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Hello.. I have been using my bloody b820r keyboard for a quite long now. The keyboard is doing fine but realistically i am done with lk blue optical switches it came with.. no offense the latency is great but i wanna try linear switches.. blue switches are so loud.. since my keyboard is an optical mechanical keyboard which to my knowledge will only work with optical switches.. so I can't use cherry switches.. and the other lk switches like red are not available in my local market or on aliexpress.. there are so many gateron optical switches.. now i wanna confirm can i use those gateron optical switches on my keyboard? Since the only online option my country support is aliexpress. Other ones like ebay and amazon get stucks in our customs. So plz give me some suggestions which switches i can use
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Hi guys, Sad day as my current keyboard has started to die. I Currently have a Cougar Ultimus RGB with Cougar Red Linear Switches that i purchased in 2019 and Left Shift, z and x keys have stopped working. If i could i would be buying another ultimus to replace but alas, it has been discontinued. So what i am looking for is a replacement recommendation. Preference is a full size board since i regularly utilised the numpad in a few simulators. Defs want RGB, (Does anyone know if there are any keyboards that have a similar effect to the Vanish effect on this keyboard (Keys are different colours and when pressed they turn off and change colour on release)) Still prefer Linear Switchs over Tactile/Clicky Budget is roughly $150AUD (willing to go a bit higher for a good quality keyboard) I thank all in advance.
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KDBfans x MITO Laser Cyan & Pink - Gateron Yellow Gets a Facelift
jiyeon posted a blog entry in Sowon's Switches Reviews
KBDfans teamed up with MITO and Gateron to create quite eccentric switches, known as the MITO Laser switches, with the design of the switches derived from MITO's Laser keycaps, which have the same purple, pink, and blue visual. Honestly, I had picked some of these up because of their color, otherwise, I would have bought regular Gateron Yellows and called it a day, as the MITO Laser switches are near-enough identical to the Gateron Yellows, but with a facelift, and different weight options. The MITO Laser switches come in Cyan or Pink flavours, which are 60g and 70g weights respectively. I opted to buy both, but for the purposes of review and usage, I went with the Cyan 60g switches as I prefer lighter actuation, I have very delicate fingers so anything heavier than 70g tends to tire my little fingers out quicker than most. Opening up the switch, it looks like any other standard linear switch on the market, with a standard two-piece bottom and top housing, a 60g gold spring, and an MX-style stem with linear legs. This again is reminiscent of the Gateron Yellow, the switch that the MITO Laser has essentially been cloned from. Nothing very special. It's smooth like any other linear, and the 60g weight is a great choice for someone like me. The materials used specifically for the housings feel particularly rough compared to a milky-topped Gateron Yellow, I don't know if that's because of the coating involved to get that purple, but the premium I paid to get these switches over Gateron Yellows is noticeably made more apparent by the coating being a bit rougher. In this instance, I would definitely prefer milky-topped Yellows. Milky-topped Yellows also produce a much deeper, thockier sound than these MITO Laser switches, which by comparison, sounds a lot more higher-pitched, at least when I lubed my 60g Cyan MITO Laser switches with Tribosys 3204. The keen follower might have remembered that I reviewed the Gateron Yellows before, which were the milky-topped version: In a nutshell, and to prevent this talking head style review from dragging on more than anything, the TL:DR is that the MITO Laser switches are nothing particularly special, apart from the color. They are nearly identical to the Gateron Yellows, but feature two weights at 60g & 70g, and come in a purple housing, otherwise, there is nothing to differentiate the technically three different switches which were discussed today. If purple and blue/pink is your thing, and you must have the color, and you like either 60g or 70g weights, the MITO Laser switches fit a small niche of users who are after a different aesthetic from the typical Gateron Yellows for sale on the market. -
Cherry MX Black (Re-Tooled) - Really Gold Standard?
