Mechanical switches similar to MX Blue

[Mateyyy]

I'm probably going to be looking for a new keyboard soon. I'm currently using a Quickfire Ultimate from CM Storm with Cherry MX Blue switches, and I love them in terms of the way they feel, for both gaming and typing, though while I like the distinctive clicking sound of them, they can also get quite loud at times.

Back when I last bought a mechanical keyboard, it was mostly just Cherry's market, with a fairly narrow range of switches to pick, but since then it seems like a lot more companies joined the party with their own switches, and even Cherry brought some new ones too. Because of this, picking a switch type nowadays has become quite confusing as I haven't kept up to date at all when it comes to this subject.

 

Basically, I'm looking for something similar to Cherry MX Blue in terms of actuation force, tactile bump and the general feel, but preferably quieter. My first pick would've been Cherry's MX Brown because I'm not really familiar with others that seem to serve what I am interested in.

I'm looking for some suggestions for the switch, and I'm also open to specific keyboard model suggestions, preferably under about $150. I don't really need a ton of macro keys, if any, and in terms of lighting I'd prefer RGB or solid white. Cheers!

[Enderman]

Yeah, brown.

[nox_]

23 minutes ago, Enderman said:

Yeah, brown.

Tactility and browns does not meet. It's such a tiny bump that it's almost a scratchy linear. I like cherry clears and hako true, maybe Outemu Silent Sky could be an option. @seon123 @geo3Any recommendations? Kailh box white?What would be the best more quiet tactile and clicky switch?  Maybe getting a GMMK and few sets of different switches would be best.

[Enderman]

3 minutes ago, noxdeouroboros said:

Tactility and browns does not meet. It's such a tiny bump that it's almost a scratchy linear. I like cherry clears and hako true, maybe Outemu Silent Sky could be an option. @seon123 Any recommendations? Kailh box white?What would be the best more quiet tactile and clicky switch?  Maybe getting a GMMK and few sets of different switches would be best.

MX clears are basically blues without the click, the browns just have slightly less of a bump and are much more popular.

[nox_]

1 minute ago, Enderman said:

slightly less

Not slightly. I have a board with them, so I know.

[seon123]

You can find a bunch of force curves here, by HaTaa. https://plot.ly/~haata
The Box Royal comes to mind. To me, the tactile bump feels fairly sharp and pronounced, and it's definitely a lot more tactile than any of Cherry's stuff. Other popular options that haven't been mentioned are the Durock T1 and Zealio. For silenced variants, there's the Keebwerk Tacit, Zilent and Outemu Silent Ice.

In terms of just the magnitude of the tactile bump, the Cherry MX Blue has a tactile bump of about 15gf (65-50), the Brown about 10gf (45-35), and the Clear about 20gf (60-40). Outemu Sky is about 30gf (60-30), Hako Royal True about 30gf (70-40), and Royal about 30gf (65-35). There is also the length and shape of the bump, which varies a lot. You can find all of these in the link above.

For the keyboard itself, you could consider one of the cheap hot swap 60% boards from Aliexpress etc. That way you can just put in whatever switch you decide on, without having to solder.

[Mateyyy]

Really interesting and informative suggestions, though currently I can't seem to be able to find quite a few of them where I'm at, but I'll stay on the lookout. Thanks! @Enderman @noxdeouroboros @seon123

[geo3]

MX blue is a click jacket switch and there's nothing that feels similar while being quiet.  But if you just want to match bump and spring force as close as possible consider Zealios 65g or MX Clear.

 

Or you could jailhouse mod your current switchs which would remove the click soubn. But it also moves the tactile bump to the very top of the key stroke instead being near the middle where it normally is.