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Mechanical switches.. Which brand is best?

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Imagine that they are White! :p

Looking at Mechanicalkeyboards.com for Clear switches, I'm not really seeing any keyboards that catch my eye.
I want at least an 80% keyboard, RGB would be sweet, it would match my G303 mouse.

Looking into Greentech switches now. Seems they are one of the better clones.


Anyone know of other sites to browse 'n buy keyboards?
 
Silver_Pharaoh said:
Sampler is in!




not to mention if I stay up late to game, parents are sleeping in the next room.....
Click to expand...
This is definitely something to consider SP, my office is about 40' from my bedroom, basically on the other side of the house. My wife is a pretty sound sleeper and she says at times the keyboard is a bit noisy and keeps her up.
 
Silver_Pharaoh said:
Imagine that they are White! :p

Looking at Mechanicalkeyboards.com for Clear switches, I'm not really seeing any keyboards that catch my eye.
I want at least an 80% keyboard, RGB would be sweet, it would match my G303 mouse.

Looking into Greentech switches now. Seems they are one of the better clones.


Anyone know of other sites to browse 'n buy keyboards?
Click to expand...

Looked at the G910?

Massdrop has tons of deals on mech keyboards.
Just have to be patient and wait for one you like.
 
Mandrake4565 said:
This is definitely something to consider SP, my office is about 40' from my bedroom, basically on the other side of the house. My wife is a pretty sound sleeper and she says at times the keyboard is a bit noisy and keeps her up.
Click to expand...

The Green and Blue switches aren't really any louder than my current '90's rubber dome, however it's the high pitch *click* that is noticeable.
However, the Greens provide me with clean tactile feedback which I love.

What I'm doing now is putting the sampler underneath my space bar and using the sampler keys as my space bar while I test the keys playing Warframe.

Currently, the Clears feel grindy if that makes sense. Not a smooth feeling at all, feels like it's rubbing a bit. I read that the clears have the most friction...
OTOH, the Green switch is giving me the best feel in game with a good actuation force. It's not too stiff which I like.

It's down to Green or Clear currently, though that might change.....
My lil bro pressed each key a few times and told me he wants a Red switch keyboard. lol wish it was that easy for me :p
 
ATMINSIDE said:
Looked at the G910?

Massdrop has tons of deals on mech keyboards.
Just have to be patient and wait for one you like.
Click to expand...
Yes, and it's gorgeous!

But it's a steep price..
Love that I can dock my phone to get temps, that's pretty cool + it's RGB....

Massdrop seems to need a login to view any deals?

Also now considering the Blue switches. Honestly, when I'm gaming, I don't think I'll notice the difference between the Green and Blue in terms of smoothness and actuation force.

I will bring my sampler to work tomorrow, and if I leave actually work my regular shift, I'll pop over to CC and check out the Posiden Z keyboard. It has Kailh Blue switches so I can do a direct comparison right there.


See I love the Royal Kludge keyboards, they look fantastic and aren't expensive vs other boards, but they don;t use Cherry switches...
 
A lot of people that like Red are because they're most similar to a dome, just feel more consistent.

Since you're gaming I feel like Clear would be better for you over Clear, but it's 100% personal preference.
I don't like Blue/Green for gaming because the actuation and return points are in two different spots.
This can make it hard, especially for MMO's or MOBA's, to spam a key quickly.

[oldtable]MX Green|MX Blue
graph-mx-green.jpg | graph-mx-blue.jpg

MX Clear|MX Brown
graph-mx-clear.jpg | graph-mx-brown.jpg [/table]

Yep, the G910 isn't cheap, but neither was the G710+ when it first came out :)
Bought mine over three years ago and it's still clicking on even now.
Lots of gaming (SWTOR/LoL was especially brutal) and typing papers in school on this thing.

Massdrop needs a login, yes, but it's 100% worth it to do so. It's not just keyboards :thup:

Getting in-store to feel other keyboards would be great.