jiyeon posted a blog entry in Sowon's Switches Reviews
The Cherry MX Black is arguably one of if the best modern Cherry switch to ever be created, the vintage kind of which is one of the most sought-after linear switches ever for its unbeatable smoothness, and ironically is labelled Cherry's best switch despite being made a few decades ago. There is a lot of debate online about what year would qualify a Cherry Black to be vintage, but generally from what I've read online, any Cherry Black switch found inside a board that was manufactured from before 1990 is considered a board with vintage Cherry Blacks inside of it. Today though, I have non-vintage, re-tooled Cherry MX Blacks with me. I have used these Cherry Blacks for around two weeks now and here are my opinions and experiences with my time using the Cherry MX Black. For reference, my daily keyboard uses 67g Tealios V2s lubed with Tribosys 3204 resting on a brass plate. The board I used with the Cherry Blacks in uses the Cherry Blacks lubed with Krytox 205g0 and a carbon fiber plate, so my experiences with the Cherry Black might differ from others due to the plate material, lubing, and even keycaps difference. When I first got my Cherry Blacks, I was curious as to how they would feel, as I've been advised online that re-tooled, modern Cherry Blacks feel vastly scratchier and much more inconsistent than vintage Cherry Blacks due to how much re-molding the Cherry Black has gone through. Unfortunately, this was the case with me, as immediately as a loose switch, when I pressed down on the switch, it was really scratchy. It had about the same scratchiness as YOK Pandas, which are notoriously scratchy switches in my experience. Even stock Gateron Yellows beat these in smoothness. I opened up the switch and the material wasn't actually that bad, but it was clear how rough and unpolished the material was compared to Gateron housings. Prior to purchasing the Cherry MX Black, I knew it was going to be a heavy switch from reading the force curve. At a perceived 60g operating point, and an 80g bottom-out, it was going to be a workout for my fingers which were used to switches that bottom-out in the 60g region. After opening up the switch, I took a look at the stem, as I always do. Its material is fairly decent, with some minor roughness. It's a pretty standard linear stem with defined stem legs, as with all other MX linears on the market which use the same stem design. The material of the stem doesn't compare to the smoothness of other switches such as Gateron Ink Blacks or Zeal's high-end Tealios V2 switches, but it's decently smooth, and I'm sure people would not complain about it if they were obliged to use a Cherry Black. I believe what contributes more to the abundant scratchiness of the Cherry Blacks - even after lubing - is the housing. The housings are definitely rough and course, especially when compared to something like Gateron housings. The bog standard stem combined with the 'eh'-quality housing is in my experience what makes the re-tooled Cherry Black a scratchy switch. Typing on the Cherry Blacks was in all honesty, a pretty shameful experience. I lubed my Cherry Blacks with Krytox 205g0 - with a single Cherry Black lubed with thinner Tribosys 3204 lube to go into the Escape key - and every time I wanted to use them, the prominent scratchiness and sheer resistance of the spring was something I could not bond with. While it was a nice novelty to be able to daily run lubed Cherry Blacks, I did not find the typing experience throughout the two weeks I spent with them fun, and always found myself going back to my main board with Tealios inside them as I found the Tealios better-weighted and tenfold smoother. Do I recommend the re-tooled Cherry Black? No, I don't. It's far too scratchy for what it is, and the weight is a mountain to overcome. I would much rather purchase another alternative linear such as Gateron Yellows or even Gateron Ink Blacks, as those two switches are noticeably smoother than the Cherry Black even as a stock switch, and lubing both of those options will lead to an even greater smoothness that the re-tooled Cherry Black can never achieve. Sorry Cherry, but your gold standard is just a scratchy linear. -
The Gateron Yellow is a linear switch designed and manufactured by Gateron, to along with their line-up of linear switches such as the Gateron Red and Gateron Black. The Gateron Yellow is a linear switch with distinct similarities to the Gateron Red, with a slightly heavier spring at 50g actuation versus the Red's actuation at 45g. In this sense, the Gateron Yellow is essentially a slightly heavier Gateron Red, and in my experience, that holds true. Looking at the stem, it's about as standard as a linear MX stem goes, with the iconic MX top piece, and the smooth legs on the front of the stem. In Gateron's case, the material of the stem is extremely smooth, similar to their Gateron Red and Gateron Ink Black stems in particular. The stem is in a bumblebee yellow, and is quite literally the same as the Gateron Red's stem, just with a different color. The Gateron Yellow takes lubing well, I lubed Gateron Yellows with Tribosys 3204 and it improved smoothness a lot, as well as increased the 'thock' sound signature. This is again similar to the characteristics to the Gateron Red, and I can't convey just how similar this switch is to a Gateron Red. In essence, the Gateron Yellow is a Gateron Red with a heavier spring, it shares the same housing characteristics as the Gateron Red, whilst also inheriting the lubing capabilities of other Gateron linear switches. I have previously reviewed the MX Red, and used a Gateron Red as the example there, you can read the review here.
