The search for a new keyboard…

After 10+ years with the SteelSeries Merc Stealth Keyboard (for sale on Mercari), I found a suitable replacement for the gamepad section with the Fang Z Board By Ideazon. So it was finally time to upgrade the rest of the keyboard.

I’ve been on the search for the just right keyboard for months and kept not being able to find one with all the features I wanted. Searched in spurts and kept forgetting what I had found and the model specs would blur together or there just wasn’t a quite right one.

Bought a Redragon K580 VATA but after switching to my Amazon Business account, I didn’t select the brown switch that I had decided to go with, so got the blue which is way too loud.

I also found that I couldn’t change the media and Macro keys color from red to purple. They glared at me after testing and just wouldn’t do.

So the search was back on.

I have very specific preferences. I was looking for a 100% width keyboard (so with the ten keys), multi-media keys, volume knob, wired, RGB Backlit, tactile switch (so browns or oranges), that would take the purple Drop Skylight Series Keycap Set that I had already bought on sale for $15.

Ultimate goal was a purple top plate but that simply isn’t possible AND get the other features that I want.

After my uptenth search, I started gain on my birthday, determined to narrow it down and buy the just-right-keyboard… and so I could return the RedDragon.

I searched “how to search all keyboard models” and found a Reddit post from someone that created a website to search all the keyboards!

https://keeb-finder.com/

Jackpot! This site helped me narrow down all the possible options that had the features I wanted. So I could rule out the what ifs” of just not coming across the right model.

In the in end I went with the very pricy “Razer Blackwidow V4 Pro” at $229.99 but it had everything I wanted less the purple base. Had to settle with black base with get purple in the form of lights and keycaps. My thinking is that I could take it apart and paint it myself.

 

Here is the process of replacing the keycaps.

Final result!