soldering durgod k320 (ISO)

[keyboardnoob99]

Hi
I just bought a durgod k320 (ISO) Keyboard. Its my first mec-keyboard and it feels basically great.
BUT

It came with MX Cherry speed silver switches. For my taste they are way to sensitive.
So I have a few questions and hope you can help:

1. is there a software to change the actuation. Make it less sensitive?
2. If not I want to change the switches to mx brown or gateron phantom brown. Are all switches for soldering or how do can I check this?
 does it work: https://www.reichelt.com/ch/de/cherry-mx-brown-tastenmodul-schnappbefestigung-cherry-mx1a-g1nn-p202568.html?&trstct=pol_11&nbc=1
3. Are the gateron phantom brown compatible with the k320 board?
4. do I need to lube the mx brown all by hand or can I just install them?

thats about it I guess.

[suicidal_orange]

Welcome to geekhack

Mechanical switches are digital - either they are pressed or they are not so you can't adjust the height in software.  Topre keyboards are not mechanical so you can adjust the height of the keypress on them.

Nearly every switch you see for sale new is "MX compatible" because Cherry had the patent for MX switches and only once the patent expired did everyone start to make copies, if it has a + shaped stem it's going to be one of them.

Gateron are certainly MX compatible so they will work in your board.

Thousands of keyboards are sold with unlubed switches and their owners did not die, so you could certainly just install them.  Some people claim to feel a huge difference after lubing, others would say it's confirmation bias that for all the effort they put in they expect it to be better, so it is - the reality is usually somewhere in the middle.  Have a read around whatever switch you do chose as some are more scratchy than others and this is what lube reduces.

Another thought - you say your board feels basically great and it uses MX silver which are 45g linear switches, but you're looking at Gateron brown switches are tactile and heavier at 55g.  I'm not familiar with the phantoms but they call it brown so chances are it's only a small tactile bump, but it's a bump and will feel different.  If you like the smooth feel of the silvers you might want the ghost yellow (which is the same stiffness as the brown) or red which is the same as the silvers.

[butre]

I put box royals in a k320 a while back, didn't like the cherry blues that it came with

there's no way to change the actuation point on a switch without modifying the switches (ie changing out the sliders) unless it's a hall effect switch, which speed silvers aren't.

you can solder in any switch you like, so long as it's cherry mount.  desoldering the existing switches is a bit of a pain if you don't have the right equipment and you may damage the circuit board.

gateron phantom browns are compatible with the k320

you can just install MX browns but I do recommend lubing them.  the phantom browns are pre-lubed and don't need any help, so I recommend going with those if browns are what you're after.

edit:

Welcome to geekhack

Mechanical switches are digital - either they are pressed or they are not so you can't adjust the height in software.  Topre keyboards are not mechanical so you can adjust the height of the keypress on them.

Nearly every switch you see for sale new is "MX compatible" because Cherry had the patent for MX switches and only once the patent expired did everyone start to make copies, if it has a + shaped stem it's going to be one of them.

Gateron are certainly MX compatible so they will work in your board.

Thousands of keyboards are sold with unlubed switches and their owners did not die, so you could certainly just install them.  Some people claim to feel a huge difference after lubing, others would say it's confirmation bias that for all the effort they put in they expect it to be better, so it is - the reality is usually somewhere in the middle.  Have a read around whatever switch you do chose as some are more scratchy than others and this is what lube reduces.

Another thought - you say your board feels basically great and it uses MX silver which are 45g linear switches, but you're looking at Gateron brown switches are tactile and heavier at 55g.  I'm not familiar with the phantoms but they call it brown so chances are it's only a small tactile bump, but it's a bump and will feel different.  If you like the smooth feel of the silvers you might want the ghost yellow (which is the same stiffness as the brown) or red which is the same as the silvers.

re: your last paragraph
 I suspect the big reason OP doesn't like the speed silvers is the short 1.2mm actuation of the speed silvers.  the short actuation threw me off when I got some gateron optical yellows a while back, but I got used to it pretty quickly.  any normal 2mm actuation switch should do the job here.

the gateron phantom browns feel similar to cherry browns, but the tactile bump is somewhat more pronounced and they are much smoother.

[keyboardnoob99]

Hi you guys
THANK YOU very much for the quick replies!
It really helped me a lot

Yeah I did not formulate correctly. I really like the feel of the board, the keycaps and design, etc.
Just the typing sucks with the mx speed silver (for me) because I accidently press a button just by "resting" my fingers on it.
Perhaps the best solution is to wait a week or so, maybe I will get used to the sensitivity.

If not, I probably go for the cherry browns or phantom browns. I think the "bump" might be just what I want.


I was worried about a 5 pin or 3 pin switch version  (PCB vs PLATE mount) (https://switchandclick.com/plate-mounted-vs-pcb-mounted-keyboard/)  but it seems like the browns I can buy here are 3 pins most of the time.


So anyway have a good time.

[suicidal_orange]

I accidently press a button just by "resting" my fingers on it.

Ah, you actually have fingers!  My first board had reds and even without the high activation point I had this problem, with silvers I'd probably press the whole home row

I don't know for sure but I'm tempted to say you might want a bigger bump or a heavier spring - I'm currently running linears with 120g springs on most keys and 100g on the ones pressed by my pinkies which is quite extreme but works for me.  This is one of the few cases where I think it might be worth getting a switch tester (you can't really get a feel for how a single switch would be to type on but you can rest your fingers on it and see how much it moves)

[hussar_name]

Don't rely too much on switch testers to choose the configuration.

Switch testers don't give you a representation of the sound and don't give you an idea of the fatigue after long typing sessions.

They're very valuable tough to judge the extreme configurations.

Surely you can judge if a spring is too light for you. Resting the finger on the tester allows to understand if your fingers actuate the key.

I didn't try speed switches yet, but I'm tempted

Tactile switches in my opinion are just wrong. When you type they just feel quasi linear, with some imperfections in travel.