While I loved building out my GMK67, I do like that someone could pick one of these up fully built and have a great board! I don't love Epomaker for some of their advertising on their white label products, but for someone coming into the hobby - this is an awesome start and could easily be a daily driver!
Unfortunately this is the easiest way for white label products to have differentiators. I honestly don't mind stickers, personally. Especially when they have things like serial number and whatnot to make it easier to identify when needing service. At the very least you can remove it and create your own laminated badge or something to replace it.
@@punkshoo For sure! My Epomaker x Nextime board didn't come with the badge it was supposed to have - reaching out to 'customer service' yielded nothing. As well - Epomaker doesn't actually make their products. That combined with their shadiness and subsequent ban from reddit, all just reasons for me to steer clear.
That's fair. I haven't really had extremely detrimental interactions with them. Its mostly just been a delay thing. Takes a good amount of time to get the products and get resolutions to any issues that crop up. Nothing major, though. Sorry to hear about your experiences.
Honestly, the frustrating part is that they are hard pressed to do wireless over programmability. If they were open to something less gamer focused, they could easily bridge the gap to a more enthusiast focused space. I would recommend this for more of someone just wanting something fun and nice. A one and done sort of purchase
Since it keeps getting brought up by those who don't understand how white labeling works: "What Is a White Label Product? White label products are sold by retailers with their own branding and logo but the products themselves are manufactured by a third party. White labeling occurs when the manufacturer of an item uses the branding requested by the purchaser, or marketer, instead of its own. The end product appears as though it has been produced by the purchaser." This is a white label product produced for the sake of white labeling. Its not a GMK67 as the GMK67 is a white label barebones made for its vendor. Yes, some company is making the same board for both vendors but the EK68 comes with keycaps, switches, and a steel plate thus making it Epomaker's board. White labeling is common in this hobby, especially on the budget side of things. Hopefully this clears up some confusion.
Hey Punk, great video as always. I feel like the style and flow of your videos has gotten so much better over the past few months. Your word choice and style is great as well! Keep up the great work.
I am personally a fan of the Gateron Pro Yellows but you're going to have to do some additional research elsewhere to find the answer you're looking for. The sounds you hear in the video typing demo are something I am quite content with and those are the Flamingo switches.
I like your review and attention to detail. I am typing on this one right now and it's a beautiful unit especially for the price. And for my own tastes, I very much prefer plastic outer case. And about YT board reviews in general... Why does no one review they ability of the MCU in these boards (any boards!) in terms of support for full QMK access or VIA access? Or even the downloadable software that the board comes with? Without using up to date Open Source options especially on a 65% board - it leaves you with no useful info on what mods/keybinds you can do or how manu function layers the board firmware supports ahead of your purchase. Just bought this EK68 and I love how it looks and feels, this is the only one I could find directly available on Amazon UK. This is very important to me as I want to immediately return any pre-broken products and get a refund straight away - and I dont want to pay for return shipping. Anyhow, this is a side track for my original statements about these board reviews. No YTer goes into any depth about the software/firmware side of things. I want to have multi function layers and for each layer with key groups, I want the RGB to show those groups on the layer as a certain colour. This is functional RGB. This is what I want. EK68 or clones don't seem to support more than one function layer, also they allow RGB per key, but they do not allow RGB per key on default layer in isolation to function layer. I like this kb, but I really really wanted to perform this functionality. QMK does not have any compatibility listing for this model and also - I still have no idea what exact MCU product is included as dissassembly is possible, but hard with the "plastic tabs" in use. These "custom" style kbs are getting more and more cheap as time goes on and I hope the day will come where you can buy a fully QMK compatible custom style kb for not a lot of cash on Amazon. I would like to see a zoom in on the MCU so we observe the chip identifying markings.
