Author Topic: Help recommend me a board  (Read 2367 times)

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Offline cameronmcleod71

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Help recommend me a board
« on: Fri, 17 August 2018, 21:05:33 »
Hello I am in the market for a new keyboard for my office. I currently use a ducky board with silver switches (I went with silver because they feel smoother and more responsive than reds). This time around I am thinking about get a board with more tactile feedback. I have recently tried blues and browns, liked the feedback of blues but the noise was a bit too much for me, and the browns just felt mushy and the feedback felt gross. So now I'm thinking about buying a board with Cherry MX clears, I've heard they have good tactility without making a sharp clicky sound. Is that the right choice or should I look into another switch? Would the clears be too fatiguing?



Sorry for saying "I" so much it makes me feel like a narcissist  :p

Offline user 18

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Re: Help recommend me a board
« Reply #1 on: Fri, 17 August 2018, 22:00:25 »
I can't recommend clears highly enough. They're my favourite switch (at least of what I've tried) for exactly the reasons you say you're looking for -- they're pleasantly tactile (much more so than browns), and not too loud. They are certainly heavier than anything you say you've tried. I was a bit nervous to try clears originally as well (because of the weight; coming from blues & browns), but it turned out to be exactly the right choice for me. After so many years primarily using clears, I actually prefer using heavier switches now. Most of my boards are MX Clear, MX Green, or buckling spring. Strangely enough, I still can't stand MX black -- they feel so much heavier to me, heavier even than using the same spring in a different switch.

The feedback from clears does feel a bit different from blues, but I don't find it any worse, just different.

If you like the feel of clears, but they do turn out too heavy for you, there are options to make it lighter. You can buy lighter springs to swap in, or if opening up the switches seems too daunting, you can buy 'zealio' switches from zealpc.net -- a 62g or 65g tactile zealio won't be too much heavier than a MX blue. Either of those options would involve some amount of soldering to get into a board though.


It's been a very long time since I've looked at buying any new boards, so I can't recommend any particular boards to you -- I don't even know what brands sell boards with MX Clears anymore. Hopefully someone else with some more recent buying experience can point you in the right direction on that!
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Max Nighthawk x8 (MX Brown) | CM QFR (MX Blue) | CM QFR (MX Clear) | RK-9000 (MX Red) | Model M 1391401 | Model M SSK 1370475 | CM Novatouch | G80-8113 (MX Clear) | 60% (85g MX Blue) | Whitefox Aria (MX Clear) | CL-LX (MX Clear) | Mira SE (MX Clear)
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Offline tp4tissue

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Re: Help recommend me a board
« Reply #2 on: Fri, 17 August 2018, 23:42:06 »
When you're typing Fast enough, all cherry switches will feel linear..

There isn't a tramendous difference in the cherry mx line..


If you want something different, get a buckling spring..

If you want something that feels like the rubber dome you've grown up with,  get Topre..

If you want Crazy,  get something with the new Clickbars..




The only reason you feel like there's a difference now,  is because you're looking for it.

You're probably touching the switches gently, pausing to detect the nuances in feedback,   

All that stuff goes out the window, and you'll never think or feel it again once you get over the novelty of "mechanical keyboards"


Offline f32h80fsd08h34r5

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Re: Help recommend me a board
« Reply #3 on: Sat, 18 August 2018, 01:17:32 »
Hello I am in the market for a new keyboard for my office. I currently use a ducky board with silver switches (I went with silver because they feel smoother and more responsive than reds). This time around I am thinking about get a board with more tactile feedback. I have recently tried blues and browns, liked the feedback of blues but the noise was a bit too much for me, and the browns just felt mushy and the feedback felt gross. So now I'm thinking about buying a board with Cherry MX clears, I've heard they have good tactility without making a sharp clicky sound. Is that the right choice or should I look into another switch? Would the clears be too fatiguing?



Sorry for saying "I" so much it makes me feel like a narcissist  :p

Something with some PHAT tactile feedback but isn't too loud could be an Orange/Salmon ALPS boards. Those are my favorite tactiles!! They aren't terribly hard to find for a good price on eBay.

