Author Topic: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?  (Read 45308 times)

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Offline klennkellon

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Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #100 on: Thu, 01 September 2016, 09:53:20 »
SKCL Brown for typing and gaming is 7/10

The keyboard itself for gaming 4/10 the KRO is so restrictive barely any 3+ combinations register. But is it really the boards fault? I don't think whoever designed it planned for it to be used to kill virtual mercenaries.

Offline emdude

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Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #101 on: Thu, 01 September 2016, 10:57:52 »
I think I originally listed SKCM Blues at 9/10 in this thread, but I will probably have to bump that down to 8/10.  Excellent feel, but perhaps a tad too light and I'm becoming apathetic about how they sound.  Also, some new switches:

Alps SKCM White: 7/10, also just okay
Alps SKCM Cream Damped: 6/10
Alps SKCM Brown w/ Damped sliders: 9.5/10

Rubber Dome (IBM PCjr): 0/10, honestly couldn't get worse than this
Current drivers: IBM Model M SSK

Offline chyros

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Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #102 on: Thu, 01 September 2016, 11:08:04 »
Rubber Dome (IBM PCjr): 0/10, honestly couldn't get worse than this
...Are you sure? That's a pretty tall order :p . Might have to give this a go someday then xD . I've had a few quite horrible things so far that are way up on the ****-scale xD .
Check my keyboard video reviews:


Offline emdude

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Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #103 on: Thu, 01 September 2016, 11:12:00 »
Rubber Dome (IBM PCjr): 0/10, honestly couldn't get worse than this
...Are you sure? That's a pretty tall order :p . Might have to give this a go someday then xD . I've had a few quite horrible things so far that are way up on the ****-scale xD .

Haha, OK, I admit I have not tried anything Amstrad or that Smith Corona with the janky leaf springs, but for a rubber dome, the PCjr keyboard is just incredibly awful, nothing like you'd expect from IBM at the time.
Current drivers: IBM Model M SSK

Offline chyros

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Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #104 on: Thu, 01 September 2016, 12:29:58 »
Rubber Dome (IBM PCjr): 0/10, honestly couldn't get worse than this
...Are you sure? That's a pretty tall order :p . Might have to give this a go someday then xD . I've had a few quite horrible things so far that are way up on the ****-scale xD .

Haha, OK, I admit I have not tried anything Amstrad or that Smith Corona with the janky leaf springs, but for a rubber dome, the PCjr keyboard is just incredibly awful, nothing like you'd expect from IBM at the time.
Is this the original chiclet one you're talking about or the updated one?
Check my keyboard video reviews:


Offline kenmai9

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Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #105 on: Thu, 01 September 2016, 12:32:14 »
Topre: 8/10 - I enjoy typing on Topre. Very tactle and satisfying feeling. Unfortunately I have the variable weight Realforce. I'd like to try the 45g or 55g, or the HHKB.
MX Brown: 4/10 - Really scratchy, not a nice tactile feeling. Do not like.
MX Ergo Clear: 8.5/10 - Really like these. I use 62g springs with some lube. I love typing on this keyboard. I like it a little bit more than my Topre.
MX Red: 6/10 - Not bad. They were a tad too soft to my liking.
MX Black: 7/10 - I like. Still like the tactile feeling better than the linears. But not bad.
MX Blue: 5/10 - Gross.

To update this,

Gateron Black: 8.5/10

Its lit

Offline emdude

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Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #106 on: Thu, 01 September 2016, 12:34:45 »
Rubber Dome (IBM PCjr): 0/10, honestly couldn't get worse than this
...Are you sure? That's a pretty tall order :p . Might have to give this a go someday then xD . I've had a few quite horrible things so far that are way up on the ****-scale xD .

Haha, OK, I admit I have not tried anything Amstrad or that Smith Corona with the janky leaf springs, but for a rubber dome, the PCjr keyboard is just incredibly awful, nothing like you'd expect from IBM at the time.
Is this the original chiclet one you're talking about or the updated one?

The updated one, so I guess it could be (slightly) worse.
Current drivers: IBM Model M SSK

Offline czarek

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Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #107 on: Thu, 01 September 2016, 13:53:17 »
I should also post switches I like less (which I don't keep in my office):

Alps SKCC in Apple M0110: 1/10 (gritty and scratchy, gives me creeps when I try to type on it)
Alps SKCM White: 3/10 (feel good only when hit in center)
Alps SKCM Black: 7/10 (got it in a NIB board, best feeling Alps I've tried)
Mitsumi Hybrid Switch with a spring (linear): 4/10 (smooth but mushy as hell on bottom out)
Mitsumi Hybrid Switch with buckling rubber: 6/10
Acer Clicky Switch: 7/10
Cherry MY (G81): 4/10
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Offline Keycap

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Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #108 on: Thu, 01 September 2016, 15:37:28 »
Cherry MX Black: 5/10, they're just barely okay. Nothing special at all, and they're some of the scratchiest MX switches I've tried
Cherry MX Red: 6/10, the weighting feels better to me than MX Black, but these are also really boring and quite scratchy
Cherry MX Blue: 7/10, easily one of the smoothest switches I've tried, but the sound is annoying
Cherry MX Brown: 8.5/10, I feel guilty for this rating, but I really love these, and they've grown on me immensely. They feel very refined, even though the tactility is barely noticeable
Cherry MX Clear: 7/10, very nice and tactile, but they're just too stiff for me

Alps SKCM White: 9/10, very refined feel and the click is just perfect, and these easily sound the best out of all of the switches I've tried.
Alps SKCM Orange: 10/10, extremely smooth and the tactility can't get any better, and the weighting is just right, probably my favorite switch ever
Alps SKCM Black: 8/10, not very far off from Orange Alps at all, they're a bit stiffer and the tactility is a bit rougher, but still nice to type on
Alps SKCL series: 9/10, these are my favorite linear switches out there, they sound awesome and they are butter smooth

IBM buckling spring: 9/10, probably my favorite clicky switch, these feel amazing and the sound is very good as well, but it feels like there's not that much travel

Other weird switches:
Alps integrated dome: 8/10, these are pretty stiff linear switches (yes, I meant linear), yet very smooth and they're some of the quietest switches I've ever tried
Brother dome with slider: 7/10, the construction isn't that remarkable but the keyfeel is smooth and snappy, reminds me of a lighter MX Clear switch
Smith Corona leaf spring over membrane: ...This just doesn't deserve a rating. I don't even want to remember that these exist, they're that bad :p
NMB dome with slider: 6/10, not that bad, but the travel is way too short and the tactility could definitely be better

Offline y11971alex

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Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #109 on: Thu, 01 September 2016, 18:54:52 »
IBM
Selectric: 10, as long as they're unclogged
Beam: 10
Model F: 9.5 – 10, depending on quality of mount.
Model M: 8.5

Cherry
MX Blue: 7
MX Brown: -82 (both rough and unbelievably annoying)
MX Red: 1 (I don't like linears)
MX Black: 1 (I still don't like linears)
MX Green: 6.5
MX Clear: -83 (heavy, rough, and annoying)
MX Silent: 1

