geekhack
geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: geauxflying on Fri, 06 August 2021, 08:48:49
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I have a GMMK Pro that’s been sitting in a box for a week or two. I opened it just now and poked around without installing any switches or swapping out the plate (I ordered a PC plate with it). It feels well-made. There’s zero give with the aluminum plate. I’ve not had a gasket mount keyboard before but I thought I would be able to notice at least some difference. It’s hard as a rock - if someone told me that the aluminum plate was welded to the case, I would have no reason to doubt them.
Is it worth it to swap out the gasket, or should I do anything else to it, while I am swapping out the plate?
My Boston Keyboards feel way better than this with an FR4 plate, and no gasket mount.
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Gasket mount is many things to many people and how it performs varies greatly from design to design, I've railed against people talking it up for a while now because it gives a false impression.
It may not be as simple as swapping the gasket.
Just because it has movement doesn't mean you will feel anything because while there may be room to move the switches, plate and pcb act as a unit and are designed to prevent flex and move as a unit (this is especially true with hot swap!). Second, does the design even leave room for movement, not just at the gasket, but under the pcb. If it moves too much it can short the pcb to case.
Gasket mount is more for dampening vibration between the case and plate, it's really only on smaller boards you can kind of use it to get the "trampoline effect" but that's really not what it was intended to do. I'm sorry you were more or less lied to to about what to expect from this keyboard. I know a bunch of trampoline fans are going to come in and make all sorts of excuses and say I'm wrong but you just saw for yourself what it is.
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Thanks Leslieann, yeah I didn't have super-high expectations, but ordered the GMMK Pro to see what the fuss was about... I guess I'm getting what I paid for, thanks for your very good comments and education on this, I couldn't have hoped for a better explanation.
Cheers,
E