Keychron - Q1 HE QMK Wireless Custom Keyboard

I use a keychron Q1 pro with gateron ink blacks [https://imgur.com/M4I5WGf](https://imgur.com/M4I5WGf)

To make this easy - if you stay within Keychron, I really think there are only 2 options. 1) Q1 HE. This is a 75% tri-mode board that satisfies the gamer requirement and would look the nicest in the living room. It’s not just for gaming though. You can have 3 active profiles at a time. Use one profile with 2mm actuation for every day typing and another 1-2 profiles with .5-1mm actuation and rapid trigger / SOCD turned on. Assuming you are not playing games that ban SOCD. SOCD is, for example, I can continue holding the A button while I click the D button and my char will move right, once I take my finger off the D button (while still holding the A button) the character will move left. I use it on PVE games like Destiny, First Descendant, etc. 2) Lemokey P1 Pro with the Keychron red switches. Lemokey is the Keychron “gaming” division. This is another 75% tri-mode board but is your standard mechanical hot swap keyboard. Significantly cheaper than the Keychron Q Max series and IMO, a better board. There are enough YouTube videos saying the same thing as well. This offers a better typing experience but (depending on your perspective) a slightly worse game experience since you cannot modify actuation points, there’s no rapid trigger, etc. If you wanted to though, down the road you could swap in “gaming” switches like an Akko or Cherry silver that have 1.1mm of actuation which just means that the switch needs to travel 1.1 mm to register an input. Which in theory could make a character move faster but you would have a worse typing experience because it would be much more sensitive. That’s really the trade off here. HE boards can provide both good gaming and typing experience because you can setup profiles for each. Also, I just realized Lemokey has a 75% HE board which I would pick in a second over the Keychron Q1 HE just given the price difference and my experience with Lemokey P1 Pro vs Keychron Q1 HE. Finally, if you go the HE route from Keychron, just know that the only switches you can use are those sold by Keychron and Glorious. No other magnetic switches will work (i.e. no Jades, Jade Pro, etc). Personally, I think the Gateron dual rail switches are sub par compared to other offerings but if you have no other frame of reference then you don’t know what you are missing out on. Keychron / Lemokey is great for a first board because (other than the sheer amount of layouts) they make it fairly easy. There are a number of HE boards released within the past year by other manufacturers that might be better for you and or cheaper but Keychrons ecosystem is hard to beat when you are first starting out.

I will check the stabs out. I am currently Daily driving the GMMK 3 Pro HE with Nebula switches in it. It may actually be a slightly better board but to get it there the cost was way to high, even with getting the board for about half price.

I own both the Keychron Q1 HE and the GMMK 3 Pro HE. Both are great. But the GMMK Pro is too expensive and comes with crap switches. So I would suggest the Keychron. It is a full 75%, is silent with an all aluminum case, has all 3 connection methods, and frankly the Gateron Nebula switches are the best on the market. The downside is that you won't be able to use the same switches as a Wooting, etc. Since there are currently two competing standards that is going to be something you need to watch for no matter what board you get though.

understanding you a bit better, honestly wouldn’t touch the primarily gaming brands, i’ve had quite a few logitechs in my time and nothing compares to the keychron q1 i’ve had for like six months and i’ll never look at big brand “gaming keyboards” again. a Keychron Q3 Max specifically has the same % keyboard as your steelseries and it’s a large sum cheaper considering you can customise things like switch types. hope this helps

Keychron Q1 HE has ISO, hall effect and is in white BUT it's not compatible with something like Gateron Jade Pros (which is bad. Compatibility is a good thing to have) If we throw hall effect aside, [Varmilo Minilo 75](https://varmilo.com/products/minilo75) has both ISO, white theming (no white case tho sorry) and arrow keys. If we throw ISO AND hall effect aside, Lucky65 v2 with whatever keycaps/switches. P.S. your requirements in a keyboard aren't pathetic lol it's a product you'll use so it's only right you have it the way you want

I personally use Keychron Q1 for my gaming needs. Did simple mods to make the sound slightly better. RGB off.

Keychron q11 is what I use. I wanted f keys as well.

