Confessions of a Custom Mechanical Keyboard Obsessive

[lcpiper]

I am sure you'll love it, Clears are probably my favorite switch now after trying nearly everything else. Aside from silenced Topres they're the quietest switches around. Also keycaps do A LOT to reduce noise levels so definitely look into those just be careful and don't dive into the keycap market too hard. I jumped in about a year ago and already down about over a grand in caps lol.. help me..

Actually, instead of getting into a hurry I have invested in WASDKeyboard's sampler kit so that I can check out all the CherryMX switched with and without the different O-Rings. I'll make sure I am getting what I want or at least that I know what I am getting this time.

 

[NickJames]

Actually, instead of getting into a hurry I have invested in WASDKeyboard's sampler kit so that I can check out all the CherryMX switched with and without the different O-Rings. I'll make sure I am getting what I want or at least that I know what I am getting this time.

Good idea, I can't help myself and have bought literally 1 of every switch type. I think my Purple Zealios aka better Clears will be my end game.

 

[lcpiper]

If it were just the different switches, but then there are two different O-Ring options and now the possible permutations mean it's too much to leave up to a guess or a hope. Just spend $15 + a couple dollars shipping and find out for certain. You can work it right down to, "Which do I like most Blues with a -.4mm O-Ring or Clears bare?"

I do know I am looking for quieter cause my keyboard is bothering the old lady at night when she's getting ready for bed and she calls me to come to bed. She really doesn't give a damn if I come to bed or not, she's just trying to get me off the keyboard.

And from what I see, buying a complete set of new switches and doing all the labor with the risk of breaking something, I'd rather just buy a new board.

 

[mathew7]

Not all switches are noisy. I went through 3 mechanical keyboards in the last 2 years:
1. A Razer MX blue - returned it the next (working) day and ordered a switch sampler (8 varieties) from Amazon
2. Corsair MX red - went with it for a year, but I really wanted Browns from the start. Finally sold it when I managed to get the Browns
3. Corsair MX brown - excelent....tactile similar (lighter??) to Blues, but much quieter for those late nights with no headphones.

Now, during my "adventure", here are the reasons for the switches (pun intended)
- MX blue was WAY TOO NOISY for my ears late in the night. It was great typing during the day because of the source of the mechanical reputation: the tactile+audible feedback, when trained (as in typing a lot) you will not hit bottom on the keyboard (I felt like 20-30% of strokes were not bottoming). Oh....and the noise was from actuation, not bottoming. The bottoming sound is similar to all switches (except the MX Silent recently sold)
- MX red I see them marketed for gaming, but I don't see the reason. My main problem is that I could never tell if an accidental keystroke was registered (as in pressing a 2nd key when you didn't center on your intended key). I could still do that on a membrane keyboard. And if you are a patient gamer, I see the blue/brown better for repeated keystrokes than the reds, which you have to bottom-out to be sure it registered.

So here I am with the Browns, and I love them. I'm still not trained to not bottom-out, but where I spotted the difference was last Christmas/New years: after 2 weeks only on the Browns, when I returned to work (on membrane), I mistyped my password 3 times after which I typed it slowly to not lock myself out. Was the 1st time I really noticed the difference between work and personal KB.

Key travel if not an issue, your hands can adapt. And I think it's better to have longer travel with lighter touch (as in avoiding bottoming-out) than always having to bottom-out (how the membrane kbs work).
And this is before we get into longevity.
PS: if anybody wanders why I bought the red when I really wanted the browns, the reason was that I needed RGB KB, as I could not find green backlights in Europe (and the reason Razer was my 1st try).

 

[lcpiper]

Well my Corsair K-70 has Browns but I am not a typist, it' too noisy for me, really it's too noisy for the old lady. I could just put the O-rings on the browns but like I said, I'd have to pull all those switches and it's just not worth it to me. I'd rather pay $150 for a new one and keep the K-70 for just in case, then spend an hour or so pulling switches and putting o-rings on and putting it back together again. All my time is valuable, even my play time, if it wasn't then I would just work a second job. So I don't often spend time doing what I don't enjoy doing. If I do, there has to be a good reason for it like helping a friend or family.

 

[c3k]

I didn't get the mechanical keyboard thing. On a whim, I bought a Corsair K-something with RGB lighting. Cherry MX Red. (I'd bought the 8-10 Cherry MX trial key thing for $20 to try them all out. It comes with one of each in a small grid.)

I don't think I'll ever buy a non-mechanical keyboard ever again. The feel is so superior, when I go from my mechanical keyboard to my other computer with its membrane (standard) switches (one of the Logitech gaming series), it feels like I'm pushing against a bowl of oatmeal.

I'm very glad I took the plunge.

 

[Wierdo]

I don't find the noise distracting. I rather enjoy it. Others may not like it but not all switch types are necessarily noisy. You can also get O-rings to dampen the noise on other models if you like.

It can be resolved sure, I'm relaying my experience with the specific model, others may differ.

This is one of the comments I've understood the least. How often do you need to grab the keyboard? How often do you need to grab the keyboard where pressing the keys would even be a concern?

I grab the keyboard all the time, it's not a desktop setup, more of a desktop/HTPC hybrid depending on need. I can sit in front of the PC or lay back on a couch or bed and mix in watching movies with surfing the web or whatever.

If you use a desktop setup then this point will probably be moot as the keyboard will spend most of its time sitting on the desk.

This makes no sense to me. In over two decades of working on computers professionally, and longer with the hobby I've never had these issues.

I'm not sure what professional experience in computers has to do with the behavior of a keyboard model. The fact of the matter is that handling a heavier mechanical keyboard can be a bit clunky when you have to move it around a couch, was not an issue with normal keyboards for me, even when larger.

Might I suggest a gym membership if the keyboard weight is a problem? Again why are you lifting your keyboard so much while it's in use that this is a problem? I'm not trying to be a dick but the bulk of your post made no sense to me.

I think you're coming at it from the perspective of a desktop user, understandable but PCs these days are much easier to incorporate into an entertainment room and don't need to be limited to an office desk anymore.

For me I have a room dedicated to entertainment and move the keyboard around quite often. In such a usage scenario I need something with a better grip, and the model I got was just not suited for the task due to the extremely small footprint, no room to get a good grip.

Maybe there's a mechanical keyboard that's got allot of space on the edges or good handling features, but the model I got is not it, it's a pure desktop design and doesn't suit my HTPC setup.