Building the first Custom

[sprax]

Hello, I've been using prebuild keyboards since i got into mechs, but now i decided to build one of my own, I got my hand on 63 zealios v1 that i plan on using for this build, it will be my first one and i have some questions:

I want to build a tkl or a 75%, the only 75% that fully satisfied me was the keychron q1, but I'm afraid is a bit to expensive for my budget ( my budget is around 200€ for the entire build), then i started looking into tkls, and I came accross some interesting boards:
Womier k87: I dont really like the full white acrylic look and it doenst have any type of elevantion
XD87 from kprepublic: I kinda liked this one, but i dont know if it has rgb/backlight per key, and dont know if its the right choice for me
bm80rbg: This one seems nice, and it has rgb/backlight per key, but then again i dont know if its the best choice for this budget
sk87: this one was on drop with the bluetooth version, i heard its a complete gamble if you get north or south facing
fl-cmmk mk870: this one has a weird colorway that is a black see through and i dont know how ill match it with other keycaps.


so what you guys think i should get and what mods shall i do? i need a tkl/75%, it  can be ansi or iso, it needs to be hotswap and it has to fit the 200€ budget.
from those options or if you have other sugggestions which one has the best quality and in my place you would get, thanks in advance for your time and hope you have a nice day

[Rafen]

The Womier k87 isn't per key rgb from what I have seen. The XD87 comes with underglow but looking at the hot swap pcb you can solder in a led on each switch. I think your best bet would be the BM80rgb. That boards seems to check all the boxes. With that being said you are going to need more switches than the 63 you have on hand.

[sprax]

The Womier k87 isn't per key rgb from what I have seen. The XD87 comes with underglow but looking at the hot swap pcb you can solder in a led on each switch. I think your best bet would be the BM80rgb. That boards seems to check all the boxes. With that being said you are going to need more switches than the 63 you have on hand.

thanks for your answer.

yeah i know ill need more, ill try to buy on aftermarket some more zealios v1, otherwise ill just use them on the main area and fill the rest with other switch until i can get more zealios, do you have any opinion on sk87 or on fl-cmmk mk870? or bm80 is just better?

[Rafen]

Never used any of the boards. I went from fullsize boards to 60% and haven't looked back. Someone with experince on those boards will probably chime in shortly.

[Leslieann]

The secondhand market can be brutal for discontinued boutique stuff, I'd secure more switches before setting your sights on a board that stretches your budget because you may find it's cheaper to buy all new switches than it is to find enough V1s.

As for recommendations...
I'd avoid anything wireless for keyboards. How good is your keyboard when the battery dies, I don;t mean needs a charge, i mean when it goes bad. Now you're stuck with a thick keyboard and bad ergonomics because of a battery you can't use. That's on top of lag and reliability. A lot of wireless is GARBAGE. Logitech is the only wireless with a good track record and even they have trouble due to the other end of the connection. Macs running Sierra had major wireless problems even with Logitech devices.


Look into the GMMK (not pro) go to customize and chose barebones, spend the money you save on lube (and nicer stabs if you have any left).
Pretty good quality, barebones so you aren't buying anything you don't need, per key rgb, programmable... Are there better boards, of course, but most cost more or unavailable. Put nice stabs some lube, it will be amazing.

[Rafen]

As for recommendations...
I'd avoid anything wireless for keyboards. How good is your keyboard when the battery dies, I don;t mean needs a charge, i mean when it goes bad. Now you're stuck with a thick keyboard and bad ergonomics because of a battery you can't use. That's on top of lag and reliability. A lot of wireless is GARBAGE. Logitech is the only wireless with a good track record and even they have trouble due to the other end of the connection. Macs running Sierra had major wireless problems even with Logitech devices.

Thats a good point about the battery going bad. Are they replaceable or your just up a creek if it goes?

[sprax]

Yes, i was not thinking in getting a wireless one anyways, about the gmmk, ive heard it is better to get smth else, thats why i didnt put it on the equasion

[Leslieann]

Thats a good point about the battery going bad. Are they replaceable or your just up a creek if it goes?

I'm not sure what battery is in it but worst case you could probably mod some other battery to fit.

Yes, i was not thinking in getting a wireless one anyways, about the gmmk, ive heard it is better to get smth else, thats why i didnt put it on the equasion

I'd say with stabs and lube it stands up against anything remotely close in value and you can always put the savings toward an even nicer board later.

[sprax]

idk, i dont really like the look of it, and tbh the bm80rgb kit comes with the same price as the gmmk and it looks like its a better board

[Leslieann]

idk, i dont really like the look of it, and tbh the bm80rgb kit comes with the same price as the gmmk and it looks like its a better board

I'm not sure it's really much if any better (though QMK is better if only because it works on any OS) and while looks are personal I actually agree (I dislike low profile).

While Krepublic is a reputable comapny, shipping from China is not.
I'm not sure how reliable shipping is at this point, but it could be a few days to several months before you get that and I've had some bad experiences with shipping from China. From damaged pcbs and keycaps to having my package shuffle from port to port for 2 months trying to get onto a ship.

[chungsteroonie]

While shipping times from China can vary DRASTICALLY. . . from 5 days all the way out to 60+ days, I've found that Aliexpress is extremely good about issuing refunds for items that were either broken or lost in shipping.  KPRepublic sells almost their entire catalog on Aliexpress.

idk, i dont really like the look of it, and tbh the bm80rgb kit comes with the same price as the gmmk and it looks like its a better board

I'm not sure it's really much if any better (though QMK is better if only because it works on any OS) and while looks are personal I actually agree (I dislike low profile).

While Krepublic is a reputable comapny, shipping from China is not.
I'm not sure how reliable shipping is at this point, but it could be a few days to several months before you get that and I've had some bad experiences with shipping from China. From damaged pcbs and keycaps to having my package shuffle from port to port for 2 months trying to get onto a ship.

[Leslieann]

While shipping times from China can vary DRASTICALLY. . . from 5 days all the way out to 60+ days, I've found that Aliexpress is extremely good about issuing refunds for items that were either broken or lost in shipping.  KPRepublic sells almost their entire catalog on Aliexpress.

You don't need AliExpress for that from them, they're pretty chill when there's a problem.

They can be hard to get ahold of (don't use email!!!) but once I did it was the easiest, fastest refund process I've ever experienced (shipping problem). Money was back in my account before we finished talking. I have no problem recommending them, as do others, it's just shipping right now due to Covid is worse than normal, at one point it was nearly 4 months and even that wasn't a sure thing.

[Rafen]

Ive ordered a lot of stuff from China via KBDfans and haven't had any issues. The last order took about 2 weeks from order placement to my doorstep.

Might have to try AliExpress. Never ordered from them before.

[sprax]

waiting is not problem nor using aliexpress or banggood, i just want the best possible board, under 150 euros, my problem with bm80rgb, is that its north facing, thats the only issue, ive heard novelkeys is releasing a new nk87 that is cheaper, but i guess it will end up close to 200 euros for me due to shipping fees and what so ever