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The MX Red is one of the most iconic switches thanks to Cherry, the German mechanical keyboards and switches manufacturer famous (or infamous depending on how you look at it) for their MX Red, MX Brown, and MX Blue switches, which are linear, tactile, and clicky switches respectively. Today we'll be taking a look at the MX Red, this particular model specifically from Gateron, a manufacturer of switches whom have cloned Cherry's MX Red design and made their own edition, coined the Gateron Red. The MX Red is a linear switch as mentioned before which means there is no interruption in the actuation, meaning the keyswitch goes straight down when you press on it. Thanks to WASDkeyboards for providing the force curve chart below, we can see the actuation force of the Red is around 45g, and bottoms out at around 65g. This is a particularly light switch that is catered towards gamers who require quick actuation, so a 45g actuation force 2mm down on the switch is preferable for competitive gaming scenarios. Opening up my specific Gateron Red switch, the material is extremely smooth and the feel of the switch can attest to that. The stem legs are smooth which allow the leaf to cleanly slide along the stem legs. However for my tastes, I find using the Reds as stock to be scratchy, this is hard to explain for those who have not used lubed switches. My favorite analogy is rubbing your arm dry versus rubbing your arm with lotion applied. While the Reds are subjectively smooth when stock, the smoothness is accentuated greatly when they are lubed. I lubed my Reds with Tribosys 3204 and they both sound and feel extremely smooth, greatly improving upon the stock scratchiness. I would personally even rate the smoothness when lubed above something like a NovelKeys Cream. Personally, I am only comfortable using Reds lubed, as I find using them stock to be a bit too scratchy for my tastes, but at stock, they are bearable. They are not the smoothest linear I have ever used but they are also not the worst, although making a non-smooth is a difficult bar to clear. As a mainstream switch and probably the most well-known linear on the market, the Red is a fantastic choice for those who are after a smooth and swift typing experience. While they are a touch too light for me to use, I do enjoy the smoothness and the lightness is rather inviting when playing games that require that quick actuation. For people that want something heavier, I recommend the Yellow or Black switches, as those are a bit heavier than the Red whilst still retaining the smoothness of the Red. Otherwise, the Red is a great switch choice.
