Bored at work so I'm going to share my thought's on Mx Browns.

[wompwomp]

I am honestly very disappointed with them.

A little back of myself: My first mech board was a blackwidow, then a TKL filco with blues, then an IMB model M, and now a Filco ninja with browns.

It's going to be kind of hard trying to explain this so bare with me.

First, I absolutely adore blues. From their feel, to their sound, and even their color lol. I've tried black switches before at a local Fry's and really enjoyed the feel of linear switches, but I hated how much force they required. I really want a Red board but due to their availability, I have not been able to obtain one yet.

Anywho, so I revieced my Filco with browns about a month ago and figured I would love it since I enjoy light switches as well as tactile switches. My first impression was "these are horrible." The tactile bump was barely noticable (which btw I've read about this before hand) and it wasn't that light. I think this is primarily due to the fact that the tactile bump on browns is placed much higher than blues. Brown's just felt like a "dirty" switch IMO.

Since the blue's tactile bump is lower (I would say about the half-way point of the switch) it allows you to build momentum as you are pressing the key down, so that when you do hit that "bump," you don't really have to add more force. Browns on the other hand, have their tactile bump much higher and that makes the switch require much more force from the start. I want to say almost like rubberdomes but not to that extent. You guys kind of get what I'm saying? I don't know, this is jsut my opinion.

I will probably end up selling my Filco with browns and just wait for the QuickFire to be release w/ reds.

Another note, I know statistically browns are supposed to be lighter than blues, but to me it felt like the complete opposite.

[bloodygood]

Incase you haven't been around much recently, I believe there are 3 new keyboards around that are mx reds, so you might actually have your chance to test those sooner than you may think. their force is very similar to browns, but they do have the linear switches.

[slueth]

It depends on the keycaps you use them with, I love the mx browns on my noppoo , while with ABS key-caps they felt crappy.  Also if you press on them slowly, they feel horrible. I also think blues feel the worst when you press on them slowly .

[bloodygood]

It depends on the keycaps you use them with, I love the mx browns on my noppoo , while with ABS key-caps they felt crappy.  Also if you press on them slowly, they feel horrible. I also think blues feel the worst when you press on them slowly .

I have heard many people saying that if you get a filco you should immediately replace the 37-keys with a set of pbt and you will enjoy your keyboard significantly more.

[HWI]

If you think browns aren't that light than you'll probably think the same thing of reds, they feel pretty similar aside from the slight tactile bump in browns. Also, the quickfire w/ reds is already available in Asia, you can buy it from PCHome.

[noodles256]

get some clears

[bloodygood]

If you think browns aren't that light than you'll probably think the same thing of reds, they feel pretty similar aside from the slight tactile bump in browns. Also, the quickfire w/ reds is already available in Asia, you can buy it from PCHome.

Do you have a link to the quickfire on PChome?

[dorkvader]

Do you have a link to the quickfire on PChome?

http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?22303-CM-storm-quick-fire-rapid-impression&p=422401&viewfull=1#post422401

Cheers!

[bloodygood]

I would like to see a video of someone typing 70+ wpm on browns without bottoming out.

I like browns but they need just a little more key travel.

Well I do type 85+wpm normally but 70+without bottoming out.. I am not quite sure if I can manage that. I will give it a few attempts and see how it goes.

[500_pts]

at first i felt the same about my browns, they didnt really feel that great, but it was my only board so i stuck with and and used it all day errday for 9+ months. Then i got a topre, and clears, and blues. My browns lay in the dark, long forgotten. But just recently ( in the past week ) i switched back to my browns and i must say I have fallen in love with them all over. They feel so smooth and buttery for some reason. It may be because the board is well used and the tactile bump could be smoothed out a bit, im not really sure. But i can feel the bump very well now, and damn it is just so smooth and satisfying. My advice, keep em, step away, then come back later.

[bloodygood]

http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?22303-CM-storm-quick-fire-rapid-impression&p=422401&viewfull=1#post422401

Cheers!

