Quote from: Jucko on Sun, 21 December 2025, 09:53:16

I recently received my R4 its a solid feeling board overall but it has its problems. For one its a huge PITA to open, and nearly impossible to open without slightly damaging the case (might be skill issue lol). The domes inside are weirdly grippy like sticky tack, typing they feel exactly the same as every other oem dome. The dome strips (1-4) are pitted on the bottom, something Ive never seen before while the dome sheets are pristine, it could be that their molds are getting worn out.

Techbeezin did a great teardown and review over on KT if anyone is interested: https://www.keebtalk.com/t/realforce-r4-r4hd11-teardown/23658

What do you mean pitted at the bottom? What does it mean?

I'm wondering, I think I would liek to get a Realforce keyboard and mod it with mx sliders and everything that DES made for topre so far. I don't even know what its there, last time I modded RF was 3-5 years ago.
What is new now for topre? I mean what is good to use from DES to mod the boards nowadays. Definitely wuld take heavy domes, like 80-90g, but what about other bits they sell? Should I think of housings swap? Springs? All those pads etc?

Would R4 be good for modding? I know its PITA to open etc but overall, what would be better. I only modded R1, R2 and HHKBs.
Maybe should pick R3? R3 or R4, I dont want to do cable mod anymore, just have USB-C.

If I like 80g linear cherry mx switches (or 75g tactiles), should I go with 85g green des domes, or better go with grey 70g?

There are some pics of the dome pitting in the link from my last post (they kinda look like swiss cheese), it doesn't effect the feel of the domes (at least that i can tell) it seems like just visual imperfections.

As for modding, DES isn't the only place to get parts anymore, recently Dynacap and Metapulse launched with their own domes and mx compatible sliders and housings. Id highly recommend you check them out. As for gaskets and pads and such I believe DES is the only supplier.

Honestly I cant really recommend the R4 as a good modding platform, it takes WAY to much effort to open and its really easy to damage the case while doing so, if you want usb-c id have to say go with the R3 its definitely a lot more difficult then say an R1 but its infinitely easier to open than an R4.

Its pretty difficult to compare mx switch weight with topre/ec dome weights as they dont really translate that well, ive found that dome weights usually run heavier than their mx counterparts, for example 45g oem domes feel more like 50-55g. DES has some great dome offerings but id look into some of the newer domes as well like Astrodomes, Metapulse, and Dynacap. If youre looking for the most tactility id recommend BKE style domes.

Added the R3 1.25U Enters and updated the main post! (had another request for it too, so it makes sense to add!)

Brilliant!

I am quite new to this subreddit, and havn't explored the world of mechanical keyboards at all yet (other than the manufactured ones from the big companies). Is this a representations of keys from the top-most row (right) to the bottom row (left)? And if so, what is the benefit of keys being shaped differently, depending on row?

This looks great! Any chance of a black mod kit?

Helloooo =)

We have updated the vendor list haha