Browsing EBay for a new keyboard, and I come across this keyboard:
Tried looking for reviews on this thing, or any information at all, and have come up empty handed.
Looking through the ad, they also seem to advertise "fully programmable" RGB lights, with a downloadable software (which looks vaguely familiar to Logitech's software...) to control the LED's, however, I can't find a place to download it, nor can I find more information on this keyboard, aside from similar ads on EBay.
Unless someone can find a reason for me to not buy this (I already expect like half of the switches to be dead, however, they are cheap to buy, so I don't mind), I plan to buy this, and possibly post a written review (with pictures) onto this forum of the product.
If someone could find a better product page talking more about this keyboard, and even a download link to "control the RGB LED's" before I buy this item, that would be fantastic.
From what I have read when trying to research how much it would cost to build my own mechanical keyboard, I soon realized that (at least Cherry MX) mechanical key switches are quite expensive. Cherry MX switches cost around 80ct per piece which sounds little at first but if you consider that you need 87 in your case, it adds up to a lot. In addition to that, you need a decent micro-controller if you want NKRO, which adds to the price as well.
So my assumption is that this keyboard which you found is probably a cheap (Chinese) knock-off. This doesn't mean that it's bad and you wouldn't enjoy it. You might even get more mileage out of two of these than a better one for twice the price.
However, with all mechanical keyboards you get what you pay for. Just because it says it's mechanical, doesn't mean it's the same like all the others. LinusTechTips recently made a video comparing cheap mechanical keyboards and there are quite some differences in how they were made (not just the key switches, but also the overall build quality). If you just want the sound and looks of a mechanical keyboard then you will probably not care about the differences compared to an expensive keyboard. Personally, I bought a mechanical keyboard for 4x the price of the one you linked, but for me it is a long-term investment that I was willing to do.
The part that is more surprising to me about the EBay keyboard is that it advertises "RGB Programmable Key Settings". Never seen a keyboard offer that and go under $150 CAD (normally are 200+ CAD)
Completely agree with you there. I totally expect the keys to feel garbage compared to real Cherry MX Blues (typing on one currently), but if it's similar in feel, and few keys are DOA, it's a pretty good deal, especially if it lives long.
Yup, I mean dead on arrival. After reading quite a few reviews, and seeing quite a few EBay ads where the sellers will send an extra few keyboard switches, I totally expect it to happen, especially at this price, and I wouldn't mind, as long as the RGB LED's are programmable with some decent software, and high PWM frequency to control brightness.
i have the redragon k552 i linked above and there is literally no difference between the blues on it and Cherry blues other than the gaterons have 5gs more force needed to actuate and are louder. for the price they are at, there is no reason to get a "real" cherry keyboard after using these.
Funny how I search for "cherry mx brown" and didn't get that search result. Maybe eBay is not showing the same results for people outside of the U.S.
This sounds a little bit of a hack to me, but if you don't mind, then I guess it might be worth it. But you might still have a poor build quality etc. which might not satisfy your expectations.
If you have the option to return it, I would give it a try, but I would assume that most of the cheaper ones are from Asia where returning them is not really an option.
So guys, I did it. I bought the $50 RGB Keyboard. First impressions? It isn't as horrible as I thought it was going to be. Can do a review if people are interested.