Thank you for checking out my vid and your detailed comment. I personally don't discuss the software because on budget models I find it's a waste of air and time. Most people purchasing budget boards are very unlikely to even install any kind of software much less care what the software is capable of. As for why we don't discuss VIA/VIAL/QMK support: Again, its mostly irrelevant. Unless you're amassing a large collection of keyboards and want a single piece of software to edit binds and whatnot then QMK support is nearly irrelevant. In 2023 almost any modern 1st party software will suffice for rebinding a board. If macros are unsupported one can always use AHK. As for your specific issue: You may consider spending a bit more money and building a legitimate custom keyboard instead of purchasing a very entry level prebuilt/barebones if you're wanting features like QMK/VIA/VIAL combined with RGB and multi layer support. I understand you might not want to spend the money but the entry level budget space hasn't quite reached that level yet.
@@punkshoo Ah ok cool. Guess I am being a bit wishful in this budget space. Perhaps one day. I can't justify personally laying down 200 to 1k on a kb that is capable of it. Time will tell what capabilities these budget models will get. But it seems the space has seen a huge uptick in value of late. Kindof looking into swapping out the MCU for a rp2040 which would be able to handle pretty much anything. The hardware is all present, comes down to skills for fiddly solder work on the MCU area of the board.
Any decent kit should have the proper keycaps for the layout. Just make sure it has the proper right shift and mods. Akko and KPRepublic have some nice budget kits if you're looking for something on the cheaper side.
Hello from Japan. I enjoy your channel. What is the keycap profile of the first one, TH80? SA? I would like to try a high profile too. Is it comfortable?
Hello and welcome to the channel! Those are MT3 keycaps from Drop. They are one of my favorite profile keycaps when I am in the mood for a taller profile. Very comfortable but it might take some time to get used to the scoop on the tops.
@@punkshoo Thank you for your prompt answer! I didn’t know MT3 profile. I was thinking of getting AiFei SA keycaps from AliExpress but MT3 seems more elgonomic. 😃 I’ll give it a second thought.
Thanks for the video! If you've narrowed down your options to the Epomaker Ek68 and Keychron K2V2, what recommendation do you have on which one to GO with?
Thanks alot for the suggestion. Just one more thing, which keys wd u suggest for best typing experience with ek68. Flamingo or Budgerigar? Appreciate ur time and patience:)
Flamingo if you want a linear switch and Budgerigar for tactile. I haven't tried the Budgerigar switches yet but I've heard good things so if you're looking for a bump in the keypress then that might be the way to go. The one in the video uses Flamingo switches.
One more thing, in the Epomaker and Aliexpress website, the version of the keyboard with flamingos switches and OEM keycaps in not available. Where did you ordered yours from ?
Its pretty widely available on Epomaker and Amazon. OEM keycaps look very close to Cherry so maybe that's adding to some confusion with the verbiage being used on the site. amzn.to/3WJjhYn epomaker.com/products/epomaker-ek68?variant=43765659074868
Yeah, I know but the cherry profile keycaps don't sound different compared to the OEM keycaps ?? Do you think if I ordered from amazon it will come with oem keycaps ??@@punkshoo
They will sound different but none of the Epomaker EK68s are going to come with Cherry. OEM is deeper sounding and close-enough to Cherry that manufacturers are going to target that segment. They're also cheaper for the vendors to have made which allows them to keep costs down. The listing says "Cherry" "OEM" and "SA". There's also no SA, lol
I bought a car upholstery plastic pry tool set. Comes with 2 crow bar style plastic bar tools. Going to take out caps, switches, then jimmy the plastic tabs loose by prying the crow bar against the steel plate, lifting the top plastic housing up. Should work without damaging the outside of the upper case part. Wish me luck.
@@punkshoo Just to update you, I did use the plastic crowbar meant for auto upholstery. It's way too blunt to go in via the case edges like in your example. But it's perfect for coming in via the top where the keycaps and switches were, using the stainless steel plate as a lever fulcrum for the crowbar and applying vertical pressure to the top half of the plastic case. You are very correct - those plastic tabs were on there tight. I really thought I was going to break the case or my tool by applying that much pressure. But - the upper case did come off. There are no marks/dents in the exterior of the case, so it looks good as new. But I did wreck 2 of the 10 plastic tabs, as they simultaneously gave way when I was working one of the corner tabs free. 8/10 super hard tabs should still hold it all together without issue when I reassemble. I wish these Chinese companies just went back to using good old phillips screws. They were good before the 2000's and they are now too. All they need to do is install brass screw mounts by melting them into the case - or just pressure fitting them.
