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Suggestions for Hot-Swappable Switches

tishous
By tishous
in Peripherals
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As the title says, I am looking for switches. Specifically ones that don't need to be soldered. My keyboard is a 60% hot swappable keyboard with Gateron Browns which I find too loud. Therefore, I'm looking to change it a bit and go for a relatively quiet linear switch.

 

I don't want to spend any more than £40 (about $50) on switches, so is there any good ideas on which ones I should get?

The more I learn, the more I realise I don't actually know anything. 

 

Recommendations: Lian Li 205m (sleek, pretty decent airflow for a non-mesh front panel and cheap), i5-10400f (Ryzen 5 3600 performance, 20% cheaper), Arctic P14 PWM fans, Logitech g305.

 

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Gateron browns are fairly quiet, the noise you're hearing is probably your keycap bottoming out

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Hey there.

11 minutes ago, tishous said:

As the title says, I am looking for switches. Specifically ones that don't need to be soldered. My keyboard is a 60% hot swappable keyboard with Gateron Browns which I find too loud.

Er...

It's not the switches that are "hot-swappable," it's the PCB. If the keyboard's PCB isn't equipped with hot-swap switch sockets, you'll need to solder in your switches.

 

Although, if you're certain your keyboard is hot-swappable, you'll need to check whether your PCB supports PCB-mounted (5-pin) switches or plate-mounted (3-pin) switches; some boards also support both types.

 

(It'd help if you provided your keyboard model. 😉)

 

11 minutes ago, tishous said:

...Gateron Browns which I find too loud. Therefore, I'm looking to change it a bit and go for a relatively quiet linear switch.

 

I don't want to spend any more than £40 (about $50) on switches, so is there any good ideas on which ones I should get?

Gat Browns are tactile switches. (See Slottr's reply above about the noise.)

 

For decent stock linear switches, try Kailh BOX Reds/Blacks, Gateron Reds/Yellows/Blacks (Milky or Ink variants are good, too), or NovelKeys Creams.

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3 minutes ago, Slottr said:

Gateron browns are fairly quiet, the noise you're hearing is probably your keycap bottoming out

I meant Optical Browns, which are quite a bit louder I believe.

The more I learn, the more I realise I don't actually know anything. 

 

Recommendations: Lian Li 205m (sleek, pretty decent airflow for a non-mesh front panel and cheap), i5-10400f (Ryzen 5 3600 performance, 20% cheaper), Arctic P14 PWM fans, Logitech g305.

 

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2 minutes ago, Eschew said:

Hey there.

Er...

It's not the switches that are "hot-swappable," it's the PCB. If the keyboard's PCB isn't equipped with hot-swap switch sockets, you'll need to solder in your switches.

 

Gat Browns are tactile switches. (See Slottr's reply above about the noise.)

 

For decent stock linear switches, try Kailh BOX Reds/Blacks, Gateron Reds/Yellows/Blacks (Milky or Ink variants are good, too), or NovelKeys Creams.

Yes, the PCB is hot-swappable, I thought both the switches and PCB had to be hot-swappable.

 

And I know they are tactile, and I don't particularly like it, which is why I said I would like to change it to something linear. Thank you for the suggestions, I will read some reviews and look at pricing.

The more I learn, the more I realise I don't actually know anything. 

 

Recommendations: Lian Li 205m (sleek, pretty decent airflow for a non-mesh front panel and cheap), i5-10400f (Ryzen 5 3600 performance, 20% cheaper), Arctic P14 PWM fans, Logitech g305.

 

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9 minutes ago, tishous said:

I meant Optical Browns, which are quite a bit louder I believe.

7 minutes ago, tishous said:

Thank you for the suggestions, I will read some reviews and look at pricing.

Wait, wait, wait!

 

Keyboards using optical switches will not be compatible with any mechanical switches! The pinout is completely different!

 

I suspect you have a GK61, or something similar? Unfortunately, even though the board is advertised as "hot-swappable," the only compatible switches for optical switch keyboards are other similar optical switches. In that case, my suggestions above (all mechanical switches) are all inapplicable to your case.

