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geekhack Community => Keyboard Keycaps => Topic started by: macguy80 on Mon, 21 December 2015, 15:52:38
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A few years ago, a 94-year-old friend of mine decided that she hated her Dell laptop's built-in keyboard and asked for my help in selecting a mechanical keyboard. We settled on a QFR because she liked the TKL form factor and the price on Amazon was reasonable, and MX blues because she liked the auditory feedback. It arrived, and was my first personal experience with blues. Personally, I would like the sound a lot better if the click weren't so high-pitched to me (I would personally call it a "tick" as opposed to a "click", but that's just me!) And then when I typed on it, I came to the possibly inaccurate conclusion that I hated blues because, although they are supposed to be tactile, I found myself making quite a few errors. My friend types more slowly, so it's not an issue for her.
Just today, the possibility dawned on me that it was because the keycaps, though brand-new, were very slippery -- way too smooth. I read a review of the CM Novatouch TKL that seemed to make the same basic assessment of their stock keycaps. That's when it hit me: perhaps my assessment of blues (apart from the sound, of course) was falsely influenced by lousy stock keycaps? Could this be true?
Thanks!
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Stock QFR keycaps are pretty ordinary.
I wouldn't say changing them would make you a better typist, or make you like MX blues more, but it might.
Thicker keycaps, keycaps made from a different material, or differently textured keycaps can make a significant difference to the feel and sound of a switch.
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Thicker keycaps, keycaps made from a different material, or differently textured keycaps can make a significant difference to the feel and sound of a switch.
That was precisely my thought. The last time I used keycaps that were THAT smooth, it happened from years of use! :)
If I'm going to form an opinion about mx blues, I should at least do it on a board with decent keycaps.
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Thicker keycaps, keycaps made from a different material, or differently textured keycaps can make a significant difference to the feel and sound of a switch.
That was precisely my thought. The last time I used keycaps that were THAT smooth, it happened from years of use! :)
If I'm going to form an opinion about mx blues, I should at least do it on a board with decent keycaps.
Yes.
PBT, or at least think ABS (e.g. GMK or JTK).
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Just checking... are we talking QFR or QFR-i keycaps here?
Both look the same, but IMO the QFR-i version is slightly slipperier.
Regular QFR and Novatouch keycaps have a tiny bit more grip in comparison, but I doubt many people would notice...