I’m using a Keychron K3 with brown switches, mechanical keyboards can be an entire rabbit hole so I really wanted an off-the-peg and I’m very happy with it. I have tried keyboards with blue switches and they’re fun to play with but very noisy and I think it would annoy me. Mine’s RGB but I mostly have it set to one solid colour and no effects. Currently it’s amber.
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Back when I was looking for keyboards, I looked at a bunch of mechanical keyboards, but I was looking for full sized keyboards (with numpads) not 75% keyboards.
They were all too loud for my taste, so instead I use membrane keyboards.
There are a ton of mechanical keyboards on Amazon, many with a lot of customer reviews.
Good luck in your search! 
There’s silent mechanical switches by now - many even more silent than an average membrane board, while retaining the typing feel and longevity of a mechanical one.
Sadly most of them are more on the expensive side, and few are available in commercially available keyboards. The cheapest entry into silent switches I know of is the Cherry G80-3000N RGB, available as both TKL and fullsize, with either Cherry Clear (strong and loud tactiles) or silent red (silent linears).
Corsair K95 is a little over $100 on sale. This is a lifetime keyboard. Unless you abuse it. Absolutely fabulous.
I couldn’t find any quiet ones that fit my other requirements.
They could exist out there somewhere, but I couldn’t find them and I looked at hundreds of keyboards on Amazon. 
I figured you would have purple in you keyboard somewhere. I wish Hank would do a purple darker than Wurkkos/Lumintop. Maybe he’ll branch out after his red…
So that’s a no on the VIA style visual interface firmware for Anduril I take it?
Yeah, the good stuff typically isn’t sold on Amazon… and if it is, it usually costs more there. Not just for keyboards, but for most things.
There are some nearly silent linear switches and some very quiet tactile switches too. The hard part is making the stabilizers quiet. So it’s unfortunately common that, after putting “silent” switches in, it’ll be super quiet except for the space bar. But the stabs can at least be replaced on most decent boards.
Another thing which helps, usually, is to get one with a plastic case instead of metal. Premium boards tend to use metal because it’s sturdier and heavier and people associate it with quality, but plastic ones tend to be quieter and more practical. Like, I prefer less weight, and I like to be able to rest my thumbs on the front edge without having metal wick all the heat away. Metal boards on the lap are also pretty uncomfortable, due to being cold and heavy. But with plastic, there’s just not as much need for sound dampening, because the case isn’t built out of material which rings and resonates each keystroke.
So I got a Keychron V1 (plastic) instead of Q1 (aluminum). It costs less than half as much, and it has the benefits of plastic instead of the drawbacks of metal. Would love if they made a V65 too, but that doesn’t exist so I got a Q65. It’s my favorite. It’s a “69%” layout, meanitng 65% plus 4 keys and a knob. I find it has just the right amount of keys, and I like the more symmetrical layout compared to most other designs. It is, as the number implies… nice.
That has not been my experience.
I get high quality items from Amazon all the time.
And I usually check and see if it’s cheaper anywhere else.
Most of the time, it isn’t.
For PC components, I use PCPartPicker, and the best items are usually on Amazon, and they’re usually cheapest on Amazon, too. 
It varies, of course. Usually when I check a few places, Amazon doesn’t end up being the best option. However, it happens sometimes.
When I last ordered keyboard stuff, amazon wasn’t much help so I got items from ebay, aliex, and some independent shops. Looking just now though, I found the good caps and switches for about the same prices on amazon. So I checked some other items I had recently looked for… they were $45 and $51 on aliex, or $62 to $68 from independent shops… but amazon was asking $80 and $90. On another recent item, I tried amazon first but they wanted $30 plus shipping for a medium-quality mass-produced version I didn’t like very much, while on aliex it was about $28 for three totally custom items of significantly higher quality. Last item I checked, it was $15 at Walmart with immediate pickup, or $22 plus shipping from Amazon.
Definitely worth shopping around.
I tend to avoid amazon for other reasons too though. The seller gets a smaller portion of the sale price, information (listings and reviews) there both tend to be of very low quality, and they allow scammers to thrive on their platform… so I generally can’t learn useful info about a product there. I used to leave reviews about products I know a lot about, often giving the correct specs and measurements since the product listings were false and the reviewers were mostly clueless… but apparently one of the scammers complained or something, and got me permanently banned. They also have uniquely poor inventory management which mixes multiple vendors together into a single listing and a single bin in the warehouse, so when an order is fulfilled, you play a lottery. Far too often, I have ended up with counterfeit items even when ordering from a reputable vendor.
It’s often the best option for Keychron specifically though, if they actually have the desired model and configuration, since Keychron’s direct shipping is pretty expensive. Amazon’s free shipping is sometimes enough to make up for the extra base cost.
