Ducky Shine II - Blues or Browns?

[Laksen]

Hey,

I need some advice for the type of switches. Right now I am gaming, using my keyboard ~2-4 hours per week, but I write a lot, due to lots of papers, I'm having to make a large paper next month, so I would like to get my keyboard beforehand, and I'm probably not going to game more than I do now.

What's your recommendations, have anyone used both types of switches?

[Aadi]

That is a great question. I've went and tried out bot switches at a store myself and heard Linus's view of these. If you want a discernible "click" sound whenever you type keys and you want a more tactile feel, go with the cherry mx blues. The browns are a little less "tactile" than the blues but are much more quiet when you type on them. For typing reports I think blues would be the best, but it's still a matter of personal preference. Many of my friends still prefer browns and blacks over blues. I like blues though :P I suggest trying them at a store and then making your decision

[Aadi]

BTW the Ducky Shine II is a great keyboard but if you want something less expensive for good build quality as well you can go with CM Storm Quickfire TK...Hope this helped!

[mgsstar]

If you want the tactile feel of mx blues but you don't want the blue's loud clicking sound, go for the browns. The browns have a less "tactile feel" than the blues though. I prefer browns because I don't get the clicky sound in blues and I can get a tactile feel that I want in mechanical keyboards.

[Serroots]

I've got the Shine II in blues with white backlight, and it is the most amazing thing ever. Sure, the blues are loud, but I love the sound. And that keyboard is buil ridiculously well. You could kill an entire army with one.

[Laksen]

Thanks for all of your responses, I think that I will go with blues, but I haven't got the opportunity to go to a local store because mechanical keyboards is very niche in my country (Denmark) :-(, and I don't know anyone that owns a mechanical keyboard.. I hope I will make the right choice :-)

[mgsstar]

Thanks for all of your responses, I think that I will go with blues, but I haven't got the opportunity to go to a local store because mechanical keyboards is very niche in my country (Denmark) :-(, and I don't know anyone that owns a mechanical keyboard.. I hope I will make the right choice :-)

get a sampler kit to test out the switches if you are unsure which one you like: http://www.wasdkeyboards.com/index.php/wasd-sampler-kit.html

[Laksen]

How do i use the switches, aren't they just replacement switches. How do I use them, I mean i can't put/plug them into my current keyboard? :-)

[t0wer]

the switches are just to test out the switch type, and get a feel for what you want.

one problem blues have is, the reset point is above the activation point, making double tapping a problem for some.

[Laksen]

I don't think that you get what I mean. Do you get like a mini keyboard with x amount of keys with one type of switch on each other? Or do you just get some bits that you have to put into a keyboard?

[The Tao]

You get a bag of bare switches, one of each (I think its about 8 dollars a bag.) I don't think its the best way to go about testing them because its hard to really get a feel for what fits you best without actually typing with them. If this is your first mechanical keyboard I would suggest going with blues if only to get the full mechanical experience. One of my biggest regrets on my setup was getting a board with reds, which are kind of boring compared to blues or any other clicky switch.

[quakenspiele]

one thing to consider with blues is that they are really loud so make sure you do most of your typing in a room away from the rest of the people in your house

[Laksen]

Will this mean that if I go blues, I will not be able to game (quietly) in the evening/night time?

[Laksen]

Is this video representable of what the switches sounds like? It seems as if he's just hammering down the keys with no mercy?

[The Tao]

The reds are pretty much silent during the travel of the keystroke. They only sound they make is the thud the key makes when it bottoms out. I assume that its similar for the other silent switches like the blacks and the browns. The back plate probably has more influence over the sound than the switches themselves as his MX red board sounds much different from mine, which is a tad quieter than most rubber domes. However, the board with the alps is pretty much dead on (very loud.) This video is a better representation of the sound signature of the switches rather than the actual noise level. Its hard to really capture that without physically being in a room with one. If the noise gets to you too much you can always buy sound dampeners. http://www.wasdkeyboards.com/index.php/products/keyboard-accessories-2/cherry-mx-rubber-switch-dampeners.html

[Laksen]

Final conclusion: I think that I will go with the browns due to the noise of the blues and the "problem" with double tapping a key, I might put some of those o-rings on in the future if the browns are too loud. Are there anyone that have tried both browns and blues that can explain the difference. Are the blues just louder? Do you loose some of the tactile feel of blues when using browns?

[Makaseo]

The blues are both louder and more tactile from my experience. Compared to browns, blue switches REALLY let you feel that click on the way down. Not to say browns are flimsy or anything, but it's a moderately noticeable difference.

I also think that most of the time, a large part of the loud sound that comes from mechanical keyboards comes from bottoming out the keys anyways, so at least for me, browns didn't make too much of a difference in making my typing quieter. Then again, I'm not exactly the most delicate typist. Hope this input does something for you.