Hoy all!
I'm making this thread because after three months of hunting I've finally figured out what mechanical keyboard I might pick as my new daily driver and I thought I'll share my experiences and thought process in case someone else sees a fault in them and for others to learn from my cautionary tale.
TL;DR at the end
This is basically just a huge circle if you had already asked someone experienced on the subject.I work as a full time web developer(from at home) and do some gaming as well so I'm basically typing all day long.
My current keyboard is a cheap Trust GXT 18 witch has worked for me for several years(my standards aren't too high I guess), it actually survived a milk spill (worked after cleaning). But a few months ago it started to actually hinder my work(a lot of keycaps are basically blank and I also need to use it in poor lighting because of my screen glare at times and I'm still poor at blind typing) and I decided that instead of getting an exact replacement I'll invest some money into my job and see if a more premium option can help me improve.
So at the start I made a "simple" list of what I'd need:
1) QWERTZ layout (That's the Hungarian 105 ISO layout, don't ask why we had to switch the Z-Y keys)
2) Simple backlit (I have no use for RGB or any lighting effects, but I don't care if there are any)
3) Full keyboard (The numberpad is actually useful at times)
4) Cherry MX clear or at least brown switchers (I bought a 9xkey sampler to feel all the types)
5) Simple design (I always disliked flashy oversized keyboards that are "meant for gaming" especially if I'm trying to keep at least a professional LOOK in front of my family)
After just a week or two of searching I realized how naive I was. Finding a 105 ISO layout is already limiting my options at retailers and the number of Hungarian ones with mechanical keys is less than a dozen models if we combine all common retailers.
So I stepped outside of Hungary and looked for some "direct manufacturers" in case they offer "custom" keyboards where you can pick the layout.
I guess anyone who's spent some time here already knows what the three most obvious sources I found were and what their problems are.1) WASD:
http://www.wasdkeyboards.com/Now this looks like serious quality.
Full 105 ISO custom layout, free to pick Cherry MX switch, with custom colors on a key to key basis and a row of ISO layouts to pick from... No Hungarian, BUT you can create your OWN template, upload it and they'll create it so you just need to learn how to use InkSpace and create a vector based layout for them to... print and not mold since this only applies to the WASD V2 witch is their non-backlit board and not the CODE... Plus even the cheapest delivery cost would raise the board's price to 150%.
2) DAS:
http://www.daskeyboard.com/Brilliant boards!
They're slick, they have some extra features that I might actually like, from what I've heard people love them, they're pure quality and they actually have a Hungarian retailer, but they don't have an ISO layout and the price even at the retailer is over 200 USD witch is basically the same as the WASD.
3) MAX:
http://www.maxkeyboard.com/Well these aren't really my style.
No 105 ISO layout, customization is limited to switches, LED colors(but on a key to key basis) and even without any delivery it's again 200 USD.
But they DO have actually custom 105 ISO keycap sets in Hungarian! Sooo maybe...
Naturally I've checked out other places as well, but most of them were just a one time look as they were obviously not working for me.I've kept bouncing between all these options for a few weeks until I realized that in fact my only option is to buy a 105 ISO board of any layout and just change the keys with a keycap set probably from MAX keyboard since I couldn't find any other options.
I've went through pages on reddit, threads over here and other forums, maybe hours of reviews online and at product pages, but I really had no chance of picking anything. Everything had "something off", there was always something I was "looking for" missing, some were not cherry MX compatible, others had switches I had no idea what they were like and every other pitfall a susceptible review junkie like me can fall into.
At one point I got re-directed to Ducky channel's product page(again since it came up a lot in my search) and took a closer look at them.
After just a bit of search it turned out that the basic Ducky ONE ticks all the point on my list(except the QUERTZ layout(, BUT it also turned out that it's actually sold here in Hungary by an "enthusiast(?)" type(they have stuff from basic pc components, through pc modding kits to freaking drones) retailer.
Merlin hardware. https://www.merlinhardver.hu/TL;DR
So after months of running in circles I picked out what I need exactly the way everyone else always says that one should do.
Base board)
Ducky ONE Cherry MX brown (simple & clean design, blue LED with 2 "per key customisable" lighting profiles, sold inside Hungary with German layout)
Keycap set)
Max keyboard 60% (cuts down on price with only needing alphanumeric, backlight compatible, double shot ABS like Ducky, same OEM profile as Ducky)
Extras)
Tai-Hao Red Rubber Keycaps (rubberized WASD and arrow keys, backlight compatible, middle of Tai Hao profile almost identical to OEM)
Glorious PC Gaming Race wrist rest (left wrist huts very often after typing)
After I looked through al the stuff I've already knew(keycap material, molding/printing processes, PS/2 vs USB and all their "features") and learned some more like how different manufacturers have different key profiles(OEM, DCS, DSA, ect.) I double checked everything and I think this setup'll work for me, but I'm really curious if I've missed anything and if in case it's a useful tip for others as well.
P.S.: There were some alternative boards I've found in the end, but they all had problems. For example:
TRUST GXT 880)
It's backlit, is a hungarian layout(but it's 104 keys and is missing a dedicated "Í" key), it has "GXT white" switches witch I've never heard of nor can I find any info on them, cheap as dist compared to anything else so far
Cherry MX Board 6.0)
Has a built in wrist rest, and looks solid, no idea what the key profile is so might not fit OEM, lacks per key lighting profile option, costs more then Ducky plus separate wrist rest