geekhack
geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: Air tree on Thu, 05 September 2013, 01:27:54
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Well i was wondering how many people have done this. and what switch was it you didn't try before buying the keyboard? and did you end up liking it?
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Late night confessions of an addict
every mechanical keyboard i own plus my HHKB i just threw money at my computer screen and rolled the dice on if i would like it LOL. The only mechanical switch i tried before purchasing was blue switches on a friend's BWU. Did i make mistakes? maybe...... The best part of geekhack is turning something that you don't like into something you DO like.
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I'm thinking of just throwing money at my computer screen and getting a cherry mx red keycool keyboard! Hmm...
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I've gotten two so far and both of them I haven't tried the switches for them (Brown and Red). I'm just always open for new things and adapt easily.
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I threw money at my computer screen and nothing happened... Am I doing something wrong? Is there some sort of magic that's involved to get this to work?
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I'm thinking of just throwing money at my computer screen and getting a cherry mx red keycool keyboard! Hmm...
Honestly, if you want a TKL get the QFR or QFS.
If you want a 60% (which I do) and have $$ get the Happy Hacker something keyboard (sorry guys im tired). I've heard its AMAZING. If you don't have money to burn (like me), allloottt of people are selling KBT's around here for great prices.
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It's not impossible, but unfortunately it's generally a bit of a fuss to try a switch before you buy it. I live in a major US metropolis (Boston), literally blocks away from the nerd Mecca of MIT, and it was impossible for me to find a brown swith to try to save my life (Microcenter, Best Buy, etc.—nobody had any), or even to see a single Filco board in person. So I just bit the bullet and bought a brown board from Keyboard Co directly in the UK and a blue and red board from Keyboard Co via Amazon marketplace (making returns possible). I figured returning the brown board to the UK if I didn't like it would be either annoying or impossible, so I just planned on giving it away or eBaying it if I didn't like it. I decided to keep the red and brown boards (both of which I love) and sent the blue one (too noisy) back to Amazon. There was a slight restocking fee, but that was no big deal.
I had purchased the test switches from WASD, but that really wasn't good enough to get the true feel of a full board of keys.
I am currently going through this same dilemma as I investigate Topre switches. I want to try out the 30g weight ones, but in this case it's going to require an even bigger leap of faith: plopping down $600 to buy one from an agent via Taobao in China. I'm confident I'll be able to sell it somewhere (eBay, GH, etc) if I don't like it, but unfortunately it requires a big cash outlay just to put your hands on one of these things and figure out if you like it. =\
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Reds again here. Felt like a change after blues... didnt like the extra resistance and movements of the click mechanism.
I like the reds but want to try blacks (other than in the store), since I have big sometimes heavy hands.
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All of them that I have, because there is nowhere in Melbourne that I can try the keyboards (apart from a BWU).
MX blue, MX black, MX red, Topre, BS, green Alps.
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Brown and red without tried it first.
Edit: and topre, also without tried.
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I knew what kind of switches and keycaps I'd like before trying any of them. And no, that isn't a self-fulfilling prophecy. Especially when I went against my judgement of switches and bought a BWU as my first mechanical... I gave that mistake to my Dad, and now the damn thing doesn't even work anymore. My second mechanical was a 3494 with a Cherry DS set from 99hk, and they came at the same time so I never even used the lasered keys. My judgement was spot on, which is why I still don't understand why I bought that BWU... That BWU is the only purchase I regret so far in this keyboard hobby.
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all of the keyboards i bought were to try the switch, so....ummm....yeah :)
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.... The best part of geekhack is turning something that you don't like into something you DO like.
+1
I bought a Ducky tactile mix (browns with clears on the modifiers, F keys, etc.). Decided I didn't like the clears when using my pinkies.
So far I've desoldered all the switches, got some springs, stickers and orings in the mail and am in the process of hacking the steel plate into chunks to make my own design ergo board with ErgoClear thumb switches :D
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Not as of yet.
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Late night confessions of an addict
every mechanical keyboard i own plus my HHKB i just threw money at my computer screen and rolled the dice on if i would like it LOL. The only mechanical switch i tried before purchasing was blue switches on a friend's BWU. Did i make mistakes? maybe...... The best part of geekhack is turning something that you don't like into something you DO like.