Alps
SKCM Blue: 9.5
SKCC Cream: 8.5
Monterey Blue: 7.5
Keyboards owned: IBM Selectric | 3278 | 3101 | 5251 | Model F XT | AT | 122 (6110344) | Model M 1390120 | 1390131 | 1391472 | 1392464 (DisplayWriter SSK) | 1395100 (SSK) | Honeywell RD IBM 09F4230 | Leading Edge DC-2014 (Blue Alps) | Chicony 5891 (Monterey Blue) | E&E-101 (KPT Blue) | BTC 5100 | 5100C | 5369 | DEC VT100 (Hi-tek Linear) | Burroughs TP109 (Hall) | Realforce 87 (55g)

Keyboards wanted: IBM Model F 104 (Unsaver) | Model M 1391401

Offline chyros

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Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #110 on: Thu, 01 September 2016, 18:57:36 »
Alps SKCC in Apple M0110: 1/10 (gritty and scratchy, gives me creeps when I try to type on it)
Alps SKCM White: 3/10 (feel good only when hit in center)
Alps SKCM Black: 7/10 (got it in a NIB board, best feeling Alps I've tried)
Your SKCC and SKCM white switches were in awful condition. If you'd had them in NOS condition you'd almost certainly rate them much higher than SKCM black - moreover the symptoms you describe are typical symptoms of ****ty switches. As I always keep hammering on, condition is EVERYTHING with Alps. SKCC are buttery smooth and Alps in good condition don't bind in the slightest. SKCM black aren't bad at all, possibly the most versatile switch in the entire series, but all the others feel much more refined. Keep a lookout for some mint salmon/orange/white Alps boards, shouldn't be too expensive and I suspect you'd like them hugely ;) .
Check my keyboard video reviews:


Offline Hypersphere

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Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #111 on: Thu, 01 September 2016, 19:34:49 »
As a general rule, I do not like linear switches. However, having tried the Cherry mx clone, Gateron, I find that I actually like Gateron Yellow switches. They have an ideal weight, and they are exceedingly smooth.

In addition, recently I have acquired some excellent Alps keyboards with SKCM blue and white switches. This has raised my esteem for these switches relative to others.

I've previously posted in this thread my ratings of a number of switches based on the degree to which the switch proviided excellent tactile or tactile + auditory feedback that coincided with actuation:

IBM capacitive buckling spring (Model F) = 10.
Topre 55g silenced and lubed = 9
Topre 45g silenced and lubed = 8
IBM membrane buckling spring (Model M) = 7
Blue Alps = 6
White Alps = 5
Brown Alps = 4
Matias Click = 3
Matias Quiet = 2
Hi-Tek Space Invader = 1
Cherry mx and clones = 0


Based on my recent experience with Blue and White Alps along with Gateron Yellows, I would amend the above rankings to put blue and white Alps above IBM Model M, and to put Gateron Yellow above other Cherry mx and clones.


Offline E3E

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Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #112 on: Thu, 01 September 2016, 21:12:43 »
As a general rule, I do not like linear switches. However, having tried the Cherry mx clone, Gateron, I find that I actually like Gateron Yellow switches. They have an ideal weight, and they are exceedingly smooth.

In addition, recently I have acquired some excellent Alps keyboards with SKCM blue and white switches. This has raised my esteem for these switches relative to others.

I've previously posted in this thread my ratings of a number of switches based on the degree to which the switch proviided excellent tactile or tactile + auditory feedback that coincided with actuation:

IBM capacitive buckling spring (Model F) = 10.
Topre 55g silenced and lubed = 9
Topre 45g silenced and lubed = 8
IBM membrane buckling spring (Model M) = 7
Blue Alps = 6
White Alps = 5
Brown Alps = 4
Matias Click = 3
Matias Quiet = 2
Hi-Tek Space Invader = 1
Cherry mx and clones = 0


Based on my recent experience with Blue and White Alps along with Gateron Yellows, I would amend the above rankings to put blue and white Alps above IBM Model M, and to put Gateron Yellow above other Cherry mx and clones.

You were really quite taken by Topre, eh? I'll have to try them out for more than just a day sometime. I had a variable Realforce 104 gained in trade for some work I had done for someone and sold it the day after. :P


Offline czarek

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Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #113 on: Fri, 02 September 2016, 01:41:34 »
Alps SKCC in Apple M0110: 1/10 (gritty and scratchy, gives me creeps when I try to type on it)
Alps SKCM White: 3/10 (feel good only when hit in center)
Alps SKCM Black: 7/10 (got it in a NIB board, best feeling Alps I've tried)
Your SKCC and SKCM white switches were in awful condition. If you'd had them in NOS condition you'd almost certainly rate them much higher than SKCM black - moreover the symptoms you describe are typical symptoms of ****ty switches. As I always keep hammering on, condition is EVERYTHING with Alps. SKCC are buttery smooth and Alps in good condition don't bind in the slightest. SKCM black aren't bad at all, possibly the most versatile switch in the entire series, but all the others feel much more refined. Keep a lookout for some mint salmon/orange/white Alps boards, shouldn't be too expensive and I suspect you'd like them hugely ;) .

I admit that, however the white Alps were not really that bad condition. The thing is getting them in NIB condition is a miracle, and as they age badly, it means they're not as durable as Cherry MX or Buckling Springs.
I am a curious man and a fan of mechanical keyboards so my search for a good Alps continues. I know for a fact they will never be my daily driver though. Mostly because of durability issues and their weight (for me 55G Topre is too much, even though I love the feel), the other factors like wrong layouts and ****ty keycaps I can cope with by building my own keyboard (or modding KBP) and reusing Apple Extended II keycaps (which are decent dye sub PBTs). Still if I ever find a nice Alps they will land in a very nice keyboard I will almost never use :)
My little ErgoDox / GH60 factory: http://falbatech.pl

Offline kasakka

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Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #114 on: Fri, 02 September 2016, 03:54:14 »
Cherry MX Red4/10They are ok but not that great to type on. Noisy because of constant bottoming out.
Cherry MX Brown5/10Better than reds but have a "scratchy" feel to the tactile bump, which is not that pronounced to begin with
Zealio 65g tactile R27/10Very nice to type on but had some chatter issues and they are definitely more wobbly than MX Browns on my Pok3r. Got 67g R4s coming in and I hope they improve on the wobble.
Topre variable weight8/10The best switch out there, but one point deducted for poor keycap compatibility and another for limited board options (most are full or TKL and the smaller ones have layouts I don't like that much)

Offline chyros

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Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #115 on: Fri, 02 September 2016, 04:16:33 »
Alps SKCC in Apple M0110: 1/10 (gritty and scratchy, gives me creeps when I try to type on it)
Alps SKCM White: 3/10 (feel good only when hit in center)
Alps SKCM Black: 7/10 (got it in a NIB board, best feeling Alps I've tried)
Your SKCC and SKCM white switches were in awful condition. If you'd had them in NOS condition you'd almost certainly rate them much higher than SKCM black - moreover the symptoms you describe are typical symptoms of ****ty switches. As I always keep hammering on, condition is EVERYTHING with Alps. SKCC are buttery smooth and Alps in good condition don't bind in the slightest. SKCM black aren't bad at all, possibly the most versatile switch in the entire series, but all the others feel much more refined. Keep a lookout for some mint salmon/orange/white Alps boards, shouldn't be too expensive and I suspect you'd like them hugely ;) .

