5 reasons I prefer a pre-built mechanical keyboard over building my own

Summary

• Pre-built keyboards offer excellent build quality and typing experience at great prices.
• Pre-builds are considerably less complex while still offering tons of customization.
• You can claim a warranty for your pre-built keyboard.

Thankfully, mechanical keyboards have truly entered the mainstream conversation. From being a niche, enthusiast hobby to a popular and considerably large market, it's been a great journey for mechanical keyboards. While there are ample pre-built options for new entrants and long-time users alike, building your own mechanical keyboard has turned into something of a parallel movement.

The allure of having total control over your keyboard is understandable, and has its upsides, but after using pre-builds for 3 years and having considered building my own, I've concluded that I prefer the former. This is a personal preference, but I'm confident there are many others like me (new and experienced users alike) who feel the same way. There are 5 significant reasons for this stance.

5 Most pre-builts don't lack in quality

The bar has been officially raised

It used to be that pre-built mechanical keyboards usually offered the bare minimum in terms of build quality, typing experience, looks, and switch options. They were mass-produced cheap offerings, targeted at newbies who were using a mechanical keeb for the first time. Back then, the only way to get access to a decent typing experience was to build your own. But I'm happy to say that isn't the case anymore.

The pre-built mechanical keyboard market is flush with excellent products and great variety.

Of course, plenty of bad options still exist on the market, but you now have tons of great pre-builts that can put many custom boards to shame. Whether you consider the best mechanical keyboards from the likes of Razer, Asus, Logitech, Corsair, and Keychron, or some solid budget mechanical keyboards from HyperX, Royal Kludge, Akko, Aula, Epomaker, and NuPhy, the pre-built mechanical keyboard market is flush with excellent products and great variety.

Until you develop a deeper feel for what you prefer in a mechanical keyboard and can't resist building your own, a pre-built keyboard can easily last you for years without feeling like a compromise.

I recently bought the Aula F87, a TKL, wireless, gasket-mounted, and hot-swappable board for $70. It feels smooth and 'thocky' to type on, features excellent build quality, and isn't short on features. When building your own keyboard, you can have aluminum plates, premium gasket mounts, metal cases, and self-lubed switches & stabilizers. But, I'm more than impressed with the plastic construction, gasket mounts, pre-lubed switches & stabs, and pre-installed layers of foam in my pre-built keyboard.

For the vast majority of users, there's very little to separate a quality pre-built from a custom-built keyboard. Until you develop a deeper feel for what you prefer in a mechanical keyboard and can't resist building your own, a pre-built keyboard can easily last you for years without feeling like a compromise.

4 Custom-built keyboards are way more complex

I don't have the time, at least not yet

If you decide to build your own mechanical keyboard, you need to be ready for a significantly complex DIY project. Unlike a pre-built board, you need to assemble every single component of a custom-built board yourself. This includes the case, PCB, switches, stabilizers, sound dampeners, and keycaps. If you're going to the trouble of building a keyboard yourself, you should also lube the switches and stabilizers.

You need to arrange all the pieces of the puzzle yourself, research enough to be confident, and then buy and wait for everything to arrive.

This process can be daunting for a first-timer, and needless to say, time-consuming for anyone. Moreover, you need to arrange all the pieces of the puzzle yourself, research enough to be confident, and then buy and wait for everything to arrive. You might not encounter any issues while assembling the keyboard, thanks to countless guides on the internet, but the task itself becomes no less of a hassle.

I'm yet to reach the stage where I'm so unsatisfied with a pre-built board that building my own becomes non-negotiable.

For me, this is more trouble than it's worth. The degree of control you have when building your own keyboard is unmatched, but I can customize most things on my hot-swappable pre-built board anyway. I've never indulged in even the simplest mods for my mechanical keyboards, because I simply don't feel the need for it.

There are DIY kits available for builders who want to make the process slightly more convenient, but I'm yet to reach the stage where I'm so unsatisfied with a pre-built board that building my own becomes non-negotiable. It simply isn't worthwhile for me.

