Building a PC is one of the most exciting things you can do in the tech world. You can optimize the aesthetics and performance of your monitor, PC, and make your desktop look great. This includes not only plants, lamps, and your favorite Pokémon figurines, but also your desk mat, mouse, and keyboard.
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You may be ready to change things up after owning your mechanical keyboard for a while, perhaps for keycaps with different aesthetics, materials or profiles. Here’s everything you need to know about choosing a custom keycap for your mechanical keyboard.
Common Keycap Styles
There are a few keycap styles to know when you’re first diving into getting a custom keycap for your board.
Pudding Keycaps
If you prefer to have RGB in your setup, these are worth considering. With the letter on top of the keycap, the Pudding keycap has translucent sides that allow light to seep in, giving you a brighter and more vibrant keyboard than other keycap styles.
artisan keycaps
These are keycaps placed on your board mainly for aesthetics. Many of these are custom-molded and hand painted and can be found on Etsy by a variety of artists. They are usually placed on keys that are not used often, such as the ESC key. That way it will sit on the top corner of your keyboard, standing in the middle of the rest of the board.
How to choose a custom keycap
The world of creating custom keyboards is incredibly exciting but also challenging because there is so much to learn in terms of choosing a keycap profile, style, and material. Here is your guide to easily understand these terms and choose the best custom keycap for your needs.
Keycap Material: ABS vs. PBT
Custom keycap material is important for a few different reasons, some of which will be more important to you than others. First, we will discuss the differences between ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) and PBT (Polybutylene Terephthalate) keycaps. Materials can affect the sound, durability of keyboard clicks, as well as the color and design of the keys.
ABS keycaps are more common, as they are usually the more affordable option. They have a glossy finish and are made of thin plastic. These keycaps show oil from your fingers, and the material can wear out over time. Depending on your switch, ABS keycaps may also have a different sound than PBT keycaps due to the thinner plastic.
The ABS keycaps can make typing a bit quieter than the thick plastic of PBT. However, this is subjective, and hearing the difference in person is your best bet for understanding how big of a deal it is to you. ABS keycaps have more vibrant, colorful offerings than their PBT counterparts.
PBT keycaps are less common and more expensive but are of higher quality than ABS. This material is made of thicker plastic, is more durable, is slightly textured, and has a matte finish; These keycaps should last longer than your cheaper ABS keycaps and prevent the oils from showing through.
However, this durable material comes with its downsides. The available colors tend to be less vibrant than the ones available for ABS keycaps, but this may not be a problem for you at all.
This material is great for those who want a clean, minimalist setup with all-black, white, or gray keys. Some enthusiasts also like the chalky, slightly dull look of the colored PBT keycaps. PBT keycaps are said to have the problem of warping like the spacebar, but this can be easily fixed by applying heat.
One material is not superior to another; This is more of a personal preference. However, it’s something to consider when shopping for a custom keycap set, so it’s worth considering.
How to find keycaps that fit your board
How do you know if your custom keycap set of choice will fit your board? Here’s a simple way to check.
Most keycaps will be compatible with the Cherry MX stem, which is common in the mechanical keyboard world. When shopping for custom keycaps, you may also see the phrase “Cherry MX Stem Compatible” to assist you.
To check if your current keycaps are compatible, use a keycap puller to remove and invert one of your keycaps. If it’s a Cherry MX stem, you’ll see a plus sign, “+,” under your keycap and on the switch. By doing so, you should have confidence in purchasing any custom keycaps that are compatible with Cherry MX stems.
Keycap Profile: OEM vs Cherry vs DSA vs SA
The keycap profile is essentially the size of the key. Like ingredients, this is based on personal preference. People who are writers or simply enjoy typing a lot may prefer the feel of one profile over another, and the same happens with PC gamers.
An OEM profile is just what came with the mechanical keyboard you bought, whether Logitech, Corsair, Razer, etc. Most prebuilt mechanical keyboards come with an OEM profile.