@@punkshoo Yes, I guess so. But these boards are mostly plastic with a PCB. I think the GMK67 which this EK68 is a clone of, costs around 20£ on Ali, but that's bare bones too. Epo added in some foam layers etc, keycaps and switches. So perhaps it's not too bad all told.
I just got this keyboard couple days ago and I fell in love with the typing and sound and feel. I went with the Gateron pro yellow switches. Now the only issue with this board is I believe the latency is high. Prior I was using a Corsair k95 cherry red switches. On the ek68 I can no longer superglide in apex. It’s pressing down c and spacebar at the same time. And I been trying hit one 2 days now and can’t. On the Corsair I was able to do it effortlessly.
@@chixens5713 I got the Gateron yellow pro 2.0 it’s the keyboard brain itself it doesn’t work when I try to superglide in Apex. I’ve tried for weeks. I just got the Wooting 60he and could superglide in apex again
This little dude definitely took me by surprise. What do you guys think about the value propositions here? Let us know in the comments!
While I loved building out my GMK67, I do like that someone could pick one of these up fully built and have a great board! I don't love Epomaker for some of their advertising on their white label products, but for someone coming into the hobby - this is an awesome start and could easily be a daily driver!
its just a bit annoying when companies put stickers on the bottom. ik you dont see it much, but still...
Unfortunately this is the easiest way for white label products to have differentiators. I honestly don't mind stickers, personally. Especially when they have things like serial number and whatnot to make it easier to identify when needing service. At the very least you can remove it and create your own laminated badge or something to replace it.
Pretty good sounding keys for stock keyboard. Not bad for $80. Rather good looking keycaps too.
Got mine on limited time offer £62 on Amazon making it very good value.
Great video! Unfortunately I've had too many bad experiences with Epomaker and won't buy their products anymore.
Sorry to hear that. Care to share some of the specific experiences so others can be aware of what to be mindful of? Thanks!
@@punkshoo For sure! My Epomaker x Nextime board didn't come with the badge it was supposed to have - reaching out to 'customer service' yielded nothing. As well - Epomaker doesn't actually make their products. That combined with their shadiness and subsequent ban from reddit, all just reasons for me to steer clear.
That's fair. I haven't really had extremely detrimental interactions with them. Its mostly just been a delay thing. Takes a good amount of time to get the products and get resolutions to any issues that crop up. Nothing major, though. Sorry to hear about your experiences.
@@punkshoo Epomaker usually just rebrands other products and sells it as their own design. The EK68 is a rebrand of Zuoya's GMK67.
And Zuoya doesn't actually make keyboards. Their GMK67 is just the same keyboard with their sticker slapped on it the same way as Epomaker.
Honestly, the frustrating part is that they are hard pressed to do wireless over programmability. If they were open to something less gamer focused, they could easily bridge the gap to a more enthusiast focused space. I would recommend this for more of someone just wanting something fun and nice. A one and done sort of purchase
Would definitely love to see less first party software solutions and more VIA/VIAL integrations, for sure. Thanks for your insights!
Since it keeps getting brought up by those who don't understand how white labeling works:
"What Is a White Label Product?
White label products are sold by retailers with their own branding and logo but the products themselves are manufactured by a third party. White labeling occurs when the manufacturer of an item uses the branding requested by the purchaser, or marketer, instead of its own. The end product appears as though it has been produced by the purchaser."
This is a white label product produced for the sake of white labeling. Its not a GMK67 as the GMK67 is a white label barebones made for its vendor. Yes, some company is making the same board for both vendors but the EK68 comes with keycaps, switches, and a steel plate thus making it Epomaker's board. White labeling is common in this hobby, especially on the budget side of things. Hopefully this clears up some confusion.
Hey Punk, great video as always. I feel like the style and flow of your videos has gotten so much better over the past few months. Your word choice and style is great as well! Keep up the great work.
Thank you for the kind words and recognition. I am happy to hear that it hasn't gone unnoticed. Glad you enjoyed it!
i love ep68 but which switch should i go for thocky experience
I am personally a fan of the Gateron Pro Yellows but you're going to have to do some additional research elsewhere to find the answer you're looking for. The sounds you hear in the video typing demo are something I am quite content with and those are the Flamingo switches.