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I don’t think it’s fair to compare prices at AliExpress and Amazon, unless you don’t live in the U.S.
Amazon has very quick shipping to the U.S. for most items compared to the very slow shipping (and terrible return policy) of AliExpress.
Also, even though there are fake reviews on Amazon, I have never found a better source for customer reviews.
Amazon usually has the most reviews (I’m not talking about ratings).
The quality of the reviews are better than that on other websites (like AliExpress and Walmart), too.
So, I usually look for stuff on Amazon, then see if I can get the same item elsewhere (in the U.S.) for less.
Most of the time, Amazon has the lowest price among places that offer quick shipping and free returns.
I know that the sellers on Amazon get a smaller portion, and I know that Amazon is a virtual monopoly, but I’m going to shop wherever is best for me.
And I’ve never received counterfeit products from Amazon, but I do my research.
I have received counterfeit products from eBay, but proper research on eBay is near impossible compared to Amazon.
You were from EU too, right? I think this is pretty different here compared to the states. Computer hardware on Amazon is usually 10-30% more expensive than for example Mindfactory for us, while it is pretty much the same or cheaper than dedicated stores in the US. This also applies to most other items.
I’d rather trust Aliexpress than Amazon most of the time, unless it is sold + shipped by Amazon. Most third party sellers on Amazon over here are garbage. Just buying the cheapest crap they find on Alibaba, and reselling it for 10 times the price with lacking descriptions, bad render product pics, and 500 fake reviews. If an item gets lost in shipping or breaks they ignore you until you contact Amazon directly and they force them to replace it or kick them.
Sold by Amazon tended to be a good experience in Germany, still bad in Italy. It is usually cheaper and faster to order from Amazon Germany to Italy, than use Amazon Italy lol
I usually find Amazon to be more expensive in the UK too, but they have lots of stuff in stock and will deliver it next day. Sometimes I’ll pay more for the speed and the excellent returns policy. I do prefer stuff to be sold by Amazon rather than someone on their marketplace though.
Another vote against Amazon here, in UK. Prices used to be extremely competitive but now there are almost always cheaper places to buy stuff (eBay, independents).
I occasionally peruse keyboard options but the options are a bit biwildering, and most of the “nice stuff” doesn’t include a number pad.
I’m not in tech but use a keyboard pretty much 8hrs 6x days a week to drive CAD software. Current keyboard of “choice” is a cheap Dell wired keyboard I picked up in almost new condition from a charity/thrift shop for 50p 
.
I do however need a better (more ergonomic) mouse…
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When I finally replaced my old phone, I ordered the new one from Amazon. I bought it from the OEM, OnePlus, on their official amazon store, fulfilled by amazon for the quick shipping, and I paid extra for a brand new unlocked model in a fresh production batch. That should be about as safe as possible for an amazon purchase.
What showed up was a damaged item loose in a cardboard box with an “amazon renewed” sticker on it, with a compromised IMEI.
It’s a good thing they do free returns. That’s far from the only time they’ve sent me the wrong thing.
The keyboard stuff I looked up yesterday seems pretty decent though. I could get a new set of Durock T1 + “AF SA” clones of MG Monster caps quickly and for a decent price… and a barebones board to put them on. The board models I would normally want didn’t seem to be in stock at amazon, but what they did have was slightly cheaper (after calculating shipping) than ordering direct from the OEM.
Originally I had hoped for some shine-through caps, but I couldn’t find any I liked enough. The profile shape and feel matter to me more, since I barely ever look at the keyboard anyway. I like spherical scoop tops instead of cylindrical scoops, and I like big centered labels instead of small off-center labels. Ideally PBT material if possible, but that’s unfortunately less common. I like low-ish profile caps usually, ideally with uniform row heights like DSA, instead of tall caps. But non-uniform heights are fine too.
Now that you’ve got me looking again though, I see a “CBSA profile” set of black crystal caps with nice white centered labels for $21. Those could be fun to have lights under.
Or the new XVX low-profile PBT doubleshot caps are available now, unlike last time I looked. These would have been pretty tempting, and they have shine-through versions too:
That’s part of what makes it nice. 
But yeah, for CAD, a numpad would be really important. I used to keep a separate numpad around to plug in when I wanted to use Blender, but I haven’t used it in so long that I don’t even have a compatible port for it any more. So if I ever needed that again, I’d probably get a Keychron Q0 Plus or other similar item. QMK would make it pretty easy to give it a bunch of different modes for different programs.
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It’s you lot that are spoiling laptops for me 
. It’s hard to find a numpad even on a 19" laptop with decent graphics card nowadays!
