Are mechanical keyboards good for typing and general use?

Rikmeister · 13 Oct 2020 at 14:55

Mechanical keyboards are usually aimed at gamers but I'd like to know if mechanical keyboards are good for typing and general use?

RexAlba · 13 Oct 2020 at 15:03

Actually they came over from professional typing to gaming i think didnt they?

snips86x · 13 Oct 2020 at 15:06

I have MX Reds at home on a Steelseries Apex 7, which I use for work and gaming, and Blacks in the office.
Both work for me personally.

Rikmeister · 13 Oct 2020 at 15:22

RexAlba said:
Actually they came over from professional typing to gaming i think didnt they?

Old school keyboards were heavier, more 'clicky', and with a longer travel than modern membrane keyboard. I don't know what the construction was, but presumably they were mechanical of some description.

snips86x said:
I have MX Reds at home on a Steelseries Apex 7, which I use for work and gaming, and Blacks in the office.
Both work for me personally.

What's the difference betwen Blacks and Reds (they're both mechanical, right)?

Hotwired · 13 Oct 2020 at 15:29

Rikmeister said:
What's the difference betwen Blacks and Reds (they're both mechanical, right)?

https://www.mechanical-keyboard.org/switch-types/

It's down to wanting the feel of the keyboards, or the look of the keyboards, or the increased noise of using the keyboards (some want the loud click/hard key press noise). Last one may not be desirable for co-workers or co-habitants.

Can usually have a fondle of a board in a high street pc retailer.

Randomface74 · 13 Oct 2020 at 15:34

I use MX Red and imo they're great for all uses. Feels like an easy upgrade from non-mech keyboards. MX Red don't have tactile/clicky features of other keys that can be a bit weird if you're not used to them.

Rikmeister · 13 Oct 2020 at 15:41

Hotwired said:
https://www.mechanical-keyboard.org/switch-types/

It's down to wanting the feel of the keyboards, or the look of the keyboards, or the increased noise of using the keyboards (some want the loud click/hard key press noise). Last one may not be desirable for co-workers or co-habitants.

Thanks, so Cherry Blue are favoured by most typing enthusiasts, and Cherry Brown would be a good compromise. And I should be looking for a Clicky preferably, or tactile switch with a longer actuation distance and higher actuation force.

Gray2233 · 13 Oct 2020 at 15:56

I'm a touch typist, the last time I bothered to take a typing test I was pushing around 140WPM cold and over 160 after warming up. I can't really sustain those speeds the way I used to anymore as my fingers start to complain, but I can comfortably push 100-120 or so for longish periods without a problem.

Of the switch types and if you're not concerned about noise I'd say blue and brown are your best bet, I find brown better than blue for gaming and a good middle ground for someone that does a lot of both on the same setup. The switch manufacturer comes into play here also, Cherry will feel a little different to Kailh for example.

Coming from membrane I find the tactility and the feel of blues and browns to make typing a more comfortable and enjoyable process, some people I know report an increase in accuracy and/or speed but I'm not convinced there's that much of a difference once you're comfortably pushing higher speeds. Personally once my speed gets up I'm bottoming out keys at such a rate the tactility doesn't really make a difference to me anyway.

I'd recommend going out and finding somewhere that has keyboards on display and testing a few out.

Plec · 13 Oct 2020 at 16:01

I like the feel, but can't tolerate the noise - even supposedly quiet ones. My short experiment ended with me reverting back to Logitech and my ultimate guilty pleasure the Microsoft Natural... :/

Rikmeister · 13 Oct 2020 at 16:34

Gray2233 said:
Of the switch types and if you're not concerned about noise I'd say blue and brown are your best bet, I find brown better than blue for gaming and a good middle ground for someone that does a lot of both on the same setup. The switch manufacturer comes into play here also, Cherry will feel a little different to Kailh for example.

I know Cherry have a good reputation. I take it Kaih is also a good brand?

Benass · 13 Oct 2020 at 16:41

I have logitech g915.
To be honest I don't see what's the fuss about.
Used laptop keyboard for about 7 years, and I prefer that way.
G 915 is loud.
Overall it's ok but by no means it's a miracle of some sort.
I dont type for work, only game few hours a day.
Got is only for g keys. And for wireless and for bluetooth. All of it in use.

Gray2233 · 13 Oct 2020 at 16:42

Rikmeister said:
I know Cherry have a good reputation. I take it Kaih is also a good brand?

They used to have a bit of a poor rep, but their modern switches are extremely similar to Cherry MX. They're a little more grainy in feel but I find them to be a good experience with my Patriot V730, and you can often find boards using them for a fair bit cheaper.

ttaskmaster · 13 Oct 2020 at 18:23

Plec said:
I like the feel, but can't tolerate the noise

This, although it was other people in my house who complained about the noise.
I also find many mech boards seem to jam a lot, especially on the larger keys. You go to hit left Shift, the cap skews and the shaft binds against the switch housing, resulting in a failed keypress.
I've had this happen with Razer, Corsair and Steelseries. I'm sure I've briefly tried a couple of Ducky boards too, but don't even remember if they were any good or not.

chrcoluk · 13 Oct 2020 at 18:26

What has always put me off investing is in how long the labels on the keys will last, decades ago they lasted several years, but in recent years clear cost cutting has happened, and the main keys like the vowels and WSD are visibly wearing within a few months, its one thing for that to happen on a £10 keyboard but another on a £50 keyboard. Until I buy one I just wont know if it will have the problem.

d_brennen · 13 Oct 2020 at 18:28

I think I'd get murdered for using a mech keyboard at work. I'm heavy handed enough on soft membrane KBs

Plec · 13 Oct 2020 at 18:31

d_brennen said:
I think I'd get murdered for using a mech keyboard at work. I'm heavy handed enough on soft membrane KBs

My wife is the same - we now share my office, courtesy of remote working, and she basically touch-punches the keyboard!

Gray2233 · 13 Oct 2020 at 19:18

Plec said:
My wife is the same - we now share my office, courtesy of remote working, and she basically touch-punches the keyboard!

Look on the bright side.

At least this isn't your wife.

EsaT · 13 Oct 2020 at 20:01

Rikmeister said:
And I should be looking for a Clicky preferably, or tactile switch with a longer actuation distance and higher actuation force.

If you don't like the idea of making lot more noisey, forget MX Retro alias Blue and its clones/copies.
Their noise isn't in same scale with membrane/rubber dome keyboard with extra "mechanical typewriter wannabe" sound effect on top of hard plastic parts smashing into each other in both down and upstroke.

RexAlba said:
Actually they came over from professional typing to gaming i think didnt they?

Cherry MX switches were developed in early 80s and first marketed in 1985.
Which is over two decades earlier than their use in gaming keyboards.
And there are also other mechanical switches.

Plec · 13 Oct 2020 at 20:05

Gray2233 said:
At least this isn't your wife.

You're right - shorter hair, but watching with my eyes shut, it sounded like a very similar typing technique.

*Yep, i'm not showing her this - otherwise my favourite appendage would probably get similar keyboard abuse as that desk

zaphod-159 · 13 Oct 2020 at 22:04

Isn't there a type of switch that produces less noise?