I admit that, however the white Alps were not really that bad condition. The thing is getting them in NIB condition is a miracle, and as they age badly, it means they're not as durable as Cherry MX or Buckling Springs.
Alps don't age at all and white Alps are not hard to get in great condition. You can buy NOS white Alps ffs xD .
Check my keyboard video reviews:


Offline yowaffle

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Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #116 on: Fri, 02 September 2016, 05:59:00 »
MX Brown - 6.5/10
MX Red - 2/10 [linear feels so empty]
MX Black - 2/10
MX Blue - 2/10 [</3 clicky]
MX Clear - 6.5/10 [Thought it was too heavy with DCS caps, SA is fine]

Zealios 65g - 8/10  [too light, +1 for zeal and I like purple]
Matias Quiet Click - 8/10
Gateron Brown - 1/10
Gateron Yellow - 4/10 [felt great at first, but learned I'm just not a fan of linear]

Edit: new ratings lol

« Last Edit: Sun, 23 October 2016, 20:35:00 by yowaffle »
V60 [MQC] | KC60 [Zealiostotles] | Leopold FC660c [Topre] |  Ducky Shine 4 [MX Brown] | MiniVan [Zealios]

Offline Hypersphere

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Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #117 on: Fri, 02 September 2016, 08:32:52 »
@E3E: Yes, Topre switches are near the top of my list. I am no doubt influenced by the keyboards as well as the switches. I like the solid elegance of the RF87UB and just about everything about the HHKB -- 60% form factor, intuitive and efficient layout, design/styling, dye-sub PBT caps that form functional units with the switches, and the Topre switches themselves. To me, these boards and Topre switches are at their best with Silencing Rings and proper lubrication (stabilizers and switch guide rails lubed with Superlube 51010 oil applied sparingly with a small paintbrush). I appreciate switches that employ a catastrophic collapse mechanism, such as the collapsing dome in Topre and the buckling spring in IBM capacitive or membrane buckling spring switches (the capacitive BS switches in Model F boards are much nicer than the membrane BS springs in Model M boards). There's something intriguing about harnessing chaos under your fingertips.




Offline dgneo

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Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #118 on: Fri, 02 September 2016, 09:28:38 »
Topre
HHKB - 45g Stock - 8/10
HHKB - 45g Lubed w/ Rings - 8/10
HHKB - 45g Purple Slider - 10/10
RF87 - 55g Stock - 10/10

Cherry
MX Blues - 4/10
MX Reds - 5/10
MX Blacks - 7/10
MX Clears - 8/10
MX Ergo-Clears - 9/10

IBM
Model M - 5/10

Offline Screwdriver

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Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #119 on: Fri, 02 September 2016, 16:58:31 »
Not going to number rate, as I found I like some switches after hating them at first. Willing to revisit switches again.

MX Reds - Hated them when I first tried them. Love them on my KUL...it is my daily driver for now. Really want to try Blacks.
MX/KBT Browns - Loved them for a long time, now I find them meh. Tactile is not enough, so might as well use Reds.
MX Blues - Hate the noise. Like sitting next to a little kid at a quiet restaurant playing with the silverware and glasses.
MX Greens - Nope....no no.
MX Clears - Now this is a proper tactile switch from MX. Love my CODE, but it is in limbo atm

Topre 55g - Do not care for it. Feels like popping a zit on my back, but not as satisfying. Would like to try the 45g.

Matias Quiet Clicks - Love the feel, hate the QC. Just find me a board that does not have key chatter and I will buy it. Also want to try Matias linears and other ALPS switches.

Realforce 87U/55g, Deck Hassium Pro-MX Browns, MK Disco TKL - KBT Browns, Code 87-MX Clears, KUL-87 MX Reds.

Offline Shikarikato

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Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #120 on: Fri, 02 September 2016, 17:46:37 »
30g Topre(realforce) 8/10 - I like it, kind of similar to 45g topre but maybe more linear a bit hard to tell since its so light but surprisingly not so light that I am consistently bottoming out
45g Type-s topre 10/10 - no need to say anything other than its perfect
Gateron Blacks 8.5/10 - Really great just a tad too heavy for my tastes
MX Blues 9 - Probably my favorite MX switch if it didn't make noise but to be fair I only like how they feel in my QFR that is about 2-3 years old I really don't like it in my friends Shine 3 or 5 or G710+ they just don't feel right in them
MX Clears 7.5/10 - Great feel just too heavy to be a daily or to be perfect
MX Browns 5/10 - When they're brand new they feel worse but if you wear them in they're not as bad, still a switch that reminds me of something that's trying to be tactile and linear all at once and does neither of them right

If anyone has a suggestion for something essentially identical to Gateron Blacks just slightly lighter that would be great, I think MX reds are too light and Gateron Reds are supposed to be lighter than CMX
Maybe Gateron yellows?
« Last Edit: Fri, 02 September 2016, 17:53:08 by Shikarikato »

Offline Hypersphere

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Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #121 on: Sat, 03 September 2016, 07:20:52 »
@Shikarikato: Gateron Yellow should be about right. They are approximately the same actuation force as Gateron Black, but the bottom-out force is slightly less than Gateron Black. Generally, I do not like Cherry mx or clones, but within this category, Gateron Yellow is my favorite.


Offline Marutks

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Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #122 on: Wed, 26 July 2017, 11:11:31 »
Topre 45g  8
Zeal 67g    8
MOD-M      7
Zeal 65g    6
Clear         4
Matias Quiet   4
Brown          3

Offline balotz

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Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #123 on: Wed, 26 July 2017, 13:57:32 »
Here's my take:

Clicky:

Mx Blue: 7/10
NEC blue oval: 6/10
White Alps (SKCM): 6/10
Blue Alps (SKCM): 8/10
Membrane buckling spring: 8.5/10
Futaba clicky switch: 9/10
SMK round clicky: 8/10
Black clicky space invaders: 5/10

Tactile:

Salmon Alps: 5/10
Orange Alps: 9/10
White damped alps: 6/10
Topre 55g: 6/10

Linear:

Yellow Alps: 9/10


I dislike switches which actuate noticeably before the click (isn't the point of the click to audibly signal activation?)
Examples are NEC blue oval and clicky space invader switches. You can make Alps switches do this if you press down very slowly but it's very difficult and unnoticeable in general use.

The first time I used blue Alps, I thought it was the perfect switch, but after a while the hard bottoming out began to bother me. Futaba switches, once restored to their original clickyness / tactility, are really nice for extended typing sessions - they are light at 50g, extremely smooth, impervious to dust, and bottom out gently.


