Razer BlackWidow Ultimate 2013 - Switches different?

[TheGlow]

I know these are supposed to cherry mx blues and should be the same as switches in the earlier blue LED keyboard.
I just swapped out my blue for a green one at the store and not even 5 minutes on it and it just doesnt feel the same.
The clicks aren't as loud, some not even triggering with my typing, like missing keypresses.

Each key clearly works, it just seems I have to press each one just a little harder.
The blue one I had was my first mechanical keyboard so maybe it worked like that at first as well.
Do these have a break in period or something?

[Muirium]

I just swapped out my blue for a green one at the store

Green switches and yes you have your answer. Greens are a stronger version of blues.

Green anything else, meanwhile, and I've no idea. Because it really sounds a lot like MX greens. Pop off some caps and take a look.

[c137]

The thing is, the LEDs of the BW 2012 are green. The switches should still be all blue.

[TheGlow]

The thing is, the LEDs of the BW 2012 are green. The switches should still be all blue.

This is what I meant. Theyre supposed to all be mx blues, just that the leds were blue in the original and 2013 has green leds.
I popped some caps off and they have the blue centers.
These shouldnt have a break in period, correct?
Jeez, it really feels like every key has to be hit a bit harder.
I guess this answers my question if I was actually not bottoming out all the time and hammering away.

[c137]

Just wanted to clear up the implicit question of Muiriums reply.

I remember Razer advertising the old BW as being delivered with "selected MX Blues". Some people supposed, they chose more light ones. Idk if this is true or if they changed anything for that matter.

[Muirium]

Fair enough. There's something strange going on between these switches though.

The previous board has Selected MX Blues? Perhaps they were lubed. And these new blues are not.

As for "breaking in", not all keys across a board get equal use of course. If the previous switches were softer because of use, some of them would have been quite different from others.

[IvanIvanovich]

There have been a lot of complaints about MX blues around on more recently made keyboards. Most specifically that they don't click. Looks like some problem in manufacturing in the switches since problem is with multiple oem.

[Muirium]

Indeed. Here's a thread about experiments in lube. TL;DR is that lube can completely transform a clicky switch into a quiet one, and that's what Cherry does with MX whites; which are essentially just lubed blues. These guys go further still; it's worth a look.

Also, still about blues vs. whites:

I cleaned one with Brakleen and it sounded like a blue. Lubing the stem guides (not the slider guides) with Dupont Teflon Silicone Lubricant seems to slug the click even more, which makes sense because the same happens with blues. You can clean some of the grease out of the slider with a cotton swab or toothpick, but sometimes they won't click no matter what you do. The same goes for blues. The defect rate on Cherry's clicky switches seems to be on the rise.

Switches have just enough variables to make things very complex!

[TheGlow]

Just wanted to clear up the implicit question of Muiriums reply.

I remember Razer advertising the old BW as being delivered with "selected MX Blues". Some people supposed, they chose more light ones. Idk if this is true or if they changed anything for that matter.

Ahh yes I remember that statement.
Usually would have chalked it up to just advertising hustling.
My issue is it was my first mechanical keyboard so I don't know if it felt like this at first as well and then broke in.
Considering the other one I had for 1 full year, every key felt the same, so knowing some see more use than others, they all clearly felt the same. Name the m1-m5 keys on the left I didnt even program anything to.
The S and L keys though were wearing away and the black paint on top would have blue light shine through.

Now I'm unsure of whether the first one were legit mx blues, or the new one is the real mx blue feel.
My fingers already sensed the difference on the first sentence typed. Like I mentioned a bunch of keys didnt activate, and the space bar particularly wouldnt go through. The old ones had that slight initial resistance, a nice audible pop, and then the key just gave way and would drop depending on the force used.
These I feel like I need to slow down a moment over each key and push more to get it to register and the click is much more subtle. Before I could type without needing to look at the text as it came up and just feel for pops. now I have to start to see each one come up.

Anyone happen to know any place in the NYC area that has several mx types on display for testing?