I bought my first keyboard which was a Razer Blackwidow Elite because I didn't have a lot of knowledge on the whole Mechanical keyboard subject at the time.
But then as time got on, I purchased more keyboards, I went from Blues -> Reds -> Blacks and now I'm back using a keyboard that isn't 100% functional, (bouncing keys) but I seem to of fixed that problem.
Imo, it's best to just buy them, but with me buying blacks? that was a huge mistake on my part to be honest, I had advised two of my friends to get blacks because they had been advised to me as the 'best' gaming switch, but me personally? I cannot get used to how resistant they are, I love reds and I don't think I'll ever switch away from Reds now because of this fact.
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I did buy a mechanical keyboard without trying it in advance :) Greece barely has any mechanical keyboards in stores so I had to buy one from the US. Hope I like it :)
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Yeah I bought my first board without every trying any of the MX switches before, and I love the Blues.
I'm now waiting for EK to restock the HHKB in unprinted black, just so I can try the Topre switches. From what I've read and heard, they sound perfect for me.
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I have. Never tried alps before and one day i decided that I wanted one and I found a leading edge dc 2014. Oh that keyboard is still my true love it was in very good condition when I first got it is near death now. It was love at first touch with her I barley had any knowledge about mechanical keyboards at the time and alps I knew nothing about just they existed. I wanted to at least try a alps board ((which are hell to find)) and I could always resell, So I went out on a whim for it. I will never regret the decision.
My buckling springs though I put a lot of thought and reading into before I decided to get it. Then after using it for a while I decided to dump cash into it for custom keycaps and such.
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Usually when I buy keyboards on ebay. I bought a Cherry 84 ML4100 on the site cause I needed a small portable keyboard for a briefcase computer mod I'm doing. So far the keys are alright. Nothing too special about it but better then a laptop style keyboard with scissor switches. I also bought the NMB Right Touch keyboard before trying it out. Luckily it feels like a quality keyboard with the right force. I just bought a Model M keyboard on ebay yesterday. Never felt an actual buckling spring keyboard, but I bet I'll love it.
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I bought all my boards before trying the switch. :)
I don't regret. It's part of the journey.
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I bought blue without trying, I bought topre without trying, I bought red without trying, I bought white without trying.
I'm a rebel
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So guys i have settled (finally) on the cm storm quickfire rapid, what switch should i just get to take the plunge into the mechanical keyboard world?
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So guys i have settled (finally) on the cm storm quickfire rapid, what switch should i just get to take the plunge into the mechanical keyboard world?
Obviously the prettiest colour
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I bought all my boards before trying the switch. :)
I don't regret. It's part of the journey.
in my case half way true, but i'll sign up with you on this " I don't regret. It's part of the journey.".
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Sure, I got a Truly Ergonomic Blue and Red having never tried those switches (only used Brown before). I didn't like either one of them for regular work (programming). The Red was too soft, and the Blue was too loud. Later I got into some gaming with my kid (LOTRO) and now I love the red for that. The Blue I keep as a curiosity.
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LOL. Every mechanical keyboard I've ever touched: Brown, Red and Blue.
Kept the Brown and the Red but returned the Blue. I ate it on the Red, though: totally not my cup of tea b.c. I can't stand red switches (I don't game at all - my usage is almost entirely programming). But like Glod said, that's the point of Geekhack: turning something you don't like into something you do. I did get a little taste of the blues, though, before buying by way of one of the Razer Boards at best buy. Now, I hate the Razer logo with a passion, and I guess you could say I hate the Razer brand, but I have to say this: the way that Razer mounts their switches makes the blue look very compelling. I hate the look of Razer keyboards, but neither of the blue boards that I tried (Filco TK MJ2, Rosewill) impressed me at all. I hate to admit it, but the blue switches I played with on that Razer beat the snot out of Filco and Rosewill.
Brown are my favorite so far, hands down. Going to try clears next: after I get a board that supports switch modding.
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Absolutely not. I make it a point to try out both switch and keyboard before I buy it.
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I do this all the time to be honest..
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I haven't tried any of the switches before buying, I might've poked the exposed arrow keys on a BW before I bought my board with blues, but the fact that I can't remember basically means it's a no as far as the question is concerned.