Offline THEGUY69

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Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #124 on: Wed, 26 July 2017, 14:14:24 »
Cherry Switches
Mx reds- 3/10
Mx blue - 6/10
Mx brown - 3/10
Mx clear - 7/10
Mx sliver- 5/10(for whatever reason, the decreased travel distance makes linear switches much more tolerable for me)

Alps
Complicated White alps 8/10
Complicated Black alps 2/10

IBM
MBS 7/10
CBS 10/10

Offline _haru

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Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #125 on: Wed, 26 July 2017, 17:12:18 »
New MX Whites (with 45g springs): 9.5/10 - have these in my daiyl driver and they feel AMAZING.
SKBM White Alps: 3/10 - the force curve is trash, the click sound is annoying and the tactility is in the wrong place.
Topre: -1/10 - ew. Just ew.
AMJ60 - 45g MX White | GH60 Rev. C - Ghost Gateron Blacks | DFK101 - Alps SKCM Cream | Filco Majestouch 2 TKL - 62g Vintage MX Ergo Clear

Offline klennkellon

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Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #126 on: Fri, 28 July 2017, 08:10:43 »
Kailh Black "Box" switches: 

As far as linears go they're a 9/10. Very smooth out of the box and not wobbly.

Offline ander

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Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #127 on: Sat, 29 December 2018, 07:39:41 »
I can't believe I never posted here. Make fun of me if you must (you didn't have anything useful to do anyway, right?)—but the topic seems timeless, and too important to ignore.

 - - -

MX Blue: 6
The classic clicker. Clickety, tickety fun, but I wish they felt more substantial.

MX Red: 4
Pleasant enough, and I'm nostalgic about them because they were in my first MK. Very little character though. After 10 or 15 minutes, you start feeling how you feel when you're halfway through a giant-size McDonald's shake and you realize you should've ordered the normal one.

MX Brown: 0
Yup, "MX Reds with sand in them." Scratch, scratch, ick, yick. They're silly, anyway—why on earth do you need a tactile bump every time you press a key? If you're touch typing, you're going much too fast for little bumps to give you any kind of useful feedback. And hey, look—the characters you're typing are actually appearing on the display in front of you, which confirms that you're typing them! Gee, I wish I'd realized that before I bought this dumb "tactile" keeb. This must be what 50,000,000 other people are thinking, too—otherwise Cherry couldn't have sold so damn many Browns, enabling them to claim they're the "most popular mechanical switch" and gull even more people into buying boards with the silly, scratchy things. Focusing on this rational-seeming explanation keeps me from imagining that Rod Serling is about to step out from behind the drapes and start narrating.

MX Green: 7
It probably all comes down to weight, but they're what Blues should be, IMHO.

MX Clear: 4
Don't ask me why, but I vastly prefer the somewhat heavier Clears to Browns, even though they have the same silly, apologetically clickless bump.

MX White (AKA Milk): 6
Yes, they're monstrously heavy, but I dig 'em—until I start moaning and groaning and switch back to buckling springs, which then feel like sproingy cotton candy (sweet!).

Topre: 8
I don't have a variable Realforce, just a uniform 45 and 55; maybe variable is even better. Topres are unlike any others, though, a contrast that keeps the ol' keeb rotation stimulating. And what other switches make their best sound when you release them? Okay, there's another one that does that, but I don't remember which one it is. But still.

Hansung Topre knock-offs: 10
They're in my wonderful Hansung (Gtune) CHF7 (AKA Office Master), a greatly overlooked board in the West. Shamelessly derivative Korean Topre-esque capacitive dome/spring hybrids, but with a shorter, more effective travel, a tighter feel, and a softer, more tasteful sound. They don't bother my family, which is really saying something for an MK. And though it's quiet, the springs on some of the larger keys sing, like little fairy voices off in the distance; there's nothing like it (except maybe the Pingmaster—but that'd be jolly dwarfs or trolls, not fairies). I can type on Topres for a while, but I can type on Hansungs indefinitely. The only other switches I can say that about are buckling springs—and did I mention that, unlike BSs, Hansungs don't drive my family nuts? It's too bad you haven't tried them. Really, you should. Everybody should. Let's organize a GH trip to Seoul. The japchae is on me.

IBM membrane buckling springs (Model M): 10
Perfect—consistent, clacky, springy, pingy, everlasting. The M's build has a lot to do with it too, of course; a board that heavy and solid makes everything feel good.

IBM membrane buckling springs (Model F):
Same sentiments as above; add treble.

Romer-G (Logitech): 3.5
Meh. They're okay.

Kailh Box Pale Blue: 9
The only Kailh switches I've used. Impressively smooth due to the clever, utterly logical improvement on Cherry's relatively wobbly stem. Pleasing pings from the unique "tone bar" on each one. A winner. I have a feeling all Kailh Boxes improve on their MX counterparts; I'd like to test that theory someday.

Gateron Blue: 7
The only Gats I've used. Faster than MX Blues, brighter sound (you use clicky switches because you like the sound, right?). Fun. I have a feeling all Gats improve on their MX equivalents. Oh, I said that about Kailh Boxes too, didn't I? How about that.

Matias Clicky, Alps SCKM White: 6.5
Satisfyingly chattery. Harmless enough.

Alps SCKM Blue: 9
If I say good things about them, I'll feel like I'm just going along with the hype. But yes, Alps hit the sweet spot here. Too bad they've become so ridiculously inflated. They're good, but the hysteria over them is, well, hysterical.

Alps SKCC Green: 8.5
Eccentric, delightful, unique. I wouldn't want to use them all the time, but I could. I'm still not sure if that wonderful singing, pinging sound comes from the switches, or my IBM Pingmaster they're in, or both. Since it's the only board I ever expect to have with them, I'll lump it all together, appreciation-wise.

Monterey Alps Mount: 8
Vastly underappreciated. Almost as good as Alps Blues. Not quite as defined—like a friendly Golden Retriever to Alps Blues's show poodle—but still great. They make a resonant bloop, like dropping pebbles in a well. Entirely likable.

Mitsumi Miniatures: 8
I found an almost-new Monterey board with these, and thought (and still think) it was terrific. I've since read that they don't age well, which must be why people don't like them. If they could try newer ones, they probably would.

Futaba MA (Clicky): 3
Most peeps would give these a 1 or a 0. Along with Peerlesses, they're the switches people Love to Hate. But I was fortunate to receive a NIB Futaba board, and it's not bad at all. Obviously some switches last longer than others—that is, they keep working (they are mechanical switches), but they stop feeling good. Apparently Futabas are one of these, but I guess I haven't used mine enough to experience that. So here I am in the goofy Futaba-liking minority.

Fujitsu Peerless: 0
Mushy, icky, slow, characterless. I'd rather type on a $10 membrane board, and so would you. What was Fujitsu thinking? Maybe, "Let's slow everyone down so they'll pay... more... attention... to... what... they're... typing." How zen. Pass.

