Topre has ruined MX style switches for me

[Soo8]

I need advice using your experience on this one.
I'm a gamer first and I had a long relationship with Cherry Blacks because I was dissatisfied with cheap membrane keybards. But in the end they were just too heavy(hard to consistently press to just the activation point), felt very cushiony towards bottoming out and were generaly scratcy. Then bought some Gateron Blues, great, but the separate sleve on the slider made it so you had to fully depress the switch to deactivate it. So I bought Gateron Browns to combat the slider design, even lubed them up. These were the best I tried from the bunch for rhythm games and general use. Buuut... then by complete accident I bought a Novatouch and respect for MX style switches just evaporated. The Topre board feels so refined and sooo smooth on the downstroke, it's heaven to type on. The "tactile feedback" on the Browns have nothing on the Novatouch, tis but a low speed bump on the Browns. But alas I still want to play my fast button mashing games and a problem accured - Topre keys are quite slugish on the upstroke, kind of like a piano. I'm still sceptical about going for linear switches after my experience with MX Blacks, but that may be only the stiff springs that ruined the experience.

TLDR black, blue, brown MX switches felt unrefined while Topre are slugish on the upstroke.

What switch do you guys recommend? I really would like to stop buying new switches for my poor KC60.

I was thinking among the lines of low force linear lubed Gat Clear. Any thoughts? Thanks for any response!

[Bambino]

If you've only used Novatouch, you're in for a treat when you step up to a Realforce or Leopold topre! Maybe your upstroke issue could be addressed with a 55g topre which are a little stiffer and snappier than Novatouch 45g domes.

[Polymer]

MX for gaming IMO...has the mashability factor..

[Soo8]

If you've only used Novatouch, you're in for a treat when you step up to a Realforce or Leopold topre! Maybe your upstroke issue could be addressed with a 55g topre which are a little stiffer and snappier than Novatouch 45g domes.

God please let this be false. My wallet can't take much more Topre prices.

[Sneaky Potato]

Topre also ruined MX for me. I tried going back to MX after a long time, and tried just about every obtainable MX switch possible and really didn't like any of them as much as Topre.

Then I stumbled upon Alps, and found that I liked those over MX as well, for the most part.

Basically I'm stuck with the two switches that have the least amount of customization options out there.

Thankfully, the stock 55g Realforce 87-U is one of the best boards I've ever typed on, and I don't think a single thing needs to be added.

Even though there's not a lot of options to customize Topre, I love the tone choices of the blacks, greys, and whites of the HHKB and Realforce boards. They're very minimialist and aesthetically pleasing.

[Kavik]

I have mostly used MX Reds for gaming for a little over three years with no complaints; I've never found them tiring. I recently put blue WASD o-rings on them, and I like them even more now. It makes them a tad mushy upon bottoming out, but it really improves the typing experience overall. The o-rings haven't affected games much as far as I can tell; they do reduce travel a bit, so that could be a plus if you need really fast key presses. I will say that the MX Reds also suffer a bit from scratchiness too, but it's not something I noticed until I started reading about it.

I don't have any experience with Gaterons, but I have heard they are smoother and lighter, so they might be a good choice (clears, reds, or blacks). I have some 67g Zealios, but I haven't put them on anything yet, so I can't give a valid opinion on them.

Recently, I've been using Matias Clicks for games, so maybe my opinion isn't that great, lol.

TL;DR MX Reds are decent, but they are basically slightly lighter blacks.

[Soo8]

Another question popped up as I read the comments.

Are Cherry MX stems interchangable with Gaterons?
I would like to put MX Black stems into Gat Brown housings.

[Dyaems]

Another question popped up as I read the comments.

Are Cherry MX stems interchangable with Gaterons?
I would like to put MX Black stems into Gat Brown housings.

Yes you can. You can even swap the springs. Make sure to test it if the stem will be stucked after bottoming out. I highly doubt it though.

