geekhack
geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: Muzky on Sat, 24 February 2018, 08:24:26
-
Hi there,
I just bought my first mechanical keyboard: Corsair K63 (The one without num-pad). It has Cherry MX Red switches. Everyone recommended me these for gaming, but now that I have it I get fatigued by using it playing shooters which require u to hold buttons down, such as Shift+W. Holding it down causes strains and I can't play for too long. I've checked all the switches, and I was thinking 'bout changing this K63 for a keyboard with brown or blue switches. IMO the blues sounds the best option for me, because they click, and holding the button down won't cause any strain or don't require alot of power. Am I right on this? Please help me finding the perfect switch.
P.S. I only play shooters
Greetings!
Muzky
-
Hi there,
I just bought my first mechanical keyboard: Corsair K63 (The one without num-pad). It has Cherry MX Red switches. Everyone recommended me these for gaming, but now that I have it I get fatigued by using it playing shooters which require u to hold buttons down, such as Shift+W. Holding it down causes strains and I can't play for too long. I've checked all the switches, and I was thinking 'bout changing this K63 for a keyboard with brown or blue switches. IMO the blues sounds the best option for me, because they click, and holding the button down won't cause any strain or don't require alot of power. Am I right on this? Please help me finding the perfect switch.
P.S. I only play shooters
Greetings!
Muzky
Your problem is you are holding the button down further than you need to. You don't have to hold the switch bottomed out on mechanical keyboards. That will just fatigue you.
You should use a tactile or clicky switch to teach yourself how far you need to press the switch. Linear switches give you no feedback on how far is far enough. I do not recommend browns for this purpose, the tactility is too subtle.
-
Wow, we shared similar beginnings. I started with a Corsair Strafe with MX reds. Rich is probably right. At first I was weirded out by the longer travel, but I consider MX red to be a bit too light(my sweet spot is in 55- 62 gram). Now I no longer have any linear switches, but I hope I can help!.
MX red is almost the lightest you can get for a mechanical switch keyboard. Chiclet keyboard you get with most computers are probably in the 55-60gram weight. Brown is basically the same weight as reds, but you get a bit more resistance(5-10 grams) on the bump. MX blues are even heavier and it has hysteresis which you don't want on FPS games(I play CSGO a lot back then, tried using blues, never got used to it). It's when the actuation isn't on the same place as the reset. It's a nuisance when you try to press your key just before actuation for a quick reaction(feathering? i don't know the name for this), presses the key and then has to let go of the key all the way to starting position instead of going to the "hovering position" you're at before.
If you still want something lighter, go with Gateron Clears. They are 35 gram, it's crazy light when you use it. I think i won't be able to use it properly for daily typing, but for gaming, it might help reduce the stress the fingers experience from long presses.
I suggest you try putting some O-rings underneath the keys you use to reduce the key travel. Depending on the thickness you can put 1-2 in there. It might soften the transition between chiclet/rubber keyboards you use before to the full-travel mechanical switches. It worked for me back then, I hope this helps!
-
Thanks alot for replying. I know that the actuation point with the red switches is at 2mm but I don't feel comfortable holding it halfway down. That just feels super awkward and not nice. My entire life I've been using membrane keyboards and feel like my old keyboard is even better than this one(Whenever the button is pressed down on a membrane, it feels like if you have to hold it down it doesn't need you to keep forcing pressure on top of the button, I play alot of Fortnite and having to walk for a minute for example just hurt my hand wrist). So, what you're saying is that blue won't be a good option? **** my life, idk what to do now. Brown sounds like it's the exact same as the reds. So I personally don't like linear I would say. What to do T_T
-
What to do T_T
Try using O-rings first. They're dirt cheap, you can get your whole board fitted with it for $15, and then some. It's cheaper than buying a whole new keyboard entirely. If you don't like the travel, maybe you can try MX speed or other low-profile switches(their key travel are usually 3-3.5mm with 1.2-1.5mm actuation point).
-
+1 to o-rings, they're cheap and holding keys down on squidgy rubber has to be more comfortable than a solid plate, plus the spring won't be so compressed so will probably push up less. Reds aren't stiff anyway so I think your fingers are lying to you as to what the problem really is...
I see you're in the EU so my standard recommendation would be Lpwl, his webshop has disappeared so not sure he's still selling them but you could send him a PM (https://geekhack.org/index.php?action=pm;sa=send;u=32885).