Cherry MX Brown, or Blue?

[mechkeyblover]

Hello fellow Internet Friends!

So I've researched quite a lot the past few months after I sold my Logitech G710+ (Cherry MX Brown if you didn't know) over what keyboard I should buy. I liked the browns on my old keyboard but I fell in love with the blues (or greens) when I heard youtubers playing with them. I'm mostly playing FPS (CS:GO) and I think that they browns are the best for it, but it just fall in love everytime I hear a blue and think that I must have a blue keyboard! I'm also going to visit my friend (tuesday 17th may 2016) and try his blues and see what i think.
He says they've got a heavy click and can fell a bit slow. And many google pictures say that blues are for typing. Not gaming. But then again I think about buying razers green switch which is "DESIGNED FOR GAMING" But then I can see that it's got an even heavier actuation force and that might feel way too heavy!
But what I like about the blues is quick click you get in the start... And I'm not a too big fan of the clack that comes when it bottems out. So maybe O-Rings would be the case? Because if you buy the O-Rings "Cherry MX Blue version" you get rid of the clack?

So. I'm thinking about buying either the CM Storm Quickfire TK (Cherry MX Brown) Or the Quickfire Rapid-I (Cherry MX Blue). I need a Danish/Nordic layout ÆØÅ so you probbally can't recommend keyboards that my local danish websites don't sell :/. But the only thing is the switch....
I don't if I want to go with blue or brown? I know this is a personal choice but many people say that browns are good for gaming and light handed typers because of it's OK low actuation force and having a quiet, smooth and tactile bump. But then again many people like blues and say THEY are the best because of it's lovely click and nice travel. But the guys that like blues often haven't tried anything else...? And I've heard people on the internet saying that they actually RETURNED their blue keyboard and bought a brown because they're friends had a brown, and THEY fell in love with it.
So that got me thinking...

If you can, then please help me I just want to hear your opinions, and what you guys use and what you think about it...

[Spikebolt]

I used to play Starcraft with MX blues just fine. It really is preference, it's not just a gimmick reply. It's hard for anyone to tell you what you will like the best.

That said I would prefer a Rapid-I over the the TK any day, since it has a standard layout.

[Muirium]

MX black: so not for typing that it's been used for precisely that since the 1980s! Kbdfr would be pleased with this analysis…

I'll do my usual bit. See something missing from the chart? Any other switch's existence besides Cherry MX. Usual story!

[emdude]

Well, Cherry MX keyboards are the most accessible, especially if you are a newcomer to mechanical keyboards! I do agree it's pretty funny that MX Blacks are marketed as "gaming" switches these days, but such is the market for mech. keyboards.

@mechkeyblover: I personally prefer clicky switches, and while I cannot say I care much for the click of MX Blues, they are more or less fine for what they are. If you are going to be using such a keyboard with other people nearby, I think you should consider whether they will be annoyed by it.

[Sankart]

The only kind of game I can think of where clicky switches are harmful are games where you dash by using a certain key twice (UT, Reflex or Toxikk), or rhythmn games. Other than that the difference is neglectable and it is totally up to personal preference, especially in games with as slow movement as CS:GO.

The biggest problem/benefit with mechanical keyboards and their switches is (imo.) that preferences can change. When I first got my MX-Green board (I used for gaming btw.) I was in love with clickys, then I grew to dislike them and got a MX-White board which eventually got replaced by one with Matias QC. As of now I like to use some clickys from time to time again.
When I got my first switchtester I also hated everything linear, today I'm thinking about building a board with vintage blacks.

It's really weird and the only thing that will help is trying personally, loosing yourself and buying more and more keyboards. That being said, welcome to this forum

[Brot]

i play TF2, Xonotic with Blues i like it.

[vvp]

I used both blues and browns for both gaming and typing.
If you think that your game requires very quick double tap of the same key then brown is a tiny bit quicker than blue.
Otherwise there is no significant difference. If you do not really need very quick double taps then select whatever switch you like more. It does not really matter.

One should be a bit quicker doing double taps with a linear switch since there is no need to overcome the tactile nonlinearity. That is the reason people recommend them for gaming. On the other hand, you cannot feel the actuation location. That is a bit of disadvantage since human reflexes are quickest when responding to touch, a bit slower when responding to sound, and slowest when responding to a visual stimulus. Still, I think linear switches should be the quickest. But I do not use them and I do not really know.

Muirium: Most people are not interested in an expensive glorified rubber dome with a spring

[Muirium]

Most people then are fools! Besides, I was thinking IBM. Where there's a youngling into click, there's the potential for another master of the dark side. Trust me: buckling spring makes MX blue feel like popping bubblewrap.

Linear is good, too. Similarly, I never thought I'd like it from a tester, but the real boards have got merit. Just not modern MX ones. Too scratchy.

[keycap]

There is not a specific switch for gaming. Go with what you're confortable with.

[mechkeyblover]

Yeah I'd love to have 20 different keyboards and Thank You! I'm loving my time here
It's really weird and the only thing that will help is trying personally, loosing yourself and buying more and more keyboards. That being said, welcome to this forum [/quote]

[Findecanor]

He says they've got a heavy click and can fell a bit slow. And many google pictures say that blues are for typing. Not gaming. But then again I think about buying razers green switch which is "DESIGNED FOR GAMING" But then I can see that it's got an even heavier actuation force and that might feel way too heavy!

There is Razer Green -- which is a clone of Cherry MX Blue that Razer used to put into their keyboards before they switched supplier. Razer chose the colour green for the switch because green is their brand colour.
Many claims from Razer, such as "DESIGNED GROUND UP FOR GAMING" is marketing fluff. Anything you read from Razer is often exaggerating, misleading and sometimes bordering on being an outright lie.
Razer switched supplier for one reason only: Cherry had problems supplying switches to meet the demand from keyboard manufacturers. Then Razer's marketing team did what they could to spin the change to the Razer-branded Kailh switches as an improvement.

You should not confuse Razer's Green switch with Cherry MX Green, which is a heavier variant of Cherry MX Blue. Cherry's Green switch is meant for space bars in keyboards with otherwise Blue switches but some manufacturers have made keyboards with all-Green switches. Cherry MX White is another heavier clicky variant.

Clicky switches have "hysteresis" which means that the reset point is higher than the activation point. This means that you would have to move the finger slightly more to press the same key twice. Therefore some people don't consider them to be as good for gaming as other switches. But the difference is really negligible, just as with switches with a fraction of a mm higher actuation point. For 99.999% of all people, it does not matter at all.

I have played fast first person shooters with Blue and Clear switches as well as rubber domes, and I have not noticed that the choice of switch would have affected my reaction time the slightest.

[Wodan]

This might be a slightly controversial opinion but with all the cheap China MX clone boards available these days, is it really a goood idea to get a nice&expensive cherry board and then intentionally wear out 4-6 switches while gaming?

I personally wouldn't use one of these well built, nice modern Cherry MX boards for gaming when you can get cheap china-mechanical keyboards for 1/3 the price. They claim ratings of 60mil actuations so they should even last longer than a cherry mx board ...

[KRKS]

Is it time to whip out the vid of Staiain going ham with Cherry MX Greens(NOT Razer Greens) on Dreamhack? I think it is.

I mean, sure, it's The Scrub VSRG a.k.a. osu!mania, but still, screw any "X switch is best for gaming" and go 100% personal preference.

[Muirium]

What that mean?