[Keyboard] Keychron k10 HE 100% keyboard - $89.99 : buildapcsales
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Videos
I have been using a new Keychron K10 for the last 2 weeks or so, and wanted to offer my thoughts and opinions (as there doesn't seem to be too much info about this board out there yet).
First off, my experience with keebs is rather limited - I have not (yet) built my own board, but instead have purchased a couple of pre-built boards over the years (so don't expect any lengthy discussion about band-aid mods!). I started with a Rosewill RK-9000V2 w/ MX browns, then moved briefly to a Ducky One 2 TKL board with MX clears, and have now landed on the K10 (full) with Gateron browns.
Pros:
-The K10 is a full size board with backlight, bluetooth connectivity, optional aluminum frame, and optional hot-swappable configuration for a pretty reasonable price ($84 - $114 or so, depending on options). It also comes with a braided USB C cable (which I believe I should be able to hand coil if I want to)
-The board provides a fairly "thocky" sound. I have read reviews of other keychron models, and a common complaint seems to be that the boards have a cheap / thin sound. I was worried about this but the K10 sounds great to me. See the "typing" video linked at the end of this post to judge for yourself!
-Bluetooth seems to work really well, and has the option to switch between 3 devices easily (I switch from my work laptop to home PC for the last 10 days or so and it has worked great so far)
Cons:
-Some of the stabilized keys didn't sound great right out of the box (they had a "clickier" sound than I like). I purchased some Krytox GPL 205 G0 from kebo and lubed the stabs as best I could (the hotswappable model was out of stock when I ordered, and I don't have the confidence to unsolder my board, so I just lubed as best I could with what I was able to access). You can hear a sound test before and after the lube in the videos below. The minor lubing I was able to accomplish improved the sound a lot.
-I'm not in love with the abs keycaps. After briefly experimenting with the Ducky One 2 PBT keycaps, the keychron keycaps seem like a step back (I really liked the grainy feel of the PBT caps). I've purchased a set of PBT keycaps to replace the stock abs caps that come with the K10 but they have not yet arrived.
-The USB C connection to the board is on the "left" side of the case. This isn't really a "con" for me, but if you expect to use a coiled USB cable, it might look a little funky
Videos:
Before lubing stabs:
https://imgur.com/a/0OtrXtl
After lubing stabs:
https://imgur.com/a/jPFVvmO
Typing video:
https://imgur.com/a/97uZqsS
Some thoughts on my previous two mech boards:
-I previously had purchased and returned a Ducky One 2 Tuxedo (TKL) board, and while I loved the feel of the PBT keycaps, and enjoyed the fairly "Thocky" sound, I returned the board as I didn't realize how much I use the 10 key (I had no idea how often I use the enter key on the keypad in my normal keyboarding use until it wasn't there!). It was also really hard to make aesthetic decisions to match the Tuxedo board as it has a Navy case (Navy doesn't look good on/next to black, so I struggled to find a professional looking desk mat, and mouse). I should note that the MX clear switches were a bit too heavy for me at the start, although I was starting to get used to them right as I was deciding to return the board (once I consciously started trying to stop bottoming out, the typing experience improved).
-Previous to the Ducky purchase and return I had been using a Rosewill RK-9000V2 with Cherry MX Brown switches. This board was my first foray into mechanical keyboards, and it was definitely serviceable, but compared to both the K10 and the Ducky One 2 it really lacks a satisfying sound (sounds cheap and "tinny") and there are issues with USB connectivity (which got annoying enough that I started shopping for a new board).