My Lycosa isn't doing so well, so I'm thinking about switching to a new keyboard. I've been eying mechanical keyboards for a while now but I've got no idea what kind of "switch" is best - much of the advice that I've heard/read is that I need to go test the switches for myself to find what fits me best.

Any advice as to what stores might have multiple mechanical keyboards to test? I can't imagine BestBuy having it, but correct me if I'm wrong. Any thoughts? Or maybe I just need to order keyboards with all three switch-types that I'm considering (Black, Brown, Blue) and send back the two that I don't like as much?

Suggestions welcome!

echO [W]

United States1495 Posts

July 15 2011 20:12 GMT

Good luck finding browns, the only brown keyboard that I know that isn't Filco or Das is the Zowie. There are a few others, but they are even rarer and harder to find.

At Frys you might be able to find a Razer BlackWidow (Blues) and a SS 6GV2 or 7G (Blacks).

AzTec

Canada178 Posts

July 15 2011 20:29 GMT

If all you care about is gaming -> blacks

If you like to game but also type a lot -> browns

If you like clicky clacks and so does everyone around you -> blues

I really disagree that you need to try them all out, you can cross off blues and blacks easily without even trying them if you hate typing noises or type up a lot of stuff. Browns are the safest option but obviously if you really like typing sounds you'll want blues more or if you care about nothing but gaming blacks flat out trump the other two.

I think if you know how they all function it's pretty easy to immediately see which ones will and wont work for you, the feel doesn't have much to do with it.

kawaiiryuko

United States368 Posts

July 15 2011 20:50 GMT

I've read that you often need to type on the switch to feel how the actuation feels before making a selection? No? I'll check out some browns. Likely the Zowie Celerity since that's the easily brown to find. Any other suggestions?

Inzek

Chile802 Posts

July 15 2011 21:05 GMT

what is this abou brown blues blacks?

AzTec

Canada178 Posts

July 15 2011 21:15 GMT

On July 16 2011 05:50 kawaiiryuko wrote:
I've read that you often need to type on the switch to feel how the actuation feels before making a selection? No? I'll check out some browns. Likely the Zowie Celerity since that's the easily brown to find. Any other suggestions?

This is what I'm talking about.

If you need to use the keyboard for typing just flat out cross off blacks. There's nothing to test, they suck for typing but if you're gaming and spamming keys then once again, there's nothing to test, blacks are the best at it. It's pretty cut and dry.

So now you're down to 2 switches each with a very similar feel except one makes lots of noises and is a bit more skewed toward typing while the other is less noisy and a bit more skewed toward gaming.

Simply based on what you're using the keyboard for you should be able to make a decision at this point. There really isn't a need to feel them both inrl.

On July 16 2011 06:05 Inzek wrote:
what is this abou brown blues blacks?

http://www.overclock.net/keyboards/491752-mechanical-keyboard-guide.html

Inzek

Chile802 Posts

July 15 2011 21:59 GMT

mizU

United States12125 Posts

July 15 2011 22:23 GMT

Go to LAN tournaments. If you want to try them out, go to some LAN near you, you don't even have to play, and ask some of the players there if you can fiddle with their keyboards. Most will be gracious and kind enough. :D

tl4life

Canada247 Posts

July 15 2011 22:25 GMT

go @deskthority.net and look for the test switch board thread. It's basically a numpad with all the switches that get sent around to members so you can see what you like best.

got it http://deskthority.net/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=64

Syben

United States512 Posts

July 17 2011 11:45 GMT

#10

I would go with browns if I were you. Of all the Cherry MX switches I rarely find someone that disliked the browns enough to switch. For blacks the usual complaint is fatigue of the fingers from extended periods of use and the stiffness of the switch. Blues the main complaint is the trademark clicky sound you get from the actuation of the switch. Reds are usually too light to the touch and results in many miss clicks. Browns are a happy middle, they are basically blues without the audible click, yet you still get the satisfying sound of bottoming out and the slight bump of the switch actuating. I personally own a Leopold Tenkeyless with Browns and everything about it exceeds my expectations from the build quality to the clean and simple style.

Some keyboard recommendations with different switch types.

They carry blues, blacks, and browns (tenkeyless)
http://elitekeyboards.com/products.php?sub=leopold,tenkeyless

Browns:
http://www.amazon.com/Filco-Majestouch-2-Tenkeyless-FKBN87M-EFB2/dp/B004ZJPSGI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1310902864&sr=8-1

Blues (also comes in browns)
http://www.amazon.com/Das-Keyboard-DASK3PROMS1-Professional-Wired/dp/B003M567V6/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1310902905&sr=8-8

*Note*
Last time I checkedLeopold and Filco are both manufactured by the same maker but the Filco name comes with a higher price point.

Khenra

Netherlands885 Posts

July 17 2011 11:47 GMT

#11

I went to a few computer stores here in Amsterdam, none of which had mech keyboards. They didn't even know what those were..

In the end I just 'gambled' and ordered a Filco with MX Browns on the internet. I'm very happy with it. Still, I have no idea if blue/black/red switches might be better..

StRyKeR

United States1739 Posts

July 17 2011 19:46 GMT

#12

Reds are rare, but they're my favorite. They're just like the blacks but require much less actuation force. The black switches were too heavy for my fingers.

People complain that they're too light, but I'm an accurate typist and I used to play piano, so I just fly with this thing.

ArcticVanguard

United States450 Posts

July 17 2011 21:11 GMT

#13

I like the blacks 'cause I have really strong fingers and the "force feedback" of the browns and blues would just be really annoying to me. Thus I even prefer the blacks for typing ^^: