Gaming keyboards continue to get more expensive. It’s time to ditch mainstream brands and build your own keyboard that will last a lifetime.
I’m fed up with mainstream gaming keyboards. They’re just too expensive for what you get. My frustration to find something I really loved led me to finally bite the bullet and build my own. It’s a hobby that’s billed as niche and prohibitively expensive, but that’s not the case. You can build a keyboard for the same price as buying one from a mainstream brand, and you’ll come out with a much better result.
Keyboards are complex beasts, despite how simple they appear. Once you open the can of worms that is custom mechanical keyboards, you’ll quickly become an expert in minor differences between keycaps, switches, and everything in between. If you want a keyboard that can put even the best mechanical keyboards to shame, you need to build your own.
There’s one reason most people stick with mainstream keyboards: building your own is too expensive, or at least that’s how the story goes. Although it’s tough to build a keyboard for the same price as something like the HyperX Alloy Origins Core, it’s not much more than buying a high-end gaming keyboard.
My personal keyboard (above) cost me about $250. That’s a lot, but not much more than the wired Asus ROG Strix Flare II Animate, and the exact same price as Logitech’s popular G915 TKL. And you’re getting a lot more for your money. If a mainstream brand like Corsair, Logitech, or Asus released a keyboard that could go toe-to-toe with one you built yourself, it would be $400 or $500. Easy.
But in that way, building a keyboard isn’t akin to building a PC. It’s not about making something cheap and scrappy. Building your own keyboard is about piecing together something that’s unlike anything you can find in the keyboard world — from the amazing customization that’s offered to the high-end build quality.
There are more options than ever for building your keyboard now, too. For years, we were restricted to Cherry MX switches and their derivatives, as well as kits that would cost several hundred dollars on their own. An influx of newer brands like Akko are selling parts for much less, vastly lowering the barrier to entry. There’s never been a better time to dive in.
Building your keyboard starts with a base. If this is your first time, I’d highly recommend starting with a DIY kit so you can get your keyboard up and running right away. These kits come with all of the basic components you need, and they almost always allow you to modify the kit with your own parts after the fact.
