Mechanical Keyboard Questions

[iamdarkyoshi]

So my friend has a derpy ibuypotatos PC. I upgraded most of the innards. But he is still using the keyboard that shipped with it, a keyboard so shitty some of the keys didn't work right out of the box. So I told him about mechanical keyboards and he tried my brother's cherry MX red keyboard. He liked it.

Now he is interested in getting one but he texted me this;

So what exactly is a mechanical keyboard, and what kinds are there?

Now I still own a membrane keyboard, and do not plan on upgrading until it dies. I was not sure exactly what to tell him, as I have not personally owned a mech. keyboard. Can I get some good answers here?

I plan on showing him this thread, so please provide information for us. Thanks!

[Amazingasian]

From our very own Linus:

ANother nice guide:

 

http://www.keyboardco.com/blog/index.php/2012/12/an-introduction-to-cherry-mx-mechanical-switches/

[Whorax]

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/255051-what-key-switch-should-i-get-look-here/ courtesy of @STRMfrmXMN

[sirtoby]

The thing with mechanical keyboards is, that everybody likes something else. It's hard to give the ultimate answer to "what mechanlical keyboard should I buy?". Tell your friend to go to a Bestbuy or something simmilar and try out some keyboards. We can help him with the form factor or the manufaturer, but the switch type is pure personal preference. There is however no need to run out and find every switch type on the market. If your friend likes Razers clicky switches, it's very likely that he will like cherry blues too, if he likes kailh reds, he'll like Cherry reds, and so on.