Author Topic: What does your endgame board look like? (Read 5433 times)

Rodde · « **on:** Mon, 18 September 2017, 16:10:59 »

If you had no budget limits and could put together your ideal keyboard right now - what form factor most appeals to you? Which switches? What keycap set have you been pining after?

If you already have your endgame board, share pictures!

Mostly just wondering what other people's ideal board looks like right now.

edit: this may not be quite the ideal sub-forum for this, but can't for the life of me figure out how to delete the thread. Whoops!

TalkingTree · « **Reply #1 on:** Mon, 18 September 2017, 16:14:12 »

Quote from: Rodde on Mon, 18 September 2017, 16:10:59

what form factor most appeals to you? Which switches? What keycap set have you been pining after?

70%, currently Cherry MX Silent Blacks, any Cherry/GMK set.

Duckyreddy · « **Reply #2 on:** Mon, 18 September 2017, 16:35:13 »

60% Cherry MX Silent Reds with TaiHao PBT Carbon Blacks

Rodde · « **Reply #3 on:** Mon, 18 September 2017, 16:41:18 »

Quote from: TalkingTree on Mon, 18 September 2017, 16:14:12

Quote from: Rodde on Mon, 18 September 2017, 16:10:59
what form factor most appeals to you? Which switches? What keycap set have you been pining after?
70%, currently Cherry MX Silent Blacks, any Cherry/GMK set.

Can't say I've seen many 70%s out there! Thanks for the link, good to see projects like that in progress. Good luck!

zslane · « **Reply #4 on:** Mon, 18 September 2017, 17:01:21 »

This (Realforce RGB), but with a powder-coated white aluminum case:

jerue · « **Reply #5 on:** Mon, 18 September 2017, 19:06:42 »

For keyboards, I am enjoying my G80-5000, HHKB and 360 Corsa very much (photos here)...though the icing on the cake is 65% in winkeyless layout like LZ-SQ

Keycaps...Cherry Dyesubs but in rare variants like Arabic, Russian, Greek, 3000SAT, etc.

Rodde · « **Reply #6 on:** Mon, 18 September 2017, 22:30:17 »

Quote from: zslane on Mon, 18 September 2017, 17:01:21

This (Realforce RGB), but with a powder-coated white aluminum case:

(Attachment Link)

Looks great! What exactly does powder-coated mean in this context?

Zobeid Zuma · « **Reply #7 on:** Tue, 19 September 2017, 03:55:43 »

Quote from: Rodde on Mon, 18 September 2017, 16:10:59

If you had no budget limits and could put together your ideal keyboard right now - what form factor most appeals to you? Which switches? What keycap set have you been pining after?

I'm pretty new at all this, and I'm still figuring out what I like and what I want. At this moment in time I'm sort of fixated on something that. . .

has an aluminum case
has a split space bar
is fully programmable

Everything else is still up in the air. For example. . . At first I thought TKL, but it's hard to find those that are programmable, and split space bar TKL seems to be unknown. So then I ask myself, could I get used to 65%? Or even 60%? Maybe I should try it, I might like it. Now it looks like a Banana Split 60 will be my first build.

Still completely open minded about switches. I have a switch tester/sampler on the way. Outemu blues seem like a safe bet. I still want to try some purple switches and see what the fuss is about.

Keycaps seem problematic. Any option I look at involves compromises of one type or another, especially when contemplating a non-standard layout or wanting custom legends.

When you talk about unlimited budget. . . I'm lucky to be in a situation where I can afford, by and large, whatever I decide I really want in a keyboard, but even so I've been startled at some of the super premium components turning up here on GH, especially cases and keycap sets. Some of them are innovating and advancing the state of the art, and some are pushing the boundaries of excess, and a few are doing both. And I'm seeing group buys on components that may take a year to produce and ship; it gets a bit crazy. Not sure I ever want to go that far down the rabbit hole.

zslane · « **Reply #8 on:** Tue, 19 September 2017, 11:43:04 »

Quote from: Rodde on Mon, 18 September 2017, 22:30:17

Quote from: zslane on Mon, 18 September 2017, 17:01:21
This (Realforce RGB), but with a powder-coated white aluminum case:

(Attachment Link)

Looks great! What exactly does powder-coated mean in this context?

Powder-coating is a way of bonding an opaque pigment to the metal, a process that is different from painting which just puts the pigment on top of the metal. Basically I want a white aluminum case, but not simply painted white. Hence the powder-coating. It is a common way to make custom, high-end aluminum cases an opaque color, especially white.

mogo · « **Reply #9 on:** Tue, 19 September 2017, 12:04:06 »

+

FoxWolf1 · « **Reply #10 on:** Tue, 19 September 2017, 14:35:00 »

Focus layout, unrestricted chording ("NKRO"), dual trackpoint (GHB, and to the left of numpad 4-- where your pointer would want it to be when your thumb is on the arrow keys and your fingers are on the numpad), PBT, Hall Effect (especially if the revised leaf variants work out).

A well-finished, high-profile, large-margin wooden case would also be a plus.

