What is your favorite switch and why?

db_Iodine · 05 Mar 2011, 20:28

I've been using only mx browns for a few weeks and I'm somehow falling in love with them. I still think mx blues are my favorite switch, but I don't know what will happen once I get my hands on some Topre, reds and possibly some clears as well.

drsauced · 05 Mar 2011, 21:12

Lemme take a stab at it, but being mindful that it's more the whole package of the keyboard that turns me on.

1. MX Brown - Filco 104
2. MX Black - Deck Legend
3. Buckling Spring - '93 Model M

Yeah, those three are actually the only mechanicals I've tried, because that's all I got at the moment. Muaha. For me the Model M is the benchmark, from learning how to type on a Selectric II at home and a Wheelwriter III in school.

I very much like the Thinkpad keyboards, those are really great to type on, good chunking feel, but the chicklets that everybody uses now, in my estimation, are kinda sucky. I did try the FUKKAS in a Siig keyboard at my local Fry's Electronics and did not like them at all. The clickyness was too light and, at least on that board, inconsistent. MX Brown are far superior. I was actually looking for MX Blues, but the Fry's I was at didn't have any Razer BW's anywhere. I convinced myself they had probably sold out.

I would love to try the MX Red, Blue, and the Clear, but I think the MX Brown's are numero uno per la moi. Light enough, tactile enough, and in the Filco, nicely thwacky when enthusiastic. Maybe someday I'll get a Topre board under my hands, but if it feels anything remotely like a rubber dome, my fingers may revolt.

calavera · 05 Mar 2011, 21:20

Cherry corps OEM switches would be brown, then blue.
Black switches have too high of a resistance and white switches is kind of in between.

My favorite switch though is black switch with brown/blue springs. Pretty much a red switch but it's slightly different.

ripster · 05 Mar 2011, 21:46

Congrats Calavera - You hit Post 10 and are now qualified for the contest.

However, no boobies.

CephalicCarnage · 05 Mar 2011, 21:55

@#$ Ripster, why do I always read your posts that make me laugh while drinking something....
I laughed... again... while drinking (tea this time)

sixty · 05 Mar 2011, 21:56

He's just funny like that. Even his profile is hilarious:

: Capture.JPG (20.98 KiB) Viewed 7015 times

just spotted the Micky yesterday and laughed pretty loud.

artee · 05 Mar 2011, 22:24

MX Brown... because I've got it in my new filco tenkeyless

Culinia · 05 Mar 2011, 23:04

I'm going to be really boring and say Cherry MX blue only because it is the only switch I have tried. However if I were to buy another keyboard today I would probably buy a buckling spring.

Corland · 06 Mar 2011, 00:22

I have only had white alps and MX browns, and I am going to go with the browns, because the white alps are a bit to bouncy for me. I like the noisiness of the clicky switches, but I can understand not liking it when others can hear them.

calavera · 06 Mar 2011, 02:22

ripster wrote:Congrats Calavera - You hit Post 10 and are now qualified for the contest.

However, no boobies.

ripster · 06 Mar 2011, 05:08

Hahaha - always liked your avatar.

Check this: Grim Fandango NIB sold for $216.
http://cgi.ebay.com/GRIM-FANDANGO-CRIME ... 5197da425e

Magna224 · 06 Mar 2011, 05:39

I own two used boards with clears but I am dying to try some other boards out!

Phaedrus2129 · 06 Mar 2011, 05:41

I prefer MX browns, though I occasionally pull out an IBM or MX blues or an Alps board for variety.

Magna224 · 06 Mar 2011, 06:38

I am not sure how I feel about these clears though. One board is pretty discolored and I think the switches are worn, but they said that the one in better condition was only used a year.

Moneyless · 06 Mar 2011, 06:56

I have only been able to try MX Browns and Blacks so far, and out of the two I like Browns the best. Definitely want to get more keyboards to try out some other switches though.

lobotomoy · 06 Mar 2011, 07:40

I've only tried Cherry MX Blues and ALPS Black switches. I think I like the Blues better. They feel more crisp and responsive. I also like the clicking sound while typing.

espritsc · 06 Mar 2011, 08:37

I've only really had a brown switch and I love it. The browns already seem kind of loud for the people around me so I don't think I can ever own a blue switch. I would probably like the blacks though considering they are linear.

Fuel · 06 Mar 2011, 08:59

what are reds like compared to browns? I feel i may be wanting reds also now.

