Keyboard Switches

[martos123]

I'm looking to replace my Corsair K95 thats getting a bit rattley and looking at brands like Keychron, but there seems to be a lot of other brands of switches out there these days.

Are the colours of non-Cherry switches broadly the same in feel as their Cherry counterparts, eg. Cherry MX-Brown is similar to Gateron Brown, or are they all completely different?

 

[Raymond Lin]

I'm looking to replace my Corsair K95 thats getting a bit rattley and looking at brands like Keychron, but there seems to be a lot of other brands of switches out there these days.

Are the colours of non-Cherry switches broadly the same in feel as their Cherry counterparts, eg. Cherry MX-Brown is similar to Gateron Brown, or are they all completely different?

What you need to figure out first are 2 things

1 - it is hot swappable
2 - how many pins your keyboard can take, is it 5 or 3?

 

[martos123]

I'm looking to get a new keyboard as opposed to swapping the switches in my current one.

 

[Raymond Lin]

I'm looking to get a new keyboard as opposed to swapping the switches in my current one.

Okay, there are endless of keyboard brands and there are endless switches brands.

aRe they all different? Well, they all create an electrical contact and make a keystroke, so they are the same in that respect. They differ in feel, weight, noise, smoothness, mechanical, Hall Effect, Optical, price, north facing, south facing, normal profile, low profile.

Cherry is no longer the one to go for anymore, there are lots of options now.

 

[martos123]

Yep, it's a minefield! I'm looking for a full size keyboard that's good for work as well as gaming. I want something that's fairly quiet with resonable force as I'm a bit heavy handed when typing. Cherry Mx browns have been my go to for years now. I've tried reds and they don't give enough resistance for me.

My K95 is getting rattly especially on the space bar and feels like it's missing the odd key press.

Its difficult to choose, as apart from the mainstream brands you can't really test them anywhere.

 

[hornetstinger]

I'm looking to replace my Corsair K95 thats getting a bit rattley and looking at brands like Keychron, but there seems to be a lot of other brands of switches out there these days.

Are the colours of non-Cherry switches broadly the same in feel as their Cherry counterparts, eg. Cherry MX-Brown is similar to Gateron Brown, or are they all completely different?

get a key sampler. Find out if yours supports 3 or 5 pin.
Then decide if you want tactile, linear or clicky.

The colours do not always match up.

 

[hornetstinger]

Yep, it's a minefield! I'm looking for a full size keyboard that's good for work as well as gaming. I want something that's fairly quiet with resonable force as I'm a bit heavy handed when typing. Cherry Mx browns have been my go to for years now. I've tried reds and they don't give enough resistance for me.

My K95 is getting rattly especially on the space bar and feels like it's missing the odd key press.

Its difficult to choose, as apart from the mainstream brands you can't really test them anywhere.

Gateron BLACK bit more resistance than red

Gateron Switch Tester - Version 2

The Gateron Switch Tester Version 2 contains 35 Gateron MX switches, arranged in a 7-by-5 layout, which can provide a smooth typing experience and superior sound, and help you find the type of switch you like. Each Gateron Switch Tester comes with 35 pcs of switches and a holder.

www.gateron.co

 

[martos123]

Thanks for the advice