Keychron - K3 Max QMK/VIA Wireless Custom Mechanical Keyboard

K3 owner here, really happy with my choice.

I went all out earlier in the year and tried a bunch of low profile keyboards. Nuphy air75 he / Keychron K3 / Nuphy air75 v2 / Keychron B1 / Logitech MX mechanical / Logitech MX / If you want to buy a keyboard that will last you the next 5+ I would spend the $$ on the Nuphy HE or the Kechron K3, specially if you are going to use it for gaming. Otherwise the best cheap is the Keychron B1. I kept the Nuphy He, because I loved the magnetic keys, and the Keychron B1 because I can take it anywhere. My advice is that if you are going to be moving around with any of these, you must buy a keyboard case. Non of them felt like they would withstand a drop. Note: I did not try the lofee because it was the only one that required me to pay shipping fees if I returned it, so I didn’t take my chance. But I have seen great reviews.

If you want low profile and gaming then keychron k3 max is your best best. The typing speed thing is a personal thing.

Not that guy but gotta say this: I have G915 and Keychron K3. Keychron has a teeny bit better writing experience although I still struggle to fit my fingers on the 75% layout but I think I'm still getting used to it as it is my work keyboard I carry around. Both are great keyboards but Keychron takes the cake by a small margin with how it feels and sounds. G915 is more clickety clack, Keychron has a softer keystroke sound.

It’s not the full key set you want, but I put together a Keychron K3 with YMDK DSA profile keycaps https://imgur.com/gallery/writerdeck-ipad-air-on-nulaxy-foldable-metal-stand-keychron-k3-with-ymdk-dsa-profile-keycaps-TtwxNcI#koN4qNF

k3 max is way better for 75% low profile, 2.4ghz, cable and bluetooth

I have few from keychron and nuphy - all low-profile. I use them everyday home/office/livingroom and I do not even prefer one over the other, all of those are in ANSI layout and this is my preference, got the red switches for, like how tactile those are. I also have Logi MX keys but in local layot and just because of it I do not like it, other than that it is also fine. As for connection - I have the dedicated adapter, BT and cable, depending on the setup - I see no difference in response times while typing or gaming. As for RGB - I apriciate it only in livingroom while watching movies. Oter than that I do not care, I do not look on the keyboard while typing. From wow side - nuphy is much more eye-catching, I got many positive comments about it while using in the office. If you configure something - make sure to have the shine-through key caps, the "behing keys" backlight is rubbish. For config, VIA software - whatever - I never cared about it, function lock was always there, never needed anything more. Except for nuphy v2 - I had to set it,as was F keys by default, but easily done with browser plugin and VIA software, I think it is unified. If you need macros etc - all is linux compatible (except logi - this I have no idea), As for your question: "The best Gaming Keyboard to buy for Gamers now?" I nmy opinion there is nothing like "gaming keyboard". Keyboards can be good or bad. Good keyboard is good for gaming and typing, bad is bad for everything xD

If you want low profile, get an odd-numbered K Max line board. Make sure it's hot swap. Otherwise, get V or Q (although I would avoid Q cuz it's heavy, as you said, and you plan to travel with it). I would avoid the Razer because it's membrane and loud. Since you're traveling with this board, I doubt the people around you would like to hear the board, too.

V Max > K Max, but again, if you want low profile, you don't really have a choice and can only get a K Max. But if you don't really mind, V Max.

I love my low profile keyboard! Keychron K7. It’s the best. (Could be biased haha)

I'm typing on a Drop keeb right now, but wouldn't buy one today. I'm moving over to Keychron low profile. Has wireless, low profile switches and cost a lot less. Also has QMK/VIA support.

I adoooore my low profile keychron lots and lots. It's gotten me through work and games without a hitch in the 4 years I've owned it. Plowed through Elden Ring on release (1k hours in that game all on this board) + extremely high demand comics schedules where crtl+z has been spammed at maximum. Unreal value. K7.

I own 2 keychron keyboards, a K5 for work and a Q1 max for gaming at home. The build quality and feel is what sold me on them

Excellent keyboard! Grab a wrist rest, though. It's a bit high for me, and my wrists start aching after a while without one.