Mrinterface · 06 Mar 2011, 09:41

Fuel wrote:what are reds like compared to browns? I feel i may be wanting reds also now.

Reds are like browns without the little tactile bump.

db_Iodine · 06 Mar 2011, 12:03

Moneyless wrote:I have only been able to try MX Browns and Blacks so far, and out of the two I like Browns the best. Definitely want to get more keyboards to try out some other switches though.

Can you afford more keyboards if you're Moneyless?

Moneyless · 06 Mar 2011, 23:06

db_Iodine wrote:
Moneyless wrote:I have only been able to try MX Browns and Blacks so far, and out of the two I like Browns the best. Definitely want to get more keyboards to try out some other switches though.
Can you afford more keyboards if you're Moneyless?

Well I won't have a closet full of keyboards, that's for sure.

Culinia · 06 Mar 2011, 23:53

Mrinterface wrote:
Fuel wrote:what are reds like compared to browns? I feel i may be wanting reds also now.
Reds are like browns without the little tactile bump.

Hey I was wondering. How does the tactile bump compare to the blues?
Reason I ask is because unless I have accustomed to I honestly cannot notice any bump on my blues here. I mean sure I can if I purposely and slowly press a button and release it but not when practically typing.

British · 07 Mar 2011, 11:00

I had a Cherry G80 with MX Blacks for a while, and boy, did it kill my fingers...

So I'm all over MX Browns now, though I should receive a Filco tenkeyless with MX Reds soon (through ArmyGroup, for the curious crowd).

db_Iodine · 07 Mar 2011, 14:01

Culinia wrote:
Mrinterface wrote:
Fuel wrote:what are reds like compared to browns? I feel i may be wanting reds also now.
Reds are like browns without the little tactile bump.
Hey I was wondering. How does the tactile bump compare to the blues?
Reason I ask is because unless I have accustomed to I honestly cannot notice any bump on my blues here. I mean sure I can if I purposely and slowly press a button and release it but not when practically typing.

The bump on the browns is even more vague than it is on the blues. I find the bump on the blues quite distinctive and easy to notice even in normal typing (that's why I just love the blues), whereas the bump on the browns might be pretty hard to notice during normal typing. I bottom out way more and way harder on the browns than I do with the blues.

sixty · 07 Mar 2011, 17:56

British wrote:I had a Cherry G80 with MX Blacks for a while, and boy, did it kill my fingers...

So I'm all over MX Browns now, though I should receive a Filco tenkeyless with MX Reds soon (through ArmyGroup, for the curious crowd).

If they are too strong, you are too weak. Nah, if you like browns and think blacks are too strong, you should really enjoy the reds. After a while when you get used to them, you might even feel them to be too weak.

bxt · 08 Mar 2011, 13:52

Only tried blacks, cant say i am crazy about them so far. Gaming is awesome, but other activities like typing not so much. I am looking to purchase a board with MX browns next.

Nikki_Case · 08 Mar 2011, 15:13

bxt wrote:Only tried blacks, cant say i am crazy about them so far. Gaming is awesome, but other activities like typing not so much. I am looking to purchase a board with MX browns next.

This post sums up my thoughts exactly. I currently only own a TG3 backlit mechanical with MX blacks, but have tried the MX brown switches on my friends keyboard. Those brown switches feel so light that they make me want a keyboard with them.

strike015 · 08 Mar 2011, 15:32

i've tried cherry mx black(steelseries 6vg2)
cherry mx blues (filco majestouch nkro)
cherry mx browns(filco majestouch nkro)

unfortunately i haven't been able to try some of the other switches

i think my personal fav has got to the mx blues the click they make is music to my ears, and the fact that they aren't as stiff as the mx blacks makes it better for playing starcraft2 on =D mx black makes my wrist sore after a while if i was to play starcraft 2 on it. As for typing i just prefer the click that blues makes when i press down on the keys, and i find the tactile feedback very helpful when it comes to typing although the mx browns had a similar feel to them albeit a ted light and the tactile feedback being less prominent.

db_Iodine · 08 Mar 2011, 15:37

sixty wrote:If they are too strong, you are too weak. Nah, if you like browns and think blacks are too strong, you should really enjoy the reds. After a while when you get used to them, you might even feel them to be too weak.

I just imagined your hands looking something like this:

Although this guy might think the MX blacks are a tad too light for him.

RiGS · 08 Mar 2011, 23:18

He is probably a better candidate for mx blacks.
http://arbroath.blogspot.com/2007/07/ma ... inger.html