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The Sakurios is a silenced linear switch from ZealPC, the Sakurios is a re-colored Zeal Healios switch with a 62g spring, and comes in a light pink tone. The Sakurios' sister, the 67g Roselios, comes in a more saturated pink to the Sakurios. These switches are costly at $1.20 a switch at the time of review, and I bought 70 of these for myself unsponsored using my own money. Due to this, I had high hopes for this particular switch due to its price as well as its hype, being a re-colored, 62g-weighted Healios. I'm personally fond of the 67g Tealios also by Zeal, and I have read online that the Healios are described as a re-colored & silenced Tealio switch. Cracking open the switch, it's a nice, smoothly-crafted, pink linear stem with firm rubber dampeners on the stem sliders, the stem is also a nice pink too. The material is smooth to the touch, similar to that of a Tealio or Zealio switch, it's nice quality from Zeal, especially for that pricetag per switch. The silencing rubbers aren't too hard nor too mushy, they're just right, and when bottoming out and returning, the rubbers feel pillowy and soft, it's a nice bottom-out experience compared to traditional MX switches where bottoming out can be quite harsh and sudden. I commend Zeal for this particular rubber, it's what silenced switches should strive to achieve. To compare, I'd say the smoothness of the Sakurios versus something like an Ink Black or Tealios is about 8/10, the Sakurios are noticeably less smooth than Tealios. But I'll touch on this more a bit later. Now where this gets interesting is that when I bought my Sakurios, I ran into quite a few problems... I ordered my 70 Sakurios directly from ZealPC, and about 10 of my Sakurios had loose leaves in them, whereby if I opened up those particular switches, the leaves would fall out without any force. Add to this the leaves in question bent easily, and I wonder what happened to my particular batch. I actually had emailed ZealPC in September regarding my issue, citing that my Sakurios are consistent on the keypress, which I assume this is due to the loose leaves. The response I got was as follows: Now, it's to be noted that I did use Krytox 205g0 lube to lube my Sakurios which are a particularly thick lube, so I can accept that it might have been my own mistake using thick lube on silenced switches, given that it was my first time with silenced switches and that I had been recommended thick lube to use due to my lubing technique. This still does not excuse the poor quality control of my particular Sakurios batch, loose leaves destroyed my experience with the Sakurios and I am deeply disappointed with the switch as a whole, especially for the price I paid for it. I paid about $80 to get switches that came with loose leaves. I will give ZealPC the benefit of the doubt and say that I am probably part of the 1% that got a bad batch of Sakurios, however that stil does not excuse the quality of switches that I got, like I mentioned a multitude of times throughout this review. That's not to disrepect the switch in any way, the switch is still fairly smooth to use and the bottom-out is soft & pillowy, but the leaf problem I had with my batch gave me an inconsistent typing experience, as well as a sticky feeling after lubing a majority with thick lube. For the record, I used a few unlubed and experienced the same probems minus the sticky feelings, so at stock, the Sakurios feel fine albeit inconsistent. I do truly hope that I'm in the minority with my batch slipping the cracks and that everyone else who bought - or buys - Sakurios experiences a pleasant actuation and soft bottom-out omitting the loose leaf issue. And word of advice, don't use thick lube with silenced linears. I learnt the hard way.
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The Gateron Ink Black is essentially a Gateron Black with a transparent, smoky housing and a black stem, and is highly regarded as one of, if not the most smooth MX-style switch on the market, rivaling that of Zeal's Tealios V2, and the Vintage Black. The Ink Black is a fairly medium-weighted switch, requiring 60g of force to actuate and 70g of force to completely bottom out. My personal preferred weight for linear switches is anywhere between 62g to 67g so the 60g of actuation force is very welcome. I personally like to use my linear switches lubed, but the Gateron Ink Black is one of those switches that doesn't require that treatment to be a smooth switch. It's a fantastic switch at stock, and is probably one of three switches that I'd consider using stock, next to the Tealios V2 and the NovelKeys Cream. The Gateron Ink Black is super smooth even without lube. With that being said, I still lubed my Gateron Ink Blacks with Tribosys 3204 as I felt that it didn't require thick lube like Krytox 205g0, and it made it even smoother. I did heavily lube my switch, but it did not interfere with the travel, actuation, upstroke, return, or keypress of the switch in any way, and I prefer heavily lubing my linears as it ensures 100% smoothness. Again, not that the Ink Black needed that in the first place, regardless. In my time scouting the switch market, I can find Ink Blacks for around $0.75-$0.80 a switch, which is fairly expensive considering the other offerings on the market, such as regular Gaterons, which can retail for as low as $0.30 a switch. However, I am confident that expending a bit more for the Ink Blacks will work in everybody who is considering a linear switch's favor, as the smoothness - once again, even at stock and unlubed - is rivalled only by the most elite switches such as the Tealios V2 and the Vintage Black - and those go for $1+ per switch each for what I can perceive having using Tealios V2 extensively as minimal improvement. In fact, since using the Ink Blacks, they've become my top 2 linear switch next to the Tealios who edges it out as a close winner. The Ink Black is smooth in every regard and the spring is really high quality. The spring feels robust and full which gives the Ink Black an ultra satisfying keypress travel. The Tealios on the other hand has a fairly hollow spring which is susceptible to pinging. If you're in the market for one of, if not the smoothest, linear, MX-style switch on the market for under $1 per switch, you cannot go wrong with the Ink Black. Ultra smooth stem, silky smooth housing, satisfying spring sturdiness, and excellent lubing capability, making it a solid linear switch.