 

On 6/25/2020 at 5:06 PM, Eschew said:

An industry standard for optical switches doesn’t seem to exist as of yet. This means that, in terms of compatibility, a PCB that is compatible with one set of optical switches may not be compatible with optical switches from another manufacturer, and are almost certainly not compatible with mechanical switches. Most optical switches adopt MX-style stems, however, and should be compatible with MX-style keycaps.

 

If your board has Gateron Opticals, try looking for Gateron Optical Reds/Yellows/Blacks instead; those are linear, but I'm not sure how decent they are, and whether they'll help with your noise problem. 😅

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4 minutes ago, Eschew said:

Wait, wait, wait!

 

Keyboards using optical switches will not be compatible with any mechanical switches! The pinout is completely different!

 

I suspect you have a GK61, or something similar? Unfortunately, even though the board is advertised as "hot-swappable," the only compatible switches for optical switch keyboards are other Gateron Optical switches. In that case, my suggestions above (all mechanical switches) are all inapplicable to your case.

 

Try looking for Gateron Optical Reds instead; those are linear, but I'm not sure how decent they are, and whether they'll help with your noise problem. 😅

I have the DK61e. Yeah... I was reading up on some of those switches and realised they weren't compatible.

 

That's kind of misleading from those companies, no? In any case, I'll look around for some quieter optical switches then. Thanks for your help.

The more I learn, the more I realise I don't actually know anything. 

 

Recommendations: Lian Li 205m (sleek, pretty decent airflow for a non-mesh front panel and cheap), i5-10400f (Ryzen 5 3600 performance, 20% cheaper), Arctic P14 PWM fans, Logitech g305.

 

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5 minutes ago, tishous said:

I have the DK61e. Yeah... I was reading up on some of those switches and realised they weren't compatible.

 

That's kind of misleading from those companies, no? In any case, I'll look around for some quieter optical switches then. Thanks for your help.

You won't find any silenced optical switches. Not worth putting money into imo.

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3 minutes ago, kelvinhall05 said:

You won't find any silenced optical switches. Not worth putting money into imo.

Would lubing the optical browns be a more viable option?

The more I learn, the more I realise I don't actually know anything. 

 

Recommendations: Lian Li 205m (sleek, pretty decent airflow for a non-mesh front panel and cheap), i5-10400f (Ryzen 5 3600 performance, 20% cheaper), Arctic P14 PWM fans, Logitech g305.

 

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4 minutes ago, tishous said:

Would lubing the optical browns be a more viable option?

Extremely unlikely it will make any difference at all.

Quote me to see my reply!

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Go to splitkb.com (The Netherlands) and look at Gazzew Boba U4 62g switches

- They are Ultra quiet, more tactile than Gateron Browns, and will work in any keyboard that accepts Cherry/Gateron/Zeal switches

 

Happy modding,

Paul 

 

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try to find some thick thick keycaps, that might help with the sound ... well it changed the sound of my keyboard a lot with the kailh box white when I went from double shot pbt DSA profile to double shot abs SA profile ...

 

You can also find neoprene sheet and put it inside the keyboard, it will help with the case resonance if there's any.

 

You can also o-ring the keycaps but it will only help with the downstroke sound and not the upstroke ... also o-rings might make it mushier and some really dislike it ... there's different hardness and thickness of o-ring you can purchase ... chose wisely ...

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@Dr0y Thank you for the suggestion. The keyboard is quite a low profile one and I quite like it so I will probably look for some thicker low profile key caps.

 

@geo3I thought lubing them would make a difference even though the other guy said it wouldn't, but still wanted a more experienced person's advice. Thanks :)

The more I learn, the more I realise I don't actually know anything. 

 

Recommendations: Lian Li 205m (sleek, pretty decent airflow for a non-mesh front panel and cheap), i5-10400f (Ryzen 5 3600 performance, 20% cheaper), Arctic P14 PWM fans, Logitech g305.

 

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