i was sure that number 1 was the real gmk and liked that the most, suprised to find out it was the clone

when listening to the sound I actually decided I liked 1 and 3 and was not a fan of 2. Surprised to see that 2 was GMK, guess it's all down to preference

This convinced me that GMKs are more overpriced than I thought they were.

There's no arguing GMK has the sharpest legends by far and the designs are cool, but I'm yet to find a real convincing argument to justify their insane price range and piss poor packaging, especially given the amount of competition that's out there right now. At the end of the day, their thickness is not uncommon, the "rough" texture isn't unique in any way (and it's gonna fade out sooner than any decent PBT set) so I'd say they're only good if you want to support the designers, or if you care about the specific sound signature. All fair if you're balls deep into the hobby, but I'd never suggest anyone on a budget to save up for GMK, since for a daily driver in-stock PBT is most certainly gonna be the more appealing option for most people. Just my two cents though, good vid regardless (P.S: how do these GMK knockoffs sound so good??)

Based on this video, I'm even more convinced that GMK is not worth it if just for the feel and sound. The difference in feel and sound does not equate to the sharp difference in price for me. However, buying GMK as a collector or trader (like collecting rare Pokemon cards) is another thing altogether. For a normal mech keyboard user, don't think the price is worth it.

The real problem with GMK is the seemingly "monopoly" on designers. There are just by FAR more designers working with GMK than any other manu, which is understandable because GMK has proven track record of quality. And GMK knows this very well. So they have absolutely no problem taking everyone's money and taking on GB orders and sticking them at the end of a 2-year backlog because "mah shortages". I'm not denying GMK quality. I have several GMK sets. But many other manus, barring inevitable qc woes, really are quite great for their price. The "gmk tax" is imo not worth the boost in quality/qc. It's in large part an engineered premium due to the monopoly on GBs.

I actually like number 1 over 2 and 3. Practically, without considering the moral aspects of purchasing clones (as designers of premium sets get shit on by clone manufacturers), clones would be a better buy. If we're gonna talk future financial value, then fine they may be worth it. But if you're gonna slap them on a keyboard and you prefer sound over aesthetics (especially the intricacies of stuff like how well the print is), clones are probably better. If you have the money though then fine no one's gonna stop you buy all the GMKs you want.

That's funny, but in the blind test real GMK had worst sound imo😅

i actually thought gmk sounded the worst from listening to the blind sound tests xd

Ah yes 98$ for a cable

yeah , Lewis I have to say , seeing you progress as a youtuber is fun to watch , editing skills are getting better and the execution on this video was very nice . I didn't hear any difference in the sound test tho :D

I honestly liked the sounds of Option 1 and 3, but didn't like Option 2 that much. I was honestly surprised with the results! I already knew I wasn't getting authentic GMK caps, but it was interesting to have your point of view on this! Keep up the vids!

It’s about Lewis vids it’s about Lewis he has the best vids

I feel bad for the designers but I like to buy clones because 1) I just want the colorway ok I don't wanna pay a lot of money AND wait 9 months for a GB and 2) I'm gonna be using it, it's a part of my build not a long term investment

"Thick ABS plastic has no warping" Cries in warped gmk spacebars

Great video lewis, its a nice comparison, i was very doubtful about GMK, but now i might get some gmk keycaps

All this did was cement my opinion that they are 100% not worth it lmao

lewis looking like he's being held at gunpoint by gmk reps

honestly, i liked the akko caps the most for the soundtest! though to be honest the sound difference between it and the real GMKs arent all too different. imo the price is just a little ridiculous since its just so similar to existing products at a fraction of the price, and tbh as someone who daily drives a PBT set [less than 50 sgd for a full set & accessory keys],, i think they work just as well

I love you, you have literally built the keyboard I’m buying but the stabs are Durock v2 and 65%, Greta content btw❤️ btw did you lube your aqua kings or use them stock

was considering getting gmks to just get a sense for the difference (having gotten some diff clones before) and i was v surprised that i didnt like the sound of the gmks at all. great video!

I liked the sound of option 2. Was quite surprised. Great video and explanation. Thank you

Thanks for making this video. It was extremely balanced & really helps clarify the pros and cons of GMK, especially for someone who wouldn't be able to try them first without putting down $150-170 USD for a set.

I have a question. At 4.00 you say GMK is higher than like the Akko. Was this only for R4 as you showed in the video? Or also for every other row?

Had to stop working on my school activities just to watch my guy Lewis!!!!💙💙

The video is a bit old, but can you maybe say how the brightness of the lettering compares in the dark with the keyboard light on? I have the Akko and apart from a couple of keys where the symbol on the key is directly above the LED, you can't see anything shine through even at maximum brightness. The light distributed to the sides of the key is not enough to shine through and the LEDs cannot be soldered through the board design, nor onto the side of the switch, where they would be directly below the symbol. Is it the same with the GMK keys, or do they let the light through better?