What switches does it have?
These were Flamingo switches
I like your review and attention to detail. I am typing on this one right now and it's a beautiful unit especially for the price. And for my own tastes, I very much prefer plastic outer case. And about YT board reviews in general... Why does no one review they ability of the MCU in these boards (any boards!) in terms of support for full QMK access or VIA access? Or even the downloadable software that the board comes with? Without using up to date Open Source options especially on a 65% board - it leaves you with no useful info on what mods/keybinds you can do or how manu function layers the board firmware supports ahead of your purchase. Just bought this EK68 and I love how it looks and feels, this is the only one I could find directly available on Amazon UK. This is very important to me as I want to immediately return any pre-broken products and get a refund straight away - and I dont want to pay for return shipping.
Anyhow, this is a side track for my original statements about these board reviews. No YTer goes into any depth about the software/firmware side of things. I want to have multi function layers and for each layer with key groups, I want the RGB to show those groups on the layer as a certain colour. This is functional RGB. This is what I want. EK68 or clones don't seem to support more than one function layer, also they allow RGB per key, but they do not allow RGB per key on default layer in isolation to function layer. I like this kb, but I really really wanted to perform this functionality. QMK does not have any compatibility listing for this model and also - I still have no idea what exact MCU product is included as dissassembly is possible, but hard with the "plastic tabs" in use. These "custom" style kbs are getting more and more cheap as time goes on and I hope the day will come where you can buy a fully QMK compatible custom style kb for not a lot of cash on Amazon. I would like to see a zoom in on the MCU so we observe the chip identifying markings.
Thank you for checking out my vid and your detailed comment. I personally don't discuss the software because on budget models I find it's a waste of air and time. Most people purchasing budget boards are very unlikely to even install any kind of software much less care what the software is capable of. As for why we don't discuss VIA/VIAL/QMK support: Again, its mostly irrelevant. Unless you're amassing a large collection of keyboards and want a single piece of software to edit binds and whatnot then QMK support is nearly irrelevant. In 2023 almost any modern 1st party software will suffice for rebinding a board. If macros are unsupported one can always use AHK.
As for your specific issue: You may consider spending a bit more money and building a legitimate custom keyboard instead of purchasing a very entry level prebuilt/barebones if you're wanting features like QMK/VIA/VIAL combined with RGB and multi layer support. I understand you might not want to spend the money but the entry level budget space hasn't quite reached that level yet.
@@punkshoo Ah ok cool. Guess I am being a bit wishful in this budget space. Perhaps one day. I can't justify personally laying down 200 to 1k on a kb that is capable of it. Time will tell what capabilities these budget models will get. But it seems the space has seen a huge uptick in value of late. Kindof looking into swapping out the MCU for a rp2040 which would be able to handle pretty much anything. The hardware is all present, comes down to skills for fiddly solder work on the MCU area of the board.
what switches?
I don't have it anymore nor do I remember but it should have been mentioned in the board overview section of the video.
@@punkshoo do u have a timecode maybe?
Do you have any key caps recommendations for this keyboard?
Any decent kit should have the proper keycaps for the layout. Just make sure it has the proper right shift and mods. Akko and KPRepublic have some nice budget kits if you're looking for something on the cheaper side.
Hey ! I'd like to know if that version of the keyboard was the cherry profile or the OEM profile. Thanks !
They are OEM
@@punkshoo Thanks 👍
Nice video, i bought this keyboard but I had doubts but you made me sure
Happy to help!
Hello from Japan. I enjoy your channel. What is the keycap profile of the first one, TH80? SA? I would like to try a high profile too. Is it comfortable?
Hello and welcome to the channel! Those are MT3 keycaps from Drop. They are one of my favorite profile keycaps when I am in the mood for a taller profile. Very comfortable but it might take some time to get used to the scoop on the tops.
@@punkshoo Thank you for your prompt answer! I didn’t know MT3 profile. I was thinking of getting AiFei SA keycaps from AliExpress but MT3 seems more elgonomic. 😃 I’ll give it a second thought.
My pleasure!
Thanks for the video!
