Note: I only play FPS and Tetris so any reference I make to "gaming" only applies for those games. Other games may benefit from some of the things I think make a switch not ideal for FPS/Tetris.
ReviewsRed: I've got a KBC Poker with red so I knew what to expect, however I have hard o-rings and forgot just how squishy they really feel when you have an extra 1mm of travel. I love my keyboard for gaming (FPS + Tetris).
Black: Similar to the reds but much harder to press and with no tactile bump I think I'd always need to bottom them out. I spend most of my time on my computer so I think my fingers would get pretty tired by the end of a day of work and gaming.
Blue: I love how tactile the bump in these feel. Definitely prefer these over the green for clicky keys.
Brown: This is what I use on my main DAS Keyboard. I find it has a good balance between a tactile and linear switch. If I had to choose a single switch to use for everything this would be my choice since I find it soft enough for gaming but still tactile enough for typing quickly.
Ergo Clear: I find they are similar to the brown but with a much more noticeable tactile bump. These feel great but feel a bit too heavy for gaming use.
Clear: This one feels like a brown switch that uses a black spring. It has a very similar tactile feel but with a larger force to press (which makes the tactile bump seem a bit smaller since [max_force/min_force] is smaller). I find it too heavy for gaming and not quite tactile enough for my taste.
Tacto Black: Another switch I really like the feel of. Feels a bit heavier than the brown but with a much better tactile bump. (I can't find any more info on what exactly these switches are so I'd love to hear more about them if someone can point me in the right direction.)
Green: The other clicky switch option. This feels like a heavier blue with a soft o-ring/landing pad underneath. This switch feels like the tactile bump never ends and the high pressure goes all the way until you bottom out. I was never a fan of the soft landing pads I bought so it isn't surprising to me that I'm not a fan of this switch.
Grey: Way too heavy for me to use as an actual key (I don't think I'd even like it as a space bar).
My top picksBrown: If I were stuck with one keyboard switch this would definitely be my choice. No sound so it wont bother family/coworkers, a decent tactile bump for typing but still soft enough that it works well for gaming.
Red: Still my gaming switch of choice (however I still find hard o-rings make it worlds better!)
Blue: I really like the feel of these switches. I find they have just the right amount of resistance for me for typing. I don't think I would like them as much for gaming though. The audio feedback is nice as long as you have the environment to use it.
Ergo Clear: I found these very similar to the blue but slightly more tactile. I prefer the feel of these very slightly over the blue but they lack the tactile click that the blue have. This would be my switch of choice if you I couldn't use blues and I was doing no gaming on the keyboard.
I wasn't able to take any pictures with the tester anywhere fancy (read: I am too paranoid to take it out of the house!) so instead I present you this infographic I created to show how I felt each switch compared for tactile/force of each switch. I marked my favourites with a purple star.
I'm sure someone can tell me just how wrong my fingers are but this seems like a pretty good representation to me.
And I'll be shipping this off tomorrow after I set up a new computer in one of the rooms at my dad's office (replacing their blazing fast Pentium III).