I would also like to mention that the Corsair K60 has red keyswitches.
http://www.corsair.com/vengeance-gaming/vengeance-gaming-keyboards/vengeance-k60-performance-fps-mechanical-gaming-keyboard.html
and also the Leopolds come with red switches, in Black, White, and both of those options in Otaku
http://elitekeyboards.com/products.php?sub=leopold,tenkeyless

[noodles256]

i like my clears best

[Lethal Squirrel]

I feel your cherry brown disappointment pain.

so far I've been disappointed at everything except blues.

[c0rbin]

Here's another vote for replacing your keycaps with PBT... makes a huge difference.

Stock Filco keycaps feel cheap and horrible. I was disappointed with my board until I replaced the key caps.

[noodles256]

Cherry browns are disppointing. Least favorite switch. but it is all preference.

BTW,

Please help me win a dorm makeover contest by clicking the link and liking that picture. thanks guys!

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[noodles256]

It's tough to say now since I really like the clears, but Blacks and Blues as of now.

Probably clears and Blacks after I give the clears more time. White and Black, its a civil war or switches.

BTW,
please help me win a dorm room makeover contest by following the link below and clicking like on that picture. Thanks guys!

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[HeavyArms]

is it weird that I love both the browns and blacks? -___-
so much hate on my favorites! Maybe my fingers are confused. :frown:
try reds I dont like them that much so you may love them!

[fossala]

Check out ergo clears, they are as light as browns with more of a tactile bump.

[Lanx]

yea you really have to mod to ergo clears if you were disappointed with browns. if you use blues and wanted more tactile or same as blues in browns, blues are more tactile, if you think it was lighter, that is just so it can "spring up" the stem since they clack so, really about the same force.

[Gerk]

I would like to see a video of someone typing 70+ wpm on browns without bottoming out.

I like browns but they need just a little more key travel.

Every day all day long ... sorry, not going to make a video for you though, but I'm sure lots of people can do this.  I can do better with browns than with blues in fact -- not to mention that they browns are so much quieter (especially when you are not bottoming out).

[Ascaii]

honestly you sound like a prime canidate for ergo clears, I had the exact same feelings about blue+brown switches and have moved to ergoclears for my work board.

[Oqsy]

Regarding blues; i've noticed a big difference between nib plate mounted vs vintage pcb mounted.

The new plate mounted ones feel more crisp, precise, and the tactile feedback is more obvious and thus helpful.

Vintage blues on the pcb feel like junk in comparison. Almost like they're gummed up inside(they're not, I checked).

Keycaps do make a difference. Old thick cherry caps, pbt or abs doubleshot beat the wafer thin abs that are standard on almost everything currently sold. It's a shame that thick beefy caps are dead. Perhaps we should urge clickclack to add thick, quality standard sets to his catalog, and produce them in volume large enough not to be collectibles

[Surly73]

I am also disappointed in browns when I "analyze" them.  By that I mean when I play with the switch, try to feel the tactile hump etc...etc...  When I use a keyboard with browns, I feel no tactility at all.  That being said, if I use a keyboard with blacks it feels distinctly different.  So browns don't have the rubber dome/Topre high tactility poppiness, but they are certainly different from linear.  I find the brown switch to feel a little gritty and I can tell that the tactility is from the leaf rubbing over a hump in a piece of plastic.

That being said, amongst many boards I've tried, I am the fastest, most comfortable, and most accurate on my board with MX browns.  It's the keyboard I most want to type on if I have a lot of heavy typing to do.  My favourite switch is the Topre, but the only board I've had was a 55g.  When analyzing the 55g Topre switch (see my first paragraph) it was heaven.  When typing, I could never really build up speed with a relaxed approach.  It felt like I was stabbing at each key - waiting for the complete press/release instead of flowing from key to key like with the browns.  I was slower on the 55g Topre than on a model M, so it isn't pure key weight that was causing this impression.  

I still plan to try a lighter, variable force Topre board.  I was also interested in trying clears or ergo clears but there's no real budget for more keyboard toys right now.