If you are in China, you can go crazy getting AULA / Leobog Browns [also "Matcha Wood" Browns] for pennies. SP Star Meteor Orange and Durock Light / Medium Tactile should be cheaper there, also. You should probably look into the TTC Gold Brown V3 or Silent Brown V2 if Gaterons are your preference. Unfortunately, there is no centralized repository of keyboard information. There are simply too many models, and they are coming out too quickly. That is why Youtube is actually one of the better resources, even if many of the reviewers are biased. You can at least see the keyboard and its basic features. I wonder if BudgetKeyboards on Reddit may be helpful to you. They build under a price point, but try to get the best results. |
If you are in China, see if anyone is selling a new KBD67 Lite. That was the unrivaled value in 65% boards.
The best part is, they are ready out-of-box, NO mods required. [Sure, you can add better stabilizers if you want.] They are better in operation than any earlier pre-built, and are hotswap. Way under budget, and you don't have to do anything.
EDIT: Oh shoot, you want aluminum. Well, the original KBD67 MKII is metal-cased. Should be more affordable in China, if available, than anywhere else. That's a full custom, though, not a pre-built item like KBD67 Lite.
If you can get in touch with Geon Works, that could be a major boon for you.
They make the famous Frog, which is a moddable TKL, but also some sub-TKL keyboards in the 65-75% range.
https://geon.works/
A large part of the price comes from shipping those metal things across the ocean, so if you can get one in that part of the world, there could be substantial cost-savings. These boards are great mid-tier than can be modified into endgame.
If you can get in touch with Geon Works, that could be a major boon for you.
They make the famous Frog, which is a moddable TKL, but also some sub-TKL keyboards in the 65-75% range.
https://geon.works/
A large part of the price comes from shipping those metal things across the ocean, so if you can get one in that part of the world, there could be substantial cost-savings. These boards are great mid-tier than can be modified into endgame.
Yah, the switch is the last thing I will think about. I will probably end up with many sets to play with over the summer. I decided to take the summer of to play with the kids and help my wife so I have a lot of free time now.