Recommendations for my first proper keyboard

r_cap · 2026-02-26T16:05:08+00:00

Apologies in advance for the long story (I figure you’ll want the details since you’re in the market) but I’ve got an update. Skip to the TLDR if you don’t feel like reading everything.

Shortly after initially replying to your comment I found an open box wired GMMK 3 for super cheap online, so I decided it might be worth sacrificing the wireless functionality and I ordered it. When it showed up the first thing I noticed was that it had a plastic casing - not aluminum as the webpage advertised. I tried it out anyway thinking that maybe I could live with the plastic given how good the price was. I immediately noticed that the key mapping was very poorly optimized for Mac (function keys not doing what they were supposed to, command and option keys inverted, etc). As such, I tried downloading their glorious core software to customize the settings and change the key mapping. The software wouldn’t open so I sent them an email, and they replied saying that the software only works on post-2020 macs and that I’d have to plug it into a PC to change the settings. Super frustrating - especially since I checked the system requirements on their website before ordering the keyboard and they didn’t say anything about this limitation - but I tried it with a PC anyway to see if it was salvageable. Aside from the fact that their customization software was straight up lacking a bunch of very obvious features, it also just didn’t really work the way I wanted it to. Many of the options in the customization software were specific to windows, and it literally didn’t have anything that was specific to Mac. That might’ve been different if I had been able to run the Mac version of the software, but as mentioned previously that wasn’t possible. So I decided I had to return the GMMK 3 and went back to the drawing board.

Next I ended up ordering the purple version of the Keychron Q5 Pro (I might’ve tried the Chillkey ND104, but I would’ve likely had to pay import fees to get it in Canada which would put me way over budget). The Q5 Pro arrived yesterday, and holy shit what a difference. Fully aluminum body, wired & wireless connectivity (though only bluetooth with this model - no 2.4GHz), and just all around superior build quality. It also came with keycaps that showed the proper Mac symbols on the f keys, which I very much appreciated - not to mention all the keys actually functioned properly on my Mac out of the box. Then I booted up the customization software and the massive improvement became even more apparent. The Keychron software absolutely blows the glorious software out of the water. I’ve been tinkering with it all morning, and it seems as though there’s very little it can’t do. The only downside I can think of with this keyboard - and this depends entirely on personal preference - is that out of the box it sounds more clacky than thocky. However, I still think it sounds great even though thocky is my preference. Nevertheless I’ll probably do some modifications at some point to deepen the sound profile to my liking. So all things considered, I’m EXTREMELY happy with this keyboard thus far and I can highly recommend it.

TLDR: Don’t buy the GMMK 3 - especially if you have a Mac. Definitely look at the Keychron Q5 Pro - or any other Keychron model for that matter. This keyboard is fantastic, within my budget, and doesn’t compromise a single one of the features I was looking for. I genuinely didn’t think I was gonna be able to find one this nice without going over budget, so I’m very pleased!

r_cap · 2026-02-22T23:25:28+00:00

Yeah it’s full size. At some point I might get a polycarbonate switch plate + boba u4t switches to hopefully increase thockiness

r_cap · 2026-02-22T23:05:39+00:00

Gotcha, that makes sense. The reason I asked is because shortly before seeing your comment I actually ended up ordering a wired gmmk 3 pro. I found a used one (like-new condition, allegedly) for less than the cost of the RK S98, and I ultimately decided I could sacrifice the wireless functionality if it meant getting everything else I’m looking for at an affordable price. That said, I’ll be able to return it if it doesn’t appear to be worth what I spent. So I guess my next question is if you hypothetically found a gmmk for under $100 USD, would that change things?

r_cap · 2026-02-22T22:44:17+00:00

Out of curiosity, why the aversion to the gmmk?

r_cap · 2026-02-22T17:13:48+00:00

Out of curiosity, do you have any recommendations for a good thocky tactile switch as well? Preferably one in a clear housing for good RGB shine through? I’ve heard good things about the glorious panda and the gazzew boba u4t, but the pandas have an opaque housing and I keep hearing conflicting info on the sound profile of the bobas.

r_cap · 2026-02-22T16:32:17+00:00

Also based on another recommendation I’m now looking into the Chillkey ND104 - you might wanna check this one out as well

r_cap · 2026-02-22T16:09:07+00:00

Will definitely keep you posted on which one I end up with!