Good rubber domes (IBM RD Model M and KB- series; BTC and NMB sliders over domes; Thailand-made HP C3758A; Microsoft Natural Keyboard Elite): 4
I don't mind a good RD, which usually means one that hasn't been typed on for more than a month. If they're robust, they can even sound good. And they don't make people shut you in a separate room and put in earplugs. And they make MKs feel even better when you go back to them.  :?)
« Last Edit: Sat, 29 December 2018, 07:58:37 by ander »
We are not chasing wildly after beauty with fear at our backs. – Natalie Goldberg

Offline CarlQs

  • Posts: 21
Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #128 on: Sat, 29 December 2018, 20:15:19 »
1a. Cherry MX red[3], speed silver[4], red silent[4].
     gaeteron red[6], blue[2]
     flaretech red[8]
     Kailh speed silver[7]
     romer g tactile[1]
     Kailh low profile blues (ml)[8]
     healios (stock/55g springs)[6/9]
B. Ill try to make this concise
 -Cherry: Im a linear fan myself so I started on a corsair board with reds. Once I tried "cheaper" knockoffs i found them nicer. Cherrys are a bit too loud during travel and feel pretty scratchy, even
              silent ones (3/4/4)
 -Gaeteron: My first board Ive modified was my anne pro with gaeteron reds. I have a soft spot for them, especially in milky housings due to a slightly warmer sound and nicer bottom out, but
                  anything with a click jacket sounds like loose stabs so thats a no from me.(6/2)
 -Flaretech: Im a little biased against these switches.They really should be 9s because they are so reliable and smooth and offer a lot of functionality in an accessible software. What kills these
                  switches for me is that they cant be put on cherry style pcbs, obviously, but much more than that is thier stem design. It uses a brittly plastic that snaps Into whatever expensive caps you
                  put on them. If you dont want to use your own keycaps then these are amazing switches on a beautiful board (wooting) but seriously theyre construction is infuriating.(8.5)
 -Kailh Speed silver: these switches are my favorite base switch. They have a pleasant medium high sound and relatively smooth travel stock. from my experience the weakest point of these switches
                  is that they dont take well to different springs or silent stems. If you go any lighter or try silent stems the housing mnakes the switch sounds very high pitched.(7)
 -romer g tactile: if you want a tactile switch get a tactile. these switches are just demo reels for thier rgbs and dont haveany keycap variance. I havent tried the linear but they should be alright since
                  the centered design of the stem should give it very little wobble.(1/?)
 -Kailh Low Profile blues: I love these clickys. they are very snappy and have a beautiful clean sound. Theyre the only clickbar Ive tried but I like them very much.(8)
 -Healios stock: Theres a reason I have these seperate from 55g. Like I said I really like light linears but my kailhs were a medium weight so I thought these would be aight. My problem with stock
                  healios, besides coming in a clear housing and not a milky one (I prefer the softer plastic, especially on silent switches) Is that they are a bit scratchy and feel like rubber domes TO ME.
                  this is an opinion but the wieghting on the spring definitely feels like it came off a tactile spring. Its very heavy at the top of travel, noticeably so, and then fall very quickly to a slightly
                  fluffier bottom out. The spring also has a pretty sharp bump above the slider. Some combination of these factors make them feel like fancy domes to me, in fact I would even say theyre
                  more tactile than romer gs. One good thing about them stock though, is thier sound. Sub sonic thumps when you bottom out makes them sound glorious, though a bit scratchy for my
                  batch.(6)
 -Healios 55g: This is It for me. This is going in my tokyo60. these switches are very nice. very smooth fast silent linears (after lube). This may not be my endgame though, these stems and springs in
                  a gaeteron milky housing or even POM housings may make my personal favorite switch Ive tried to date, or at least favorite that wont snap in an expensive set of keycaps...(9/?)
 :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:

Offline ArchDill

  • * Esteemed Elder
  • Posts: 1380
  • Location: OK
Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #129 on: Sat, 29 December 2018, 21:39:16 »
I did not account for lube. I usually lube everything though.

MX Blues-4

MX Browns-3

MX Reds- 6

Jailhouse MX Greens- 6

Gateron Browns- 3

Gateron Blacks- 7-8

Gateron Yellows with gold 67g springs)- 7-8 (Pretty much same as Blacks)

MX Zilents- 8

Topre 45g- 6

OG BKE- 6

Zealios 67g V1- 7

Topre 55g- 9-10

62g Vin Blacks in Gat Housings- 9-10 (I used SS springs and thin lube on these. Smoothest switches I have ever tried. Thinking about desoldering and using these on my next build.)

Tealios- 9-10


I have tried more than this but these are the ones that I used for an extended amount of time. ( I am counting a day as "extended".)

Offline jamster

  • Posts: 1091
  • Location: Asia
Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #130 on: Sun, 30 December 2018, 18:56:17 »
Would reply, but am too bemused at the word 'godlike' being applied to a keyboard switch.

Offline ollir_

  • Posts: 67
  • Location: Finland
Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #131 on: Mon, 31 December 2018, 03:54:34 »
Alps SKCM White (Pine) 9
Topre 45g 9

Alps SKCM salmon 8
SMK 2nd gen clicky (both Alps & MX mount) 8
IBM buckling spring (non-capacitive) 8
Matias Clicky 8

Linear Space Invader 7
Matias Quiet Click 7 (while they work without problems)
Alps SKCM Black (Bamboo) 7

Cherry MX Black vintage 5
Cherry MX Black 4
Cherry MX Brown 4

- Obviously I like clicky switches and Topre the most. I'm not a snob, so bit of roughness in the
key feel doesn't affect my scores too much. For example, I like black Alps and the Matias switches
just fine.

- In Topre I like the round tactility and smoothness + of course the sound.

- White Alps (and this score is for the switches in good condition in an Acer 6012) sound super
nice, they guide your finger firmly downwards after going past the tactile bump and they
are just fun to type on.

- If my space invader board had its switches lubed or something I'd probably rate the switch one point higher.
« Last Edit: Wed, 07 August 2019, 13:38:51 by ollir_ »

Offline abrahamstechnology

  • Posts: 210
  • Location: USA
Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #132 on: Mon, 07 January 2019, 10:37:59 »
Cherry MY (modern, lubed)- 4

MX vintage black- 6

Linearized black Alps- 5 (too light for me)

Black Alps with Matias click leaf- 8

Matias clicky- 7

BOX Navy -7

Hua-Jie AK-CN2 - 8

Tai-Hao APC Blue - 7

Buckling springs (Unicomp) - 8
« Last Edit: Fri, 17 May 2019, 06:56:23 by abrahamstechnology »

Offline frydaja

  • Posts: 92
  • Location: Pilsen, Czechia
  • "It's my last keyboard, I swear"
Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #133 on: Thu, 10 January 2019, 16:23:41 »
Switches I've tried: Various rubberdomes, Kailh Reds, MX Browns, retooled MX Reds, Romer-Gs, Razer Greens