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NovelKeys Creams - Contender For Best Stock Switch
jiyeon posted a blog entry in Sowon's Switches Reviews
The NovelKeys Creams are a linear switch made by NovelKeys in partnership with Kailh. This switch is the first of its for Kailh as it features a traditional MX stem and MX-style latching for the housing, and I'd say Kailh have done fairy well. These switches are made using an al-POM housing - that's DuPont POM Plastics - and also for the stem. POM has been used in this switch as it is often referred to as self-lubricating, which due to the nature of lubing, means that it will naturally be super smooth. I've used these switches for a month in my 60% keyboard and here's my experience of it. Believe it or not, this was my first linear switch I had ever used in my mechanical keyboard life, so I was on neutral ground for what to expect. For context, I was using the Kailh Box Jades, so transitioning from those heavy clicky switches to the NovelKeys Creams was quite the leap. I found the stock experience to be a nice one, being that it was my fitst linear switch. I found the POM material to be satisfyingly smooth to type on, and they sounded nice as well stock. They sound like pressing on soft, fine powder. The 'self-lubricating' deal appeared to be a true statement. The stem of the NovelKeys Cream is a standard linear stem, with the legs being fairly cut and dry in design, and the slider also sharing the same design as many other stems. The bottom of the slider was chamfered rather than right-angled, which interestingly made the bottom-out less harsh and more soft compared to most other linears such as Gateron Reds or Tealios. The POM material was an excellent choice by NovelKeys as it creates a nice stock experience. Unfortunately for the NovelKeys Cream, it is not kind to lube at all, no matter lubed with thick or thin lubes. I lubed the Cream with both Tribosys 3204 in a thin layer and then a noticeably thicker layer, but the Creams do not play well with thin lube at all, and the lube will often slip around rather than adhering to the POM material. The same story goes for Krytox 205g0, which is a thicker lube than Tribosys 3204. I also applied an appropriately-thin amount as well as a thick film of lube, still no avail. It it such a shame that the Creams don't do well with lube, as I'm a linear keyswitch enthusiast who lubes all her linears, and I mean all, so the Creams remaining unlubed puts them a peg down from my lubed linears. I prefer lubed Gateron Reds/Yellows to the NovelKeys Creams because of this lube issue. Overall, I'd say while the NovelKeys Creams aren't good with lube, I would say they are an excellent, if not the best stock linear stock for any mechanical keyboard enthusiast. The POM material is excellent and it makes for a nice stock switch experience. I would say NovelKeys Creams are like if you took a linear switch like a Gateron Yellow lubed, but the lube is substituted with a lot of powder. It is a very different kind of typing experience and feel. While the Creams are fairly expensive at $6.50 for a pack of 10 over at NovelKeys' website, they are a definite top 2 stock linear switch. -
The Tealios V2 are a boutique linear switch offered by ZealPC which features a 67g spring, Gateron-made housing, and a smooth, linear stem in Tiffany & Co. blue, no I'm not joking, the pantone for the stem is inspired by Tiffany & Co, and it's adorable. It sets itself apart from color from Zeal's popular purple Zealios, Hermes orange Healios, and pink Sakurios and Rosélios switches. I bought a 68 pack of Tealios V2 from KBDfans, for $1 a switch, which is expensive especially when I have a 60% keyboard. I would definitely say it's well worth investing in the Teals if you are after the smoothest switches on the market, a close second in my eyes are the Gateron Ink Blacks. What gives the Tealios its extremely smooth actuation is its stem legs, the stem itself appears to be made out of an outstandingly smooth plastic mould, and it shows in its construction where nowhere on the stem is rough to the touch. The legs are also angled perfectly to give the linear