** The Official OcUK Mechanical Keyboard Thread **

[khaine1711]

What's the difference between a mechanical and a tactile switch? Sorry but this is the 1st time i've heard of them!

Both are mechanical switches.

Black/Red are called Linear.
Clear/Brown/Blue/White/Green are Tactile.

Linear is ... linear, you just press it, difference lies mainly on how light or heavy the switch is. Red is really light, Black isn't that heavy, but you'll get sore when typing on that for too long. There's also Dark Grey which is the heaviest cherry switch.

Brown/Clear are Tactile non-clicky, means that when you press it you feel a "bump" back to your fingertip - similar to old typewriter or IBM model M.

Blue/White/Green are tactile + clicky, similar to tactile above, but with a "click" sound when you press the key. Can effectively annoy your cats/gf/wife

 

[Porkie]

£70 on a keyboard you do not like is a lot of money, but £70 on a keyboard you really enjoy using is worth every penny. It is one of the most important ways that you interface with your computer. A good one will last years and years so in my opinion it is worth it. I would rate my mechanical keyboard as one of the best purchases for my computer.

I guess I should point out that I do a lot of typing so it may be more important for me than others.

 

[Kamwah]

Calling red lovers women is like saying black switch lovers are heavy handed oaths XD it's all preference.

I've never agreed that mechanicals are really that much better at reducing fatigue
IMO you should have researched the actuation force of the switches and realised reds have a crazy low actuation.

 

[buchtis]

Yeah I did do and I found a **** load of threads stating that for gaming and typing reds are the best but they just activate way too easily. I will get another one like I said but only when prices come down and they start making a tenkey less with a backlight.

 

[MasterPlan1]

Alright I got my CM Storm Quickfire tenkey less. This is the 'new' batch without all the CM Storm logo's plastered all over the place and i've got a comparison shot of it next to my Sidewinder X4.

Now here's the bad thing. After using it for around 5-6 hours in one session I found the red cherry mx keys are far too easily pressed. I went with the red as i've done a bit of research into it and these are meant to feel the best, be least fatiguing and ideal for gamers.

I think I might be the only one here as everyone seems to love reds but these press far too easily. Literally barley any force is needed to activate a key, I swear some people are women when I see them whinge that they get tired after using a keyboard with black switches.

And finally number 2. I came to my senses and realised that i've just spent £70 on a keyboard and had a cold chill run down my spine.

I ended up using this for 2 days before returning it to give it a proper go but for £70 it just isn't worth it, these seem to currently be a 'novelty' thing imo. Yes the build quality is great and they feel tiny bit better to type on but again, not worth £70.

I'd probably get a black cherry one once the prices come down significantly but at this time they're just not worth the asking price.

Did you get that from here? If not, can you trust me the link. Chars.

 

[buchtis]

Can't say where but i've just sent you a Trust message with the link. It's actually gone down in price too since I bought it so now might be a good time to buy.

 

[Jano]

Umming and Ahhing now. The red cherry Qpad MK-85 is on this week only offers bringing the price at ocuk back in line with most other places, but I really dont know if I should go for Red's or Blacks. I don't think I could put up with the clickiness of the other switch types.

Currently using a battered old Logitech G15 that's slowing dieing...

 

[Kamwah]

Yeah I did do and I found a **** load of threads stating that for gaming and typing reds are the best but they just activate way too easily. I will get another one like I said but only when prices come down and they start making a tenkey less with a backlight.

It's purely opinion but generally for touch typing you want there to be as little resistance as possible.

Whether reds are good for gaming or not depends on the genre and user. You don't want reds for an FPS game, you'd probably be better with browns or blues. Reds and blacks are better for RTS.

 

[pingu666]

quality interface stuff is important to me, when i use cheap/bad stuff im like, "this is ****" over and over

i have a ms natual keyboard thats about 12 years old im still using

 

[khaine1711]

Umming and Ahhing now. The red cherry Qpad MK-85 is on this week only offers bringing the price at ocuk back in line with most other places, but I really dont know if I should go for Red's or Blacks. I don't think I could put up with the clickiness of the other switch types.

Currently using a battered old Logitech G15 that's slowing dieing...

There's always 14d satisfaction guarantee . You may want to try brown - there's no "click", and the tactile bump is not as pronounced as blue/green or clear

And I need to stop playing with keycap

 

[Ryan-3]

I find blacks are very nice all round switches, and reds for me is just like breathing on them to activate

Wouldn't mind a board with greens though, seem very nice

 

[hawkeye_123]

i was looking into getting one of these once i have the money, worth it?