I've heard a lot of "they're nice... for the price" about Royal Kludge.
 
Last edited:
I see what you mean about the reset point and actually activating the key from the charts you posted.

Hopefully CC will have a keyboard there that uses kailh browns so i can try those too:)

Kludge does seem to be a "bang for the buck" keyboard. Not always a bad thing I guess... :shrug:
 
Went to canada computers today and tested out the Poseidon Z and the switches felt just like the cherry blue. Then i tried an AZIO keyboard with Kailh Blue switches and to me they felt like the Cherry Green switches... So it seems that Kailh switches aren't all that bad. I hear that all the others are better than Kailh though so perhaps Greentech would be an alternative?

Royal Kludge boards seems to use Greentech and Kailh so if I get a kailh blue then at leat I know I'll be happy with it... Just unsure of the longevity of the keys...
 
Speed-read most of this. Switch type is definitely personal preference. I've tried reds, blacks, greens, and Browns. Haven't tried any of the "alt switch type", but Topre is one brand/type which a lot of keyboard snobs tout as being the "penultimate" typing experience. I settled on Browns of the types I tried.

The only thing I'll add here is that there definitely is a difference in feel between keyboard brands. My first two boards with mx-browns were cooler master (Quickfire rapid and pro?). Both felt about the same.

I bottomed out very often and picked up some orings which made a difference in noise from bottoming out, but I wouldn't necessarily say they improved the typing experience. I was pretty happy with both of those boards for around a year or two.

About two months ago, I decided I wanted to try a different brand. Found a deal on a Ducky Premier with Browns and a nice set of PBT keycaps in the stock config. Immediately when I started typing on it, I knew I would never go back. The keycaps felt amazing compared to the stock, cheap plastic ones on the CM boards. It was like night and day.

The new Ducky went to the office, replacing the full size CM there and, of course, I couldn't keep the Rapid in its default configuration after having tasted the Ducky ;) I didn't really want to spend the money to replace both boards, so instead, I just grabbed another set of PBT keycaps and swapped them in for the Rapid's stock caps. Once again, the difference was night and day.

HOWEVER, there is still a noticeable difference, in my opinion between the Cooler Master Rapid and the Ducky Premier, despite them both now having essentially the same keycaps. The keys now feel the same to the touch, but keystrokes seem a little "harsher" with the CM. I feel more prone to bottoming out with it than the Ducky maybe? I'm not sure what it is. I can only assume that the "build quality" of the Ducky just makes bottoming out a more pleasant experience on the fingers than with the Cooler Master (I've removed the orings from both now, btw).

If you can find a Ducky Premier, I would not hesitate at all to suggest it. I'm sure price will play in here a bit; I think the ducky is ~$130 new and the CM are ~$100? It is ABSOLUTELY worth the difference, though. At the very least, I would try to find a board with PBT keycaps.
 
Ninjacore is right, keyboard construction plays into the feel of the keys 100% of the time.
 
Thanks for the write up Ninjacore.
I experienced something similar to what you described today. That Poseidon Z vs the AZIO keyboard... Both had Kalih Blue switches, but the AZIO felt stiff and smoother somehow.

I know that I want Green, Blue or Clear (in that order) so I guess it's down to reading reviews on different brands...?
 
Down to reviews (keep it to one reviewer, note) or seeing them in person.
 
I used my friend's WASD code 104 (or something like that?) with greens for a few days. A little too stiff for me, so I stuck with the browns. I don't think the WASDs are all that expensive, though he's had issues with wear on his keycaps, so not sure I'd wholeheartedly recommend them :shrug:
 
ninjacore said:
I used my friend's WASD code 104 (or something like that?) with greens for a few days. A little too stiff for me, so I stuck with the browns. I don't think the WASDs are all that expensive, though he's had issues with wear on his keycaps, so not sure I'd wholeheartedly recommend them :shrug:
Click to expand...

Printed, Laser Etched or Double shot....

I hear laser wears away over time?
 
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