Hi Lewis thank you for the video. Do you think it would be justifiable to buy GMK keycaps at scalper price?(e.g . GMK Alter for SGD500)

Was looking for this video. Thank you!

Lol. That segway to cablemod. I'm susbscribing just to see more of that. "They told me to show their cables so I did" Lmao

#2 was my least favorite sounding. 1 and 3 sounded similar to me, but the modifiers sounded deeper on 3 than 1 or 2 which makes it my preference.

The first and second sound similar. The third sounds more deeper. But overall they all sound good. However I always go for GMK the colors, legends and most of all the novelty art are always superior. Also I always support the original content creator. Great vid btw 😉

After real gmk is used for half a year it shines and do they still retain value?

This is a great vid I myself use gmk sets mainly and use pbt sets on occasion when I see a set I like. My liking for their sets comes down to profile and preference of their sound im not all into that deep sound everyone like and I just genuinely think their sets are of the highest quality in the game Great vid.

The sound test was surprisingly unconclusional for me. gmk didn't sound nearly as premium as I expected. Good vid tho, subbed

what is the background song in the middle of the video?

The music over the cable mod section was awesome. nice camera angles

Option 1 and 3 (and most Cherry profile PBT double shot keycaps) are made in the same factory so not surprising the two sets are similar

imagine an ant walking around when showing off the cable

imma be honest, the first option (fake gmks) had the nicest acoustics for me

I think one of the biggest differences in sound can be the actual profile. I've started moving away from Cherry and others similar, to MDA, SA, and MT3 styles due to their height and sound possibilities.

i actually have the akko knockoff lasers and ive been using them daily since December and ive only found 1 problem and its a crack in the stems, but this is only on 3 of the keys

Do older gmk keycaps just stop getting produced after a while? Just wondering bc can't get my hands on one yet but maybe in a few years.

what's the song used at 00:40? I hear it everywhere and would just like to know what it is

how is the warping on the non gmk keycaps and how do they compare to epbt

I’m using the Akko neons. I like how the print looks better than on GMK. On the blind test I liked the first more, then the third and only then the GMKs

yoooo blindfold test comparisons actually makes a lot of sense

Thank you for reinforcing my choice on the clones regarding sound XD

Wow I got the cap sounds right! The Akko ones were similar but I could hear that signature nice abs poppy sound!

whats the song for the cable showing off thingy lol

Never though i'd be so hyped at a cable cinématic

i love gmk keycaps but theyre always over my budget, so normally i would go for gmk clones especially gmk shoko its super pretty.. ill wait until the time where im able to fund a new custom keyboard so i can get rid of my gk64x

is the polycarbonate plate provided anywhere?

I kinda wish that gmk would resort to using pbt as one of the materials bcs i don't really like the sound of abs tbh

they all three sound really good

Something that you dont know also gmk keycaps can shine from long time is doesn't matter if the abs is the best I will recommend use IFK keycaps instead of gmk the print is similar to gmk and the shipping dont take long period then gmk

i really want the drop gmk samuri but its 120 bucks plus shipping and i dont got that much :(

got it on first sound, the fake one has rattle its clearly there and the hollow point was all over the place, the second was on point got it thats its the original one,was surprised the akko performed on sound similarly. both are crisp and sound was fuller on typing.

I loved #1 and wasn't sure about the others, I am pretty surprised

the long lead times on new GMK sets are just fking pissing me off. the only reason I stopped buying GMKs. I am a man, I have needs, I can't just spend 300$ every other night and get nothing in return.

The GMK rabbit hole is a hole I don't wanna go down, but here I am. 😂😂

I just looked at the Akko stuff and I'm seriously impressed. I think I just found my next keyboard. I assure you, it will be an upgrade on my 10 year old one.

really really legendary content *chefs kiss*

man i love your new opinion about gmk keycaps about value, because other keyboard enthusiast i watch only talk about print,exclusives and quality

I liked 2 and 3, they sounded pretty close to me. I prefer the higher pitched or clackier sound

Can you sell GMK keycaps for retail price even when they start shining badly after 1 year of use? The reason why I've been reluctant to buy GMK sets is bc I thought the shine would make it look and feel shit after 3 months and plummet the value to much below the retail price.

lewis what youtuber did you refer in the beginning wasn't clear to me at 1:15

I want you compare EPBT vs GMK keycaps

Shame there are no 6.5 unit spacebar sets, as i would like to replace the caps on my Logitech G710+.

you know what? i never really knew that most of the cherry keycaps on cheaper site were not real cherry! now I have a more justified idea on why gmk is costly! thanks a lot lewis, keep making the poggers content.