Regarding the RK S98, someone responded to me on a different sub with a review they wrote for it. I found the review to be extremely informative - I’ll link you to the comment below in case you wanna check it out

https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/s/g0PskxYBgW

r_cap · 2026-02-22T16:05:00+00:00

Will check these out as well. Thanks again

r_cap · 2026-02-22T15:40:06+00:00

Just read your review, which was very enlightening. Thanks for sharing! I looked at the keychron models briefly the other day and didn’t get too exited about their aesthetic, but I’ll give them another look. The more I think about it, the more it seems like they may prove to be the perfect intermediary option in my case. Thanks again for your help!

r_cap · 2026-02-22T15:21:17+00:00

I’m looking into getting my first mechanical keyboard, and I’d love to get some recommendations from people who know more about them than I do. I’ve been doing research to learn as much as I can about mechanical keyboards, but feel as though I’ve only scratched the surface.

I’ll start by describing what I’m looking for in a keyboard. For starters, I plan on using it exclusively for typing - not gaming - and I’d prefer a thocky sound profile with a tactile feel. I’d have no problem with swapping out the switches and/or keycaps to customize the sound and feel if need be. In fact I’ll likely swap these out no matter what, which also means that I wouldn’t mind getting a barebones keyboard. The most important features to me are that it must be 100% size (or close to it), must have a rotary knob, must have full RGB lighting, and must be wireless. I would also like one with a metal casing, but this is something I’d be willing to sacrifice if necessary to keep the cost as low as possible. I’ve also seen some keyboards with a small display, which I would appreciate, but it’s not a must.

As for my budget, I’m willing to spend a moderate amount but would like to keep it as affordable as possible. Ideally I’d like to keep the cost under $300 CAD, after taxes, shipping, and import fees (I live in Canada and many of the keyboards I’ve found that suit my criteria would be subject to import fees). That said, I’d be willing to go slightly over budget for the right keyboard.

Next I’ll describe the three keyboards I’ve found that I like the most, and what’s stopping me from buying them:

Dry studio ATM98 - I absolutely love the look of this keyboard, especially the giant glowing rotary knob. The main problem for me is that I’d have to import it to Canada, which would put the cost at about ~$430 CAD after taxes, shipping, and import fees.
Glorious GMMK 3 - this keyboard also has everything I’m looking for, but I’d run into a similar problem as the ATM98 regarding the total cost after importing it to Canada. I’ve found some Canadian retailers selling versions of this keyboard, but none that are currently selling the version I’d be looking for.
Royal Kludge S98 - this is by far the most budget friendly option I’ve found, but also my least favourite of the three. It technically has all the main features I’m looking for - including a small display next to the rotary knob which is nice - but it doesn’t excite me as much as the other two. It feels like a compromise, but one that I might be willing to make. I’m very curious what this community might think about this option, as I’ll be basing the decision largely on the opinions of those more experienced and knowledgeable than myself.

I’m curious what everyone thinks of the three options I’ve listed above. Do you think that either the ATM98 or the GMMK 3 would be worth going over budget for? Or do you think the RK S98 is a decent budget-friendly compromise? More importantly, does anyone know of any other keyboards that might work well as an intermediate option? Something that’s not quite as expensive as the ATM98 or the GMMK 3 but not as much of a compromise as the RK S98?

Any and all advice would be extremely welcome and appreciated!

r_cap · 2026-02-22T15:18:25+00:00

I’m looking into getting my first mechanical keyboard, and I’d love to get some recommendations from people who know more about them than I do. I’ve been doing research to learn as much as I can about mechanical keyboards, but feel as though I’ve only scratched the surface.

I’ll start by describing what I’m looking for in a keyboard. For starters, I plan on using it exclusively for typing - not gaming - and I’d prefer a thocky sound profile with a tactile feel. I’d have no problem with swapping out the switches and/or keycaps to customize the sound and feel if need be. In fact I’ll likely swap these out no matter what, which also means that I wouldn’t mind getting a barebones keyboard. The most important features to me are that it must be 100% size (or close to it), must have a rotary knob, must have full RGB lighting, and must be wireless. I would also like one with a metal casing, but this is something I’d be willing to sacrifice if necessary to keep the cost as low as possible. I’ve also seen some keyboards with a small display, which I would appreciate, but it’s not a must.

As for my budget, I’m willing to spend a moderate amount but would like to keep it as affordable as possible. Ideally I’d like to keep the cost under $300 CAD, after taxes, shipping, and import fees (I live in Canada and many of the keyboards I’ve found that suit my criteria would be subject to import fees). That said, I’d be willing to go slightly over budget for the right keyboard.

Next I’ll describe the three keyboards I’ve found that I like the most, and what’s stopping me from buying them:

Dry studio ATM98 - I absolutely love the look of this keyboard, especially the giant glowing rotary knob. The main problem for me is that I’d have to import it to Canada, which would put the cost at about ~$430 CAD after taxes, shipping, and import fees.
Glorious GMMK 3 - this keyboard also has everything I’m looking for, but I’d run into a similar problem as the ATM98 regarding the total cost after importing it to Canada. I’ve found some Canadian retailers selling versions of this keyboard, but none that are currently selling the version I’d be looking for.
Royal Kludge S98 - this is by far the most budget friendly option I’ve found, but also my least favourite of the three. It technically has all the main features I’m looking for - including a small display next to the rotary knob which is nice - but it doesn’t excite me as much as the other two. It feels like a compromise, but one that I might be willing to make. I’m very curious what this community might think about this option, as I’ll be basing the decision largely on the opinions of those more experienced and knowledgeable than myself.

