imo gk64 is a relatively affordable option for those who are impatient, but wanna try out different switches on-the-fly on a functional board. it's particularly useful for beginners to learn most of the basics very quickly. (like me) that's how i picked up lubing stabilizers/switches, changing parts in switches, etc. under an hour. (just by practicing on the board, while watching guides from youtube)
my gk64 came with stock cherry mx rgb red. now the switches are a mixture of gateron black, and silent black (i like modifiers and space bar to be quiet), with all stabilizers lubed properly. later i will lube all switches at my own pace.
the gk64 pcb is designed for plate- and pcb-mount switches. cherry mx style switches are fully supported, 3-pin or 5-pin (including gateron and zealios). there is a top plate, so the switches are held firmly to their positions with latches, sitting flush to the plate. the stabilizers are of plate-mount style. if you think the RGB SMD LEDs are terrible, just get normal switches (black tops and bottoms) to block out the light.
about the kailh pcb sockets for switch hot swapping, yes it's cheap, so it makes such replacements cheap also. soldering/desoldering is required but not hard. instead of desoldering everything, you only need to replace the faulty ones if necessary. (by the way, input.club's k-type is using the same kailh pcb sockets) the switch hot swapping process is very simple. (be careful when you plugged in the switches into the pcb sockets. make sure you do it very gently. if you felt resistance, that means the pins are not aligned properly. if everything is properly aligned, the switches will be secured effortlessly)
gk64 comes with pbt dye subbed key caps. (yes, it has some non-standard keys (2x LShift, 1x RShift, 1x Ctrl, 1x Fn) the aluminum case is relatively heavy. (at least heavier than pok3r's stock case)
about build quality, like i said, it's an affordable option, but then, it's still rather new. (gk64 is not compatible with those nice looking 60% cases)
