Pok3r

The Monsgeek M1 family are splendid, as is the MK pro 75 from Microcenter's house brand Inland. The M1 has better stabs, the Inland has a much better gasket mount. I would have said that you can't go wrong with Keychron but I have been seeing reports of abusive customer support lately. The Yunzii AL

Get a YMDK walnut or rosewood case. Wood makes for a legitimate percussion instrument. https://ymdkey.com/products/gh60-60-wood-case-gk64-gk61-60-pok3r-dz60-yd60mq-xd64 POM or PC plate. And 1mm O-rings and 8mm-10mm case screws for a burger mount.

I would get something cheap to play around with and get an idea for what you want. Apart from specific brands that provide alternate plates and things there's not much mix-and-match capoability except for the specific case of 60% "GH60" or "Pok3r" boards that have a standard tray mount and USB port

What are you competing in/against? Just got a used Vortex Pok3r and I'm impressed with this dinosaur. Built like a tank and I'm heavy handed. Identical layout to your 1st pic. Cherry brown switches on mine. Cons: soldered switches so it depends what you find, V1 and V2 didn't have RGB. Pros: heavy,

OK, a straight 60% or TKL will also work. This collection of Pok3r components will let you assemble a lovely little 60% hotswap QMK board in a wooden or aluminum red or coffee case.

Looks like it should go in a Pok3r case.

If they are both Pok3r-mount tray-mount boards, absolutely. If not, probably not. The Gateron GT60 appears to have Pok3r (GH60) style mounting points. https://kbdfans.com/products/kbdfans-x-gateron-gt60-pro-gaming-keyboard-kit The Wooting 60HE also seems to be Pok3r-style. https://wooting.io/wooting

Ranked Nova N60 ISO layout is a surprisingly nice cheap board. There are a number of universal hotswap PCBs with ISO support. YMDK DK61, DKKB DK6064, Y&R 6095. Probably the YMDK is the best option: you can get the DK61 configured for ISO and it will work in any Pok3r-compatible case like the Tofu 60

OK, this isn't a $500 build but I put this one together for about $150 and just love it. It's a 60% with a minila layout that gives you arrow keys back, split backspace, zebrawood case, built from parts from different vendors. The wooden case makes it a legit percussion instrument. I started out wi

I would suggest going with a Pok3r/GH60 tray mount. There's more boards and other stuff available for it, and you don't have to be as precise in the dimensions of the case itself. You can use M2 standoffs or inserts. I haven't built a wood case but I've built a few keyboards into wooden cases and th