I liked the sound of the Akko the most. But I don't like cherry profile. I almost exclusively use Drop MT3 keycaps. I occasionally use SA caps too.

Thanks I think this might’ve just cleared up the idea of me going with some keycaps on Etsy better knock offs of the blue samurai because I don’t like what GMK did with the base model for some Adam spend over $200 just to get the base model that’s in the red

Recommending to save up for 200 dollar keycaps is insane

You HAVE to build a keyboard in a keyboard video XD amazing you got that right

The fake gmk non brand sounded the best lol

why do i like the first option (sound test) so much and the second is good but to popy for me lol

I was actually able to tell the difference between the sounds. Got used to the higher pitched sound of the GMK ABS material.

You can get good quality keycaps that are not clones out there, they won't be cherry profile but that can be a good thing. Typing this this on an SA profile set from Domikey and the quality is very good and not a clone as far as I can tell.

Interestingly I liked the high pitch clack on Option 1 the best.

Is it bad that I instantly knew which keycaps were which? Like I instantly knew the first one didn't sound like Akko or GMK, so I had to assume it was GMFake, the second one was obviously GMK because I could tell the spacebar was a little more clacky and higher pitched, and the last one was Akko because Akko spacebars are usually thockier. Oh also, I liked number three the most, since I like a good, thocky spacebar (yes I know that the sound signature of a keyboard depends on what switches you use, and what board it is).

oh shit! i just wanted to make a aqua king switch keyboard and you got me brother!

Good stuff 👍👍👍

Was filled with accomplishment after easily guessing each sound test accurately. Then filled with immense depression from not touching grass….

Not a great take in my opinion. Acoustics are very subjective and I'd say majority of it actually boils down to the configuration of your board rather than the caps. The plate, case, switches, mounting type, foam, mods, etc all play a part to create the sound signature you enjoy, which is one of the exciting things in this hobby. Sure you get nicer prints and marginally thicker caps, but does that justify the insane prices and waiting times? Even if you ethically disagree with the thought of buying knockoffs, there are many alternatives nowadays such as PolyCaps and EnjoyPBT that are solving the problems of price and wait times by providing affordable in stock keycaps (or at least much shorter waiting time) while using the more durable PBT material that doesn't shine over time. I suppose a more interesting take would be to compare these alternatives and at least give viewers a chance to decide for themselves what caps they like. People who view your videos of whether GMK sets are worth it are probably those who just dipped their feet into the hobby, seen these insanely priced GMK sets everyone is talking about, and wonder if they are actually worth it. I personally find it kinda misleading that you'd highly recommend a GMK set and only compare it to budget/knockoff sets. It's kinda like saying "You should definitely save up and invest in a GUCCI bag instead of a cheaper one for your needs just because they have more resale value" I know some keyboard enthusiasts view GMK as the top tier option and snob on these alternatives, but I find that it doesn't really celebrate the variety in this hobby. People need to stop viewin GMK as the endgame of caps because it's not. If you explore other profiles or other alternatives, you can still build something you love and sound good without having to shell out maybe 3-5x the amount for a GMK set. Also, instead of just saying that GMK is thicker, have you tried actually measuring? There are alternative ABS and PBT caps that are just as thick as GMK but could cost less than half the price. Of course you are going to get the biggest difference if you compare the highest end GMK with the lowest end knock offs from Taobao.

idk how but i guessed the sound test right lol

So, the best GMK is the fake GMK, it sounded so good.

While all the points that you make of the hmm keycaps are indeed true, for most pc gamers who play a lot and use their keyboard intensively for long periods of time, the knockoff ones are actually better because of the pbt material

hahahaha, my mans said "out of the keyboard hobby" like that will ever happen... (help me please)

cablemod is fucking sick bro, good sponsor to have

what is that music during the cable mod b-roll it is nice

I preferred option 2 but 3 is pretty solid

The first one sounded the best, I thought that was GMK lol!

I think that the akko keycaps are quite similar in sound to the gmk caps

Imo its not about sound its about looks and feel. GMK feels nice while looking much better than anything else. I have epbt and I enjoy those for a deeper sound and feel, and gmk for a higher sound while feeling similar.

(The cable mod ad) i thought i watched a mcdonalds add lol😂

No one is ever going out of the hobby, lewis

Lewis, What if you make a calendar (I forgot what is called but each day it got chocolate in it) that each day you get a random keyboard-related item (switches, keycaps, coupons, cables. Just saying, it will be kinda cool. Ps: After searching for a bit, the calendar is called the advent calendar.

whats the music used tho

Can someone link gmk laser clones that are not akko neons and are avaliable in asia

Really loved that you did the sound test first was surprised like many others how I liked 1 and 3 better but maybe that’s because I’m used to my cheaper keycaps 😅

Why does Option 1 sound the best