actuation of the stem a good balance between weight on the downpress and upstroke. Even from factory unlubed, these stems and by extension the Tealios as a whole switch feel extremely smooth to use, it's one of the best linear switches to use stock in my opinion purely because of how smooth the stem has been made. Despite its stock smoothness, I lubed my Tealios switches with a mildly-thick coating of Tribosys 3204 on the housing sliders as well as the entire stem, and this ultimately made the switch all users of linear switches should try. Zeal cracked the code for how to make the smoothest linear possible, and it's thanks to the ever-smooth stem. Personally, after using these Tealios lubed with Tribosys 3204, I don't think I can settle for anything less anymore. I formerly used NovelKeys Creams and even those now feel scratchy thanks to my time with the Tealios. Same can be said for Gateron Reds where while they are smooth, they feel hollow and far too light. The Tealios are a well-weighted switch which when paired with lube make the best linear switch in the game. If there was one thing to keep me from rating it a 100% switch, it would be the spring weight. I find 67g a little too heavy personally, although the weight also does accentuate the smoothness a lot, so I feel 67g is just the right spot. A spring swap to 62g might eleviate the heft a bit but like mentioned before, may reduce the feel of the actuation force and leave me wanting more out of the switch.
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I'm looking for a tkl mechanical keyboard with standard layout that i can switch keycaps easily, usb type c so i can directly used it on my macbook pro and also linear switches (mx red). Any suggestions are appreciated. Thank you
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I'm just really looking for the 'right' mechanical, and I'm hoping someone on this forum can help me. So I went through quite a few of mechanical keyboards but I just can't find 'the one' Here are the keyboards I went through in the past: - SteelSeries 6Gv2 Black (my first ever mechanical keyboard) - Quick Fire Rapid - SteelSeries 6Gv2 Red - Filco Majestouch TKL Red - Ducky TKL (forgot which but absolutely hated it) - Corsair K70 - KeyCool TKL (forgot the model) - Corsair K65 RGB - Vortex Poker - Filco Majestouch2 TKL Ninja (Black) (My current one) I actually really love my current keyboard, and it is the best I have used so far. However, it isn't backlit and it definitely is a struggle for me when I do my work/gaming in the dark. (I really like to be in a cold dark room) Here are the features that I really want to have: - TKL (never used numpads, and I feel like TKL is a must at this point) (I also tried Poker but I really needed the function keys for IDE shortcuts) - Backlit (the current struggle I have with my current keyboard) - Heavy Linear switches (equivalent or heavier than the Cherry Blacks) - Good QC The following features would be a great 'plus' if I had them: - non-detachable cable (I had multiple problems with multiple keyboards with detachable keyboard) (the problem being that if the connector is hit/wiggled the keyboard would input something weird or not work) - n-key rollover I'm open to the idea of trying out new different switches, but really really favor the super heavy linear switches. I think the closest one I found was the MassDrop x Input Club K-Type with Kaihua Red switches, but I read awfully a lot of people mentioning bad QC. Someone even got a bent chassis keyboard (thats not going to fly for me) Thanks in advance!
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Hi A few days ago I bought my first mechanical keyboard, the Steelseries 6Gv2 with Cherry MX Black. http://steelseries.com/products/keyboards/steelseries-6gv2 I love the keyboard, but the switches are way too stiff and my fingers get tired when im gaming or typing 30 min. I saw that blue switches aren't stiff and they are clicky so im thinking about return the 6G and buy a Razer BlackWidow or other 'board why Blue Switches. I will be 50% gaming and 50% typing. What should I do? Thanks
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