Key Words Key Words Part 45: How to Choose a Mechanical Keyboard at a Price of 100 Yuan, 12 Cost-effective Keyboards to Buy and Recommend

In the impression of many people, mechanical keyboards have always been handsome in appearance and outstanding in feel, but the price is high. However, in recent years, with the increasing number of manufacturers of mechanical keyboard shafts and complete machines, many mechanical keyboards with a price of around 100 yuan have appeared on the market. So what is the difference between these keyboards compared with five or six hundred or even thousands of yuan keyboards, and which hundred yuan mechanical keyboards are worth buying? This article will give you the answer.

If the price of a keyboard does not exceed 200 yuan, then it must make a certain sacrifice in cost. Compared with the keyboard in the regular price range, it must make corresponding concessions in many aspects.

The switch body is the heart of the mechanical keyboard and an important part of the cost. For example, the ex-factory price of TTC quicksilver, gold powder and other shafts is more than one yuan, and a keyboard optical shaft will cost more than 100 yuan. It is unrealistic for you to expect a hundred yuan keyboard to use these shafts. Most of the keyboards at this price use shafts that are at the level of 2-3 cents.

Limited by cost, these switches may be comparable to more expensive keyboards in terms of smoothness and feel, but the pins and contacts need to be plated with precious metals. Previously, the cherry switches were gold-plated. Keyboards at this price The shaft body can not provide gold-plated configuration, and can only be plated with some relatively cheap metals, or simply give up this step. This makes these shafts easy to oxidize after being used for a long time, resulting in insensitive triggering or no triggering at all, which results in what we call "broken contact".

However, different brands of keyboards have different chances of broken contacts. Relatively speaking, the low-end switches of major manufacturers such as Gottek, Huannuo, and Constant will perform relatively better.

At present, the keyboards above 400 yuan have basically been made of PBT material, and the wear resistance will be better than that of ABS keycaps. Although the overall feel of PBT is generally not as good as that of high-end ABS, low-end ABS generally does not have an excellent feel.

In terms of lettering process, the cost of two-color ABS is higher than that of single-color ABS. Even if PBT keycaps are used, few manufacturers use dye-sublimation printing on keyboards at this price. For the keycaps of the keyboard at this price, the sense of cheapness should not be too strong, and the color matching should look as good as possible is already a very high requirement.

Of course, there are six or seventy-one sets of counterfeit keycaps without copyright on a certain treasure, or a set of colored PBT keycaps with relatively low PBT content for 20 yuan. I feel that I am not satisfied with the original keycaps of the 100 yuan keyboard, so I just buy a set and replace it.

The hottest keyboard brand this year is the Gasket structure. The advantage lies in the flexible connection between the positioning plate attached to the shaft body and the keyboard shell, either using silicone or pron. Although the cost of the PC positioning plate is lower than that of the previous metal positioning plate, the structural change has brought about a significant increase in assembly labor costs. Therefore, the cheapest Gasket wired keyboard on the market is more than 280 yuan. The keyboard with a hundred yuan key is generally a ship's hull or a sky and earth cover structure with a cover on the ship's hull.

And from the perspective of the shell material, the appearance of the keyboard at this price is generally a public version design, and the beautiful line design of many high-priced keyboards is basically missed, and the RGB light bar on the side is already a relatively luxurious decoration.

RGB, three-mode, and hot-swappable have now become the standard configurations of mainstream mechanical keyboards, but for a hundred-yuan mechanical keyboard, each item involves cost. Therefore, RGB is often only seen on keyboards close to 200 yuan. The cheaper ones are either no light, monochromatic light, or mixed light with fixed color matching.

The cost of three-mode and dual-mode seems to be about the same, but it takes at least 150 keyboards to be equipped.

There are two types of hot-swapping for mass-produced keyboards. The low-end ones are generally sleeve hot-swapping, and the advantage is that they are cheap. The disadvantage is that you can only use the thin-footed shafts such as Goto, some Huannuo, and Constant, while the mainstream Kaihua, TTC, and Jiadalong shafts cannot be used, and certain strength and skills are required when pulling out the key.

The hot-swappable shaft seat has wider applicability, but the durability of products of different brands is also quite different. The T0 level on the market is Kaihua and TTC shaft mounts, and the lower ones are Jiadalong shaft mounts and Haimu shaft mounts. Although the price of high-tech shaft mounts is cheap, it is easy to break after being used for too many times. , as a player, you also need to "save a little".

Because the 100 yuan level keyboard inevitably saves on materials, especially the precious metal coating plated on the shaft contacts and pins is basically the lowest end. Therefore, the probability of problems with the entire keyboard will be much higher than that of high-priced keyboards, and JD.com generally provides a one-year warranty. If you have any problems, you can directly contact JD.com customer service to solve them. Normal use/repair or even replacement.

