By Qwertykeys
Jan 30, 2024
This might be the most versatile and high tech budget custom keyboard out there. It’s the culmination of Qwertykeys expertise and the freshness of Neo combined into a single package. Let’s take a dive into what might be the best beginner custom keyboard - the Neo80.
It comes in a pretty standard carrying case. In these smaller pockets are our bottom feet and replacement screws, An o-ring and standoffs, And two different types of gaskets, dumbbells and a more standard strip shape. On top we’ve also got quite a bit of stuff, including stabilizers, A decent cable and switch and keycap puller combo, A POM plate, Carbon fiber plate, And hotswap PCB, which includes plate and PE foam. Check out the really weird gasket tabs that accommodate the different types of mounting styles available. Lastly, the board sits in the lower compartment and comes preinstalled with case foam.
The Neo80 is a budget TKL that has a variety of mounts, including dumbbell and regular gasket mount, an O ring mount, and an upgraded sandwich mount. We have 3 PCB options - wireless hotswap, wired hotswap, and solder. These are all 1.6mm and have no flex cuts, and have the same layout options, being stepped caps, split left shift, 7U bottom row, split right shift, ISO enter, and split backspace. All PCBs are compatible with VIA. You also have the option between a WK or WKL top case. For plates, we have aluminum, FR4, carbon fiber, POM, and polycarbonate, and for colors, there are two different finishes - spray-coated and anodized. Per qwertykeys standard, there are no shortage of options here. You also get to choose between 3 weight finishes and 10 colorways total, with a new addition of stone wash finishes. Given all these choices, the Neo80 ranges from 110 dollars to 190 dollars, with the cheapest configuration being an anodized case, sprat coated weight, solder PCB, and no plate, and the most expensive configuration being a spray coated case, stone wash weight, wireless PCB, and carbon fiber plate.
In the PCB are the included NeoStabs, lubed with 205g0 and XHT-BDZ. I’m going to add on the POM plate, And in here go DDs. These are high-pitched long pole linears. We have multiple choices for mounting, including two different types of gaskets. For the first build, I’m going to go with the dumbbells. We also have to remember to install the LED diffuser on the right. Now that the inner assembly is done, we can get to the case. This utilizes a catch ball mount, so I can just lift to separate the top and bottom. This case also utilizes the magnetic daughterboard from the QK75N, so we just have to drop the inner assembly in place, Reinstall the top case, And install GMK Rainy Day.
So the sound profile is great. The volume is fairly loud, and it’s really lively, even without any foam. I’m kinda surprised that this board can get this high-pitched even with a POM plate, and it would be even stronger if I had used the carbon fiber one. The bottom weight is really thin, and I’m sure the board would sound even better if it was thick enough to have an internal portion. Again, we have a 1.6mm non-flex cut PCB and also a plate with virtually no cuts, except for the nav cluster section, so the neo80 is likely going to sound loud and full with most configs you choose. There’s quite a bit of difference in sound with the different mounting styles, and for clacky builds, dumbbell gasket and O-ring mounting really stand out. These two help accentuate the high end of the sound and don’t have a lot of hollowness. Regular gasket and sandwich mount, however, both have a more low-end focused sound and would be best paired with some deep-sounding switches and more foams. More foams are going to be especially important for sandwich mount, as the metal contact points do introduce quite a bit of hollowness. To counteract this, there is an integrated force break mod in the bottom case, which are some small silicone strips that break the contact between the cases, and also some silicone pieces in the corners that help dampen the connection. However, it doesn’t really seem to be helping a whole lot, especially for the edge keys. For the dumbbell gasket config, there’s a little bit of hollowness around there, and for regular gasket and sandwich mount, it’s not enough to suppress the hollowness everywhere else. If this is a big concern to you, or if you aren’t using a deskmat, I find that O-ring mounting has the least amount of hollowness. Additionally, the way the mounting systems are designed allows you to combine O-ring mount with any other mounting style, allowing you to create extremely unique configs that go as crazy as O-ring plus dumbbell gasket plus sandwich mount. A nice touch is that there aren’t any mounting points under the spacebar, which helps give it that nice distinct popping sound. I’m definitely going to try this board with some deeper switches later on to see how good the range is.
The board is mostly pretty stiff. There’s an okay amount of bounce in the middle, and not really any on the sides. There's really just not a lot of room in the case, and the stiff inner assembly isn’t really helping. O-ring mount naturally has the least amount of bounce, as it makes contact with the inner assembly on all of the sides. Regular gasket mounting and sandwich mount both feel pretty on par to me, as the regular gaskets don’t have any extra PCB cuts and the sandwich mount goes straight to the non-flex cut plate. That leaves dumbbell gasket mounting with the best amount of bounce, as it doesn’t make a lot of contact with the inner assembly, and there are also small tabs on the PCB that help it flex more. Keep in mind that I am using the POM plate, so while it isn’t the softest option available, it’s really close. And I really didn’t have to test every mounting style to tell you that this board won’t give you insane flex or bounce, because there are no cuts in the plate or PCB in the first place.
The design is a pretty stark difference from the rest of the Neo lineup, with a lot more curvature and complex machining. On top, we have some really thin side bezels and thicker top and bottom bezels, and also our small LED accent. This is pretty dim, as the LEDs themselves are on the main PCB and have to be diffused from pretty far away. The side profile is very dynamic, with a very large chamfer under the top case and a slightly curved cut. Looking at it from the side, you can see that the top case is also rounded out here, with the base being wider than the top. Additionally, the edges of the top case have filleting, which helps add to this more fluid design. This is already incredibly impressive, and makes the Neo80 much harder to machine than the likes of the Neo65, with its very jagged design. Lastly, on the bottom, we have our weight piece, with slightly chamfered edges to add dimension, and a small neo logo at the bottom. But the great design doesn’t stop there. We also have really well-done internals, including the catch ball mount. This uses tension to connect the top case to the bottom case, allowing the board to be assembled with zero screws, and making it extremely easy to take apart and mod. Additionally helping this is Owlab’s magnetic daughterboard, eliminating the need for annoying ribbon cables or ugly JST connections. This genuinely might be one of the easiest keyboards to build, as finalizing the build is as simple as slotting in the inner assembly, and slotting in the top case, making it ridiculously beginner-friendly.
So, all in all, the Neo80 combines the technical prowess of Owlab and Qwertykeys with the unique design language of Neo. It’s incredible to me that something packing this much technology and this nuanced of a design can be reasonably built out with around $250, something that was basically not possible a few years ago. But the hobby’s changed. Overall preferences have started shifting away from insane flex and bounce, and companies are starting to innovate more in order to keep things fresh and interesting. And with what we’ve seen today, the Neo80 helps blur the line between a budget price and a premium custom keyboard experience.