What Mechanical Switch Is Your Favorite?

What is your favorite mechanical switch type?

  • Cherry MX Blue

    Votes: 10 15.6%

  • Cherry MX Brown

    Votes: 25 39.1%

  • Cherry MX Red

    Votes: 17 26.6%

  • Cherry MX Black

    Votes: 2 3.1%

  • Cherry MX Green

    Votes: 2 3.1%

  • Cherry MX Clear

    Votes: 2 3.1%

  • Topre

    Votes: 1 1.6%

  • Other

    Votes: 5 7.8%
  • Total voters
    64
D

Doom4life

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 31, 2006
Messages
196
Hey all,

After doing a lot of research on the different kind of switches are available for mechanical keyboards, I settled on going with a Cherry MX Black switch. After using it for a bit, I find it to be stiffer then a membrane keyboard and I wish it was a bit softer to press the keys.

I do a mix of typing and FPS gaming and originally I had got with the Brown. However, I'm not really a fan of tactile feedback so I went with the Black. Although I am now thinking it might have been a better idea to go with the red (I was originally looking at a Corsair keyboard with Cherry MX Red switches).
 
I have used Blacks, Reds, and Blues. I vastly prefer the Reds for everything.
 
NukeDukem said:
I have used Blacks, Reds, and Blues. I vastly prefer the Reds for everything.
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Thanks for the reply! Out of curiosity, how did you find the blacks versus reds and what makes you prefer them over those colors you mentioned?
 
I have tried MX reds, blues, blacks, browns, greens, whites, clears, and I find that I like clears the best for both gaming and typing.
 
I have Blues, Reds and Greens and for most situations I prefer the Greens. Very stiff, tactile, and just such a pleasure to use when writing. Runner up being Blues, and Reds useful only for gaming.
 
Hi All

I've tried blues, browns, blacks & reds however, buckling spring is my favorite as you can see in my sig.
 
I have tried Black, Blue, Red and Brown and out of those Brown are my clear favs. While I haven't tested Clears and Greens but at least for me based on the testing of the other switches I know those aren't quite what I look for as for me the middleground switch Brown works best.

The blacks indeed felt a bit stiffer than an old rubberdome keyboard and very boring to type with (I'd rather type with my old Keytronic rubberdome). The Reds again felt like a rubberdome keyboard with a cracked rubber underneath the key, not pleasant, barely any force at all required and I'd be worried about pressing a key by mistake as you can't really "rest" your fingers on the keys. Blue was pretty nice to type on but way too loud and the tactile was a bit too much was my concern for fast paced gaming that I tend to play. Browns were the good middleground, force was just right, slightly easier than the rubberdome but still required some but far from the black stiffness and the tactile feel was soooo minor that I can't see it hindering gaming, and for typing it is nice to have at least some. While slightly louder than the Reds to type on, the sound was very pleasant to my ears.

I always felt Browns are good starters as they are "middleground" in everything so should work for those who don't know what they prefer.
 
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I started out with Blues, but I got annoyed after some time. I did enjoy the tactile feedback so I ended up going with Brown switches. I tried Blacks and Reds @ Fry's, and found Blacks to be too mushy/hard to press. Reds were pretty decent with a linear press, but I still preferred the feel of Brown switches.

I mostly use my keyboard for typing / slight gaming.
 
I have used Blues and Browns and prefer Browns. Reds are nice if I used my main rig for strictly gaming, but since I do a fair amount of typing as well, I much prefer some tactile feedback, but MX Blues are way too loud for my dorm when typing late at night.
 
I'd prefer a uniform Topre switch at around 50g if it existed.
 
I've been using Blue around a year and I'm happy with the way they work and feel.
 
I went from Reds, to Blues, to Greens then Brown then back to Green. I love my greens, it's all the feeling of blues without the sensitivity.
So I would rate them Green > Brown = Red > Blue > Black
 
NickJames said:
I went from Reds, to Blues, to Greens then Brown then back to Green. I love my greens, it's all the feeling of blues without the sensitivity.
So I would rate them Green > Brown = Red > Blue > Black
Click to expand...

Interesting. That order is all over the map.
 
I've used reds, blues, blacks, and one subset of clears (wasd cluster), but so far the blacks are my favorite overall.
 
Valnar said:
Interesting. That order is all over the map.
Click to expand...

I rate them based on how easy it is for me to press the keys. There needs to be a perfect balance between typing and gaming for me. Blues are too sensitive to press so when I rest my fingers on the keys I accidentally hit them. Reds are great but no feedback makes me bored. Browns are good too but still don't give me enough feedback so they feel more or less like Reds with a bump. Greens just feel perfect for me.
 
I tried a few in store.

I hate Blacks. Feels like the keyboard is fighting back against me.

Blues are better, the tactile bump feels better, but a bit stiff and loud.

Browns are my favorite. Lite touch, tactile bump and a bit quieter.
 
Poll seems skewered towards the more readily available/popular switches. Many people here have not tried topre or clears/etc so obviously they're not going to vote for them.

I myself really enjoy topre and modded clears.
 
onedestinazn2 said:
Poll seems skewered towards the more readily available/popular switches. Many people here have not tried topre or clears/etc so obviously they're not going to vote for them.

I myself really enjoy topre and modded clears.
Click to expand...

+1

I like my topre and clears too.

What are modded clears?
 
MuZI said:
+1

I like my topre and clears too.

What are modded clears?
Click to expand...

The most popular mod for MX Clear I can think of is using lighter springs (Ergo Clears); the feel is kind of hard to explain to someone that hasn't used them before, but you definitely still feel the tactility as compared to MX Brown when pressing keys at a higher then moderate rate. They're nice, but I still enjoy MX Red with lube and o-rings more.
 
I've got QFR boards in red, blue, brown and black, and tend to rotate between red, brown and blue depending on my mood -- black is unusably heavy for my taste. If pressed though, I'd have to say red is my favorite. Blues can be fun, but are a bit too heavy. Browns are nice, but don't quite have enough tactility if I'm in the mood for a tactile switch. I actually wish there was a lighter version of reds.... suppose I'll have to splurge on 45g topres at some point.
 
johnny* said:
I've got QFR boards in red, blue, brown and black, and tend to rotate between red, brown and blue depending on my mood -- black is unusably heavy for my taste. If pressed though, I'd have to say red is my favorite. Blues can be fun, but are a bit too heavy. Browns are nice, but don't quite have enough tactility if I'm in the mood for a tactile switch. I actually wish there was a lighter version of reds.... suppose I'll have to splurge on 45g topres at some point.
Click to expand...

You could always mod a switch to have lighter springs.
 
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