On Amazon:
The only things I would typically buy from a third-party seller on amazon are books and movies. The people who sell those things tend to rely on volume of sales which doesn’t work if you dumpster your reputation. They are typically pretty careful. Everything else has to be fulfilled by amazon at the very least.
Amazon has honestly had such awful shipping for me in the past couple of years that I’ve almost given up on them. Lots of first party sites are faster than non-Prime Amazon.
On Keyboards:
I’ve initiated a return on the Epomaker TH80 SE. The stabs are nice, the switches are good quality but it turns out Gateron Yellow Pro 2.0s are not for me. It doesn’t look or feel cheap. It would suck to ever take apart though since the outer case is screwless. For someone who would never take apart a keyboard for cleaning, it’s a solid choice.
Now I’m considering a Keychron Q1 QMK Custom Mechanical Keyboard - Version 2. But I’m also looking at 75% diy kits because choosing keycaps seems like half the fun.
Ah… on a notebook computer, a numpad is even worse. It shifts the entire typing area off-center, which is terrible for ergonomics. A numpad is okay on a desk, if you have enough extra space on one side and don’t need to use a mouse on that side… but I find it makes notebooks really uncomfortable.
I tend to forget about the mouse part though. I haven’t used one in so long that I’ve got mine in storage. Mice make my entire arm hurt. Instead I generally use MouseKeys and/or a touchpad under the space bar. At the computer I use most lately, all I have is a keyboard… which is why I put so many mousekey mappings into my custom layout, and wrote an entire new mouse motion algorithm for QMK. Since I switched, it has become so natural that I don’t even think about it. I just will the mouse cursor to move or click or scroll or whatever, and it kind of just automatically happens. It’s much like typing, where I have no conscious awareness of it while I’m doing it… the letters just appear onscreen while I think. For the mouse cursor though, it also helps a lot to have a Warp key, to teleport between two places. It’s basically like having two independent cursors, and a button to switch between them. It really cuts down on the time I’d need to spend moving a cursor around.
Haven’t tried those. It looks like they’re a semi-lightweight linear switch?
I mostly ignore linears, because I like some tactile feedback. What I like has resistance at the top, then press hard enough and it falls away to a position below the activation point… and then begins to push back again toward the bottom to soften the impact. Then on the return, it helps lift my finger again by popping up into place. So I like rubber dome switches and scissor switches, but that type of response curve is one of the least common in MX style mechanical switches.
Some people (especially keyboard influencers and gamers) absolutely swear by linears, especially if they’re lubed and extra-smooth. Or there are some new hall effect switches where a “press” is any downward motion and a “release” is any upward motion, regardless of where the key is in its range of motion. I can see the appeal, I guess, but I’d rather have a switch which feels like it pops back and forth between two positions.
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Huh, you never tried Gateron Yellow? They have been the go-to budget switch for almost a decade now, thought everyone tried them at least once (whether or not one likes them is a whole different topic). I still have like 300 milky top yellows in the basement, got them for 9ct a switch a couple of years back lmao. The best thing about yellows has always been their springs, mid-weight linears with a very unique spring force curve (IIRC pretty close to TX Slow Springs).
The Pro 2.0 are pretty nicely factory lubed Yellows with RGB-compatible clear tops and bottoms with a LED hole. Sadly, clear top Gaterons sound like crap compared to milkies. By now we are at Pro 3.0, which are supposed to be almost on par with hand lubed switches - did not try any 3.0s myself so far though. 2.0 factory lube was already impressive.
If you prefer tactiles, that explains it though 
I have ~75% linears, 25% tactiles in my boards - depends on my mood what I prefer. Typing on a Geistmaschine Geist with BSUN Sarokeys BCP linears and MTNU Classic Beige caps rn.
I play games but wasn’t a fan of how these yellows felt for that. Sometimes I wasn’t sure if I pressed a key hard enough without the bump. Other times, I felt increased fatigue when holding a button down for extended periods of time (sprint key while running). So for me, the bottom-out force is also going to matter a lot for games. It sounds ridiculous, but stiffer keys can lead to numb fingertips.
I’m also able to type, and do want a keyboard that feels good to type on. If I find out that my ideal typing switch is different than my ideal gaming switch, I’ll probably buy/build a second keyboard for purpose.
The hall effect switches are interesting because you can customize how much travel is required for activation, and some allow you to cause switch activation on press and instant deactivation on release. In Counterstrike your accuracy is heavily based on if you are moving or not and the sooner your key release is registered, the better. I don’t play Countestrike or any really competitive game though, so hall effect sensors are probably not worth it for me. I assume they are not amazing to type on either.
I use an IKBC MF87 Cherry MX Blues at home, and a Ducky One 3 with Cherry Silent Red at work, and can recommend both.