My $863 Endgame Keyboard Is Perfect, for Now

The Rama Works U80-A is an endgame keyboard — a custom keyboard so perfectly attuned to my exact needs that it should be the last keyboard I ever need to buy.

At nearly $900, fully built, the Rama Works U80-A is the culmination of a journey that began with the first cheap, generic keyboard I laid fingers on, and that evolved into a never-ending hunt for the perfect sound and feel. My pre-built keyboards rarely stay put together for long, as I pull them apart, strip them down, and tune them with the latest mods. I’ll be honest — ‘endgame,’ for me, is a myth, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Over the last two weeks, I’ve assembled my ‘holy grail’ keyboard: The Rama Works U80-A, which is a tenkeyless custom kit made of aluminum, brass, polycarbonate, and passion — from both the designers and myself. Like so many other custom keyboard enthusiasts, I spent weeks planning and prepping for the build — and then I built it, took it apart, and rebuilt it until I was positive every part was absolutely perfect. The final build cost $863, and it was worth every penny for the final product: a flagship, showpiece keyboard that fits me perfectly.

You might be wondering why anyone would spend this much — or even half this much — on a keyboard. Here at Tom’s Hardware, we’ve made a point to cover as many custom and customizable mechanical keyboards as possible, but even that coverage barely scratches the surface of the custom keyboard hobby. But let me introduce you to my build — and give you a peek into the world of a custom mechanical keyboard enthusiast.

Everyone starts at square one, and, within the mechanical keyboard community, usually follows a familiar path. Your first keyboard is an accessory — maybe more like an afterthought. It’s built into your laptop, or it’s a manufacturer freebie packed with your PC, or it’s something standard and black from the IT department. At some point you hear good things about mechanical keyboards and you pick one up for gaming (or work), but you don’t otherwise dwell on it.

Later, something prods you to dig a little deeper and clicking around lands you on a YouTube video showing off a next-level keyboard — or maybe an Instagram post with a fancy keycap set. You decide to try new switches or keycaps. Before long, you’re frequenting r/mechanicalkeyboards and trying a few mods. Eventually, you take the plunge and build your own custom keyboard. Then you build another — more expensive. Then another.

The mechanical keyboard community exists in a state of constant anticipation. New switches are released nearly every week. Interest checks on new projects drop almost as often. Group buys and limited in-stock sales are perpetually cycling. Content creators get early prototypes and produce videos and streams on the latest and greatest kits, and each one is unique and different and pulls you deeper into the nuance that each keyboard provides.

Each vendor has its own Discord server where they privately announce sale times to hundreds — or thousands — of active members and you’d better move, move, move because it’s first-come, first-serve and the hottest kits sell out within minutes. Those same servers ring out with celebratory messages from those who “got the W” and disappointed fans who “took an L” and who desperately want another chance.

There’s something beautiful in this cacophony: a shared camaraderie among what is still an insular but growing community. Everyone relates, because we all share this same quirky interest. We are the few willing to invest extra money for a special sound or feel that a particular keyboard or switch provides. We’ll meticulously take apart, lube, and reassemble dozens of switches just for the subtle-but-significant increase in smoothness. We understand and care about the difference between metal and plastic cases, and we’ll argue about the merits of keyboards with foam and those without.

We do strange things — line our circuit boards with masking tape and bits of bandaid, and crow about how much better the sound and feel is (and it is). And if we have a ratty stabilizer key, we’re definitely going to lube it — probably with a syringe.

The level of creativity in this hobby is both practical and artistic. Your keyboard is the main way you interface with your PC; your keyboard experience is the physical interpretation of your computing experience. Customizing each component so it looks, feels, and sounds exactly the way you want enhances your work day and makes you want to type more. If you work on a PC most of the day, a custom mechanical keyboard can absolutely improve your quality of life.

Artistry comes into play with the keycaps and modifications performed during the building process. Choosing the right keycaps is one of the most important parts of building your own keyboard, and hobbyists put a lot of care into crafting a unique aesthetic that ties their build together.

If you didn’t know better, you might mistake the mechanical keyboards subreddit for a photography community. It’s not uncommon for members to pose their keyboards in artful environments and perform little photo shoots. One of the first posts I encountered on the subreddit was a keyboard with pink keycaps perched on a blooming cherry tree. I can no longer find it, but there are many similar examples. It’s amusing, imagining builders hauling DSLRs to a park and waiting for golden hour just to photograph a keyboard, but why shouldn’t they? After hours of planning and building this tool that you’re proud of and that’s uniquely yours, showing off your creation is both rewarding and fun.

These customizations are difficult, but not impossible, to do without building a keyboard from scratch — and that itself is another side of the hobby: taking existing keyboards and renovating them with new keycaps and mods to make them compete with custom keyboards. Some creators, such as Keybored, have made a name for themselves showing enthusiasts how to apply different mods and enhance the sound of their keyboards — any keyboards, custom or pre-built.

The mechanical keyboard community has exploded over the last year, thanks to popular streamers such as Taeha Types, Alexotos, and YouTuber Badseed Tech. The hobby is closer to mainstream consciousness than it’s ever been. Independent storefronts have come and gone, a flourishing aftermarket has arisen, and community-favorite creators have been found.