Galaxy100 QMK/VIA

Might I suggest you look at the Epomaker Galaxy 100, should be able to pick one up of Amazon for 80 or less they sound great look good full aluminum and I really enjoy mine. Gave one to my son and he thinks it is great.

I have a Q6 Pro and and Q6 HE. But might I suggest you look at the Epomaker Galaxy 100, I like it alot and find I am using it at work more than my Q6's or Q5 (older version without the full 0 on keypad) Knob is in better position and it sounds amazing out of the box.

I've bought several of their keyboards over the years and they work fine. I'm using a Galaxy 100 right now and love it. Maybe they do have some bad customer service, but a lot of places do. If you're wanting to mess around with a bunch of customization software, yea there are probably better brands. But if you're just wanting a mid-range mechanical keyboard that works out of the box at a good price, there's nothing wrong with them in my experience. I've owned 4 different models of theirs.

One of my good friends I play WoW with got this keyboard a while back and he loves it. I ended up getting a similar one because he likes his so much. I got the Galaxy 100 and am really enjoying it.

You don't have to give up a number pad just to have a smaller keyboard. I use the [Galaxy100](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F98LKVJ8). 100 key layout and full number pad. Plus a volume knob. It's a nice weighty keyboard that provides an excellent typing experience. It's the best keyboard I've ever used to be honest.

I was recently very surprised by the quality of the aula f99 pro silent version if you're considering a plastic case. they currently sell for $80 on amazon. There are several very nice metal case keyboards that go for about $100 but most will not be silent. A typical mechanical keyboard makes a bit of noise, but as long as you aren't using clicky switches, pretty much any keyboard should be quiet enough for your use. Just make sure to get a hot swap keyboard so that if it ends up being too loud in the future, you can swap in silent switches. The brand Epomaker doesn't have the best reputation overall as they have been around for a while and have released a ton of stinker keyboards, BUT I am very impressed with the price and quality of their Galaxy and Galaxy lite boards. I've built 2 recently for friends and co-workers because it's a nice heavy metal keyboard with solid features for $100 retail. I also currently use a galaxy 100 lite at work as well and I really like it, especially for the price. It can be used wireless, but it works great wired as well. I love tinkering, so I actually removed the battery from my work galaxy 100 because I'll only ever use it wired, and it's nice to know that it cant catch fire. Also the creamy white keyboard looks really nice. I have a black one, and I really like the way my co-worker's creamy white one looks. Lastly, if you get a keyboard with VIA compatibility, you can program any button to do anything, so you can make media controls any button or any button when combined with the function key. Both the Aula f99 silent and epomaker galaxy 100/100lite both have knobs, which by default control volume, and mute when pressed. The galaxy is Via compatible, but I don't think the Aula F99 is.

The gravastar Mercury is actually really solid for the price if you like the looks. I build custom keyboards so i prefer mechanical keyboards over HE boards for now, until the feel and sound of HE switches improves. For someone looking for a great entry level custom board, the weikav lucky 65v3, weikav nut65, epomaker galaxy 100, are amazing. For a budget of 150+ the neo line of keyboards from qwertykeys is incredible for the price. There are several price points and all major form factors are represented. The neo 60/65 cu is amazing, and their new neo98 full sized looks amazing for the price. I have a neo98 on order, and I'm excited to build it when it arrives. Also the other commented is correct. I hate wireless keyboards. If my keyboard has wireless functionality i usually remove the battery. It's nice knowing my keyboard can't just spontaneously combust into a lithium fire.

If you can go as high as 100 bucks, the epomaker galaxy100 and galaxy 100lite are both great keyboards

Check out the galaxy 100/galaxy 100 lite. It's 100 bucks and is fully aluminum. You can get them pretty quickly from Amazon too. I retired my galaxy 100 this week at work because i just built a beautiful neo98 (check post history if you want to see if. I love it) but i daily drove the galaxy for about 9 months and it sounds and works great. I'd highly recommend the neo 98 but it takes 4-6 weeks to ship, it's barebones so you have to buy keycaps and switches and it doesn't have rgb.  The epomaker galaxy 100 blew my mind the first time i used it because of how surprisingly good it is out of the box. I build custom keyboards, and buy a ton of cheap aula type keyboards through Amazon return auctions, so i wasn't expecting a ton from the epomaker galaxy when i snagged my first one. It's hands down the best keyboard I've used at the 100 dollar price point.  The only thing you'll need to do with it is buy a set of shinethrough keycaps or pudding keycaps (depending on preference)if you want the legends to light up. Just search Amazon for either type and you can get a set for 20-30 bucks.  I used to prefer shine through keycaps, but using a nice set of high contrast keycaps helped me get used to regular keycaps. Morning won't with shine-through, but the keycaps tend to be thinner and lower quality than the same priced non-shine-through keycaps. That in turn means that typically shine through doesn't sound quite as good also.  Any way, good luck on your hunt, i think the galaxy 100/100 lite would work great for you. Edit: as far as thocc goes, the galaxy is more of a poppy/creamy sound out of the box. I tend to prefer thock over clack, but this keyboard sounds incredible out of the box. With tape mod and deep tactile switches like a gateron type-R, you could get some thick going on it 