NMB rubberdome: 8/10, very tactile yet light, crisp, feels so non-rubbery, "very dry and mechanical". Slightly scratchy and little binding on the edges.
CoolerMaster dome with slider ("memchanical"): 9/10, slightly stiffer and with very soft landing on the downstroke, but nearly frictionless, doesn't bind and the tactility is weaker yet still noticeable and pleasing to fingers. Upstroke is very crisp. No wobble or binding.
Logitech rubberdome: 5/10, after 5 years of use it's got really stiff and mushy, but still usable. Tons of wobble, but doesn't bind. Really good when brand new though, much less mushy, crisper and ligter.
Kailh Reds: 4/10, scratchy even after a year of use. Lots of wobble too. And they ping a lot, but maybe it's just the plate.
MX Browns: 4/10 I'd give them a 7 if a Logitech rubberdome didn't beat them in the amount of feedback. Otherwise very meh to subpar.
Retooled: MX Reds: 7/10 and it'd be higher if I didn't introduce myself to actually tactile keyboards again. Smooth, not too wobbly.
Romer-Gs: 3,99/10. Like MX Browns but even worse and tiny bit more tactile.
Ornata rubberdome: 3/10 if we ignore the price. Feels quite similar to a brand new Logitech rubberdome, but at the price it's hard to find any positives about it. The soundtrack isn't even that great, it's like a pen sound with sounds of pressing a rubber mat in the background.
Razer Greens: 1.99/10. Because a linear switch that 300% louder than an entire Kailh Red keyboard was a great idea.
Anne Pro 2 w/ Kailh Box Browns | CM Storm Quickfire TK Stealth w/ MX Browns | Unknown Chinese keyboard w/ Outemu Reds | Compaq-branded NMB RT101 | Gigabyte Force K81 w/Kailh Reds

Offline actualglacier

  • Ż\_(ツ)_/Ż
  • Posts: 93
  • 😳
Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #134 on: Thu, 10 January 2019, 19:18:59 »
cherry mx brown - 10/10
actualglacier on youtube


Offline AJM

  • Posts: 83
  • Location: Germany
Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #135 on: Fri, 11 January 2019, 09:25:30 »
I can't give just one rating for a specific switch.
From my experience it's a huge difference if a switch feels good, while you "fondle" it - slowly - moaning ecstatically (chyros-style)  ;D
or if you can actually (touch)type efficiently and fast with it.

So I give three ratings: 1) the feel, when playing around 2) the feel, when typing fast 3) efficiency, when typing fast:

MX Brown: 3 / 7 / 9
IBM M: 6 / 5 / 5
IBM F: 8 / 6 / 5 (Space bar (Model F XT): 4 / 2 / 1)
IBM Beamspring: 10 / 9 / 8
rubber dome (Lenovo KB1021 for example): 5 / 4 / 9

Offline mattlach

  • Posts: 100
Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #136 on: Fri, 11 January 2019, 19:52:41 »
  • Model M Buckling Spring (two piece keys) - 9/10 - The Gold Standard to me.   Only reason I didn't give them a 10 is because I have heard the Model F is nicer, but I have never tried them, so I am keeping an extra available number just in case.
  • Model M Buckling Spring (One piece keys) - 8/10 - A little less play than two piece keys, but they can be a little more tiring and harsh on the fingertips after a long day of typing.
  • Cherry MX Blue - 4/10 - Too soft for me, and the clicks are weird to me compared to the brilliant "clack"'s of the buckling spring boards.
  • Cherry MX Brown - 3/10 - Similar to the blues.  I know they are supposed to be tactile, but I don't get much of that tactile feel from them.

Once you have gotten used to buckling spring, it is difficult to be truly happy with anything else.   I have two boards coming though, one with MX Clears and O-rings for work (open office environment, needs to be quiet) and one with MX Greens for home.    I hope I'll wind up liking the MX Greens better than the Blues or Browns.

I have this key tester, but in retrospect I don't find it very helpful.  It's tough tot know what typing on them will be like by just repeatedly tapping the same key.   That said, even though they are supposedly very different switches, compared to buckling spring, they all feel almost the same.

I'll come back and rate the greens and clears when I get them  (If mechanicalkeyboards.com ever gets their act together and actually ships them, that is)
IBM Beamspring > IBM Model F > IBM Model M > All Cherry MX, Alps and Topre > Rubber Dome & Scissor Switches.

Offline GlennL42

  • Posts: 43
Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #137 on: Thu, 16 May 2019, 00:14:22 »
*Incoming long ass write up that nobody asked for*

Now that I felt like I’ve tried enough switches/has enough experience to truly form an opinion that hold some weight to them, here are my 2cents on the various switches I’ve tried. Will categorize switches into clicky, tactile and linear, with a short description of my opinion towards each switches (shorter description for switches I’ve only tested on switch tester/short test, denotes by ‘ST’), also TL; DR in the end for each category

  Clicky

  • IBM Buckling Spring (Membrane) 8/10 – While pretty smooth, the slightly shorter than usual travel feel a bit weird to type on, could use a more substantial feedback as well
  • IBM Buckling Spring (Capacitive) 9.25/10 – overall the more well-balanced BuS typing experience – crispier, better sounding, and with a  more substantial feedback, though inconsistency (off-centre smoothness and sound) kind of bring down the score a bit
  • IBM Beamspring 9.75/10 – I was lucky enough to have tried a full board once and is the most unique typing experience I have with clicky switches, feels almost like a very light ball-pen clicking. Best clicky for me, aside from their sound
  • Cherry MX Blues/Green/other derivatives 7/10 (5/10 just for the sound when in bad mood) -- Ah yes, the clicky switches everybody loves to hate, though I think they are not bad at all and is, ironically, the smoothest switches out of the main Cherry line-up, not as good as the better modern clicky, but still. Also **** their clicky sound
  • SKCM Blue Alps 9.5/10 – Funnily enough, they are the only SKCM clicky I’ve tried so far, very nicely balanced, smooth (for clicky) and sounded heavenly, a shame they command such a high price/hard to come by in good condition nowadays
  • Matias Clicky (newer batch) 5/10 – Super bad QC (some switches will get stuck), and the very apparent secondary bump completely throw off the switch balance; a terrible Alps imitation, you are better off with other good modern clicky
  • SMK 2nd gen (Monterey (ST) & NOS Cherry mount) 6.5/10 – The biggest let down in this list for me, similarity in tactility compare to Kailh Click bar switches are uncanny (seriously go compare the force curve and see) and actuation that occurs nearly at the end of the travel just feel awkward, pretty inconsistent with off-centre smoothness (for Cherry mount at least) and their smoothness is nothing to write home about. Only merit over Kailh click bar is their slightly better sound
  • Kailh Box White(ST)/Pale Blue (ST) 8/10 – crisp and delicate, sounded nice too
  • Kailh Box Noble yellow 8.5/10 – pretty much a Box White with punchier tactility, which I prefer better
  • Kailh Box Jade 9/10 – The definitive modern clicky for me, super crisp and broken in Jade has the perfect amount of tactility for me, swapping in a heavier spring (60/67G) may potentially improves them further
  • Kailh Box Navy 5/10 – RSI, nuff said
  • Kailh Box ‘Franken’-Navy 3/10 (Navy with Jade spring) – are you a masochist who enjoys the feeling of pain on your fingers tips every time you are forced to bottom out hard onto a stainless-steel plate? I’m not so this is trash switch concoction
  • Milkstotle (67G spring) 7/10 – very similar to Cherry MX Blue, aside from slightly sharper tactility, not as big of an improvement as I’ve hoped, pretty much a MX Blue without its horrendous rattly sound.

TL; DR – my favourite category of switches, sharp tactility of clicky is right up my alley.

