Kailh Pro Burgundys vs Gateron Blacks

[wyz3]

Both of these switches are linear. The pro burgundys are 50g actuation force and the Gat blacks are said to be 60g, but there are some places saying 50g, so idk rly. I want to know the pros and cons about these switches and overall what you think is best for me. Oh and if you could, I would appreciate if you could tell me which switch is better for bottoming out. Please note, I do use a membrane laptop keyboard as my daily driver, so I don't know too much about these stuff. Also, coming from a laptop keyboard I prefer the keycaps on laptops, is there any mx keycaps that are flat? or at least don't have that inward keycaps design because I dont really like that. Thank you.

[-Jerry-]

Given that this is the second post you’ve made asking for a direct comparison between two switches, it probably really is cost effective and a good investment to get a large switch tester. For $40 you can get a tester with 81 switches, including all the switches you’ve asked about. For just $20 more you can get one with 130 switches to help you decide between any other future switches you may be curious about. 

[wyz3]

The thing is I am on a tight budget and I can't get a switch tester.

[wyz3]

Thanks anyways

[-Jerry-]

The thing is I am on a tight budget and I can't get a switch tester.

Fair enough, fair enough.

Well, to answer your original question:

This is the curve for the Pro Burgundy’s next to the curve for the Gateron Blanks


Given that you’ve given no context as to what you like already, nobody is going to be able to tell you which ones you’ll like better. They both have a fairly similar profile and the blacks are a tiny bit heavier, so require more force before they bottom out, but only by a few grams.

Regarding laptop keyboards and flatness of keycaps, yes, there are a few kinds of key cap profiles that fit that description. DSA profile caps aren’t sculpted, so they’re all the keys are the same height. Then there are XDA keycaps that are similar, but a little wider at the top. The closest to a laptop key is G20 profile, though you’ve got less options for keycaps in general with them:



PimpMyKeyboard, who make the G20s, also sell ‘flat keycaps’

[wyz3]

Thanks for the information! Appreciate your great attendance to posts and your willingness to help. :]

[jamster]

Switches are purely personally preference. There's no way anyone can meaningfully suggest anything to you given the information you've provided, and without some experience you can't triangulate off any comparisons provided by other people.

From a keycap perspective, XDA looks like chicklet caps from membranes. But a lot of people dislike them for the same reason.

Your post does raise the question though, why are you interested in a mech board in the first place, what do you expect to get out of it? Serious question, the vast majority of people I know are perfectly happy with their membrane boards, even those who have tried mechs.

If you're curious, but money is tight, just get something cheap to dip your toes in the water. Red, blue or  brown . Cherry or Kailh or Gateron. Don't mess around with sourcing obscure, even more niche switches, until you have some idea why you like and dislike.

Edit: from your post history, you're getting a hotswap board? In that case just get  small number of each switch you're interested in and try them out. But really. If you're brand new to all this, diving into twenty different obscure linear models is a bit scattered. Just try something normal.

[wyz3]

I have a hotswap board with gat yellows (lubed with 3204) but I barely use it because I use my laptop majority of the time. Plus, I don't type well on my Gat yellows, there is not enough feedback for my fingers and so I tend to make a lot of mistakes. On another post I explained how they felt strange to me and that I was struggling to understand if I actually typed something or I did not. I'm pretty sure I don't bottom out because that is why I struggled to use Gat Yellows. I couldn't understand if I actuated the switch or not because the force did not change as I went closer to bottoming out and I didn't feel the feedback from bottoming out because I am not even bottoming out. So as a result I am looking into Gat Blacks because they have more resistance as you get closer to bottoming out, meaning I can get more feedback when typing and know when to let go of the switch. At the same time the Kailh Pro Burgundys appealed to me but now I think of it, I might just go with Gat blacks since their bottom out force is slightly higher, meaning a bit more feedback and cheaper overall, unless there is something else with the kailh pro burgundys that make them better, but from the information given, gat blacks seem better for me. I do have a budget so I think I'll go with dsa keycaps because they seem to be cheaper in some places. Tbh, I am not too worried about the keycaps, I was just a bit curious to what keycaps I can get that are relatively similiar to what I use as my daily driver.

[-Jerry-]

Based on what you’re saying about wanting a heavier switch for the extra resistance towards bottom out in order to tell when you’re actuating, are you sure you might not want to give tactile switches a try? The whole point of tactile switches is that you can feel the actuation point.

[wyz3]

Yeah I am getting some tactiles (well, mostly clickies) to try. I have a list right now of some switches I want to get here it is:

-Box Jades
-Box Pinks
-Box Whites
-Box Pale Blue
-Box Noble Yellows
-Box Glazed Green
-Durock T1s (idk which weight yet, there is 62g or 67g option)
-Durock L7 (62g or 67g)
-Pro Berry
-Gateron Blacks

The T1s are the only just tactile switches the rest are either linear or clicky. I am looking in to Kailh's click bar switches mainly because I have heard that the clickbar adds to the tactile feel of the switch, I heard that it makes the tactility quite sharp and that is something that I might be looking for, but as a back up, I am getting T1s to try in case I like the rounded bump more vs the sharp bump. From the posts I have just done I eliminated Pro Burgndys and Box Dark Yellows. However, I might change my mind on the dark yellows, or I might at least give them a try, it depends. I don't know too much about the Durock L7s but they are said to be quite nice, I might do another post just to ask about the L7s because I honestly can't find a single spec sheet on it. I am still unsure about kailh glazed greens but just because they use the clickbar I am interested in them.

[-Jerry-]

I know I’m going to sound like a broken record, but if you want to test that many switches, you’ll probably break even in terms of cost getting a switch tester and be able to really compare and determine what you want in a switch.

You’re saying you want a clicky switch over a tactile switch for a tactile feeling doesn’t really track with me. You can get tactile switches with a range of different curve profiles, sharper, softer, rounder.

[wyz3]

I have just realised that glazed greens are basically box whites but anyways you were saying that i could probably find a tactile switch with a sharp bump and everything. That is true but I found that these click bar switches to be a great deal for my budget and like I said the click bar does have a effect on the tactility of these switches hence why I am looking into them. Plus, there aren't too many tactile switches under my budget. Box Royals are probably pretty good but I have heard they start to click after some time but I'd be fine with that, it is just the fact that click bar switches have that special effect on the tactility of the switch. But I am getting the T1s like I said just to try a switch with that rounded bump. Hako switches seem pretty good but they are out of my budget, I know that sounds slightly strange but I am from the UK and the shipping costs are just too much from places like NovelKeys and so I'd have to get my switches from either Kprepublic or Aliexpress. Optic Boards are not bad but they dont have a wide variety of switches.