3 Pre-built keyboards have all the customization options I need

Switches, keycaps, foam — I can change them all

Building on what I mentioned in the previous section, all the customization options I currently need are available in my pre-built mechanical keyboard. You only need a keyboard that has a hot-swappable PCB and is relatively easy to open. All the keyboard modifications most people will ever need are already available for most popular pre-builds.

There's a lot you can do with a hot-swappable pre-built keyboard if you have the DIY bug. You don't always need to build your own keyboard.

A popular argument in favor of a custom-built keyboard is that you can decide how it looks. While an equivalent level of freedom doesn't exist yet on the pre-built side, you can still choose from countless options to get the look you want. Plus, changing the keycaps on your board is the simplest modification ever. As for the typing feel and sound, trying out new switches and zeroing in on what you prefer needs to be done for both pre-built and custom-built keyboards.

You can even add or replace the sound dampeners (foam inserts) inside your keyboard if you don't like the stock sound. There's a lot you can do with a hot-swappable pre-built keyboard if you have the DIY bug. You don't always need to build your own keyboard to be able to customize your experience to your liking.

2 Pre-builds are priced extremely well

Budget pre-builts are shockingly good now

Due to the nature of building your own keyboard, it's bound to be pricier than a pre-built one with similar build quality and typing experience. You don't even need to pay hundreds of dollars to get your hands on a well-built, durable, and comfortable pre-built keyboard. I've mentioned my daily driver, the Aula F87 already, but you can get equally excellent (and better) options from Epomaker, Akko, Royal Kludge, Drop, Ducky, Wooting, Womier, and others for not a lot of money.

When you're getting a near-flawless experience at pocket-friendly prices, there's no need to build your own keyboard for $150-$200 (more in most cases).

The typical range that I've seen for these budget pre-builts is $50-$150. Even if you don't want to spend more than $100, you can find fantastic options in the $60-$70 range featuring multiple layouts, wireless functionality, PBT keycaps, hot-swappable PCBs, software support, and more. It's frankly mind-boggling how far budget pre-builts have come in just a few years.

When you're getting a near-flawless experience at pocket-friendly prices, there's no need to build your own keyboard for $150-$200 (more in most cases). Personally, I don't see the cons outweighing the pros when it comes to building my own keyboard. I know that in a few years (or sooner), I might finally build one, but it'll be more out of curiosity and passion than necessity.

1 My pre-built keyboard has a warranty

Build your own, repair your own

This one might not be as big a factor as the others, but having a manufacturer's warranty for your keyboard is likely to give you more peace of mind. On the other hand, if you build a keyboard, you're buying individual components from multiple manufacturers, and in most cases, there's no option to claim a warranty if something goes wrong down the line. The onus to fix what you built lies on you alone.

You at least have the option of a warranty. Building your own keyboard doesn't have that option to begin with.

But a pre-built keyboard, as long as you buy it from a reliable brand, will come with at least a year-long warranty for any manufacturing defects or malfunctions. It's worth noting that modding your pre-built keyboard will, in most cases, void your warranty; but for those of you who aren't doing that, you at least have the option of a warranty. Building your own keyboard doesn't have that option to begin with.

Custom-built keyboards aren't for me, but I might become a convert later

Building your own keyboard gives you absolute control over every aspect of it, but it also demands a lot of time and energy. There are build quality, typing experience, and aesthetic benefits to be had from going the custom route, but today, pre-built keyboards have more or less closed the gap that existed for years. Without spending a lot, you have excellent pre-built options from reliable brands that can rival a lot of custom-built keyboards.

For some, building their own keyboards might be the only option, but this isn't the case for the vast majority. Most people, I feel, should consider pre-built keyboards before considering building a keyboard themselves. After trying out affordable pre-built options and discovering what they like and don't like, then perhaps switch to building a keyboard from scratch if needed. This way, the journey of crafting a perfect mechanical keyboard will go much smoother and yield the best results.