The Apple M0116 is a really nice one that I personally recommend!

Offline ag36

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Re: Help recommend me a board
« Reply #4 on: Sun, 19 August 2018, 19:20:11 »
Matias quiet click or Box navy.
Model M*5, SSK*4, M13 black*1, Model F XT*1, AT*1 F107*1, Unicomp*1, 3278 *1, Leopold FC750R*2, 980M*2 FC980C*1 Filco majestouch 2 TKL*1, Cooler Master MasterKeys S PBT*1, Uniqey Q100*2, Ducky pocket*1, KBD75*2, KBD19X*2, HHKB pro 2*1, Type-S*1 Topre Realforce RGB*1, 108 all 30g*1, numpad*1, 87U*1 Dell AT101W*2, Alps64*2, V80 matias quiet click*2, Quiet liner *1, WYSE ASCII *1

Offline user 18

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Re: Help recommend me a board
« Reply #5 on: Fri, 24 August 2018, 14:51:13 »
When you're typing Fast enough, all cherry switches will feel linear..

There isn't a tramendous difference in the cherry mx line..

I'd disagree. I can't necessarily feel subtle differences, but there's a very clear difference to me between typing on reds and clears, even at 100+ wpm.
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Max Nighthawk x8 (MX Brown) | CM QFR (MX Blue) | CM QFR (MX Clear) | RK-9000 (MX Red) | Model M 1391401 | Model M SSK 1370475 | CM Novatouch | G80-8113 (MX Clear) | 60% (85g MX Blue) | Whitefox Aria (MX Clear) | CL-LX (MX Clear) | Mira SE (MX Clear)
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Offline kohtachi

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Re: Help recommend me a board
« Reply #6 on: Tue, 04 September 2018, 19:33:20 »
umm, do your neighbors a favor please get a silent keyboard for office.  linear .... silent mx reds or silent topre 45g!!!!!!
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Offline Aerizu

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Re: Help recommend me a board
« Reply #7 on: Tue, 04 September 2018, 22:31:22 »
When you're typing Fast enough, all cherry switches will feel linear..

There isn't a tramendous difference in the cherry mx line..


If you want something different, get a buckling spring..

If you want something that feels like rubber dome you've grew up with,  get Topre..

If you want Crazy,  get something with the new Clickbars..




The only reason you feel like there's a difference now,  is because you're looking for it.

You're probably touching the switches gently, pausing to detect the nuances in feedback,   

All that stuff goes out the window, and you'll never think or feel it again once you get over the novelty of "mechanical keyboards"



No TP4, stop! You're luring them out of this hobby! XD

Offline Blaise170

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Re: Help recommend me a board
« Reply #8 on: Wed, 05 September 2018, 09:59:40 »
Mechanical keyboards are a novelty though and once that wears off you start to spend less and less time with the hobby. After being around for almost 6 years, I'm becoming less and less active.
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Offline RightYouAreKen

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Re: Help recommend me a board
« Reply #9 on: Wed, 05 September 2018, 11:41:25 »
For a work board, I think it's hard to beat the MK Typist line.  I've been using the MK Typist C with Silent Reds for 6 months at work and really love the board.  It's perfect for a professional office environment.  It's a VERY sturdy board, looks understated/boring, but feels amazing.  The silent reds are a great key if you don't mind a soft linear key.  I like them as they reduce effort level and I'm a "bottom the key out" kinda typer.  Their sound is about inline with the Lenovo membrane OEM boards that our company issued PCs/laptops come with, but of course they feel MUCH cleaner and crisper.

They also offer the board with Kailh BOX whites and Cherry MX Browns.

The board feels MUCH more solid than the Corsair Strafe RGB Silent (again, MX Silent Reds) I have at home.  Even though they are the same switches, the MK Typist feels like it's made from granite whereas the Corsair kinda feels like it's made from particle board by comparison.

To spice mine up, I just ordered a set of their "Good in Blue" keycaps for it.  Should be coming in later this week. 
https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=4282&mkref=jqeh2w4