I mean yeah I'm old too. It's a compact 100 percent that has a full sized 0 key. A lot of 1800 from factors have a1u sized 0 key on the numpad which i hate personally. The navigation cluster is reduced but i customize mine using via. Set the keys to whatever you want, then program whatever else you want on the first layer so hitting Fn plus the key will give you the other option. There are still some truly 100 percent keyboards out there, but they typically aren't very competitive at this price as far as build quality and features. Like the keychron Q6 is great but it's 200 bucks and not as good as the galaxy. Source, i own 2 Q6's. I used to hate all of the new form factors until i started using them. I definitely need a numpad at work, but at home i tried a 75% keyboard because i thought i couldn't live without the function row, until i realized that a 65% board is perfect for me. If a game needs particular keys, i program those keys wherever i want, create a profile for that game, and swap to it when i play that game. 

I will say that epomaker is just a seller. There are incredible keyboards and terrible keyboards sold through epomaker. For example, the galaxy and galaxy lite series is absolutely incredible for the $100 price point, but they do sell trash too.

I will say that epomaker is just a seller. There are incredible keyboards and terrible keyboards sold through epomaker. For example, the galaxy and galaxy lite series is absolutely incredible for the $100 price point, but they do sell trash too.

I was recently very surprised by the quality of the aula f99 pro silent version if you're considering a plastic case. they currently sell for $80 on amazon. There are several very nice metal case keyboards that go for about $100 but most will not be silent. A typical mechanical keyboard makes a bit of noise, but as long as you aren't using clicky switches, pretty much any keyboard should be quiet enough for your use. Just make sure to get a hot swap keyboard so that if it ends up being too loud in the future, you can swap in silent switches. The brand Epomaker doesn't have the best reputation overall as they have been around for a while and have released a ton of stinker keyboards, BUT I am very impressed with the price and quality of their Galaxy and Galaxy lite boards. I've built 2 recently for friends and co-workers because it's a nice heavy metal keyboard with solid features for $100 retail. I also currently use a galaxy 100 lite at work as well and I really like it, especially for the price. It can be used wireless, but it works great wired as well. I love tinkering, so I actually removed the battery from my work galaxy 100 because I'll only ever use it wired, and it's nice to know that it cant catch fire. Also the creamy white keyboard looks really nice. I have a black one, and I really like the way my co-worker's creamy white one looks. Lastly, if you get a keyboard with VIA compatibility, you can program any button to do anything, so you can make media controls any button or any button when combined with the function key. Both the Aula f99 silent and epomaker galaxy 100/100lite both have knobs, which by default control volume, and mute when pressed. The galaxy is Via compatible, but I don't think the Aula F99 is.

Thanks so much for this list! Searching online I really felt like I was looking for a needle in a haystack. I looked at the suggestions listed here and decided to order the Epomaker Galaxy100. I couldn't be happier so far!

Depends what you like. I just recently bought the EPOMAKER galaxy 100 lite. Solid aluminum, about $100, hot swappable (you can put in different switches if you want). It only has 2 options for switches and they are both linear (goes straight down with no click). If you prefer non-linear switches there are other keyboards available that will offer them, or you can swap them in yourself if that interests you. I recommend Hipyo Tech on YouTube, he has good recommendations for beginners on a budget. Quick edit: please dont buy a "gaming keyboard" theres no difference between a regular keyboard and a gaming keyboard except the word gaming, which doubles the price for no reason. All the gaming brands have awful build quality and are expensive for no reason.

The Galaxy100 is excellent, especially for the price. I've been using it for my work board for months.

You might really like the Galaxy100 then. Significantly more compact, with subtle lighting. You can turn off the lighting altogether if you want.

I've been having a good experience with my Epomaker Galaxy 100, although I've seen posts about other people having issues.