magnetic keyboards

switches:

Akko's - only compatible with Akko switches, not recommended;

Keychron only - KS-37b, a completely different family of switches from KS-20, the standard for HE keyboards, this also means you have very little customisation options, not recommended;

Gateron Jade (ish) - KS-20, the best switch family as of current, best availbility of options, very recommended;

ASUS ROG HFX - probably the least options when it comes to customisation; though good sound, still not recommended;

sizes:

exploded layouts are not counted, exploded 65% just being 65%, exploded 75% being just 75% in this list

TKL and 80% here are classified as the same, as the layouts/sizes are very similar

brand notes:

make sure to read brand notes below, some brands/models have issues that can make or break a keyboard

performance tests:

use Eyejokerdb with translation from Korean to your language to view keyboards latencies. I do not agree with Eyejokerdb’s recommendations in 100%. remember, numbers don't always reflect the quality of a product.

view Laobaozi tests for your keyboard to get to know more

price (USD)	brand / model	size	comments
varies, generally expensive	Rakka keyboards	varies	top tier basically
varies	Sayodevice O3C	keypad	Wooting UwU competitor
40	Sayodevice K61H3MZ	60%	Wooting 60 HE module competitor
40	Sayodevice K64H3	60%	Wooting 60 HE module competitor
50	IROK Mercury68	65%	also known as CAROTMAS Mer68, good as a starter keyboard
55	Sayodevice K64H3MZ	60%	better version of non-mz
55	Sayodevice K66H3MZ	60%	better version of non-mz
55	IROK Mercury68 Pro	65%	also known as CAROTMAS Mer68 Pro, good as a starter keyboard
65	IROK Mercury68 Max	65%	improved version of CAROTMAS Mercury68, same PCB as MG75 Max
65	Geonworks Venom 60 HE	60%	PCBs only, one of the best performing PCBs availble, has controler emulation in BETA
70	Everglide AE68 Pro	65%
70	Geonworks Venom TKL HE	TKL	PCBs only, one of the best performing PCBs availble, has controler emulation in BETA
75	IROK Mars75	75%	also known as CARTOMAS Mars75, good starter keyboard
75	IROK Mars75 Pro	75%	also known as CARTOMAS Mars75 Pro, good starter keyboard
79	IROK MG75	75%
85	KBDfans Tiger Lite Gaming	TKL	hall effect version has Venom HE PCB, does not include switches & keycaps, not produced anymore
86	IROK MG75 Pro	75%	option if MG75 is not availble / MG75 Max is too expensive or not availble
95	IROK MG68 Plus	65%	better than MG68 Pro and Max, bad naming scheme I guess
99	Melgeek Real67	65%	2nd best price to value
115	Everglide Su75 Pro	75%	same OEM as Chilkey Slice75 HE and Irok MG75 Max, best price to value
120	Nuphy Air60 HE	60%	just a low-profile option
120	Nuphy Air75 HE	75%	just a low-profile option
125	IROK MG75 Max	75%	PCB better than MG75 Pro, wireless
149	Melgeek Made68 Pro	65%	really good software, stock switches need to be swapped
159	Melgeek Made84 Pro	75%	really good software, stock switches need to be swapped
175	Chilkey Slice75 HE	75%	only choose with Wuque Studio Flux switches
179	Melgeek Made68 Pro+	65%
199	Chilkey Slice68 HE	65%
199	Melgeek Made68 Ultra	65%
209	Melgeek Made68+	65%
249	ATK × QK Hex80	TKL	comes stock with Owlab Ti switches, probably best stock switches as of current

bright white - default picks

manufacturers like Aula, Royal Kludge, Yunzii, Ajazz, Attack Shark, etc. oftentimes use bad OEM PCBs and worryingly bad quality components, this is bad because all of them share multiple issues.
that being:

low quality materials that degrade quickly, leading to performance losses and inconsistensies, Aula F75 is known for this, check here;

firmware and software support tends to be lacking, as companies just use whatever provided with a slight logo rebrand, those are often left with bugs, glitches and reliability issues, some units brick, check here and here;

various boards from those manufacturers heat up, burn, explode or arrive home with build quality concerns like fragile keycaps, bent cnc cases, short-lasting LEDs and wireless components, check here;

brands like these also pose an ethical concern, Epomaker and Royal Kludge have been found to be malicious whitelisteners and design thieves, just to then call it their own;

brand	info
Ajazz	questionable quality control, not the greatest support and keeping products up to date through firmware (and software), OEM PCBs;
Akko	high latency OEM PCBs, limiting to their own switches only, quality control issues;
ATK	excluding Hex80, poor support, performance and quality control;
Attack Shark	problemsatic quality control, some units brick or arrive bricked, bad performance, lack of support, horrendous software and firmware;
Aula	problemsatic quality control, some units brick or arrive bricked, bad performance, lack of support, horrendous software and firmware, reported units of their products burning;
Chilkey	slight quality issues, decent performance, real good deal in terms of quality for enthusiasts;
Dark Project	has quality and firmware issues, especially on Ziemniak collab products;
Drunkdeer	bad customer support, they have silently swapped out a product of theirs for worse;
Endgame Gear	not exactly the best quality control, bad performance and support, outdated keyboards;
Epomaker	products full of design flaws;
Glorious	known for quality control issues;
Irok	bad keycaps, but good value for money ratio;
iQunix	quality HE keyboards, but priced badly and for some reason always rushed;
KBDfans	nothing good but Tiger Lite Gaming;
Keychron	limited switch family, outdated internals, meh pricing;
Lamzu	tends to abandon products;
Lemokey	sub-brand of Keychron, everything related to Keychron also applies here;
Madlions	insanely budget sub-brand of ATK, horrible in all aspects;
Nuphy	batteries in their wireless stuff tend to explode, they're also having a hard time developing gamepad emulation;
Pulsar	overpriced and rushed;
Redragon	generic OEM with a multum of issues, keyboards break in the span of 2 years;
ASUS ROG	overpriced;
SteelSeries	bad build quality, bad performance, late to the party, bad quality control, bad durability;
Turtle Beach	outdated and overpriced;
Vter	generic OEM with a multum of issues, keyboards break in the span of 2 years;
Wooting	perfect software, software and support included in the price, great products, bad prices;

brand	info
Geonworks	Pretty much more mid-range Rakka, very good support, good software and performance;
Melgeek	good performance and support, thought Air series is an exception to both;
Rakka	Geonworks on steroids;
Sayodevice	real good performance, they sometimes brick, though it's most of the time fixable;

should I get a magnetic keyboard??

depends on your needs; getting a magnetic keyboard is almost equal to getting rid of any option to have clicky or tactile switches, at the benefit of features

what are the optimal hall effect settings?

yours! you'll play best on settings you're familiar with, however it is recommended to keep your actuation point same and above 0.5mm across all keys for better typing experience, having various actuation points on different keys can really mess one up

do hall effect features matter?

you can totally do without them, they're more comforting than neccesary, really

how much do hall effect features matter in competetive games?

changing the actuation point, rapid trigger settings, modtap, etc. can greatly help with developing movement skills in games, making it pretty useful in games like Valorant, Counter Strike 2, Geometry Dash, osu!, etc.

do hall effect features matter outside precision based tasks?

they can definately help, especially considering custom actuation points

how to use EyejokerDB in language other than Korean?

translate the page using your built-in browser feature