It took some time before mechanical boards found their way to stores here, and by then I was already well into it. So no, so far all my switch choices have been blind.
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Admittedly I did not try any of the switches of any of the boards that I own before buying them, and that's quite a few.
Maybe I'm just trying to surprise myself with something amazing :p
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brown and topre 45g for me both my 2 favorite switches so far.
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you still like browns after you tried topre?
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I bought all of my keyboards without trying the switch. So, yes.
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Most of my mech keyboards, I bought because I hadn't tried the switch yet. I have not paid a premium for any of them, though. Most of them were used, many vintage.
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Bought all my boards without trying the switch first, too. The first few times, I'd spend time researching the switch to try and get an idea of what they would be like, but the switches always ended up feeling much different than I expected, even from board to board, so I started to just go with it and looking forward to the surprise.
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Yes, all of em...
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you still like browns after you tried topre?
they are currently my favorite cherry switch. I still need to try clear though. but i do prefer typing on a topre.
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When I started out I bought a lot of KB's blindly. Now I consider myself pretty well versed, after a few meetups.
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every keyboard I've bought, I've never tried the keys before... this includes membrane keyboards too.
Although, I think at some point I may end up buying a Unicomp...and I've tried buckling springs before!
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I did not try either of the switches I have before buying them.
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we all just throw money at the screen ;)
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they are currently my favorite cherry switch. I still need to try clear though. but i do prefer typing on a topre.
Having tried Clears, I can say that Clear and Black....and Green are my fave MX switches. My FC660M Clears is now my daily driver for my 2nd rig, it's like a heavier Brown with a more defined bump.....love it! I've bought a good number of boards w/o testing the switch, including Topre, and Clear. Technically, I have access to 8 different switch types on my Ducky 78Version, but have never really bother to use it as a test bed for switches.
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You mean the ones we paid for? Because I have some free ones with rubber dome switches, including 2 RocketBoards (Monterey, no equalizer rods except under the space bar -- shift keys sometimes stick if pressed on the wrong side).
The only keyboard I've paid for is a Monterey made for AT motherboards. It has double shot keys and mechanical switches but is one of the worst feeling keyboards I've ever used, probably because each switch uses a coil spring bent into an upside down "U", which is deformed into an "M" when pressed. OTOH they did give tactile feedback without noise. One of those springs cracked, but fortunately there was an extra key not hooked up to anything and not marked. The springs were variable rate but with closely wound coils in the middle, not just at the ends.
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I got a Ducky Shine 2 with red switches without trying reds. I had previously only used blue switches. No regrets on that purchase.
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I don't know if this counts, but I've bought boards with 62g blacks and 62g clears without having tried either, but I had used reds/blacks/browns/clears before doing so, so I kind of knew what I was getting in to.
I also bought a board with blue alps without having previously used them (and I learned that clicky alps are sweet).
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Given the variety, rarity, and customization options of the mechanical keyboard world, it is fairly improbable that I'll be able to try everything before I purchase it. The testament and experience from other more seasoned veterans seems to show this to be common.
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My first mechanical keyboard was a "screw I just want a mech board so badly" moment. I bought a FC660M with MX Reds when I have been looking for a board with browns instead. The price was $100 with shipping so it was a pretty good deal off of eBay. I like the board to this date, but after going ergoclear and buckling springs with two other boards, I should've saved money for something else.
I am now going to repeat myself though and get a HHKB Pro 2 once my refund check money comes in because I am dying for a Topre board and I really like the layout and look of the HHKB Pro 2.
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My first mechanical keyboard was a "screw I just want a mech board so badly" moment. I bought a FC660M with MX Reds when I have been looking for a board with browns instead. The price was $100 with shipping so it was a pretty good deal off of eBay. I like the board to this date, but after going ergoclear and buckling springs with two other boards, I should've saved money for something else.
I am now going to repeat myself though and get a HHKB Pro 2 once my refund check money comes in because I am dying for a Topre board and I really like the layout and look of the HHKB Pro 2.
Now that is a courageous approach!
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I didn't try the switch on any of mine before I bought them. I read about them, took over a GH60 order. Found a full sized Ducky Shine II with red switches, bought it. Then I searched for a 60% keyboard. Found a Poker with a beast plate and black switches. Found out quickly I like linear stiff switches better than light clicky ones.
