Help Picking a Keyboard for my friend

[Linus No Beard]

he has a max budget of 80$ and wants the following

an arm rest 

true Charry MX switches

tactile bump

no noise or at least minimal switch noise

104 key layout

wired USB

 

rgb is not important

 

edit while not needed alot of macro keys would be good he is a macro king

[da na]

Which Cherry MX... They all feel a bit different. Or does he have a preference?

-removed because they were awful apparently-

These don't list which switches are used, but seem to meet the other criteria.

[AndreiArgeanu]

3 minutes ago, wat3rmelon_man2 said:

Corsair CH-9226765-NA K55 RGB PRO Gaming Keyboard - Newegg.com

https://www.amazon.com/CORSAIR-K55-RGB-Gaming-Keyboard/dp/B01M4LIKLI

These don't list which switches are used, but seem to meet the other criteria.

It's a membrane keyboard and it's garbage. The keys are mushy and it's awful to type on. I'd rather take the 3$ Dell membrane keyboard over this. And at 50$ it's a scam to say the least.

[minibois]

9 minutes ago, wat3rmelon_man2 said:

Which Cherry MX... They all feel a bit different. Or does he have a preference?

Corsair CH-9226765-NA K55 RGB PRO Gaming Keyboard - Newegg.com

https://www.amazon.com/CORSAIR-K55-RGB-Gaming-Keyboard/dp/B01M4LIKLI

These don't list which switches are used, but seem to meet the other criteria.

The Corsair K55 (Pro) uses membrane switches, not mechanical switches, which is why they don't mention the type of switch used.

18 minutes ago, Linus No Beard said:

he has a max budget of 80$ and wants the following

an arm rest 

true Charry MX switches

tactile bump

no noise or at least minimal switch noise

104 key layout

wired USB

Cherry MX + tactile bump + minimal noise immediately gives you MX Brown and MX Clear as the only options.

Because MX Clear is not something you'll find in the wild anymore, that just leaves MX Brown as the only option.

 

Mechanical switches are very personal, which is why MX Brown has a reputation within the broader keyboard community as an all-rounder keyswitch, but in the more enthusiast side is not as well-liked, as there are more different types of tactile switches.

I don't really have any specific keyboard recommendations, but as switches decide a lot about the feel of a mechanical keyboard, I would recommend your friend to visit a store - if possible - try out some different switch types, to get an idea of feel, noise level and his overall preference.

[Linus No Beard]

10 minutes ago, wat3rmelon_man2 said:

Which Cherry MX... They all feel a bit different. Or does he have a preference?

Corsair CH-9226765-NA K55 RGB PRO Gaming Keyboard - Newegg.com

https://www.amazon.com/CORSAIR-K55-RGB-Gaming-Keyboard/dp/B01M4LIKLI

These don't list which switches are used, but seem to meet the other criteria.

he likes MX browns because they feel like blues but are not as loud 

1 minute ago, minibois said:

The Corsair K55 (Pro) uses membrane switches, not mechanical switches, which is why they don't mention the type of switch used.

Cherry MX + tactile bump + minimal noise immediately gives you MX Brown and MX Clear as the only options.

Because MX Clear is not something you'll find in the wild anymore, that just leaves MX Brown as the only option.

 

Mechanical switches are very personal, which is why MX Brown has a reputation within the broader keyboard community as an all-rounder keyswitch, but in the more enthusiast side is not as well-liked, as there are more different types of tactile switches.

I don't really have any specific keyboard recommendations, but as switches decide a lot about the feel of a mechanical keyboard, I would recommend your friend to visit a store - if possible - try out some different switch types, to get an idea of feel, noise level and his overall preference.

he likes browns his current has blues so he wants to keep the feel but go quitter

[SorryBella]

11 minutes ago, Linus No Beard said:

he likes browns his current has blues so he wants to keep the feel but go quitter

Really the best route there would be to run a lower pitch tactiles, something like Halo Clear or Kailh Box White, or buy dental/keyswitch O-Ring to dampen the switch noise and stick to his existing blues. But you gonna need to do a lot of digging and youtube review searching if ya wanna do the former because those 2 are not exactly a hot demand switch in any way.

[Linus No Beard]

9 minutes ago, SorryClaire said:

Really the best route there would be to run a lower pitch tactiles, something like Halo Clear or Kailh Box White, or buy dental/keyswitch O-Ring to dampen the switch noise and stick to his existing blues. But you gonna need to do a lot of digging and youtube review searching if ya wanna do the former because those 2 are not exactly a hot demand switch in any way.

ok thanks for the input i will ask him if he has tried O-Rings

[minibois]

3 hours ago, Linus No Beard said:

he likes MX browns because they feel like blues but are not as loud 

There are two things that can make an Cherry MX Blue (or any other clicky switch) loud.

That is:

- The click mechanism (click jacket in the Cherry MX Blue)

- The bottoming out noise (the switch reaching the bottom, make a deeper sound than the click)

 

O-rings would only help with the latter, not with the former.

