Typing Speed - What the hell?

[LostArk]

So, I prefer the feel of mechanical keyboards, and I always feel like I can type faster on them. But recently I started taking typing speed tests for fun, and I found that I actually consistently type 7-10% faster on my laptop's scissor switch keyboard while slouched in bed than when typing on my mechanical at my desk sitting up straight.

WHAT THE HELL?

[laffindude]

You're probably just not used to the longer travel and is waiting for your finger to bottom out before hitting the next key. Practice some more to get the timing down.

[bloodygood]

I would say that typing on scissor switches seems to be faster for me also, but I think that is because the travel is so minimal that you are able to keep up with your thinking speed a little easier. You have to remember that there is still a physical difference in actuation travel so there will be at least some difference in typing speed. Don't give up on learning the actuation point of your keys though, it is the easiest way to improve your typing experience and reduce finger fatigue.

[Gin]

That used to be the case for me as well. But I type faster on my cherry blue now since I learned to not bottom out on the keys anymore. It's more satisfying hearing the cherry blue click and no bottoming clack.

[czarek]

I must admit I was slower when I moved from good scissors (diNovo Mac Edition) to Filco MX Brown but then when I moved to Buckling Spring some time later it goes faster and faster the more I use them. At the moment I'm about 20% faster than I was on scissors.

[Foodmanchew]

Right now I can only compare with rubber domes, but on scissor switches I'm usually around 5 WPM faster than rubber domes. We'll have to see what happens when I am typing on MX blues.

[c0rbin]

I'm faster on my laptop as well... its because there is less key travel if you aren't focusing on not bottoming out the mechanical. If you can get used to not bottoming out then technically the mechanical should be just as fast. If you think learning to not bottom out is frustrating like I do, you can double stack o-rings to reduce key travel, which is what I'm going to be experimenting with.

[zirb]

He's quite THE man, man!

[Delphis]

Great vid. He sounds like a buff Denzel.

As for scissor switches, is there a bias against them here? The only negative thing I've read is that they might only last 20 million keystrokes instead of 50 million, as if that really matters. I absolutely love my Macbook Air 13" keyboard (gorgeous backlighting, perfect spacing, great tactile feel) and wish I could find that exact feel in a full-size backlit wired keyboard. (I'll pass on the $2k version). The closest I have found is the Apple aluminium keyboard with white keys (which I'm using right now). It feels great and it's quiet.

Honestly, if you like the feel of a scissor switch and you are faster with them, then how is that a bad thing?

[Delphis]

Well, the term "gaming" needs a lot of definition. I think it might be more accurate to say that certain keyboards without a specific level of roll-over are not good for specific FPS games. However, for many, many, many main stream blockbuster PC game titles you simply do not need a full keyboard roll-over.

[Delphis]

I'm a software developer and I had to look that up... Honestly, where do you come up with half the stuff you type? heh.

[Autolyze]

I'm a software developer and I had to look that up... Honestly, where do you come up with half the stuff you type? heh.

Ripster would be referring to... http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?23560-Why-rubberdomes-are-better-than-mechanical-keyboards.

[Delphis]

And here I thought SLUX was:

http://nothings.org/games/if/slux/index.html

[Delphis]

Are all my posts now moderated, or only the ones with links in them? (this is a test)

... just the ones with links...

[Rairden]

On rubber dome I can type 90wpm.  And slightly slower on laptop keys that are flat and have no travel distance......grrr hate em.  On mech brown I can type 130wpm.

I guess thats cuz I have far less practice on laptop keys?  I feel even if I had more practice on a laptop, I'd still be slower than a mech brown board....by FAR.

[Bry]

I also type a bit faster on rubber domes, but the awful feeling of using a rubber dome board is not worth it to me for the extra word or two per minute that I gain. I am probably not seasoned enough with mech boards though, as I've only been using them for a little over a year now compared to 15 or so years of using rubber domes.
Either way, I think mechanicals are more comfortable and I prefer them much more over domes for just about everything.

[dorkvader]

Yeah, it's like when I need to, I can type in QWERTY pretty fast, but i much prefer DVORAK, as it's more comfortable for me.

[dark_side]

It's not rocket science. You will as a rule be faster on whatever you practice more on. I type on my stupid compaq laptop keyboard most of my time and as a result am faster on it. (I average around 110-120 wpm on typeracer without race-selection, and 130 wpm with race-selection). I am sure I won't be able to type as fast on a mechanical keyboard on which I have no practice on first sight. But with practice I am sure I could exceed my laptop keyboard speed on it. (At least I hope so). The main reason being that I make some mistakes on laptop due to the fact that the keys are so close together, such as the inevitable pressing of the "b" key whenever I try to just press the n key in full flow. I can't see mistakes like that happening on a mechanical keyboard. But then again, in a mechanical keyboard the further finger distance will prove to be an obstacle on hindsight, which will take some getting used to. But I'm sure I will be able to find my way around it with some practice. But the bottomline is: Mechanical keyboards favour typing more than scissor keyboard. After I save enough money and buy myself a mechanical keyboard, I hope with enough practice to actually reach my dream average of 180 wpm.