[pixelpusher]

As others have stated, reds are probably what you are looking for.  You could even do Gateron reds if you are wanting something as smooth as Topre.

[hking0036]

Having gone for topre, it's really a great switch and I love typing on it. What it ruined for me on the mx front is that I never quite realized how loud mx was in general, 62g clears still feel good, but sound loud and clattery compared to my topre boards. I'd look at pink but linears aren't really for me, and I'm not sure I'd go back considering I already have two really solid topre boards as is. My next board will probably end up being an hhkb pro 2 rather than an mx board since the 660c is a little longer and wider than the poker 2 is. There's a lot of hype behind topre, but at the end of the day it's just comfortable to type on. It's hard to describe without trying but unfortunately getting a chance to actually try it is few and far between.

[chyros]

I need advice using your experience on this one.
I'm a gamer first and I had a long relationship with Cherry Blacks because I was dissatisfied with cheap membrane keybards. But in the end they were just too heavy(hard to consistently press to just the activation point), felt very cushiony towards bottoming out and were generaly scratcy. Then bought some Gateron Blues, great, but the separate sleve on the slider made it so you had to fully depress the switch to deactivate it. So I bought Gateron Browns to combat the slider design, even lubed them up. These were the best I tried from the bunch for rhythm games and general use. Buuut... then by complete accident I bought a Novatouch and respect for MX style switches just evaporated. The Topre board feels so refined and sooo smooth on the downstroke, it's heaven to type on. The "tactile feedback" on the Browns have nothing on the Novatouch, tis but a low speed bump on the Browns. But alas I still want to play my fast button mashing games and a problem accured - Topre keys are quite slugish on the upstroke, kind of like a piano. I'm still sceptical about going for linear switches after my experience with MX Blacks, but that may be only the stiff springs that ruined the experience.

TLDR black, blue, brown MX switches felt unrefined while Topre are slugish on the upstroke.

What switch do you guys recommend? I really would like to stop buying new switches for my poor KC60.

I was thinking among the lines of low force linear lubed Gat Clear. Any thoughts? Thanks for any response!

IMO none of the Cherry switches feel nice or refined, and Topre has been really disappointing for me for gaming. I've been using it for the last week for gaming and it honestly feels sluggish and unresponsive.

I really like linear or linearised Alps for gaming, myself. If you don't mind 2KRO, a linearised Dell AT101 is a great and cheap option (just don't get one from eBay, the prices are massively inflated right now); if you do need NKRO, get an NKRO board like an OmniKey and linearise that. I've also found my Tandy board very nice for gaming as long as you can deal with having fewer modifier keys.

[pixelpusher]

I need advice using your experience on this one.
I'm a gamer first and I had a long relationship with Cherry Blacks because I was dissatisfied with cheap membrane keybards. But in the end they were just too heavy(hard to consistently press to just the activation point), felt very cushiony towards bottoming out and were generaly scratcy. Then bought some Gateron Blues, great, but the separate sleve on the slider made it so you had to fully depress the switch to deactivate it. So I bought Gateron Browns to combat the slider design, even lubed them up. These were the best I tried from the bunch for rhythm games and general use. Buuut... then by complete accident I bought a Novatouch and respect for MX style switches just evaporated. The Topre board feels so refined and sooo smooth on the downstroke, it's heaven to type on. The "tactile feedback" on the Browns have nothing on the Novatouch, tis but a low speed bump on the Browns. But alas I still want to play my fast button mashing games and a problem accured - Topre keys are quite slugish on the upstroke, kind of like a piano. I'm still sceptical about going for linear switches after my experience with MX Blacks, but that may be only the stiff springs that ruined the experience.

TLDR black, blue, brown MX switches felt unrefined while Topre are slugish on the upstroke.

What switch do you guys recommend? I really would like to stop buying new switches for my poor KC60.

I was thinking among the lines of low force linear lubed Gat Clear. Any thoughts? Thanks for any response!