  Tactile

  • Average rubber dome 2.5/10 – most have decent tactility, but the absolute horror of their mushiness ruins it for me; some board seem to have weaker tactility (like Sk-2880), which alleviated the mushiness a bit, though not by much
  • Cherry MX Brown 4/10 – tactility is too weak for my liking and is very itchy feeling
  • Gateron Brown 5/10 – much smoother than MX brown, but still not a big improvement in key feel
  • Romer-G (revised ver. with black housing) 5/10 – better than MX Brown IMO in most aspect, and sounded better, though 3mm travel is pretty pathetic for a switch
  • Cherry MX Clear (ST) 6/10 – tactility is stronger and more drawn out compare to Browns, a much better switch than Cherry Brown IMO
  • Kailh Box Brown/Burnt Orange (ST) 6/10 – weak tactility, though devoid of the scratchiness in Cherry Brown
  • Kailh Box Royal (ST) 5/10 – too much of a tryhard switch trying to imitate Thick Clickbar, in the end Novelkeys just ended up creating a half-ass tactile switch with a stupidly strong tactility that hurts the fingers and is nowhere as good as their clicky counterpart
  • Zealios 62G/65G/67G/78G (ST) 6.5/10 – strong tactility like Clear but much more instant, thicker contact leaf meant the upstroke is a bit ‘draggy’ feeling, decent overall
  • Aliaz 60G/70G/80G/100G(!) (ST) 6.5/10 – aside from slightly weaker tactility and more silenced, they are pretty similar to Zealios to my fingers
  • Hako True/Clear (ST) 5/10 – feels like an amalgamation between weighting of MX clear and tactility of Box Brown/Burnt Orange, don’t really see the appeal in them
  • Hako Violet (ST) 6.5/10 – pretty much as above but with much better weighting, lighter spring weighting brings out the tactility as well
  • SKCM Orange Alps 7.5/10 – one of the better tactile switches with sharp tactily, feels and sound nice, but nowhere as good as their clicky counterpart in most other aspect
  • BKE Redux Light (45G) 7.5/10 – mounted on Plum Nano 75, very tactile dome mod for Topre and Topre clone, short travel of Noppo capacitive is actually better for BKE IMO as it reduce harshness of BKE by a lot and is much more pleasant; test mount them on unsilenced HHKB and they are very unbalanced like Novelkeys Royal (5/10)
  • Noppo capacitive 45G ‘Topre clone’ 8/10 – these switches have such weak tactility it really blurs the line between tactile and linear, other than that good smoothness, shorter travel and silenced upstroke really distinguish them from regular Topre, very nice
  • Rubberh Domeh Topre 45G 9/10 – the only 'round tactility' tactile switches I’ve tried so far, and they are fantastic; they feel substantial without the need to resort to strong tactility and doesn’t feel draggy like most other tactile switches on the list, the relatively weak and rounded tactility also reduce the mushiness to minimum

TL; DR – most tactile switches are hit or miss for me and I like them a lot less than clicky, though I expect other round tactility tactile switches will be to my liking (SKCM Neon Green/Brown, ITW magnetic valve).

  Linear

  • Cherry MX Red 3.5/10 – you know its bad when your clicky switches in your line-up is smoother than your linear
  • Cherry MX Black 3/10 – you know its bad when your clicky switches in your line-up is smoother than your linear + wrist pain
  • Zorro Black 5/10 – pretty run of the mill linear, smoother than Cherry Black but less so than Gateron linears, has pretty bad spring crunch and inconsistency in smoothness
  • SKCC Green 6/10 – on paper, they should’ve been a lot better (smooth, lovely ping), in practice however, heavy weighting and secondary bump from switch plate contributes to the unbalanced key feel, and is bad enough to give me wrist pain after  a short typing session
  • Gateron Clear (67G) (ST) 8/10 – good smoothness and weighting, pretty much an antithesis to modern Cherry Linear
  • NovelKeys/Kailh Cream (ST) 8/10 – same weighting as Gateron Clear, has some leathery sensation that is somewhat mitigated once broken in, pretty smooth overall

TL; DR – still a largely uncharted territory for me, I found weighting to be a more important factor for linear than the other switch type
« Last Edit: Thu, 16 May 2019, 02:02:23 by GlennL42 »

Offline killyou

  • Posts: 264
  • Location: Poland
Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #138 on: Thu, 16 May 2019, 07:02:19 »
[...]
  • Kailh Box ‘Franken’-Navy 3/10 (Navy with Jade spring) – are you a masochist who enjoys the feeling of pain on your fingers tips every time you are forced to bottom out hard onto a stainless-steel plate? I’m not so this is trash switch concoction
[...]

Navy with Jade spring is essentially Jade. Housings and click bars are the same, the only difference is the spring. This is strange since you rated Jade 9/10 and franken navy switch 3/10 and they are both the same after your mod except the colour of the stem.

Offline GlennL42

  • Posts: 43
Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #139 on: Thu, 16 May 2019, 08:28:47 »
[...]
  • Kailh Box ‘Franken’-Navy 3/10 (Navy with Jade spring) – are you a masochist who enjoys the feeling of pain on your fingers tips every time you are forced to bottom out hard onto a stainless-steel plate? I’m not so this is trash switch concoction
[...]

Navy with Jade spring is essentially Jade. Housings and click bars are the same, the only difference is the spring. This is strange since you rated Jade 9/10 and franken navy switch 3/10 and they are both the same after your mod except the colour of the stem.
Jade's clickbar is actually .28mm (according to Novelkeys) while Navy is .30mm according to Thomas' measurement (can't find other sources for the thickness), the difference is really apparent once you got to trying them out.

Offline natAT

  • Posts: 14
Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #140 on: Thu, 16 May 2019, 09:33:06 »
Topre 45g     (Type Heaven, ABS caps)                                   8/10                             (Nice feel and sound, not to hard on the fingers)   
Fujitsu Peerless    (FKB4725 Non Stabilized keys)                  4/10                             (More interesting than nice)
Fujitsu Peerless   (FKB4725 Stabilized keys)                          Screaming/10               (*muffled sobbing*)
Buckling Springs  (Unicomp)                                                   9/10                              (Favorite to date, very crisp switch that's firm yet not hard on the fingers. Don't mind the noise either !)
Kailh Blue   (Tesoro tizona)                                                     3/10                             (Loud in a bad way, keyfeel more messy than others)
Romer-G's "Tactile"  (G910)                                                    4/10                              (Disappointing for a recent switch that's designed from scratch. Not interesting or tactile)
MX-Red  (Some board)                                                           5/10                              (Inoffensively okay. Don't mind a nice linear switch)
Alps SKCM Black    (Dell at101w - linear mod)                        8/10                              (Absolutely nicer than MX Red, yet weirdly can't 100% place why)   

Offline killyou

  • Posts: 264
  • Location: Poland
Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #141 on: Thu, 16 May 2019, 09:41:41 »
Jade's clickbar is actually .28mm (according to Novelkeys) while Navy is .30mm according to Thomas' measurement (can't find other sources for the thickness), the difference is really apparent once you got to trying them out.

Well that's news to me. I'll try treaching out to NK to confirm. Thanks for letting me know.