Still the previous problem, the most common problem with keyboards at this price point is the disconnection of the shaft body, even if the backlight is broken, it will not affect the use, but the keyboard with the disconnection is really useless. And if the keyboard supports hot-swapping, then you can directly replace the failed switch, which is more convenient and will not delay use, but remember to prepare a few replacement switches at ordinary times.

The price range of all the keyboards below is within 199 yuan.

This year’s hottest mechanical keyboard priced at 100 yuan is not inferior to the level of large keys of keyboards above 500 yuan. The smooth shaft body, PBT keycaps, RGB light strips on the side, and durable TTC shaft base are not conventional 100 yuan keyboards. The necessary configuration. This keyboard has been out of stock since its launch. Although it is still much better than its own Kezhi K75, it is still relatively rare among keyboards with a price of 100 yuan.

However, it is still recommended to start from the 169 yuan non-light hot-swappable version. Although the 119 yuan monochromatic light version is more cost-effective, considering the reputation of the shaft body manufactured by Nine Purple on the r87, the launch time of the r87 is relatively mediocre. It is still in the "novice protection period" for a short time. The future durability of this shaft body is unknown. To be on the safe side, it is better to buy the hot-swappable version. As one of the best brands of dual axle mounts on the market, TTC is also an important selling point of this keyboard, stable and easy to use. The 119 version has bottom cotton but no sandwich cotton, and the 169 hot-swappable and higher RGB versions have bottom cotton and sandwich cotton filled up, which can be regarded as the complete body of this keyboard.

As a keyboard brand under the Chinese agent of Cherry, Ai Shitou understands the choices of keyboards very well. Although this keyboard is only an ordinary male model design, it has the best shell workmanship level at this price. It was once the king of 100 yuan keyboards. The basic version of FE87 is only 99 yuan, and the RGB+ hot-swappable version is only 199 yuan, and the price is even lower after using the coupon.

The smoothness of the shaft body is good. Although the large key is not as perfect as the r87, it can still rank among the top three at the price of 100 yuan. There is basically no big wire sound, and it is not too fleshy. Plus, the shaft body feels good. The whole experience is very good.

The hidden danger still lies in the shaft body. The shaft body manufactured by Jixian has been proved to be not very durable in the past year, and there are many broken contacts on the Internet, so if you want to buy it, see the second article and choose JD.com Or a hot-swappable version.

The price/performance ratio of this keyboard is really high, but the ugly thing is the front, the mixed light version really looks too fake.

But I still recommend this one very much. First of all, it is basically the keyboard with the best sound at this price. It relies on the PC positioning board, the bottom cotton + sandwich cotton full of filling materials, lightGasket structure and factory-moistened Constant The shaft body, the bottoming sound of clang clang clang is very pleasant.

Here is a brief explanation of lightGasket. From my disassembly, it is not connected with the shell by soft materials like the real Gasket. It is indeed stuck on the bottom shell. Although there are several studs in the middle, the overall structure It's quite innovative, it's a bit similar to Gasket, but it doesn't add too much assembly cost.

At this price, the quality of Constant Red switches is good, but the consistency is still poor. Some switches feel weird, so it’s best to moisten them yourself. The keycaps are available in solid color, matcha green, and cream knight. They are made of ABS material, but they are relatively thick, with good hardness and online feel. At the same time, it supports sleeve hot-swapping, but unfortunately there is no shaft puller in the original package.

Generally speaking, the sound and feel are good, and the playability is very strong, but the details of a keyboard are relatively ordinary. If you can accept it, it is a very good choice.

Rapoo is considered a veteran manufacturer of domestic mechanical keyboards, and it is the first mechanical keyboard manufacturer to use domestic switches. In my impression, the first keyboard equipped with Kaihua switch was produced by Rapoo.

V500pro is one of the former three swordsmen of 100 yuan. Because of the scale and the cost of long-term production, V500pro has been one of the most cost-effective keyboards within 100 yuan for a long time.

Suspended design, complete shaft body, single-color/mixed-color backlight, brushed metal cover. Rapoo has made a product with a good feel and texture within a limited budget.

The price of several versions of single-mode is within 200 yuan, and the price of three-mode is more than 200 yuan. The 78-key design is very characteristic. Although it is very compact and omits the F area, it retains an independent number area. It is really an artifact for friends who carry a keyboard when they go out and just need a number area.

Factory moistened shaft body, moistened large keys, hot-swappable shaft seat, monochrome or RGB backlight, PBT keycaps, double-layer noise-absorbing cotton, single-mode configuration can be regarded as a full configuration. Although the mold and materials bring a certain sense of cheapness, the cost performance of this configuration is already very high.