IMO none of the Cherry switches feel nice or refined, and Topre has been really disappointing for me for gaming. I've been using it for the last week for gaming and it honestly feels sluggish and unresponsive.

I really like linear or linearised Alps for gaming, myself. If you don't mind 2KRO, a linearised Dell AT101 is a great and cheap option (just don't get one from eBay, the prices are massively inflated right now); if you do need NKRO, get an NKRO board like an OmniKey and linearise that. I've also found my Tandy board very nice for gaming as long as you can deal with having fewer modifier keys.

I like this.  I feel the same way about the switches you are talking about.  I wonder... have you tried Matias linear switches?  I was going to buy a tester pack but it's too damn expensive, I'd be better off to just buy some switches.

[evilpacket]

hmm. aint nothin got **** on top-notch NIB vintage mx blacks.
and topres are **** for gaming. typing on it is quite pleasant, but some ppl can get a little bored after a while.

[Zhuni]

Yeah I really wanted topre to work for me for gaming but I find them so sluggish and slow in fps games. Luckily mx silent hit the spot for me for both typing and gaming.

[chyros]

I need advice using your experience on this one.
I'm a gamer first and I had a long relationship with Cherry Blacks because I was dissatisfied with cheap membrane keybards. But in the end they were just too heavy(hard to consistently press to just the activation point), felt very cushiony towards bottoming out and were generaly scratcy. Then bought some Gateron Blues, great, but the separate sleve on the slider made it so you had to fully depress the switch to deactivate it. So I bought Gateron Browns to combat the slider design, even lubed them up. These were the best I tried from the bunch for rhythm games and general use. Buuut... then by complete accident I bought a Novatouch and respect for MX style switches just evaporated. The Topre board feels so refined and sooo smooth on the downstroke, it's heaven to type on. The "tactile feedback" on the Browns have nothing on the Novatouch, tis but a low speed bump on the Browns. But alas I still want to play my fast button mashing games and a problem accured - Topre keys are quite slugish on the upstroke, kind of like a piano. I'm still sceptical about going for linear switches after my experience with MX Blacks, but that may be only the stiff springs that ruined the experience.

TLDR black, blue, brown MX switches felt unrefined while Topre are slugish on the upstroke.

What switch do you guys recommend? I really would like to stop buying new switches for my poor KC60.

I was thinking among the lines of low force linear lubed Gat Clear. Any thoughts? Thanks for any response!

IMO none of the Cherry switches feel nice or refined, and Topre has been really disappointing for me for gaming. I've been using it for the last week for gaming and it honestly feels sluggish and unresponsive.

I really like linear or linearised Alps for gaming, myself. If you don't mind 2KRO, a linearised Dell AT101 is a great and cheap option (just don't get one from eBay, the prices are massively inflated right now); if you do need NKRO, get an NKRO board like an OmniKey and linearise that. I've also found my Tandy board very nice for gaming as long as you can deal with having fewer modifier keys.

I like this.  I feel the same way about the switches you are talking about.  I wonder... have you tried Matias linear switches?  I was going to buy a tester pack but it's too damn expensive, I'd be better off to just buy some switches.

Yes I did!

[MperorM]

not sure what sort of gaming you're talking about (I can imagine it might be a bigger deal for FPS games), but I play competitive starcraft and my new 45g topre board is probably the best board I've ever had in regards to playing. Compared to some of the heavier switches like clicky alps and mx switches, my hand can spam for much longer periods of time before getting fatigued. If i play with my fuhua alps board, I will have to stop spamming my keyboard after just a few games as my hand can't handle it. With my topre board, I can play with +300 apm for hours without breaks before getting tired. However unlike some of the lighter linear switches, I am finding topre much easier to spam quickly because of the tactile feedback.

that's just my two cents

[supamesican]

Wait until the topre that have 2mm travel to actuation come out those should be snappier. Honestly it sounds like you want matias switches though.