I’ve been wanting to try out a mechanical keyboard for a while and I think I finally have the opportunity. The control keys on my old Alienware keyboard stopped working after I spilled some coffee on it, so I need a replacement. Also, I have an Amazon gift card. I see lots of mechanical keyboards on there with good reviews, but I was hoping to find some more guidance here. As far as what I’m looking for, I really just want something nicer to type with, but hopefully not too loud. A number pad and arrow keys would be nice, but maybe the smaller versions have some type of quick way to get that functionality when I need it. Any advice?
You can certainly get a functional mechanical keyboard on Amazon. If you haven’t used a mechanical keyboard at all and you want to try one out, I think buying a cheap gamer keyboard on Amazon and treating it as semi-disposable is quite reasonable.
If you want the ability to experiment with switches, look for one that has hotswap and cherry MX-style mechancial switches. If you want the ability to swap out for nicer keycaps, check and make sure the board uses a standard layout. Some consumer boards have unusually sized shift keys or space bars etc. that make them incompatible with many keycap sets.
Re: loud, this is also relative. Linear switches (red for lightweight ones, black for medium weight ones) will usually not be ultra loud, and you can also get “silent” switches, which have some dampening components.
It’s easy to find cheap fullsize boards with numpad and arrows. (It’s harder to find high end customs like this, though, as most enthusiasts prefer smaller boards.)