Joey Quinn · « **Reply #11 on:** Tue, 19 September 2017, 16:22:34 »

Something like this layout fitted into a grey 356mini

Zobeid Zuma · « **Reply #12 on:** Tue, 19 September 2017, 17:59:04 »

Quote from: Joey Quinn on Tue, 19 September 2017, 16:22:34

Something like this layout fitted into a grey 356mini

We seem to be thinking along similar lines. Here's what my fiddling around has led to, thus far. . .

http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/#/gists/f4d52ea8458165104020d2ce3064a4e5

I'm feeling good about the nav key assignments. I should be able to put my left thumb down on that center Fn key and have all the nav keys right under my fingers of my left hand, without moving away from home row at all. And then it doesn't even matter whether my right hand is in typing position or away petting the mouse. Of course I'll have a better idea once I get it actually built and put in some quality time with it. Right now this is only theory.

xueyao · « **Reply #13 on:** Tue, 19 September 2017, 19:34:48 »

I swap between these 2 beauties. Both perfectly converted to USB.

Dvoraknolegends · « **Reply #14 on:** Tue, 19 September 2017, 19:42:51 »

The Keyboardio Model 01, with Matias Clicks. Seriously the best thing out there!!

Leslieann · « **Reply #15 on:** Wed, 20 September 2017, 07:08:21 »

This may happen just not sure how soon...

Case:
75% but with the F-keys moved up and right side moved over 1/2 key (think TKL but with a 75% style right side and not tucked in tight).
High profile (don't care to see switch tops)
Steep tilt (most keyboards are too flat)
All aluminum case and or stainless steel plate, (important) plate bolted to frame, most use a pcb bolted to frame and a floating plate, good, but not as good!

Note: All carbon fiber would work as well as I'm about stiffness, weight can be nice, but really stiff can be just as good even without the weight.

optional:
Internal hub with 2 external ports on right side (or back right) for wireless mouse dongle (usb A and C)

PCB
Backlit (RGB?)
RGB underglow (useless, but nice to have)
USB mini or C
Cherry or Costar stabs, however they need to be real, not cheap Chinese.

Switches (think your Topre is expensive? HA!)
Zeal or Vintage Cherry MX housing,
Aristotle stems,
Hand wired Jailhouse primary keys with Jspacer modifiers (cuts down on noise and rattle)
60gram actuation (either cut springs or would need 35-40 gram springs, +5g spacebar)
Zealencios

Caps
Thick PBT double stots
o-rings

Zobeid Zuma · « **Reply #16 on:** Wed, 20 September 2017, 07:19:56 »

Quote from: Leslieann on Wed, 20 September 2017, 07:08:21

Case:
75% but with the F-keys moved up and right side moved over 1/2 key (think TKL but with a 75% style right side and not tucked in tight).
High profile (don't care to see switch tops)
Steep tilt (most keyboards are too flat)
All aluminum case and or stainless steel plate, (important) plate bolted to frame, most use a pcb bolted to frame and a floating plate, good, but not as good!

I am with you on the high profile and the plate affixed to the frame.

I thought I read somewhere long ago that it's ergonomically best for a keyboard to sit flat with NO tilt, and the main reason why people tilt them is because their keyboard is positioned too high relative to their sitting position. However. . . If it does have tilt, a wedge-shaped solid base would provide the most stiffness. I am dubious about this fashion trend of bolting weights into the base. I suspect that stiffness and lack of vibration are what we should really be going for, rather than added mass.

JohanAR · « **Reply #17 on:** Wed, 20 September 2017, 07:58:07 »

Well, since you said no budget, why not dream big.. Thinking something shaped similar to a split Kinesis made out of dark hardwood, dark semi-transparent caps with individual oled displays for each key, some low force silent linear switches and connected through Thunderbolt 3 for low latency. Probably need to write the keyboard-over-thunderbold driver myself but that sounds like a fun project

aggiejy · « **Reply #18 on:** Wed, 20 September 2017, 11:29:49 »

Probably an FC660M with normal blue switches, thick doubleshot caps like GMK (except in PBT), with a milled tungsten case (which would likely cave my desk in). No lighting, a simple cap color scheme... perhaps light grey with muted blue legends or something similar. Hand coiled braided USB cable.

(Edit: Did some calculations, and if milled with the same volume as Massdrop's aluminum case, the case alone would weigh about 13 pounds. Maybe I'd need to do a heavy custom plate too to beef it up.)

ds26gte · « **Reply #19 on:** Wed, 20 September 2017, 21:05:24 »

Optical blue-switch, full-sized wireless non-backlit keyboard running on general-purpose stock batteries, with analog switches on at least the numpad, with a correspondingly updated Mouse Keys software on the OS that exploited that analogness. (In effect, an amalgam of Bloody B820R, Logitech G613, and Wooting One.)

_haru · « **Reply #20 on:** Wed, 20 September 2017, 23:58:02 »

My dream board is so weird I was debating whether to post this or not:

-Lubed retooled Cherry MX Whites, 45 gram springs and clear Gateron tops
-Lubed Cherry MX Click Grey for space bar switch, also with Gateron top
-Cherry MX Lock with 45 gram spring for Caps Lock
-71% form factor, same as a Drevo Calbur or Keycool 71
-Blank ABS DSA in Maroon for the modifiers and space bar and Blue-grey for the alphas
-Thick, clear plastic case showing the PCB
-1.5mm PETG plate
-D9K Diodes
-White LED underglow
-White backlight for all keys
-This layout: