Gaming, red vs black vs brown

[Shirukii]

I've been lurking here for a while, growing more and more frustrated with my mushy membrane g15 bought in ignorance of the glorious mechanical master race. It's time to join the club.

My time is spent primarily on gaming, and from what I've read (I have read most gaming related posts on here) this leaves me with three options:

Cherry Blacks: Highly praised for gaming, high actuation force is great for rts games to prevent accidental keypresses and linear switching will do well with double tapping and speedy fps reactions. However, often said to be terrible for typing and potentially fatiguing. I find my pinky getting tired on the crouch (ctrl) key when I play for extended periods of time, so this is my main concern with blacks.

Cherry Reds: All the benefits of blacks at lower fatigue. Double edged sword, accidental keypresses in rts are more likely and also in fps since I rest my hands on wasd when I play. Typically described as "typing on air", which doesn't sound ideal, coming from a g15 I have a pretty heavy hand.

Cherry Browns: Middle ground, good for typing, decent for gaming, my main concern here is the small tactile bump which makes double tapping slightly harder.

I have a friend going to Hong Kong soon and she might be able to track down a cherry red keyboard for me, that's why it's an option here.

All in all, I'm leaning towards blacks, but I'm still wary of the fatigue that it may cause my pinky while gaming and otherwise while typing normally.

I don't have any questions in particular, I'm opening the floor up to discussion so that I can narrow down my needs and address my concerns. So have at it! I'll answer any questions that'll help me make my choice.

[clickclack]

First, welcome to geekhack! =)

I have tried each of the switches you have mentions as well as most others (for a cherry red I just used softer springs in a linear setup) and I happen to really like cherry blacks. I find them great to type one and I don't get any fatigue. I had used them for about 4 months straight and found that I can type the fastest on them. It's also the only switch that I can easily type without bottoming out on, I don't even have to think about it and I just glide over the keys with ease. I also make relatively few mistakes on that board when typing too!

I have given my mom the board now (while I test others) and she loves it and has been using it for a few months now and does not find it tiring, she uses it quite heavily and everyday. I know its different for many people but I really think it's worth trying.

=)

[clickclack]

I advise you to buy a Cherry Black, Red and Brown board. For starters.

Yup! It is almost unavoidable :S
hahaa

[Shirukii]

My hands tremble in excitement at your advice, my wallet trembles in fear.

+1 for black.

[ch_123]

I remember reading about your idea to convert that thing to Cherry switches for the first time and thinking "Heh, that's one of those overambitious ideas that's doomed to failure..." Fair play on getting it working!

[Shirukii]

That is one bizarre creation, well done pulling it off. I did read that G80-3600LYC review, that board being the only cherry red I know of in existence. My plan right now is to find somewhere with a steelseries 7g on display and spend a good while poking at it to get an idea of how the blacks feel, if I like them I'll pull the trigger on a filco with blacks. If they're too stiff I'll get my friend to bring me back a G80-3600LYC.

[ricercar]

Majestouch has a Cherry red board. I'm trying to decide how much I'll pay before I PM him.

[imsto]

Seems Cherry MX red is hard to be found in US?
it's easy to get in China
Use the springs in Cherry MX blue take the place of the Cherry MX black, then get the red feel.
Suerb'd made some springs with the same parameters as Cherry MX red.

[imsto]

Cherry MX black might be the best choice.

[Phaedrus2129]

My MX Browns work just fine for gaming, no complaints whatsoever except that my MX-11800 isn't NKRO, which I've found has a real impact in at least one case:

Shift W V
(run forward, voice)
Press R to reload--oh noooo, it's blocked.

But that's the keyboard, not the switch. MX browns work fine for gaming. I don't know about double tapping, but for FPS games they work just fine.

[nraymond]

My MX Browns work just fine for gaming, no complaints whatsoever...

I also like my Filco Tenkeyless with browns for gaming.  I'm not a pro/competitive person (not a member of clans or anything), but I own about 80 games of many genres, and it's been good for all of them so far.  I like the Cherry MX Browns better than the Alps black clones in the ABS M1, which I was using previously.

[kriminal]

i say cherry blacks, i have a black and brown, my hands dont get tired playing on the blacks for extended periods, i actually like the blacks.

and this is a person coming from a g11 kbd.

EDIT: browns are good for gaming, however the blacks feel so natural for it i like the springing feedback.

[Shirukii]

I'm more or less settled on blacks now, I've yet to find a SS 7G to poke at, but I'm convinced my already heavy typing will suit me well for blacks. Now to wait for elitekeyboards to get them back in stock and to mentally prepare myself to spend over $150 on a keyboard.

[itlnstln]

Now to wait for elitekeyboards to get them back in stock and to mentally prepare myself to spend over $150 on a keyboard.

It's not that hard once you do a few times.  It's just like killing someone in that way.

[ironcoder]

It's not that hard once you do a few times.  It's just like killing someone in that way.

Hammer: "Never shot a man before I shot a man."

Oh I fogot, never piss off anybody who's name ends in a vowel. Can I buy a vowel, Pat?

[ironcoder]

ItlnStln - someday you'll have to tell me how your IT department let's you get away with this.  They must have TERRIBLE filters.

That's his new job..he is the IT department. Cutbacks, you know.

[Shirukii]

It's not that hard once you do a few times.  It's just like killing someone in that way.

Relevant: I've spent about $1,500 on my audio set up so far, so I have practice.

[DryDry]

Cherry MX black might be the best choice.

i agree with you

[ricercar]

my already heavy typing will suit me well for blacks .... prepare myself to spend over $150 on a keyboard.

Heck, I'll sell you a backlit TG3 with Cherry blacks for $100.




Product page
http://www.tg3electronics.com/products/backlit/bl82

I'll put up a classified.

[Shirukii]

So as a point of testing/comparison, I'm typing on a newly acquired Model M. I'm really loving how it feels and sounds to type on it. That being said, I am finding it slightly tiring on my fingers to use. This post is the first thing that I'm typing with it so there's a bit of getting used to, but my conflict is back.

It's pretty hard to accidentally press a key with the Model M, whose actuation force is supposedly lighter than cherry blacks, but at the same time I'm having to press harder than I'm used to compared to membranes.

Can anyone compare the Model M to cherry blacks? The actuation force is close but the latter lacks the tactile bump.

Regardless, I'm really happy with the Model M, no buyers remorse here.

CLACKACLACKACLACKA <3

[ricercar]

Model M feels the same as blacks for force; however the M is crisp and the blacks are soft.

someone's bound to correct me if the numbers are not exact for black and bs.

[Shirukii]

I can't find anywhere locally that stocks a Steelseries 7G and are willing to let me open up the box and have a poke at the keys. I love the Model M for typing purposes, but gaming feels labored on it, I think I'm going to go for browns.

[itlnstln]

I think browns are a good choice, if not a good compromise.  The only time I have tried blacks is on a customer terminal (G80-11900) in a store, and I really did not like them.  You might be able try them in a similar way (store terminal) before you buy something, but I think you'll be happy in something with browns.

[Shirukii]

Yep, I've made my choice, getting ready to order the Filco tenkeyless with browns when it comes back in stock. Originally I wasn't going to get a tenkeyless, but when I switched to the Model M, which is smaller than the g15, it brought my mouse hand in closer and it was more comfortable when gaming.

And whenever I need the numpad for some serious data, entry, I can always swap out. Keyboards are awesome!

[itlnstln]

Keep in mind, too, that the Filco 104 is less wide than the Model M.  If you do end up needing a numpad fairly often, you could always get and external one and break it out when you need it.

[Shirukii]

One other option I might have available to me is a Ducky keyboard, I have a friend in mainland China right now, if anyone has any idea where she'd be able to get one there. Alternatively, is there any way I can get one shipped over to Canada?

[elbowglue]

Ashley, have you been on this forum before under another name?  I think I've spoken with you before, it sound so familiar!

Hello,
Keyboard can't give a better controls than joysticks.The better option is to use the joysticks for gaming.




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[LordGurciullo]

Don't get browns.

I have cherry red black and brown. browns are not in the same league whatsoever for gaming.

not even close.

[Shirukii]

You guys are going to make an indecisive wreck of me, but I think I'll stick to my decision for browns, if blacks really are the equivalent force of the Model M.

[microsoft windows]

My favorite Cherries are the red ones and the yellow ones.

[kishy]

I like the tasty ones.

[washuai]

It's clear to me there's a switch loose somewhere.  Fresh are tasty.