I just got the keychron q1he 75 for about $200. It’s not perfectly quiet but it’s a lighter “creamy” sounding in my opinion. Plus it has a lot of nice features and good build quality. I know it’s a bit higher than budget tho, so if you don’t want to spend the extra $50 you could try getting new switches instead and maybe dampening pads

I ended up getting keychron q1he 75 for about $200! I’m happy with the purchase, it’s a quieter calmer keyboard clicking and I like the features it has. For me I like the rapid trigger a lot and the knob is actually so nice for when I use my soundbar for single player games!

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.

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.

That's highly, highly subjective... I've been experimenting with keyboards and parts for quite some time, because I was looking for a keyboard that I can type/game on for multiple hours, without agitating the nerve damage in my fingertips too much... so it's very specifically personalized to myself. I eventually settled on my KBDfans Odin R4 with aluminium plate, Gateron Oil King switches, TXAP Rev 4 stabs and PBTfans keycaps. I've put silicone rings around the stems of the space bar to dampen it (I know, purists hate that) and filled the space bar with Blu Tack. I do have a secondary backup keyboard, which is a Keychron Q1 with lubed MX Browns and PBTfans keycaps, but it's not anywhere close... it does feel substantially better than the vast majority of keyboards though, so it's good enough as a backup.

I’m in love with Keychron Q HE series. I’m using a Q1 HE while waiting for a Q3 HE from Taobao for 200 shipped. Q5 HE is the full sized option and was similarly priced.

Best gaming keyboard seems to be a Wooting. A 4 year warranty tells me a lot about a company. What’s your budget? I just went from a steel series Apex Pro TKL Gen 2 to Keychron Q1 HE. Have a Wooting 80HE on the way so I’ll keep either the Wooting or Keychron. Steel Series is 100% going back. It felt good upgrading to the Steel Series but the Keychron is on another level.

Keychron HE has been nice to me

g705 is amazing and so pretty i have it along with the keychron q1 in white which is fully customisable so you dont need to buy another keyboard ever again. mousemat is part of the logitech aurora range which the g705 is from. https://preview.redd.it/pxdi0538nb4f1.png?width=2048&format=png&auto=webp&s=bec375c756573dc1ccf9daac816d561d21278cdc

Aula F99. It's a full sized custom keyboard with tri-mode connectivity, feels and sounds miles better than these. And these Razer keyboards are okay but feel awful imo. These Razer/Asus/Logitech keyboards are okay but you pay for the brand. I had Razer, Logitec, Corsair for years, after trying a "custom" keyboard I'm neeever going back. Or you can get a Hall Effect keyboard which are mostly for gamers. Wooting 80HE, Zoom75 HE (Very premium), Monsgeek M1W V3 HE, Keycron Q1 HE. Etc. I have a list on my profile, but haven't updated it recently

You really gotta ask yourself what are the actual functions you're looking for in keyboards these days. The software for any Keychron keyboard is likely to blow the functionality of that keyboard clean out of the water. Any other QMK/VIA controlled keyboards could do the same. Keychron Q1 HE and Wooting 80HE are two of the hands down best keyboards out there with insane customizability. From custom activation depth on a per key basis, to the fundamentally faster release and reactivation the 80HE can achieve over other keyboards. These both support macros and per key rebinding, along with advanced bindings the older software from the bigger names can't offer. If you really need the keypad, buy one separately, Keychron does a great job there too. You'll free up a ton of room on your desk. You can also set up those keyboards to allow numpad bindings with very little extra configuration.

I use the F-keys for camera hotkeys so i looked for a model that has them decently close to the numbers and escape key. Apart from that i look for decent press feedback. I dont think anything else matters much regarding actually improving your skill. I think mine is called keychron q1 or something like that

If your going for hall effect then the wooting HE is the best in raw performance along with Razers optical in the huntsman. For actually using the wooting would be better. Nuphy field 75 HE, Halo 65HE, Wooting 80& 65, keychron Q1 he, k4 he, or Lemokey P1 HE. I like the Lemokey since it's keychron with the same webapp, it's full metal, it costs ~$160 which makes it middle of the price pack but not as expensive as a metal wooting. The L5 is similar with slightly better polling rate. The Nuphy Field 75 is also good, but it's a bit gamery and plastic.

