The Wonderful and Wacky World of MacroBoards (for PC)

A Macroboard is basically a small keyboard that one can program to to perform a whole series of functions (aka macros). However, there are a wide variety of them, from cheap to expensive, from nearly useless to extremely useful, from cheap crap to built like a tank, from a tiny three-key all the way up to a 64-key keyboard plus extra control knobs and such. Welcome to the wonderful wacky world of macroboards. 

DOIO Megalodon Console 64 keyboard/macroboard

3-key macroboard on Alliexpress.com, about $6 USD

As I am a PC Windows user, I am going to talk about it from the PC users' perspective. Don't own a Mac, can't talk about them. 

Anyway, as you can see the sizes of these keyboards vary greatly. You can also sometimes find twist-knobs on these to give you 1-D scrolling control. The knob has a geeky name: rotary encoder. And often act as a pushbutton key itself. 

So these macroboards come in various sizes and shapes and layouts, and there are a ton of other differentiating factors, which we will list here:

• Size (how many keys, how many encoders)
• Layout (how the keys and encoders are arranged)
• Interface to computer (MicroUSB or USB-C wired, 2.4 GHz wireless, Bluetooth)
• Backlight for the keys (none, white, RGB)
• Firmware (proprietary simple, proprietary GUI, GMK / VIA ROM) 
• Display keys or mini-display per key as labels (expensive)
• Number of layers supported (more layers, more keys can be programmed)
• Key mounting method (if MX stems, can be replaced with other MX keys)
• Key switch mounting method (if swappable)
• Case material (acrylic, plastic, aluminum, mixed, etc.) and color (if any choice)
• Source/vendor: retailer, etsy?, Aliexpress, Temu, Amazon, Newegg, keyboard shop, etc.
• Others?

Generally, the more features you see (the larger it is, it supports wireless and wired, etc.) the most it will cost. The little 3-key board costs about $6 on Aliexpress. A 6-key 1-knob board costs about $12-20. Something that's the size of a numpad (about 18-20 keys) should be between $35-90 depending on feature set. At the higher end, the Console 64 board above costs well over $200 depending on what switches and keys you want with it, but it's also GMK/VIA compatible. 

For the truly high-end, there are the per-key display macroboards such as the Elgato StreamDeck and proprietary editing boards such as the LoupeDeck and even single purpose boards such as the Davinci Resolve Speed Editor from Black Magic Designs, to be used with Davinci Resolve video editor. 

Elgato Stream Deck Mk II courtesy of Elgato

Loupedeck+Loupedeck+ courtesy of Loupedeck

BMD Davinci Resolve Speed Editor

If you prefer something DIY many mechanical keyboard shops offer proprietary kits. You just add your own mechanical keyboard switches and keycaps, and assemble a few other things. Adafruit, for example, has their RP2040 which even has an OLED display, in addition to 12 keys and a rotary encoder. 

Generally, you get what you pay for. If it's too cheap, they probably took a shortcut somewhere and you may not realize it until you got it in hand and test it yourself. As an example, I dug up My 3-knob 11-key macropad and decided to use it, then found out that while it "supports" 3 layers, the only way to switch among the layers was via a TINY button that's NOT one of the 11 buttons on top, making it almost impossible to use. It also require a proprietary software that were difficult to download, and the directly linked version doesn't work, requiring you to download an "upgraded" version. It's a piece of junk, basically. I know I didn't pay more than $50 for this, and I still feel ripped off. 

But what can a macropad do for you? Quite a bit. 

• Launch programs and put them in specific spots on the screen
• Trigger specific functions in almost any software on your PC
• Automatically switch customization as it detects different software loading
• Control not just overall volume, but volume for individual apps, great for streaming
• Add soundboard and reaction functions to the stream, no need to pick from menu
• Map all the video conference controls to buttons, from mute all to kick user
• Control your smarthome with a few button presses
• And much more...

That is, of course, ONLY if your macroboard can be mapped to those functions, which is why the big brands, like Elgato, enjoys an advantage here due to their wide support by 3rd party vendors, and GMK/VIA, because they standardized the interface, thus requiring NO special drivers once the macros were loaded into the hardware. 

If you barely use your keyboard, then macroboard probably will NOT help you much. But if you spend a LOT of time fiddling with controls on your PC and wish you can just push ONE button to get it all done, or need to control a lot of different software, preferably with a single control center, then a macroboard may seem like a godsend. 

If you just want something cheap to get your "feet wet", so to speak, and you don't mind ordering from China, here's one... multiple knobs, 9 keys, less than $40, VIA compatible. You will need to indicate which kit you want, and what switches you want on those, AND you need extra keys to put on the switches. This is NOT a ready-to-unbox product. If you want one that's ready to run out of the box that'll cost you $50-60. 

And if you're willing to pay that much, why not pay for the best? That'd be the Xencelabs Quick Keys. Yes, it's $100, but it has a wheel, 4 layers, and 10 keys (so 40 shortcuts), and there's a per-key display so you don't have to guess what each key does. It will literally tell you. Sure, you can get better looking ones, like Elgato Steam Deck with per button display, but why when this costs less? 

Again, welcome to the wonderful and wacky world of macroboards. May you find interesting uses for them (and not spend the money on the wrong things).