Offline rajendra82

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Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #142 on: Thu, 16 May 2019, 13:47:07 »

  • Kailh Box Noble yellow 8.5/10 – pretty much a Box White with punchier tactility, which I prefer better
  • Kailh Box Jade 9/10 – The definitive modern clicky for me, super crisp and broken in Jade has the perfect amount of tactility for me, swapping in a heavier spring (60/67G) may potentially improves them further
  • Kailh Box Navy 5/10 – RSI, nuff said
  • Kailh Box ‘Franken’-Navy 3/10 (Navy with Jade spring) – are you a masochist who enjoys the feeling of pain on your fingers tips every time you are forced to bottom out hard onto a stainless-steel plate? I’m not so this is trash switch concoction


The Kailh box clicky switches have the most interesting possibilities to me due to the interaction of the different weight springs and different clickbar thickness. I haven't tried Noble Yellow, but looking at the claimed force curve it appears to either be the same as box pink or a switch with the medium thick box pink clickbar and a box white spring. On paper the box pink sounded the most promising, but I was disppointed when testing in person. They seemed to give up too much of the box jade and navy tactitility and sound, while the medium stiff spring felt too floaty to me. A better compromise  would have been a slightly lighter spring and a slightly stiffer clickbar. I was not aware the clickbar between the box jade and navy was different as your testing of the franken navy seems to suggest. I do like the jade best of all at this time, and it is a 9/10 for me.

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« Last Edit: Sat, 18 May 2019, 08:25:45 by rajendra82 »

Offline Sintpinty

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Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #143 on: Thu, 16 May 2019, 14:10:42 »

Cherry MY (modern, lubed)- 4?

I think it deserves a much lower rating.

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Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #144 on: Thu, 16 May 2019, 14:14:49 »
I have tried many rubberdomes, but no alps yet ): .

10/10= Cherry MX Reds. These are my primary switch and i love them especially for typing and gaming. I can get very fast speeds with these and they are light, and also have no tactility.

1/10 = HP Rubberdomes: Never going back to those things again. They are pretty awful, lack a good tactile bump and the glossyness of the keys is disgusting.

4/10= Logitech Rubberdomes. These are okay and actually make a decent keyboard.

2/10: Razer Chroma switches. I can feel the difference with these ones now that they're putting it on their new products. They feel quite rubbery and really aren't good for gaming.

8/10: Cherry MX Blues. The click of the switch lightens out the heaviness of it, plus it has great tactile feedback as well. Great typing switch.

3/10: Cherry MX Blacks. These are okay, but they are just too stiff not making it as great as it should.

7/10: Coolermaster Novatouch: The lack of audible feedback and the light and soft bottom out makes this a great switch and is actually comfortable to press.

3/10: Cherry MX Greens. In my personal experience, these are just too heavy and my fingers get tired after a couple of keypresses.

Offline typo

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Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #145 on: Thu, 16 May 2019, 15:23:32 »
Pretty much everything. At least that I know of. Topre is always daily driver for me.

Offline frydaja

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Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #146 on: Fri, 17 May 2019, 07:04:52 »
Switches I've tried: Various rubberdomes, Kailh Reds, MX Browns, retooled MX Reds, Romer-Gs, Razer Greens

NMB rubberdome: 8/10, very tactile yet light, crisp, feels so non-rubbery, "very dry and mechanical". Slightly scratchy and little binding on the edges.
CoolerMaster dome with slider ("memchanical"): 9/10, slightly stiffer and with very soft landing on the downstroke, but nearly frictionless, doesn't bind and the tactility is weaker yet still noticeable and pleasing to fingers. Upstroke is very crisp. No wobble or binding.
Logitech rubberdome: 5/10, after 5 years of use it's got really stiff and mushy, but still usable. Tons of wobble, but doesn't bind. Really good when brand new though, much less mushy, crisper and ligter.
Kailh Reds: 4/10, scratchy even after a year of use. Lots of wobble too. And they ping a lot, but maybe it's just the plate.
MX Browns: 4/10 I'd give them a 7 if a Logitech rubberdome didn't beat them in the amount of feedback. Otherwise very meh to subpar.
Retooled: MX Reds: 7/10 and it'd be higher if I didn't introduce myself to actually tactile keyboards again. Smooth, not too wobbly.
Romer-Gs: 3,99/10. Like MX Browns but even worse and tiny bit more tactile.
Ornata rubberdome: 3/10 if we ignore the price. Feels quite similar to a brand new Logitech rubberdome, but at the price it's hard to find any positives about it. The soundtrack isn't even that great, it's like a pen sound with sounds of pressing a rubber mat in the background.
Razer Greens: 1.99/10. Because a linear switch that 300% louder than an entire Kailh Red keyboard was a great idea.

Bumping MX Browns to 7/10. Still a little scratchy and it feels a bit scratchy, but it's the type of tactility that is noticeable but doesn't get in the way. It's just the right amount to prevent mistyping. They're also more comfortable to type on than Reds.

Also adding Outemu Reds:
6/10. They feel very silky, almost like lubed. Very stable, too. But I don't like the bottom-out feel. I like soft landings, but Outemus don't have a soft landing, or hard landing. It's somewhere in between and it ends up feeling werd. Maybe I'm used to MX Browns, but they feel stiff, too.
Anne Pro 2 w/ Kailh Box Browns | CM Storm Quickfire TK Stealth w/ MX Browns | Unknown Chinese keyboard w/ Outemu Reds | Compaq-branded NMB RT101 | Gigabyte Force K81 w/Kailh Reds

Offline swedishpiehole

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Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #147 on: Fri, 17 May 2019, 11:48:57 »
I'm not a gamer nor a coder. I just write a lot.

Topre HHKB with BKE Redux Ultra Lights: 10/10
Topre HHKB stock domes: 9/10
KBD T1: 8.5/10 (great tactility, sounds nice and crisp with the right plate/case combo)
Zilent 67g: 8/10
Aliaz 70/80g: 8/10
Kailh Box white/pink: 7/10 (feel good but the click annoys me after a while)
Gat Silent Red (lubed): 5/10 (good weighting, nice and smooth, but I miss the tactility)
Zilent 78g: 4/10 (great tactility but way too tiring to type on)
Kailh Box jade/navy: 4/10 (too heavy for typing)
MX brown: 2/10
MacBook Pro 2018 keyboard: 0/10 (I hate that keyboard with a passion I can hardly describe)


Offline Sintpinty

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Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #148 on: Fri, 17 May 2019, 12:01:18 »

MacBook Pro 2018 keyboard: 0/10 (I hate that keyboard with a passion I can hardly describe)

Can agree and confirm. I lose at least 20/40 wpm when typing on that thing.

Offline swedishpiehole

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Re: List which switches you have tried and your rating 1-10 of the switch?
« Reply #149 on: Fri, 17 May 2019, 12:25:56 »

MacBook Pro 2018 keyboard: 0/10 (I hate that keyboard with a passion I can hardly describe)

Can agree and confirm. I lose at least 20/40 wpm when typing on that thing.

Not only do the keys feel awful, with basically zero travel, but the proximity of the massive trackpad means I'm constantly brushing it with my thumbs and causing the cursor to jump elsewhere while I'm typing. I HATE IT SO MUCH.