If you've narrowed down your options to the Epomaker Ek68 and Keychron K2V2, what recommendation do you have on which one to GO with?
I would hands down go with the EK68 over the K2, personally. There's alot more value proposition here from an enthusiast perspective.
Thanks alot for the suggestion. Just one more thing, which keys wd u suggest for best typing experience with ek68. Flamingo or Budgerigar? Appreciate ur time and patience:)
Flamingo if you want a linear switch and Budgerigar for tactile. I haven't tried the Budgerigar switches yet but I've heard good things so if you're looking for a bump in the keypress then that might be the way to go. The one in the video uses Flamingo switches.
One more thing, in the Epomaker and Aliexpress website, the version of the keyboard with flamingos switches and OEM keycaps in not available. Where did you ordered yours from ?
Its pretty widely available on Epomaker and Amazon. OEM keycaps look very close to Cherry so maybe that's adding to some confusion with the verbiage being used on the site.
amzn.to/3WJjhYn
epomaker.com/products/epomaker-ek68?variant=43765659074868
Yeah, I know but the cherry profile keycaps don't sound different compared to the OEM keycaps ?? Do you think if I ordered from amazon it will come with oem keycaps ??@@punkshoo
They will sound different but none of the Epomaker EK68s are going to come with Cherry. OEM is deeper sounding and close-enough to Cherry that manufacturers are going to target that segment. They're also cheaper for the vendors to have made which allows them to keep costs down. The listing says "Cherry" "OEM" and "SA". There's also no SA, lol
@@punkshoo Ok, Thanks !
I bought a car upholstery plastic pry tool set. Comes with 2 crow bar style plastic bar tools. Going to take out caps, switches, then jimmy the plastic tabs loose by prying the crow bar against the steel plate, lifting the top plastic housing up. Should work without damaging the outside of the upper case part. Wish me luck.
Definitely recommend using proper tools but at least you're getting out there and doing something. Good luck!
@@punkshoo cheers
@@punkshoo Just to update you, I did use the plastic crowbar meant for auto upholstery. It's way too blunt to go in via the case edges like in your example. But it's perfect for coming in via the top where the keycaps and switches were, using the stainless steel plate as a lever fulcrum for the crowbar and applying vertical pressure to the top half of the plastic case. You are very correct - those plastic tabs were on there tight. I really thought I was going to break the case or my tool by applying that much pressure. But - the upper case did come off. There are no marks/dents in the exterior of the case, so it looks good as new. But I did wreck 2 of the 10 plastic tabs, as they simultaneously gave way when I was working one of the corner tabs free. 8/10 super hard tabs should still hold it all together without issue when I reassemble. I wish these Chinese companies just went back to using good old phillips screws. They were good before the 2000's and they are now too. All they need to do is install brass screw mounts by melting them into the case - or just pressure fitting them.
Glad you got it apart. Screws add cost. Might seem minimal but across 100s of thousands of units it adds up.
@@punkshoo Yes, I guess so. But these boards are mostly plastic with a PCB. I think the GMK67 which this EK68 is a clone of, costs around 20£ on Ali, but that's bare bones too. Epo added in some foam layers etc, keycaps and switches. So perhaps it's not too bad all told.
I just got this keyboard couple days ago and I fell in love with the typing and sound and feel. I went with the Gateron pro yellow switches. Now the only issue with this board is I believe the latency is high. Prior I was using a Corsair k95 cherry red switches. On the ek68 I can no longer superglide in apex. It’s pressing down c and spacebar at the same time. And I been trying hit one 2 days now and can’t. On the Corsair I was able to do it effortlessly.
Possibly a jitter/polling thing. Try downloading the software to see if you can update the board.
@@punkshoo I tried this and there was no success. Very good keyboard and value but not ideal for gaming.
That is unfortunate. If you decide to contact support please hit me up if you're able to fix it.
what switches did you get, cause I think if you got the gateron yellow 2.0s they are one of the fastest switches in the market.
@@chixens5713 I got the Gateron yellow pro 2.0 it’s the keyboard brain itself it doesn’t work when I try to superglide in Apex. I’ve tried for weeks. I just got the Wooting 60he and could superglide in apex again