Now that you have an understanding of the “why” behind spending the time and money on a custom mechanical keyboard, let’s delve deeper into the plethora of options that come with picking out your board. In this article, I will go over the major choices you can make when you design your own keyboard. I have broken each section down into the most common options. This article is by no means exhaustive. It would be literally impossible to do that as new materials, processes, and switches are being created every year.

Sizes of keyboards

Keyboards come in five common sizes, there are many non-traditional layouts I will not mention here but if you are interested in reading about them let us know. In good faith, I can only recommend three of these for competitive gaming but I will still mention all of the options.

• 100% 
  • This is the standard keyboard layout everyone knows. With the alphanumeric section and the numpad to the right. Most people who game a lot and do not specifically use the numpad day to day have moved away from this layout because it takes up too much room on the desk.
• 80% (also known as Tenkeyless or TKL)
  • Tenkeyless is one of the most common sizes from the big name brands such as Logitech or Razer. This is a good choice for gaming, it takes away the numpad without changing anything else. If you are familiar with a 100% keyboard you will easily transition to this format.
• 65%
  • My personal favorite keyboard size, the three keyboards I use are all 65%. This layout takes the tenkeyless format and cuts down the home section while maintaining the “delete” and arrow keys. It also puts the function keys on the second layer instead of being physical keys (so F1 is Fn + 1 etc.). This is my recommendation to everyone who is into competitive games but also uses their computer for work or school.
• 60%
  • Similar to the 65% except this layout fully removes the physical home section and arrow keys, electing to have them on the second layer. It is personal preference on using this or the 65%. I think the arrow keys for non gaming use are too vital to give up and the extra 5% size is negligible.
• 40%
  • I do not recommend this for competitive gaming but I also wanted to note the 40% layout. A 40% keyboard takes the 60% layout one step further and removed the physical number row altogether. To access the number keys you use Fn + Q for 1 and so on. That has some obvious issues with just about any competitive game.

Types of switches

Now that you have selected the size or your keyboard, it is time to pick the style of mechanical switch. The type of switch you choose will give the greatest effect on the feel of your keyboard. First we will look at the three styles to choose from:

• Linear
  • Linear switches are the bread and butter switch when most people think of the “speed” switches. They have no tactile our audible bump when pressing and have a smooth key press. The most common linear switch is the Cherry MX Red switch; Cherry MX Silver (or speed) switches are another common linear. 

• Tactile
  • Tactile switches add a physical bump when pressing them down. It is difficult to explain without feeling it. While you press the key down, at some point there will be a rounded or sharp bump that then allows the key to bottom out. The most common (and also most hated in the enthusiast community) is the Cherry MX Brown switch. 

• Clicky
  • Clicky switches are similar to tactile switches in that they have a physical bump of varying degree when pressing. The way they differ is also the reason they have their name. They make an audible “click” when being pressed. This makes them a less than ideal choice if you are near anyone else when using your keyboard. The most common and equally infamous clicky switch is the Cherry MX Blue. 

Once you have chosen a style of switch the next step is to pick heavy, medium, or light springs. This determines how much force you must put on a key to activate it. A light spring is around 45g, comparable to a Cherry MX red switch. A medium spring is more in the range of 55g – 65g activation force; an example is the Cherry MX black switch. Then a heavy spring is anything above 65g.

What weight of spring you go with depends on personal preference as well as the type of game you prefer to play. For games where you hold down keys for longer such as Warzone, a lighter switch tends to be the best option. Whereas for games that a misclick is extremely detrimental but you still need to activate abilities quickly a medium switch is ideal. It is a general rule to not use heavy switches unless you already press on the keys harder than normal. A heavy spring can cause fatigue over the course of an hour match or longer play sessions.

I would like to note that the above are all suggestions. Every individual has different preferences. For example I use 67.5g linear switches for my regular gaming and work keyboard. For most people this would be heavier than they like, just because there is a “standard” does not mean you must follow it.

Keycap profiles

Here is where we start to get down to the more niche differences in your keyboard. The keycap profile is the height and shape of your keycaps. There are a number of different options with new ones being added each year. To avoid creating a ten page article about these profiles I will let the below image explain the different profiles. Cherry is the most common and likely to be what you are using right now if you are on a major brand mechanical keyboard. I personally use SA or XDA for esports and competitive titles as well as day to day typing. I find these two layouts the most comfortable albeit there is a learning curve.

Miscellaneous

• Backplate
  • The backplate is the plate on which your keycaps hit when you press the key the whole way down (also known as bottoming out). This does not change the feel of a keyboard tremendously but it does have a slight effect on how rigid the typing experience is. The backplate does have a greater effect on the sound of the keyboard. Metal backplates tend to have a higher pitched sound and POM or Fiberglass backplates have a deeper sound signature.

• Mounting Style
  • This is a more intermediate concern as opposed to something someone getting their first custom mechanical keyboard needs to worry about but I felt it was worth mentioning. The mounting style is the way that the PCB of the keyboard is mounted to the case. The two most common are direct mount (through screws from the top or bottom of the case) and gasket mount (using rubber gaskets and pressure to keep the PCB in place. The direct mount has a much stiffer typing experience and the gasket mount allows for more bounce and up/down movement as you use the keyboard.
  • There is no correct or better mounting style. It is purely on you, the user, to pick what you would like to use.

• Keycap material
  • This is something that comes up very often and I will harp on. Keycap material does not matter. There is a lot of misinformation saying ABS plastic is awful and PBT is the only way to go. That’s simply not true. Either option is good. What is important is understanding what you are getting. ABS is a smoother finish and feel while PBT has a bit of texture to it. It is true that cheap or poorly made ABS will show a shiny look faster. However, doubleshot and properly made ABS will not do this without extremely long term use
  • I have no personal preference between the two. One of my keyboards uses ABS and the other two use PBT.

As you can see. There are an overwhelming number of choices to be made when picking out or building your own custom keyboard. This article barely scratches the surface. That is one reason people like myself are here to help you pick out and even build the keyboard of your dreams. After I got my first mechanical keyboard I thought there would be nothing better and that I had been missing out using a membrane board for so many years, I felt the exact same way the first time I used a custom mechanical keyboard. Everyone deserves to have that experience.