MonsGeek - M5

Monsgeek M5, also if a 96% is acceptable the Monsgeek M2 V5 just dropped.

Keychron is not really "high end", it's basically the Oldsmobile and Pontiac of the keyboard business. And the Q and V series boards have been haunted by quality control problems lately. If you want a metal tank I would recommend the Monsgeek M series.

> no hotswap on keychrons pcbs is a bummer tho So much confusion. All keychron's Q and V series baords and most of the K Pro and Max boards are hotswap. All their magnetic boards are hotswap. The issue with everyone else's firmware is that it's not open source or compatible with VIA.

With few exceptions high end keyboards don't tend to be any better than moderately priced ones, they're just styled expensive. Some of them are worse because they have worse software. I can't say much about magnetic boards, to me they're worse because pretty much all magnetic "switches" are non-silent and linear, and they're not cross-compatible, and apart from Wooting and Keychron the supporting software is completely pants. There are a lot of high-end boards with proprietary firmware instead of QMK or ZMK, which I would call a deal-killer. I haven't used Wootility but I suspect it's got configuration limitations. All the closed-source drivers are like that. And there are very few that are wired-only because at that price level the extra hardware for wireless support is a drop in the bucket. If you're concerned, you can always remove the batteries and they should still work. Personally I find wooden cases better options than plastic or metal. They're as rigid as metal, sound great, and aren't huge heavy warhammers. * [Womier WD75](https://www.amazon.com/Womier-Mechanical-Swappable-Translucent-Keycaps-POM/dp/B0DT8SP79R) * ($96) * [Glencreag WK84](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DYDM9N49) * ($95 w/ coupon) * YMDK [YMD75](https://ymdkey.com/collections/75-diy) ($64-$110 diy) and [YMD96](https://ymdkey.com/collections/96-diy) ($60-$142 diy) * [Sharkoon Skiller SGK50](https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Sharkoon-Skiller-Barebone-Gaming-Keyboard/dp/B0F8HQFGVL) family (€130) None of these are gasket mount for obvious reasons, the only wooden gasket mounted board I know of is the Barret. I don't know if this is actually buyable. * [Barret Creative BC-75](https://barrettcreative.shop/bc75) ($280+) For gasket mounted boards, I don't think you can honestly do much better than the Monsgeek M series. * [Monsgeek M1 v5 VIA](https://www.monsgeek.com/product/m1-v5-via-rapid-disassembly/) Seriously, there's just so much you can do with a keyboard before you're just using weird materials or charging a markup for engraved plates you can't even see.

It typically costs over $200, though, for a board that's no better than a Monsgeek little more than half the price.

I really wouldn't recommend either of those boards. Keychron V/Q6 Max, Monsgeek M5, QK101. All available in ISO except the M5, if you needed that.

Keychron V/Q6 Max, Monsgeek M5, QK100 (wired-only PCB). You would have to get separate switches for all of these options.

100% size is so hard to recommend because almost no one makes them lol. I don’t know why but it’s a serious limiting factor on enthusiast boards. Most good 100% enthusiast boards will be out of your price range due to the lack of availability. I would recommend the Monsgeek M5 but it’s in the $130 range for just the board, no switches or keycaps included.

Gaming boards suck. Get a Monsgeek M5 or something similar. Similar price, but vastly superior. You can also consider the Keychron V6.

IMO, the Keychron Q6 or Monsgeek M5 are about the most endgame you can buy in stock. Although, the new Qwertykeys QK101 looks really nice if you are up for a full build.

Keychron uses VIA and Monsgeek if you get the M5 not the M5W, also uses VIA. It's pretty easy to program macros in VIA. With VIA, you don't install any software, just point your browser to usevia.com and allow permissions to access the keyboard. It's pretty neat.

Monsgeek m5 if you are able to build.

Fullsize has fewer options. The most recommended fullsize aluminum keyboards are the Keychron Q6 Max, the Monsgeek M5, and the QwertyKeys QK101. For plastic keyboards, the Keychron V6 Max or the lower quality Keychron K10 Max. For super cheap options, check out Redragon.

For a truly quiet keyboard, get silent switches. Akko Fairy switches are the quietest I've tried. Epomaker Roseveil switches are the most non-mushy silent switch I've tried, but it's not as quiet as the Fairy switches. If you want a ready-made silent mechanical keyboard, get the Epomaker TH108. If you want a higher quality aluminum mechanical keyboard, get a Monsgeek M5 or a QwertyKeys QK101 and then buy keycaps and silent switches separately.

Monsgeek M5 w/ Kailh Box Jade Crystals (supports QMK/VIA) and a Deathadder Elite (it's been working for years and works well enough, I use Polychromatic for RGB/DPI)

I think most of these are terrible recommendations. Why would you suggest random amazon boards in 2025 when boards like QK Neo or Cycle7/8 exist? I think monsgeek is fine but all the other boards you listed are kinda sus imo.