Before Ai Shitou, MSI G50Z, Rapoo V500pro, and Dareu DK100 have always been the three swordsmen with a price of 100 yuan. With this brand advantage, MSI is even slightly ahead.

The appearance of this keyboard can be said to be square. This kind of shell design costs less, and at the same time, it looks better, but it is a bit cut. The RGB light strip on the side is bright, and the mixed light on the front looks better than that of Langtu, but it still feels cheap. Black and white are optional, 119 yuan for ABS keycaps, and +20 yuan for PBT keycaps.

The switch is a high-end switch with acceptable durability. The green switch is strongly recommended. The sound is very nice. It is one of the switches that beat the cherry blue switch in terms of sound and feel.

"Young people's first mechanical keyboard", Xiaomi seems to be popular with everything, and the keyboard is no exception, but because it is really too low-end, there is actually no big disturbance in the key ring.

Limited by the price, there are not many highlights of this keyboard, compact hull design, ordinary ABS keycaps, with white backlight. The price of 149 yuan is equipped with a high-tech switch body, which is worthy of recognition, especially the high-quality green switch is very famous, with a lower price, and the sound is clearer than cherry.

Relying on the price of 199 yuan for the matte version on Kezhi Tmall flagship store, K104 successfully squeezed into the price of 100 yuan.

The biggest advantage of this keyboard is the Cherry switch. Although the quality of the Cherry switch is degrading very quickly, the rusty feeling after pressing the switch is very obvious, but compared with the switches at the same price, the stability and lifespan of the Cherry switch are still the same. There are obvious advantages. Maybe K104 is not good in terms of feel, but it does allow you to use it for a longer period of time.

There is no filling structure inside, and the cavity sound is more obvious when knocked, which is a disadvantage. But the durable PBT keycap + sublimation self-lifting adds another guarantee to the durability of this keyboard. The big key of the version I got before was not adjusted, but according to the latest page introduction, K104 has adopted a new lubricated satellite shaft. The top cover of this keyboard is magnetic, and you can change the top cover of a different color if you get tired of playing. At the same time, you can add 10 yuan to upgrade to the white backlight version.

This is also a keyboard I have tested before, the same brand of Red Dragon. The suspension design is adopted, and the workmanship is better than expected. The excessive smoothness between the metal positioning plate and the plastic bottom case does not have any feeling of cutting hands.

The most important thing is that it is a three-mode + hot-swappable + RGB backlight, or a 60% design with independent arrow keys, which can be called a master of space saving.

Even if it has all the necessary configurations, the shaft body is Huannuo shaft body, the durability is good in the low end, the smoothness is okay, and the stability of the shaft center is average. The big key has been adjusted, but there is still noise. The hot-swapping solution is sleeve hot-swapping. To sum up, it has complete functions, high cost performance, and eye-catching arrangement, but the sense of cheapness is also obvious, after all, the price is here.

The launch of the mechanic K600 is still very successful in the market, and the K500 launched this year is mainly aimed at the market with a price of 100 yuan.

This keyboard has two arrangements of 84 and 94 keys. It adopts Huannuo shaft body, PBT keycaps, supports hot-swappable sleeves, and RGB backlight.

To sum it up, it has complete functions and is not expensive. From the product itself, I think the price-performance ratio of Mechanic is not as good as that of Langtu mentioned above, but the brand value of Mechanic is higher, and the appearance has its own characteristics, and the backlight and Keycaps also have advantages and have a certain purchase value.

Note that the picture above is GK715.

The Black Canyon, which is extremely cost-effective, has the strongest shaft for a price of 100 yuan, Kaihua BOX shaft, which supports hot-swappable shaft seats. These are configurations that will never be available in other brands at this price, but Kaihua There will be. And he also has a light blue backlight and a full key with no punch.

The price is that the texture of this keyboard is relatively average even if compared with the same price. There is a good switch body, and the level of performance that the kit can make it play is discounted to a certain extent. Therefore, the Black Canyon G705/715 series of keyboards is also called a tester. After all, Kaihua's shaft seat is very durable and can withstand frequent plugging and unplugging. The texture of 715 is slightly better than 705.

Mecon is a new brand that has emerged recently. Recently, it has been promoting its 98 products. This 87 has almost no sound. But in terms of configuration, the price/performance ratio is still very high.

The three-mode 87 keyboard can be bought for 199 yuan. If you only use wired, you can get it for less than 150 yuan after you make up the order. You will get full-key hot-swappable + RGB backlight, and the keycaps are actually pretty good-looking. If you have these two needs and the budget is insufficient, then this keyboard can be considered.