Hows the keyboard for gaming? I currently have CM Quickfire TK with MX Red and o-rings. Is the novatouch more quiet? Are the keys easier to press? Hows the 1mm actuation point? Does it make a difference? I personally don't care about the feeling of keycaps and switch really, looking for something good for gaming, thats it.
I am looking to eventually switch my Quickfire TK for something more high-end like Ducky or something, or maybe a novatouch or logitech g910 if they are actually good. If the novatouch 45g is good, I may wait for the 35g version, I dont know yet.
Um this question is hard to answer because it is mostly opinion based.
My gut reaction would be to say no. MX-red is probably your best bet for gaming. (Or it is for most people since they say it's the easiest to double tap on.)
Personally I can play pretty well on anything but then again back in my Cal-I days in college we all used ****ty membrane keyboards so Topres are fine for me.
I have no idea what CM means when they say 1mm actuation point but Topre switches in general have all the actuation force at the top of the press vs MX red where it's smooth all the way down.
Imagine pressing down on a little rubber bubble that collapses because that is literally what you are doing.
As for sound, this depends on your specific keycaps and dampening options. You can make any keyboard quiet with the right combination of soft landing pads, o-rings, dental band mods, lube, etc.
If you have the money and want to step up. I personally like custom korean boards with ergo lubed and stickered blacks for gaming.
If I press hard on the keys, I can make a lot of noise bottoming out even with the o-rings on my MX Red (the blue o-rings from wasd), however my biggest problem is when you release the key, which is where most of the sound comes from and I am wondering if the novatouch fixes that or not.
I don't mind if its not smooth all the way down like MX Reds are. As long as the key register as fast as it can (I am guessing 1mm does that), then thats fine. I am all about speed. However, you did mention all the actuation force is at the top. Is the 45g mentionned the maximum force require to actuation the key or is it the average when bottoming out? As an example, would it require 55g at the top and like 35g at the bottom for an average of like 45g? Or is 45g of actuation force the same as MX Red but it gets even lower the more you bottom out?
The 1mm actuation point is the distance you press for the key to register. However, 1mm seems quite low, much lower than any Cherry MX switches. I am not sure what it is on normal topre keyboards. I really have no experience with topre keyboards.
When you talk about double tap being easier, I am guessing it may take more time for a topre keyboard to come back to the initial position after releasing the key? I can't think of anything else. On OCN, some people claim topre are the best for double tapping because you dont have to deal with debounce time.
For bottoming out noise, have you tried these:
https://elitekeyboards.com/products.php?sub=access,slpadsI think they might be quieter than o-rings but I'm not sure.
For the key coming back up... you can make a topre like novatouch completely silent by doing the dental band mod or something similar. (This involves taking the keyboard apart though)
Basically you can make topre's very very silent if you want. When my HHKB was dental modded, the only sound it made were low raindrop like thuds.
I haven't tried to mod the Novatouch yet because I'm trying to source some 0.5mm thick foam disks for my next mod. (Dental band mod shortens key travel too far for my taste)
As for 1mm actuation. I can tell you this, it activates very very close to the top of the press.
The problem is, you're pressing down on a rubber dome. So basically it's almost impossible to quickly activate the key and not bottom out.
Imagine popping some bubble wrap. Initially there is resistance because of the air in the bubble, but once you over come this, there is no resistance.
Topre is like that. There is 45g necessary to cave in the bubble at the top, but once this occurs there's pretty much no resistance the rest of the way down.
Basically what that means is that on Topre, for every key press you need to go all the way down and all the way back up.
For linear cherry like red... you can float the key right around the actuation point and repeatedly actuate it with very very little movement.
That's why people say it's better for double tapping.
Topre is not like cherry at all. It's much much more like and old school membrane keyboard except with more travel, a very crisp activation and is super super smooth.
You really should try it for yourself, but I would not say it's the best type of switch for gaming. Once again, I'm just giving general advice. Personally I can use it for games just fine.
Keyboards honestly don't affect my performance in any game like a mouse or even a mouse pad does unless the switch is really heavy (which Novatouch definitely is not).
I would say wait until it shows up in store like Fry's and then go try it out before you purchase.
Another thing you can do if you are a student or have a subscription to Amazon Prime (students get this for free) is just order it through Prime Shipping.
Then try it and just return it. This is kind of shady but their return policy is like super simple.
You just click return. Then you get a thing to print out. And you drop it off at a UPS store. The UPS guys just take the package and give you a tracking number.
It takes 10 seconds. Just make sure you do this through Amazon Prime though otherwise it won't be this simple.
If you have any other questions that aren't directly Novatouch related, just PM me. I don't want to derail the thread
