Getting into the mechanical keyboard world can be difficult. You need to know countless phrases, concepts, and details before trying to build the kinds of keyboards you see online. You know the kind—the ones with ASMR videos dedicated to their typing sound, and half-hour-long reviews detailing every detail of their assembly.
Luckily, as the keyboard scene has grown, readily available keyboards have slowly shifted closer to the bespoke custom-made keyboards. They feel better, sound better, and have adopted the same refined styling that was once limited to only the best keyboards. This is where the Mchose GX87 shines: It has a sound and typing feel that’s incredibly refined compared to a standard gaming keyboard, plus customization and modification is incredibly easy. It still maintains a low barrier of entry in both price and required knowledge too. The GX87 starts at $89, and the Ultra model I was sent, which has a premium coating on the case, upgraded switches, and a quick-disassembly system, retails for $139.
ASMR-Like Typing
Typing on the GX87 feels great all around. The keyboard uses a silicone gasket-mount system with small, cylindrical gaskets placed into clips around the edges of the printed circuit board (PCB). These gaskets are then sandwiched between the top and bottom halves of the case to suspend the PCB and the rest of the keyboard’s internal assembly. This isolates the vibrations (and sounds) of the keyboard from the case, and creates a soft and “bouncy” typing feel as the silicone compresses.
This softness is further increased by the PCB itself. Each switch has “flex cuts” around it, which are holes in the PCB that allow the PCB and switch to bounce slightly when typing and absorb some of the force of a key press. The ones on the GX87 are in a “U” shape surrounding the hot-swap socket, and allow for about as much movement as possible when typing.
The Vintage White switches I was sent are standard linear switches, coming pre-lubed from the factory and having a spring which requires 45 grams of force to press down, comparable to Cherry MX Reds. They feel smooth out of the box, with a consistent key press and a slight scratchiness that can only be noticed when pressing the switch very slowly. However, if you don’t like these switches, they can easily be removed and replaced without any soldering thanks to the hot-swap sockets on the PCB.
Between the PCB and the plate, and in the bottom of the case, there are multiple layers of poron foam (a sound-dampening foam commonly used in custom keyboards) that work together to refine the sound of this keyboard. They don’t make it quieter but limit certain frequencies for a cleaner typing sound.