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Yes, all of em...
This.
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Yes, all of em...
This.
literally this
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I bought MX Greens after just imagining stiffer blues. I was not disappointed and a week after trying the greens bought a 60% board with them.
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Every time I bought a new switch
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Yes, every one. I'm the only keyboard aficionado (i.e. keyboard nut) that I personally know.
But I know what I like. And reading forums like GH, etc. tells me everything I need to know in order to make a purchase. When I bought my first mech board years ago, mainstream techies didn't even know what they were. If I went into Best Buy, Office Depot, Fry's, whatever, and asked a salesman about them, they gave me the deer-in-the-headlight look.
When I moved to Topre, same thing. Except with RF and HHKB, there's no sending/taking them back if you don't like them. Add to that their cost, and it becomes a leap of faith. But for me, it's been a good move. I'll take Topre over Cherry any day of the week.
With that said, there isn't a board I've purchased that I regret buying. It's been an adventure. If I could do it all over again, I would buy all the same boards.
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I can only think of one switches that I did try before buying - namely Beam Springs. I might at some point buy a Cherry Clear based on a set of Clear switches that I bought. All the others I bought based on either the recommendations of others or blind faith.
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I went for topre and cherry reds before trying them.
I fell in love with topre
I threw away cherry red
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I've purchased every keyboard blindly. So far I've tried keyboards with every normal cherry type (except grey variants).
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Bought a Filco (brown) all the way into South Africa without trying browns, there just aren't any available here.
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Yeah, I bought an IBM Model F. :)
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I think only my first keyboard that I bought by faith (Das Keyboard MX Brown). All the ones after I was lucky enough to either try it in store display or try them at group meet.
:)
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Tested rosewill blue switch keyboard on physical store. Seems nice then I go for other mech keyboard manufacturer.
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The only one I tried before I bought was my model F AT due to the amazing tour Akimbo put hosted
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I have bought blue and black switch keyboards without trying them first, I also ordered 100 browns switches without trying them. I regret nothing.
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I have bought a shine 2 78version berfore...so I tried almost every kind of mx switch
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I bought my Das with blues and my Filco with browns without trying either switch. My other Filco was bought after the purchase of a WASD sampler kit and the discovery that I like how smooth and light mx reds are.
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I'm pretty much doing it all the time :) Recently got myself a super old Cherry Terminal to try Vintage Blacks ;)
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I bought all my mechanical boards before trying the switch, with the exception of my Model Ms. Linear switches were the biggest disappointment...
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Well, i've bought a GH60 as my first board. I haven't chosen switches yet, does this count?
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bought all without trying the switch
however did so after reading reviews here which for the most part are pretty darn accurate
would not have purchased otherwise, so kudo's to GH :thumb:
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I feel perilously close to buying a Topre board without testing before. Made the clerk take a keyboard out of box for me to test Browns, he didn't understand why I was baffled that none of their mechanical boards were out to try!
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I wonder if those who buy a Topre board and then absolutely love it would have bought it if they tried it before buying.
Like, you get accustomed to Topre over a few hours or days, then feel you cannot switch back to MX. But if you could try a Topre board for a few minutes - would you bother buying one?
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Browns and Topre. But they both happened to be my favorites. For some reason I tried the blue and red before I bought them via the WASD Sampler Kit, but they have been disappointments to me.
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I bought my first buckling spring before trying it and I liked it. I bought a board with reds before trying it and liked it. I paid to have the a board modded to ergo clears before trying it and I like it the best so far.
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I feel perilously close to buying a Topre board without testing before. Made the clerk take a keyboard out of box for me to test Browns, he didn't understand why I was baffled that none of their mechanical boards were out to try!
Just buy it, if you don't like it you'll be able to sell it in Classified for so close to the original price that it wouldn't even matter. Even closer to the original buying price if you buy a used board to start with.
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Like most people in this thread I haven't tried any of the keyboard switches I've bought before hand. But I like them all so far! The only one I've gotten rid of was my BWU. I liked the click of the blues (which is why I have greens right in front of me), but the quality of the board was really, really poor. I gave it to my roommate to try out mechanical keyboards. So far I like greens, topre, 55g blacks, and that's it! blues were nice, but greens are better! I figure that most of the switches I really want to try are in high demand, so if I don't like them I can sell them without taking too much of a hit.
