general aesthetic of the device when you pick out the case, keycaps, and cable.
A custom board isn’t an earth-shattering change coming from a mechanical keyboard — unless you decide to splurge on the best parts you can get. But if you’re going for a budget custom keyboard, you won’t notice much and it will not be worth the cost.
This is what I would have done instead.
While I still do enjoy my custom keyboard, it hurts to think that I could have saved more to achieve a similar result.
If I could do things differently, I would’ve bought a mechanical keyboard with features that I’d want in it already available. From there, I would modify it to my liking.
That would be a more practical method. I just have to tweak and replace some parts instead of building it from the ground up with pricey components.
Despite that building a custom board was an experience. I don’t think I’ll forget about it, especially since I’m using the same device to type this article out.
