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I am searching for a keyboard similar to the Cherry MX-BOARD 3.0. I used this keyboard for quite a time and really liked it but it does not satisfy all my requirements:

  • Low price (<=100 EUR) since this will my secondary keyboard
  • Blue (or green) switches (Cherry)
  • en-gb keyboard layout
  • Media keys
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  • Still looking? I'm also curious how firm you are on Cherry switches vs. something like Kailh, Gateron, or Greetech.
    – JMY1000
    Commented Jan 15, 2018 at 0:30
  • Yes, indeed. Actually, I don't have any experiences with switches other than Cherry. However, I am not emotionally bound to them if others have similar characteristics and quality. Commented Jan 16, 2018 at 12:51
  • Not my actual recommendation since it doesn't transfer well, but the Cooler Master MasterKeys L PBT with MX Blues is on sale for $61.07
    – JMY1000
    Commented Jan 21, 2018 at 23:38

3 Answers 3

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TL;DR: Whatever "knockoff" keyboard is cheap this week.

Based on the fact that your previous board was a full sized keyboard, I'm going to assume you want something similarly sized. Tenkeyless keyboards tend to be slightly cheaper, so if you're fine with one of those, I'd recommend taking a look.

Switches

You noted you liked the Cherry MX Blue switches on your board. Thanks to the large and growing mechanical keyboard "fandom", a number of other companies have started manufacturing similarly colored, similarly feeling switches. Gateron (rather loud), Kailh (slightly loud and stiff), Outemu (rather loud), and Greetech (slightly loud) come to mind. You're not getting the quite same QC as Cherry, but you're getting a much better price. I personally spent a while with this Outemu equipped board and quite liked it–even in comparison to my Cherry MX Brown equipped board.

Boards

Some fairly reputable manufacturers like DasKeyboard and Razer have switched to using these switches–however, their boards remain as expensive as genuine Cherry switches.

For the most part, you'll be looking at boards from "second tier" manufactuers like EagleTec, E-Element, RedDragon, and AUKEY. You'll notice that I didn't actually give a specific recommendation. That's because–for much as I love roundups like these–they're just not really a good comparison here. Most of these keyboards aren't actually made by the companies selling them, but are rather made by OEMs like Easterntimes and resold with minor/no changes. This means there's a wealth of virtually-identical keyboards with various prices. The best strategy is pretty much to look and see whatever's cheapest on sites like /r/hardwareswap, then go from there. Right now, this Eagletec board or this AUKEY keyboard, both for $36.99, look like good choices.

But Cherry!

Okay, Cherry is the standard for a reason. If you decide you want a Cherry-equipeed board, I'd recommend Cooler Master MasterKeys L PBT: at $61.07 (right now, MSRP $89.99, and often on similar sale), it's pretty hard to beat. I personally own the similar MasterKeys Pro L White LEDs, and quite enjoy it: it's well build with great double shot keycaps, programmable, and with pretty great support for custom cases and keycaps thanks to the standard PCB layout and included keycap puller.

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Here is a recommendation I gave for the Anne Pro. It hits your check boxes and it's a nice board in my experience, although some minor configuration is required and a little dielectric grease on the stabilizers is warranted.

https://hardwarerecs.stackexchange.com/a/7633/6475

I'll shorten it up for your specific question:


This doesn't hit all of your checkboxes, but I like it quite a bit so I'll throw in a recommendation for an Anne Pro mechanical keyboard. I picked one up a few weeks ago because the robber dome boards at work were hurting my fingers. It's a pretty great board, but I'll go through your concerns so you have a decent rundown. For background, I've also got a K70 at home (cherry browns) and I went with cherry reds on my Anne. (EDIT: This board actually comes with gateron switches, not original cherry switches.)

  • Low price (<=100 EUR) since this will my secondary keyboard

Usually runs about $80 USD

  • Blue (or green) switches (Cherry)

Gateron switches, offered in blue, brown, and red.

  • en-gb keyboard layout

There are three preset layouts and one that you can customize entirely, including the Fn layer.

  • Media keys

The board does support macro functions through the app, and I've seen plenty of people talk about using media macros. The function is currently broken in firmware 1.4 (current version), but should be fixed for 1.5 before the year is out.

Stuff you should know:

They've got a subreddit with guides for everything to do with this keyboard if you decide to get it. Firmware update and app installation (needed for the custom preset, I haven't done it yet that's happening this week) are a bit of a pain from the looks of things, but not too bad. There is no physical power switch. The company says you can just disable bluetooth and RGB and that will put the board into a kind of sleep mode, but you'll notice on that sub that a lot of people install physical switches to kill power and avoid accidental key presses while carrying the keyboard in a bag and having it connected to a mobile device like your phone. The mod looks easy and I'll probably end up doing it myself, most people say it takes less than an hour.

It's not a perfect board but I'm liking it an awful lot. Amazon has the red switches version in stock here: https://www.amazon.com/Mechanical-Pro-Bluetooth-Backlight-Smartphone/dp/B06XW87X9D/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1498494412&sr=8-5&keywords=anne+pro+keyboard

Feel free to ask any questions if I missed anything.

EDIT: Just going to throw in a quick mention for CODE boards, as those are also highly rated and very popular for programming. They were the primary competition to the Anne Pro among keyboards I was looking at, and while I ended up not going with them they're a respectable company and may have something closer to the form factor that you're looking for, if that's an important enough concern for you.


It's a pretty solid little board, I like it a lot.

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I consulted Reddit's MechanicalKeyboards forum recently, and the consensus for the best cheap mechanical keyboard appears to be the Magicforce 68. Although it's a 60% percent board, as opposed to the larger board you linked, and its 'blue' switches aren't Cherry, you still might find this recommendation useful.

Personally, and on the more expensive side, I've been very happy with Das Keyboard (Model S) which is just above your max cost but has a lot of bang for the buck in my mind.

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