 

[Jano]

So, another annoying question from me Is there any difference between the MK-80 and MK85, other than the NKRO stuff (which I don't think I could ever see me needing)? Can't say I like the idea of red led's, blue suits much better, and if that's the only difference, then it seems a no brainer.

 

[Setsuna]

So, another annoying question from me Is there any difference between the MK-80 and MK85, other than the NKRO stuff (which I don't think I could ever see me needing)? Can't say I like the idea of red led's, blue suits much better, and if that's the only difference, then it seems a no brainer.

Both the MK-80 and 85 have NKRO the only difference other than LED's would be the switches the MK-80 has blue switches and the MK-85 has red switches.

I have the MK-80 and the only reason I went for it over the 85 is i prefer to know ive pressed the key where as I find the red switches are far to light and can be activated to easily.

 

[Jano]

Both the MK-80 and 85 have NKRO the only difference other than LED's would be the switches the MK-80 has blue switches and the MK-85 has red switches.

I have the MK-80 and the only reason I went for it over the 85 is i prefer to know ive pressed the key where as I find the red switches are far to light and can be activated to easily.

The switches are a no issue now, I'd be getting black switches (I think). OCuK will be stocking the MK-50, 80 and 85 with all switch types on offer for each keyboard.

 

[Name]

I wish i had the time to analyse my keyboard and switch the keys to find out which one has best feel/comfort for my fingertips and which gives off the right sound for me.

But i dont have the time for such nonsense

 

[Yaayuh!]

I am getting the SteelSeries 6G v2 at Christmas. Is it possible to use other keys (caps) with it? Basically i want to make W,A,S,D,C,SPACE and L SHIFT all red.
Or are the specific to the keyboard? If so, can you recommend a keyboard under £80 that i could do this with? Preferably with the same feel as the SteelSeries 6G v2 (Cherry Black MX i assume).

 

[khaine1711]

I am getting the SteelSeries 6G v2 at Christmas. Is it possible to use other keys (caps) with it? Basically i want to make W,A,S,D,C,SPACE and L SHIFT all red.
Or are the specific to the keyboard? If so, can you recommend a keyboard under £80 that i could do this with? Preferably with the same feel as the SteelSeries 6G v2 (Cherry Black MX i assume).

You can, the only "weird" (unique, wont fit anywhere) keys on 6gv2 are the big Enter, small right Shift and the |\ key.

Also I don't think people are willing to sell a red spacebar separately, it's either part of the modifier set, or 87/104 key set. You can buy zinc/blank spacebar though.

If you don't need the Numpad, get a CM Quickfire Rapid. If yes then look into Cherry G80-3000 (cheapest), Ducky G9008, or Qpad M50 or Filco Majestouch 2 even .

However, if you want to change keycap often (the big keys like Enter, shift ...) it's better to get one with ANSI layout, otherwise any will be fine

 

[Johnz0r]

Well I just received my Q-Pad MK85 this morning and this thing is a total joy to use. The build quality is absolutely second to none and I would easily recommend this keyboard to anyone.

I posted earlier in this thread saying that I bought my Dad a Razer Blackwidow Ultimate that uses MX Blue switches and I have to say I much prefer the red switches that are on this keyboard, for the simple fact that the keys are much much quicker to come back to you and be usable. (Not to mention that this keyboard is way quieter than the blues!)

I also think that the LEDs that are on the MK85 are way brighter than those that are on the Blackwidow, but it could be down to the red backlighting on this keyboard being more pronounced than the blue back lighting that is on the Blackwidow.

Absolutely couldn't go back to using a standard keyboard now after only using this for a few hours today.

 

[V_R]

So! I now have my sample kit i ordered the other week.

After messing about with the different switches I've decided that Reds are the way to go.

My thoughts....

Reds - Perfect, not too much pressure needed, non tactile.
Blacks - Too stiff, they actually feel stiffer than my G19.
Blues - As suspected, i dont like the 'click' of them, though its not as bad as i first expected. Thought that may change on an actual keyboard.
Browns - I like the feedback from the browns but again, they are a little too stiff for my liking.

So, all i need to do now is decide on a board, the Qpad MK-85 is favourite at the moment, followed by the Corsair Vengeance K90.

Apologies for the basic pics, i was in a rush, I've only just sat down...