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I did not try before I bought both my current keyboards. Did a fair bit of reading before diving in tho. Have a browny ducky abd red poker II. Looking for a bkue switch next, probably tkl.
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Yes. The only mechanical keyboard I own (look in my signature) was picked before trying it. I absolutely love it.
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Both Matias keyboards were bought without having tried them out. So far I've been lucky with my blind buys as I haven't really bought anything lately that I didn't like using.
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Bought a G80-3000 with clears without having tried them before. I was going to get a board with browns at some point but got this one instead. Was a good decision in the end.
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I feel perilously close to buying a Topre board without testing before. Made the clerk take a keyboard out of box for me to test Browns, he didn't understand why I was baffled that none of their mechanical boards were out to try!
Just buy it, if you don't like it you'll be able to sell it in Classified for so close to the original price that it wouldn't even matter. Even closer to the original buying price if you buy a used board to start with.
Nnf. I'm super close, but now I'm looking at QWERTY KBT Pure backlit with Browns because it might be better for night gaming but still has the nice form factor and dedicated arrow keys. Honestly I just want a compact Topre board with dedicated arrow keys, and from what I've seen trying to find reviews for the QWERTY KBT Pure, I'm not alone.
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i bought everything without trying it.
the only switch i do not like is browns. so guess which board i learned to solder on?
overall? resounding success. i regret nothing.
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As indicative of this thread, my guess is that it's pretty rare that an individual gets the opportunity to try a switch before he buys it.
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I bought reds before trying them, I really like it. But I will buy browns next and I haven't tries them but I suspect I like them.
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As indicative of this thread, my guess is that it's pretty rare that an individual gets the opportunity to try a switch before he buys it.
I did. I went to every meet I could though and got lucky that Chicagoland has been active there. Im definitely very lucky.
Edit: So judging from this thread, most people don't get to try before they buy. Is there any interest for an MX tester? I have a tour setup in my signature but there has been no interest in CONUS.
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Every keyboard I own I bought without trying except my WASD with blues. I tryed blues at bestbuy on a razer keyboard.
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Damn near everyone of my boards were purchased before trying that type of switch. The only boards I was able to try before purchase were capacitive buckling spring and buckling spring over membrane.
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Yep. I pretty much bought to try most of the switches :P
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Yup, just bought a Pure Pro with Cherry MX Browns without ever using a mechanical keyboard. Love it.
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All of my keyboards were blind-purchases. When I bought my first Filco (MX blues), no stores even stocked mechanicals. When I bought my Ducky (MX reds), some MX blue keyboards were just starting to show up in places like Best Buy and Microcenter. I did technically get to try out some MX browns before buying my own in a Poker 2, but that was because I bought them for a friend guessing it would be a good match for what they wanted. My newest keyboard, a QFR with MX greens, also came around as a result of "throwing money at the screen."
I've tried switch testers before and the problem is that it's really hard to judge a keyboard-full of the same switch using only one switch. At least now my friends, who I am starting to get into mechanicals, will have somewhere to go to try out switches. :P
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my first mechanical, was a Razer black widow, tried out the tester it has on the box loved it, then.....it got FLIPPING annoying at night :(
steel series 7G mx blacks...... didn't try it out and bought it straight away, andddddddddddddddd wasn't so bad haha BUT i didn't like the numberpad after a while i think its because i just kept looking at it and it got on my nerves so thats not so much of a regret,
and then finally the ducky shine 2 TKL i slapped some sense into me and went to try it out before i bought it in Taiwan and yes i loved it
:)
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Yes, but I had those horrible dome type keyboards, a wireless Apple keyboard (thin sleek kind) next to an IBM model M2 keyboard. I used the IBM a lot more then the rest and now I have completely converted to just mechanical keyboards exclusively.
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my first mechanical, was a Razer black widow, tried out the tester it has on the box loved it, then.....it got FLIPPING annoying at night :(
The one thing I knew getting into this is that the Razer Blackwidow--and from what I could tell from youtube videos Blue switches in general--annoy the heck out of me. Something about the pitch of the click just drives me nuts.. I'm more of a sultry, deep, thock kind of person. ;)