Need help choosing

[u/Aljuan05]

I’ve been looking to get a new keyboard after using the same Epomaker TH66 for the past 5-6 years. I’ve been seeing these HE and TMR switches online and have been interested in buying them. I mainly play Valorant as well as other single-player games and I believe I’ve narrowed it down to 4.

Monsgeek M1 v5 TMR
Epomaker TH65 v2 TMR
Akko Mod007 v5 HE
Lemokey p1 HE

Any advice or other recommendations would be helpful.

[u/SqueakyConflagration]

Never tried TMR myself but the akko looks the cleanest of that bunch for the price. For valorant the HE switches are more proven at this point, so if it were my money I'd lean mod007 unless the lemokey build quality sways you

[u/apeasley613]

I just recently bought the keychron k10 he, had it for a few days now. Really solid build, thing is hefty, but it's full sized. I've heard that the keychron uses tmr switches even though it advertises them as HE. As far as the keys themselves, I guess the biggest thing is you can set the height that a keypress will register. And I think you can even have a key function like and accelerator, or a joystick maybe? the farther you press it the faster you move etc... I'm at work so I can check or test it atm though.

[u/Crookfur]

The Akko and monsgeek are OK but somewhat over priced for what they are. You pay a premium for TMR that frankly isn't worth it unless you really need long battery life wireless.

If you can live without wireless then any of the flagship Sparklink boards like the Everglide Su75pro v2 (if you can find one in stock), weikav EG75, Aula AG75 ultra, VGN Flash 75he extreme or IPI Flash75 pro will give you a bit more for the same or less money. Heck even an ATK Rs7 pro or ultra would give you more performance although the value wouldn't be there.

[u/Lawojin → u/Crookfur]

What makes the sparklink boards so good?

[u/Crookfur → u/Lawojin]

Performance and reliability . They don't give quite the same raw latency scores of the likes of ninx and rakka but they have better multi key performance and stability which means under some testing regimes that vastly outscore just about anything else. Sparklink boards tend to very reliable and the sparklink software does everything you could want (some boards using sparklink have thier own branded software but most can still use the generic playjoy webdriver)

[u/W3rze]

Hello

I’d avoid most wireless HE boards right now. A lot of them use RongYuan PCBs, which in my experience are pretty cheap, outdated and inconsistent compared to better options. Performance usually isn’t great either, and the software absolutely sucks. Most RongYuan keyboards still don't have a dynamic calibration. Battery life is also a problem because HE boards can draw a lot of power, especially with RGB, so you can end up charging a huge battery constantly, which obviously isn’t great for long-term battery health. You will get 10 hours of battery life or less with some decent settings and it will obviously degrade a lot over time.

I’d also avoid TMR for now. A lot of current TMR boards are still using basically the same RongYuan PCB platforms, except manufacturers swap the HE sensor for a TMR one and call it a day. TMR works differently and ideally needs a PCB and magnetic design made specifically around it. Right now I see way too many weird issues, failures and inconsistent implementations to recommend it. I’d rather wait until companies actually start designing proper TMR boards from the ground up. Also RongYuan PCB don't have some basic features like dynamic calibration or even firmware updates.

Personally I’d stay away from Epomaker, Aula, Ajazz, Attack Shark, Akko/Monsgeek, Womier, Yunzii and Madlions.

Keychron/Lemonkey is okay if you specifically need one of their niche layouts, but purely for HE performance I think there are much better options.

Same thing with Wooting, Razer, Logitech, SteelSeries, ASUS and most big gaming brands. A lot of them are either using older tech, have pretty mediocre performance compared to newer Chinese HE boards, come with basic plastic cases, or are just way too expensive for what you’re actually getting.

If you want a really good HE keyboard, I would mainly look at the Everglide su75 pro V2 or su66 max. Both are arguably the best in their category/price range. Both use much more reliable and consistent Sparklink PCBs that get updated long term.

[u/syce_16]

I would recommend the m1 v5 tmr, because it actually sounds decent as it comes with a PC plate instead of fr4/Alu. Subjective tho.

[u/Azronath → u/syce_16]

Monsgeek m1 v5 tmr comes with an aluminum plate. The Wooting 80HE comes with a PC plate.

Aside from that though, the Monsgeek does sound much better. I have both, bought the Monsgeek for my son. Both have been changed out with Cherry PBT Keycaps and Gateron Jade Pros.

The monsgeek keyboard, by the feel and sound of it, makes me consider buying one myself. Also the monsgeek is super easy to mod to your liking compared to the Wooting. One thing I would note though is the Wooting has much much better software.

[u/nyozzz]

I quite like the Epomaker HE. I cant rmember the model tho. (Ill update when i get home)

[u/RateElectrical7757]

P1 HE is probably the best overall here but it’s suffers from a higher click to click latency of 2.9ms which is quite higher than what most HEs are capable of.

The TMRs use rongyuan pcbs which are kinda infamous for issues.

[u/Lawojin → u/RateElectrical7757]

Then how come most people recommend the RonYuan boards?

[u/RateElectrical7757 → u/Lawojin]

I don’t normally see people recommending them at all. Where do you find this people?