Keychron Q1he is My end game keyboard of the ones I’ve tried. Software is the closest to Wooting while actually getting a quality product. Durrok v2 stabs, brass plate, tape mod, Jade switches for the larger keys and Cerakey v2 caps https://preview.redd.it/v4890ikto61e1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e6ae28abe2ecd5549912284e3f6aa391dfb6f9bb

Apologize, got them mixed up with my other keeb. I looked at the container. They are Aurora switches. Same as Nebulas, but with a heaver springs to offset the cerakey space bar, shift and enter keys since they are a lot heavier. I agree nebulas are the goat, I did need heavier springs for atleast the heaver keys tho. If you have a q1HE i recommend swapping to the Durrok v2 stabs, it made a world of difference

Wooting is still the best option out there but the competition like keychron, razer, iqunix and many more have pretty much caught up with wooting in terms of features. The thing is just that wooting has (probably also because they set the standard) the most polished software and feature integration. They are also the most customizable. In comparison the keychron Q1 HE has all the same features as the Wooting 80HE, but firmware updates sometimes wipe profiles, the keychron launcher has occasional issues with detecting the keyboard andfor customization, it has less switch options, and its case isnt intended to be changed. But once you have the keyboard set up and the profiles installed, there really are no major differences. These little inequalities are less important than the keyboards actual look, sound and size.

Will confirm the Q11 is great for FPS. Really, gaming in general.

I rock the Keychron q1he wireless and it's amazing

Keychron Q1 HE or Nuphy Air 75HE

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

For gaming, really anything with an HE on the end. Q HE are high-end, K HE are less fancy, but still very nice imo. There's almost no reason to buy a non-HE Keychron keyboard for gaming. Cost is about the same, HE features are super useful in games, and the switches sound pretty good now.

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.

So you're looking for 75–100%. I can recommend something from the Keychron Q series. Plenty of really clean boards there, and they have keycaps with secondary legends for stuff like media control. A lot of them also have macro columns that can be assigned to various functions.

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.

K has a lot of really dodgy keyboards in it, safer to just avoid it. Q and V are basically the same boards, the Q has a bit higher end components and the aluminum case.

i own both keychrons and razers. Also logitech gpro x and g915 TKL. Matter of the fact: software in keychrons has no issues and build quality is objectively better, specially in Q series of keychrons. If you want to get a keyboard and want something reliable, ready to go, well built and easily programmable, just get a keychron. Wooting/Logitech/Steelseries/Corsair/GenericComercialOrGamerBrand is just like razer level, not best in class Razer gets closer altough not there yet to best in class features in the last blackwidow v4 75% (asus also does great with Azoth boards) but the board has really low reliabilty, so not best in class at all. check out r/MechanicalKeyboards for advice, they will guide you to get something real good and it can easily be cheaper or cost the same as razer boards.

The keychron Q series is in a league of its own. Basically entry to a fully custom keeb.

One of the keychron full metal ones, good luck folding that one in half little bro.

Wooting or Keychrons Hall effect keyboards are amazing, I thought it wouldn’t change that much but I really don’t like normal keyboards after it.

For wireless keyboard I'd look for those that have qmk/via such as the Keychron

Their new HE series seems promising for gaming.

I bought a Q3 Max with red switches and it was very silent. Be aware, Keychron HE keeb is compatible only with its own HE switches. For me it was a no-go.

I have a Wooting, I love it compared to the previous 3 SteelSeries keyboards I had/have. I do however think it's a little overpriced at the end of the day. I'd probably go with a Keycron HE today if I was shopping

If you're casually playing games then Keychron is all fine. So far the only "real gamer" keyboard to date to be considered is the recent HE variants due to its rapid trigger feature but that is more specifically targetted towards fps players that are willing to tinker each and every key press on how they want it to respond.

Most HE variants offers all keys to be modified if desired since the very switches themselves have the HE features, so some would only changed the main WASD and others would utitlized tinkering the whole keys - but again, this is mostly catered towards fps players that have the intent on tinkering.

The Keychron HE series are fantastic all-rounder keyboards. They are having a sale that ends today.

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.