Replacing Cherry switches

C

cv643d

Limp Gawd
Joined
Mar 21, 2002
Messages
360
Hi,

I accidently bought into the current keyboard hype and bought a CM Storm with red switches because "it was good for both typing and gaming".

I dont type much but I code a lot and let me tell you this KB is a nightmare to type on, I am working A LOT slower with this KB than my POS generic membrane KB before and I am 2 weeks in to the new KB with the red switches.

Can you buy Cherry switches from somewhere on the net in order to swap them out in the KB? I am thinking maybe some other variant is better than this one.
 
Yes, you can buy switches to swap out, but at the consumer price you're better off returning the board and trying another type of switch. The cheapest way to go about swapping switches would be to go searching through second hand/thrift stores for old used boards with the switch type you prefer (sometimes you can find them on ebay as well) and harvest them, but you have to get lucky doing things this way. Doing this also requires (de)soldering since the switches are plate mounted and can't be disassembled without removing them from the PCB.

Don't buy into "this switch for this" or "this is better for this" it's completely personal preference. I myself enjoy Cherry MX Reds, that doesn't mean that someone else that does similar things will also like them over other switches, it means they work for me. It's best to try the different types before hand, but as this isn't always possible you should try to buy from somewhere that has a good return policy.
 
Yep, if you type, Blues are great. Was in same boat, also purchased Red-based Aivia Osmium, and typing was nightmare. Now I'm using StormTrigger with blues, and it's great feeling. Spent today 8 hours working from hope, mostly editing articles, and compared to my old rubberdome, it's just thing sent from heaven.

Less errors, faster typing, Bit loud, when you type fast and bottom down, but when you get used to it, and learn to move fingers away, when you feel tactile bump, it's bit more silent.

Still, comparing reds and blues, Blue is the way that I feel :) (and it's not shabby for MMO gaming too :p)
 
working from hope huh?

isn't that where pres Clinton was from?
 
I found Reds to actuate with too little pressure based on my heavy handed typing. I would recommend Blue, Black, or Brown switches.


I myself love Blue's "clicky" feel and would definitely recommend them if you type a lot.
 
If MX Reds feel too light, chances are that Brown also will; using exactly the same spring, the difference in actuation force will be ~5g because of the somewhat tactile bump (barely noticeable if you feel for it). MX Blues would also feel much the same in actuation force if it weren't for their design which makes the tactile point feel larger and slightly (but noticeably) heavier than it is. But, they all use the same weighted springs, be aware that different batches will normally feel different because of the spring rate tolerance allowed by Cherry (around +/-10g).

If you need heavier switches I'd suggest MX Black (linear) / Clear (tactile) / Green (tactile+clicky) even some form of ALPS (no expert on these though so you'll have to take a look yourself, there are a lot of variants), if that's still a bit too light you may want to check out buckling springs
 
I love Blues personally. They are pretty noisy and the wife hates them but I still like them. I type a lot on forums and game a lot and have no problem with them. I havent tried all the Cherry MX switches so I cant say for definite but Ill stick with Blues for a while.
 
I was at good local computer store today and they had 4 Keyboards with Cherry switches on display. 2 Browns, 1 Black, 1 blue.

Black was awful IMO. I would take a standard Membrane KB any day over this. Very strong springs fighting you with no breakover point until you bottom out. Exactly the opposite of what I would want. I am surprised that many keyboards come with theses. I guess this is for the heavy handed who really like to pound their keys.

Blue was nice, but loud.

Brown was heaven. light touch, not as noisy as Blue. Just one thing. Echoing one of the above comments. The two browns were quite different. One had noticeably more resistance, it felt closer to the blues.
 
As said above it would be cheaper and a lot easier to just get a new keyboard. But if you really want to you can get them from wasdkeyboards.com
I would recommend getting the Sampler Kit so you can try every type of switch and o-ring dampener. It costs $8

I actually prefer reds for typing, but I'm probably the opposite of you. I barely press keys so if I use something that requires more force I'll get typos from missing keys because I didn't press hard enough.
 
Not sure what your previous keyboard was(hint, hint), but you might want to think before ordering a blue cherry keyboard. If you are accustom to a certain design you might have issues with any cherry keyboard you switch to...Many old school keyboard were based on a slightly different key placement then cherry keyboards.

I would love to see a cherry based keyboard with an old school IBM/keytronic design, but I am not sure it is possible as I think even old school cherry boards were all linear which is why IBM and Keytronics tended to greatly outsell them. People just found the curved design caused less fatigue.

The question now is if you would prefer blue or brown or find both problematic... without knowing your problem and your old keyboard I find it difficult to wager.
 
Yes, but depending on the switch mounting, you may still need to desolder the switches to do so. Most current consumer based Cherry MX boards have backplates that aren't designed to allow switch modding, so it's more than likely necessary.
 
AFAIK there are no 5 pin MX switches. Maybe you have some sort of LED in the switch or the other pins are just for a better contact to the PCB. Just check with a multimeter which pins are for the switch (when not pressed, there is no connection between those, but there is connection when you press it). If those pins align with the PCB holes you could just remove the other pins and solder it in, should work.
 
MorgothPl said:
Yep, if you type, Blues are great. Was in same boat, also purchased Red-based Aivia Osmium, and typing was nightmare. Now I'm using StormTrigger with blues, and it's great feeling. Spent today 8 hours working from hope, mostly editing articles, and compared to my old rubberdome, it's just thing sent from heaven.

Less errors, faster typing, Bit loud, when you type fast and bottom down, but when you get used to it, and learn to move fingers away, when you feel tactile bump, it's bit more silent.

Still, comparing reds and blues, Blue is the way that I feel :) (and it's not shabby for MMO gaming too :p)
Click to expand...

Blues are for the pros :D
 
Ive actually switched my position from 4 years ago and now prefer Reds. Got them on this Corsair K70 and love em. Still have a cool feel although different from the Blues. Definitely a learning curve to them and I do seem to be more prone to errors though. If I were typing for a living Id probably stick with Blues but for internet and gaming, I'm liking the Reds.
 
I use blacks at home as they are very quiet but at work I use some blue clones and they are great. I type much faster on the blues than I do the blacks FWIW.
 
If unsure about switches, maybe invest in one of these sampler kits.

NPKC 17 Switch Tester Keyboard Cherry MX Sample Kit Gray Clear White Razer

s-l300.jpg
 
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There's a few new switches like the Cherry MX Silent, Cherry MX Clear, I don't know any switch tester that contains all of them
 
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