geekhack
geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: Saturn on Fri, 12 October 2012, 17:17:35
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As anyone who is familiar with the force graphs of tactile and linear switches (or has used both of them) is aware, the feel of the keyswitch is completely different between the two. Even between, say Cherry MX Browns and Reds, which have the same actuation force, the feel of using each switch is completely distinct from the other because the finger must exert its force upon the key in a very different way.
So, which do you believe is the more "natural" type of key action? Is linear more natural because of its smooth, constantly increasing force curve, or is tactile more natural for the fingers due to the presence of the "bump" to let the fingers know when the switch has actuated? Which is more conducive to efficient, high-speed typing? To those who have used both, do you find one type of switch to be more fatiguing than the other?
Welcoming opinions from those who have any kind of anatomical or physiological perspective, as well as those who simply have personal experience using both types of switches.
For my own part, I used browns (Leopold) for over a year and recently started to try reds (Filco), and have found the switch to be very interesting. I am still undecided as to which I prefer. When I read about reds prior to purchasing them and looked at the force curve, they seemed to be to be the obviously superior choice from a theoretical/logical perspective (i.e. the fingers don't need to "predict" the presence of the tatctile bump, they can simply push), but now that I am using them, I find I miss the tactile feedback quite a bit. Perhaps once I have gotten used to the reds, this will no longer be the case.
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I have never tried a keyboard with Cherry MX Red, but I have used keyboards with Cherry MX Black, Blue, Brown and "Clear".
I find the Black and Brown switches to be more fatiguing because I have to overshoot the actuation point a bit to be sure that I have actuated the switch.
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The tactile bump on Cherry switches is too "mechanical" for me to be able to call it "natural", but I think that the more natural feel of a switch is with tactile feel. That gives you feedback that the switch has activated. On blue switches, you get the auditory feedback as well.
If you want natural, then you have to try Topre. You can find the force curve around the internet. It is the smoothest.
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It's a keyboard, there is nothing natural about it.
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That's why the kid is building the wooden keyboard, Ha Ha!
I am one of the humans who feels reassured and satisfied when I get feedback as I press a key.
Do you turn the keypad tones off on your phone?
To me it seems natural to want to receive some physical acknowledgement of an action having been accomplished.
Thus, I hate the touchscreens of smart phones.
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Browns are called the ergonomic switch I assume for a reason. They probably did lots of studies.
http://deskthority.net/wiki/Cherry_MX_Brown
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Personally I like brown and red equally, though I guess brown feels a bit more "natural" when typing. Not saying red is bad but, brown is a bit more relaxing and forgiving to type on. With red you need to be a bit more accurate otherwise you get typos a lot.
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I grew up typing on buckling spring, and so between the two, and I prefer the tactile switches due to the familiarity. That being said I have a set of reds at home, and and browns at work.
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Any switch is good for ne as long as if I dont bottom out. I find that I get more fatigue and sores when I bottom out. Outside of that I just need time to get used to switches. I get used to some switches faster than others. I find that I type the fastest on browns but get the most aches from them. Blues are most enjoyable to type.
Even though I have not yet owned and extensivley used mx reds and blacks , I have tried them and surprisingly I liked the blacks more but that could be just because I haven't gotten used to the reds yet or haven't gotten sore and achy from the blacks or just because of the specific bosrds I used.(Crosair k60 and Mionix ziboal60).
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In my opinion, tactile keys are more "natural" in that they give your fingers a physical indication of when you've actuated the key. It's a prompt to the fingers that, over time, I think builds some sort of muscle memory that tells your finger that when it feels the bump, it's time to release. It's a bit harder to strike the balance of not bottoming out while still actuating the switch on linear switches. Further, with tactile switches you can almost always tell when you've missed a key by not pressing down enough, which is not as easily noticed with linear switches.
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So, whats the actual problem on bottoming out a key?
I use to do that regularly on my G7 and G80 (both blacks)
maybe due to them not having a feedback of the activation point but i dont feel anything
wrong about it.
Tho Ive never tried other switches yet (would love me some blues because I like the "clicky thing")
but I dont want to have a 3rd mechanical at home getting dusty then.
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lol yeah i don't know why people are so scared of bottom out. I find the bottom out sound is what makes mechanical keyboard mechanical.
I type on brown and red and I bottom out on both of them. Obviously I don't bottom out with ridiculous amount of forces but I still do bottom out.
That being said I have a set of reds at home, and and browns at work.
lol me too
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Browns are the best for gaming.
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Browns are the best for gaming.
I use both Brown and Blue for RTS gaming only difference is that I can double tap faster on Browns.
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or is tactile more natural for the fingers due to the presence of the "bump" to let the fingers know when the switch has actuated? Which is more conducive to efficient, high-speed typing?
Despite the conventional wisdom, there's something to be said for typing on linear switches. The lack of any tactile bump provides a smooth experience when touch typing fast.
(Earlier today I put together a variable force linear keyboard I intend to use for typing and general purpose work. It's made of a mix of MX red and black switches.)
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With gaming, tactility is useless. If you think it will make you faster, you're not fast enough to begin with for two reasons:
1. At high speeds you don't feel the tactility.
2. Keys are held down often, so you will be bottoming out every key.
So, red=brown for gaming, and red or black is a matter of finger strength.