I have the Q1 Max, so same body but mechanical swtiches rather than HE switches I'm a big fan, the sound quality is nice (it's more clacky than thocky out of the box) and I do appreciate how easily adjustable the case is, but a few things to note 1. This is a CHUNKY keyboard, and if you aren't used to full metal builds, it's noticeably heavy 2. It isn't height adjustable, so you might need to play around with getting a good typing angle for it

Are you happy with how your current keyboard looks and sounds/feels to type on, or are you looking for a change? How much are you trying to spend? Something like a Monsgeek M1 V5 VIA is a really nice entry to mechanical keyboards, but so is something like the Keychron Q1 Max or V1 Max, or even a Lemokey P1 HE if you want fancy analogue gaming features. There are others, though, so if you give us an idea of what you want from a new board, we can offer better guidance.

I agree with the general idea that people shouldn't really be dicking around with stabilisers and lubing switches in 2025, but recommending a Logitech keyboard is a little silly, especially with their history of shitty keycaps and software that requires installation. You're better off with something like a Monsgeek M1 V5 VIA or Keychron Q or V Max or HE board. At least they don't clog up your PC with software that needs to run in the background, and they sound and feel a whole lot better.

It's complicated, the Q1 HE is a premium keyboard for gaming, but the typing feel and sounds are not very good compared to normal mechanical keyboards for not even half the price... Besides, these are hardly hot swappable and are limited to a strict selection of linear switches that are sold by Keychron... I'd rather buy the Q1 Max IMO. it's cheaper, sounds better, feels better, has more customizability, and although it's not anything special for gaming, a Hall Effect keyboard won't make you any better than a mechanical one... It's just more of a "convenience" rather than a necessity.

I literally just bought a new one after 10 years. I watched a ton of YouTube videos, rated a bunch at a Microcenter, and settled on the Keychron Q1 Max. Whereas I prefer a full keyboard I was sold on the idea of more desk/wrist space for my mouse. If you need a full sized one the Q6 Max was the other model I looked at. My previous model was a Razor Chroma Black Widow that was very clicky. The board is very heavy and solidly made. To my untrained self, the keys feel nice to press. It has wired, blue tooth and Wi-Fi; the latter of which I plan to use when switching to my work computer. LED lighting is nice but flawed. The colors are pretty but it doesn't light the whole key which means if you buy see through letter keys, the light won't shine through the lettering. The key shapes I'm not used and I can only describe it as feeling a bit tall and too close together. I'm not used to no number pad and the delete key being in a completely new location but I'm giving it a chance. I spent over an hour typing a short story last night, and it went pretty quick. I had more typos than usual but that's due to getting used to a new keyboard.

Keychron Q1 Max with gateron milky yellow pro switches, really pleased with that thing so far.

If you’re gonna buy «off the shelf», get yourself a Keychron. At least you’ll get something good. I got the Q1 Max myself, though they have cheaper options as well.

I guess it depends on the switches. I have a 60HE with the stock switches; they don't sound good at all and are a bit wobbly, but the performance is great for playing. In my opinion, it does not feel good to type or work on compared to my Keychron with banana switches and OSA keycaps. Same for playing. My Keychron is not comfortable to play with. But maybe some less wobbly switches on the Wooting would help. The sound of the HE switches is pretty annoying, in my opinion, like in a plastic way (if that even makes sense). I've heard a lot of the Owlabs being like a jack of all trades. I guess it depends on tastes, but to me, Wooting excels in gaming only.

I see an issue here. While any of the Max keyboards have the low-latency 2.4 GHz wireless, it's single receiver only. For connecting to multiple devices seamlessly, you'd have to use Bluetooth which does have added latency and a much-reduced polling rate (90 Hz over BT versus 1000 Hz over USB or 2.4 GHz) A solution to this is using a wired connection in your office and at any computer, and keep the 2.4 GHz dongle plugged into your console or whatever computer you absolutely need wireless with

Looking at the history of this sub over the past year you'll see a heck of a lot more failures from the Q and V boards relative to the K boards. Of course, that *could* just mean Keychron is selling a lot more Q and V boards than K boards. Otherwise, the biggest difference you'll feel/hear will be coming from the difference between steel plate + tray mount and PC plate + gasket mount.

V and Q are flexible/gasket, K is rigid/tray. Hall Effect switches are another can of worms. They are peak hype right now. Eventually people will realize they are actually *cheaper* to implement than contact-based switches.

As you are saying, the reason why you need to replace your keyboard is because you are buying cheaper keyboards. It's probably worth spending 150£ on one that will last you 5 years and that you will change because you want to rather than because you need to! I'd check into keychron UK and look at their mechanical keyboards. They are great quality and if you get a hotswapable keyboard you will not only be able to change the keycaps but also the switches themselves.