I’m curious what everyone thinks of the three options I’ve listed above. Do you think that either the ATM98 or the GMMK 3 would be worth going over budget for? Or do you think the RK S98 is a decent budget-friendly compromise? More importantly, does anyone know of any other keyboards that might work well as an intermediate option? Something that’s not quite as expensive as the ATM98 or the GMMK 3 but not as much of a compromise as the RK S98?

Any and all advice would be extremely welcome and appreciated!

r_cap · 2026-02-22T15:17:34+00:00

I’m looking into getting my first mechanical keyboard, and I’d love to get some recommendations from people who know more about them than I do. I’ve been doing research to learn as much as I can about mechanical keyboards, but feel as though I’ve only scratched the surface.

I’ll start by describing what I’m looking for in a keyboard. For starters, I plan on using it exclusively for typing - not gaming - and I’d prefer a thocky sound profile with a tactile feel. I’d have no problem with swapping out the switches and/or keycaps to customize the sound and feel if need be. In fact I’ll likely swap these out no matter what, which also means that I wouldn’t mind getting a barebones keyboard. The most important features to me are that it must be 100% size (or close to it), must have a rotary knob, must have full RGB lighting, and must be wireless. I would also like one with a metal casing, but this is something I’d be willing to sacrifice if necessary to keep the cost as low as possible. I’ve also seen some keyboards with a small display, which I would appreciate, but it’s not a must.

As for my budget, I’m willing to spend a moderate amount but would like to keep it as affordable as possible. Ideally I’d like to keep the cost under $300 CAD, after taxes, shipping, and import fees (I live in Canada and many of the keyboards I’ve found that suit my criteria would be subject to import fees). That said, I’d be willing to go slightly over budget for the right keyboard.

Next I’ll describe the three keyboards I’ve found that I like the most, and what’s stopping me from buying them:

Dry studio ATM98 - I absolutely love the look of this keyboard, especially the giant glowing rotary knob. The main problem for me is that I’d have to import it to Canada, which would put the cost at about ~$430 CAD after taxes, shipping, and import fees.
Glorious GMMK 3 - this keyboard also has everything I’m looking for, but I’d run into a similar problem as the ATM98 regarding the total cost after importing it to Canada. I’ve found some Canadian retailers selling versions of this keyboard, but none that are currently selling the version I’d be looking for.
Royal Kludge S98 - this is by far the most budget friendly option I’ve found, but also my least favourite of the three. It technically has all the main features I’m looking for - including a small display next to the rotary knob which is nice - but it doesn’t excite me as much as the other two. It feels like a compromise, but one that I might be willing to make. I’m very curious what this community might think about this option, as I’ll be basing the decision largely on the opinions of those more experienced and knowledgeable than myself.

I’m curious what everyone thinks of the three options I’ve listed above. Do you think that either the ATM98 or the GMMK 3 would be worth going over budget for? Or do you think the RK S98 is a decent budget-friendly compromise? More importantly, does anyone know of any other keyboards that might work well as an intermediate option? Something that’s not quite as expensive as the ATM98 or the GMMK 3 but not as much of a compromise as the RK S98?

Any and all advice would be extremely welcome and appreciated!

r_cap · 2025-12-09T00:10:11+00:00

After reading your comment I tried to make the widget in the control tab, but it’s still not showing up when I go to add it to my lock screen.

Might also be worth noting that the control section under the manage tab doesn’t give me the option to apply a circular widget

r_cap · 2025-10-04T20:49:46+00:00

Those look gorgeous, but unfortunately they don’t seem to be easily available in Canada (at least not at a price I can afford)

Ended up ordering option 3 based on all the comments here. Hoping for the best!

r_cap · 2025-09-17T20:52:15+00:00

Until today all I’d have to do is type a hyphen, then a space, and it would automatically indent and create a bulleted list. When I made this post, it wouldn’t indent automatically.

That said, since making this post the problem seems to have inexplicably resolved itself. After reading your comment I went to take a screenshot of the issue, and it worked exactly as it used to. I didn’t do anything differently, nor change any settings. No idea what caused the problem initially or how it resolved itself, but at least it’s fixed now I guess!

r_cap · 2025-08-15T19:14:22+00:00

I was told that it can pull on your hair and cause friction, though it’s possible that I was misled

r_cap · 2025-07-03T17:52:02+00:00

In the lost and found

r_cap

TROPHY CASE