/mkg/ Advice Template v2

If you are thinking about buying a mechanical keyboard and want us to help you choose, format your post as follows.

>Budget
>Location (continent at least)
>Preferred switch type
>Layout
>Form factor
>Backlight
>Previous/current keyboards

1) Budget
Mechanical keyboards aren't cheap. Stock prices start at around $70 for cheaper boards and can go well over $250. There are other costs to consider, too; shipping to non-US countries can be fairly expensive.

2) Location
Availability of keyboards varies between continents, as do purchase possibilities.

3) Preferred switch type
There are plenty of switch guides and comparisons on the internet, use your search engine of choice. If you want some more guidance, refer to http://i.imgur.com/5uKCsvv.png for cherry switches or https://i.imgur.com/ghNc1vg.png for enthusiast switches. If you're not sure, at least clarify if you want linear, tactile, or clicky switches. Other considerations include silent switches and optical switches.

4) Layout
Mostly ISO or ANSI. Be aware of the fact that the selection of keyboards and aftermarket keycaps (especially cheap sets) are far greater for ANSI.

5) Form factor
Specifies the amount of keys your keyboard will have:
- 100%: Full keyboard with function keys, navigation section and numpad.
- 80% or TKL: Usually without numpad, sometimes without the navigation section instead.
- 75%: Slightly more compact than 80% by excluding some less-used keys.
- 65%: Has arrow keys and some navigation keys, but with function keys on a layer.
- 60%: Numpad, function and navigation keys are all on layers.
There are countless other formats, but these are the most common for prebuilt boards.

6) Backlight
Options here include per-key RGB, whole-board RGB, solid-colour lighting or no backlight. Additionally, some boards have perimeter lighting.

7) Previous/current keyboard
Include this if you want a board similar to your last one (or perhaps the exact opposite?)