You can't remove the click from a Cherry MX Blue, so you can't eliminate that sound. The idea behind a Cherry MX Brown, is that is has the same tactile feedback as a Blue, except without the click jacket and the noise associated with it.

Personally I definitely don't think the MX Brown is as tactile as a Blue, so if it's 'crisp' tactility your friend is after, they could be pretty disappointed with an MX Brown, which is why I would recommend trying it out in real life before making a purchasing decision.

[Linus No Beard]

1 hour ago, minibois said:

There are two things that can make an Cherry MX Blue (or any other clicky switch) loud.

That is:

- The click mechanism (click jacket in the Cherry MX Blue)

- The bottoming out noise (the switch reaching the bottom, make a deeper sound than the click)

 

O-rings would only help with the latter, not with the former.

You can't remove the click from a Cherry MX Blue, so you can't eliminate that sound. The idea behind a Cherry MX Brown, is that is has the same tactile feedback as a Blue, except without the click jacket and the noise associated with it.

Personally I definitely don't think the MX Brown is as tactile as a Blue, so if it's 'crisp' tactility your friend is after, they could be pretty disappointed with an MX Brown, which is why I would recommend trying it out in real life before making a purchasing decision.

ok i will try taking him to a mediocre buy if O-rings are not enough

[nanopone]

6 hours ago, Linus No Beard said:

true Charry MX switches

tactile bump

no noise or at least minimal switch noise

you're gonna come up empty if these are the requirements.

 

true tactility is extremely niche on the mx platform. true tactile switches are found on expensive switches like glorious pandas and zelios and NONE of cherry's own switches are actually tactile. the closest there is would be cherry mx brown, but they're just noisy and scratchy and have an extremely light tactile bump that almost makes them linear. take this from someone who bought a $200 mx brown board and replaced it with a $50 gateron red keyboard within a year (which was a massive upgrade).

 

also, sidenote, having "true cherry mx switches" doesn't mean you're getting quality. brands like kailh and gateron are arguably more quality and give you more options than cherry ever has all while staying on the same mx platform.

[Linus No Beard]

1 hour ago, rikupone said:

you're gonna come up empty if these are the requirements.

 

true tactility is extremely niche on the mx platform. true tactile switches are found on expensive switches like glorious pandas and zelios and NONE of cherry's own switches are actually tactile. the closest there is would be cherry mx brown, but they're just noisy and scratchy and have an extremely light tactile bump that almost makes them linear. take this from someone who bought a $200 mx brown board and replaced it with a $50 gateron red keyboard within a year (which was a massive upgrade).

 

also, sidenote, having "true cherry mx switches" doesn't mean you're getting quality. brands like kailh and gateron are arguably more quality and give you more options than cherry ever has all while staying on the same mx platform.

last time i got non cherry mx switches the board lasted a month then wasd did not work i know what i am getting with charry switches

[ProBottler]

39 minutes ago, Linus No Beard said:

last time i got non cherry mx switches the board lasted a month then wasd did not work i know what i am getting with charry switches

May I asked what board is that? It sounds like the pcb's quality is the one that causes the keyboard to fail rather than the switch.

[nanopone]

11 hours ago, Linus No Beard said:

last time i got non cherry mx switches the board lasted a month then wasd did not work

if an entire cluster of keys stopped working at around the same time, that sounds more like a pcb failure than individual switch failure.

11 hours ago, Linus No Beard said:

i know what i am getting with charry switches

you really don't, though. cherry might have created the mx platform, but they're not the gods of it. i used to have the same mindset as you after having one bad experience with cheap chinese mx blues, but there are also very solid mx clone brands. like i mentioned, kailh and gateron are great while not being too expensive. 

[Linus No Beard]

11 hours ago, ProBottler said:

May I asked what board is that? It sounds like the pcb's quality is the one that causes the keyboard to fail rather than the switch.

it was not the pcb because the board had hot swap switches when i replaces the switches it worked again also it was over the course of a week that they broke

51 minutes ago, rikupone said:

you really don't, though. cherry might have created the mx platform, but they're not the gods of it. i used to have the same mindset as you after having one bad experience with cheap chinese mx blues, but there are also very solid mx clone brands. like i mentioned, kailh and gateron are great while not being too expensive. 

this is how i see it clones are those Family run restaurants on the side of the highway and charry is a chain restaurant

and the quality of the clone can vary a lot where with charry you can be shore that it will work the same

also on that board each switch felt different 

 

i was not the one asking for true charry that is just what my friend wants so even if you changed my mind you wont change his

[ProBottler]

1 hour ago, Linus No Beard said:

it was not the pcb because the board had hot swap switches when i replaces the switches it worked again also it was over the course of a week that they broke

Interesting. What brand of switch is that? My guess is Outemu cause their basic switches do suck.

[Linus No Beard]

Just now, ProBottler said:

Interesting. What brand of switch is that? My guess is Outemu cause their basic switches do suck.

they were Outemu blues

[ProBottler]

Just now, Linus No Beard said:

they were Outemu blues

Yep. No wonder. Besides switches that Gazzew involved in the manufacturing process, Outemu basic switches are not great in terms of reliability.