Glorious Gaming - GMMK 1

I use a GMMK TKL - the original, not the Pro. It has a polling rate that goes from 125Hz up to 1,000Hz. I got my wife to switch the polling rate without telling me. I played some games. After a few switches, I realise I could not tell the difference between even 125Hz and 1,000Hz. I can't do a blind comparison between my HE and mechanical keyboards, but I notice no improvement at all in my gameplay. I even have two keyboards (the Irok NA87) that are the same, but one is mechanical and one HE. I cannot tell the difference. The extra features of the HE are convenient. And perhaps if I was in the upper echelons of competitive gamers, I might benefit from it, but as a casual gamer, no. In general use, a good mechanical is better than an HE. Most HEs use proprietary switches (or use switches with a very limited pool of interoperability) which really limits your choice. That's a really annoying thing. Being able to adjust the actuation point on HE boards is rather nice and can help with general typing. And that's perhaps the biggest plus for general use.

For a long time, there were only a handful of brands making better keyboards than almost-disposable membrane stuff. If you wanted a good pre-built mechanical keyboard there were only a few brands like Ducky, Leopold and Filco. And they weren't cheap. Companies like Corsair and Razer realised they could make large margins on selling 'gamer' keyboards and they only had to be slightly better than their office stuff - mostly just with added RGB lights. An all-plastic Logitech G710+ with soldered-in Cherry brown switches was $150 and being sold as a serious keyboard for gamers. And then GMMK appeared. They offered a truly modular keyboard that you could buy as a barebones kit, adding your own switches and keycaps. This was quite a change. They weren't cheap as such, but they were a cheaper alternative to Ducky, etc and you could buy them in stores. But suddenly no-name Chinese companies started making keyboards with extra features and at low prices. They were able to respond quickly to trends among mechanical keyboard nerds. Things like sound-dampening foam and alternative key switches were easy for Chinese companies to offer when they were based in the same country (and probably the same city) as the makers of those components. Western big brands just weren't agile enough to be able to compete. The only problem was that it could be difficult to get the keyboard you wanted with the exact features you wanted. And then Keychron came along. Suddenly there was a company that offered a huge variety of keyboard with just about every feature and they were well-made, looked good and were a decent price. You would like a full-size wireless keyboard with a knob? No problem. You want a 60% with low profile switches? They've got that too. The big brands started to offer some of the features of the quick-to-market Chinese companies, though they were still slow to manoeuvre and tended to concentrate on features that are easy to market, like 8,000Hz polling. They've even tried getting in on HE switches. And it works well enough for them, because in most cases, consumers will go with a name they trust - or at least have heard of. Who the hell is Aula? How do you even pronounce it? Most of the innovation in keyboards tends to come from these Chinese companies. They can get a keyboard to market in a fraction of the time it takes SteelSeries. And their prices are impossible to beat. The big brands have enjoyed high profits from just increasing the price on anything labelled 'gamer'. As long as they shove RGB lights in it and tell people that HE switches and 8,000Hz polling will make them a better gamer, they'll make money. But if you want a full aluminium case, a circuit-board that supports both HE and mechanical switches, has a flexible carbon fibre plate, gaskets, layers of foam, multiple knobs, and an embedded OLED screen... then TOMAXIJIF keyboards are going to be better and cheaper. Of course their software is very basic and their customer support might not exist, but you can get a lot of keyboard for your money. The big brands have had it easy for too long and continue to sell over-priced under-specc'ed boards as though they're doing you a favour. I hope you enjoy your Aula. They're nice keyboards.

I use a GMMK and love it. Haven’t had any issues.

There's a 3rd version already? I still have an original GMMK full size which I modded and installed silent switches and some MT3 keycaps. Still use it for in the office. There's some negative opinions about GMMK but mine is still going strong. Happy shopping!

I mean realistically the most you want a keyboard to be is durable and responsive. I personally use Glorious's fullsize keyboard.

Glorious GMMK, don’t get HyperX, they have a lot of IC issues.

I use a GMMK also and I love it. Why do you want to switch?

You can get one from a 3rd part, like gmmk, which have some nice palm rests. Currently using their wooden one.