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Peripherals Mechanical Keyboards

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by Raptor77, 27 Dec 2011.

  1. David

    David μoʍ ɼouმ qᴉq λon ƨbԍuq ϝʁλᴉuმ ϝo ʁԍɑq ϝμᴉƨ

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    Cherry MX Blue

    [​IMG]

    The click is produced when the plastic slider is forced past the actuation point and bottoms out.

    It doesn't go away - you just get more used to it. Not something that can be said for those around you. It's the mech board equivalent of eating raw garlic for breakfast before coming into the office.
     
  2. phinix

    phinix RIP Waynio...

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    No no, I'm not talking about click - I actually bought mx blues keyboard for this click effect, I love it!
    Problem is with the actual spring sound - I can hear a spring "ding" sound. Not the click of the switch's slider.
     
  3. wyx087

    wyx087 Homeworld 3 is happening!!

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    I can hear the spring sound on some of the keys for my Quickfire TK MX brown switches, I just assumed it's normal. It's springs after all.
     
  4. Yslen

    Yslen Lord of the Twenty-Seventh Circle

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    I have a ton of them from 'Round 5', I love them. They are very, very, very, very different to DSA, though. The only similarity is the shape of the top of the key being spherical instead of cylindrical.

    I find DSA feel similar to Cherry profile, in that they're a similar thickness and height. There's a bit more mass in the DSA PBT caps I have compared to say IMSTO Cherry profile PBT, so they feel slightly heavier but it's not much.

    SA, by comparison, feels like huge chunk of plastic on each and every key. You can feel the weight of them in the way the springs respond; they're already pre-loaded a little bit, and you can feel that. It doesn't turn blacks into reds or anything but whatever switches you put them on they do feel a bit lighter.

    Next up is the height. You might find it uncomfortable on your wrists depending on your setup, I find I have to use a rest or different posture due to the keys being higher up.

    The height also gives the impression of much greater key travel, though this has always baffled me a bit as the way cherry switches works its always the same distance regardless of cap. I guess it's something to do with the fulcrum effect? It's probably not unreasonable to suggest the same effect (from the additional height) is part of what makes the caps feel 'heavy'

    Finally, there's a different feel to the switches due to the way the caps absorb some of the energy. Bottoming out feels a little more muted, tactile switches a bit less tactile (some of that is the mass of the cap helping you over the bump though, I suppose). Overall I really like them.
    The springs will make that noise in any situation, but its usually inaudibly quiet. Your issue will be some vibration within the board amplifying the sound. Could be acoustic or the plate itself, so might be worth a quick experiment - remove the case and see if the bare board does it? Might be able to add some padding in there to make it go away.
     
    Last edited: 25 Mar 2016
  5. GTIgeneral

    GTIgeneral Minimodder

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    Anyone here used massdrop?
     
  6. David

    David μoʍ ɼouმ qᴉq λon ƨbԍuq ϝʁλᴉuმ ϝo ʁԍɑq ϝμᴉƨ

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    Yep, probably most if not all of the regular contributors to this thread have used Massdrop.
     
  7. MadGinga

    MadGinga oooh whats this do?

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    I would just like to state for the record that Ducky keyboards are suitable for 6month olds. :lol:
     
  8. David

    David μoʍ ɼouმ qᴉq λon ƨbԍuq ϝʁλᴉuმ ϝo ʁԍɑq ϝμᴉƨ

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    It survived the drool test?
     
  9. MadGinga

    MadGinga oooh whats this do?

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    Drool, smash, grab, chew & claw tests :thumb:
    She loved the backlighting and clickiness... and wrote her first word doc :D
     
  10. stephen0205

    stephen0205 MrSteve

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    Picked me up the mionix Zibal 60 earlier off ebay, cherry mx blacks, £30. Looking forward to it. My first propper Mechanical Keyboard

    [​IMG]
     
  11. David

    David μoʍ ɼouმ qᴉq λon ƨbԍuq ϝʁλᴉuმ ϝo ʁԍɑq ϝμᴉƨ

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    Decent board - well made.

    Signifying your first trip down the rabbit hole. ;)

    It won't be your last.
     
  12. stephen0205

    stephen0205 MrSteve

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    oh i know this ones to get me started lol
     
  13. CrapBag

    CrapBag Multimodder

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    I had an idea last night and was just going to post the following in case anyone was interested or thought it was a good idea.

    I was considering purchasing a Cherry MX switch tester to see what reds are like (I already have boards with blue, browns and blacks) but thought it's not overly cheap just to see what a red switch feels like and it came to me that other people may feel the same.

    So my idea was to purchase this kit, solder it all together, maybe add leds and some sort of power connector (probably micro usb) and then I would have a kit to test the four switches along with the back lighting.

    My plan then would be to sell that on for the amount I paid for it to another member but I would cover the onward postage, the seller would then test to see what switch they liked and then seller it on to the next member minus say 50p and again cover onwards postage.

    Eventually the cost of the switch tester would be covered and then the member who last has it sends it to the next just for postage and on and on.

    The switch tester would then become the property of the members here and I would always be available to repair it if need be.

    It would be a cheaper way for people to test these switches, yes the first few members would pay a little more but it would still be a saving.

    Cheers
     
    Last edited: 29 Mar 2016
  14. TaZ

    TaZ What's a Dremel?

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    I'd be a part of that. Still haven't plunged on my first board because I just don't know what switches I will prefer, and at roughly £100 per board I like, it's a lot to gamble on what could potentially be the wrong switch

    Sent from my Xperia Z5
     
  15. Goatee

    Goatee Multimodder

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    I have a Cooler master V1 switch tester I picked up cheap off of the flea-bay.

    [​IMG]

    Its got some clear keycaps on it. I could send it to you to get the ball started for the tenner I paid for it?
     
  16. Brett89

    Brett89 Minimodder

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    Great way to find out which switches feel like what. Full board experience will vary but I am definitely happy that I went with clears after using that!
     
  17. CrapBag

    CrapBag Multimodder

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    All six switches would be good but I was hoping to get one I could add functioning led's to so people could see what different colour back lighting would be like.
     
  18. GTIgeneral

    GTIgeneral Minimodder

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    I'm definitely interested as well, maybe we should start a thread in the marketplace, could end up with a few different switch boards in circulation
     
  19. Yslen

    Yslen Lord of the Twenty-Seventh Circle

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    My only comment is that in many cases the difference in key feel due to the switch type is smaller than the combined effects of mount type, plate thickness and support, keycap thickness and material, the surface you're typing on, how big the keyboard case is and if its hollow etc etc. That, and if you're going to be typing trying a single key misses out a lot of things, e.g. one MX black can feel great, but a whole board is heavy and fatiguing to type on.

    With those caveats in mind though it's a good idea. There are US, EU and global (slow!) groups that pass stuff around like this, a UK based one would be more accessible for folks here.
     
  20. Shirty

    Shirty W*nker! Super Moderator

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    I still have a big bag of MX whites and another two of tactile/linear greys :lol:

    Switches that nobody wants!
     

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