Linear Battle Royal

[blackstabs]

Wassup yall, I'm new (be gentle I'm still tight). I have ventured through all the standard switches, well that I would considered standard on premade boards. In conclusion, I found that I love Cherry MX Blacks. While I have yet to get a chance to lube them in a custom build, they are my favorite by far. With that being said I am planning on building a keyboard shortly here and would like some opinions on what you all think are the best linears that are similar to blacks. Just for reference reds are waayyyyy to light. Price isn't an issue but would like to be able to buy them and not have to group order or wait for a drop.

[lolafineday]

Wassup yall, I'm new (be gentle I'm still tight). I have ventured through all the standard switches, well that I would considered standard on premade boards. In conclusion, I found that I love Cherry MX Blacks. While I have yet to get a chance to lube them in a custom build, they are my favorite by far. With that being said I am planning on building a keyboard shortly here and would like some opinions on what you all think are the best linears that are similar to blacks. Just for reference reds are waayyyyy to light. Price isn't an issue but would like to be able to buy them and not have to group order or wait for a drop.

Springs are a non factor as people normally just spring swap during the lubing process. The thing is finding the smoothest linear. Gat Inks are probably the most reliable and smooth and readily availiable linears, tealios are very smooth but lose out in the sound department, and creams sound very deep but are slightly more scratchy at the beginning of usage but gets smoother very fast over time. I'd recommend to not get cherry MX switches as they are just not good as what else is availiable in the market.

Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk

[blackstabs]

How are the creams in comparison to these Black Inks that everyone is talking about? I'm looking a few reviews and I love the sound and what people are saying about the creams but still want to do my due diligence in my options.

[TheInverseKey]

SKCL Creams are some of the nicest Alps linear out there that can be used in a custom board. They don't really fall into the same place as SKCL Green with that slight tactile bump. The weighting of SKCL Creams is amazing as a person that loves to bottom out their switches.

[powwu]

Wassup yall, I'm new (be gentle I'm still tight). I have ventured through all the standard switches, well that I would considered standard on premade boards. In conclusion, I found that I love Cherry MX Blacks. While I have yet to get a chance to lube them in a custom build, they are my favorite by far. With that being said I am planning on building a keyboard shortly here and would like some opinions on what you all think are the best linears that are similar to blacks. Just for reference reds are waayyyyy to light. Price isn't an issue but would like to be able to buy them and not have to group order or wait for a drop.

Unholy Pandas are a fantastic heavy linear and can be had for under $30. Just look on mechmarket and you'll find em

[treeleaf64]

Hi,

Gateron black inks should fit your bill. If you want something even nicer, I suggest looking for the NOS Yellow Alps that were found somewhere on Taobao. Those are going to be smoother. Don't go with tealios as they are overpriced (In my opinion) and don't sound good. Gateron yellows are nice if you want a budget experience. Or, if you're feeling adventurous, you could look for some opto-mechanical switches of some sort to get even smoother results than all of the above.

treeleaf64

[Sintpinty]

Gateron ink blacks are so much better than new mx blacks. New mx blacks are so stiff that its uncomfortable.

[treeleaf64]

There is a new switch by the name of Alpaca, manufactured by Durock. It is an MX linear, so not much variance from the rest of the crowd, but it is supposed to have a little lighter weighting than that of Inks and it is a better competitor by price.

[yuppie]

No mention of Vintage and Retooled Blacks?

If you're interested in both sound and feel, check out some of these ASMR typing videos:

Gat Inks:

Vint Black:

The case must affect the sound and feel quite a bit as well...

I'm facing the same dilemma myself, trying to select switches for a new board.

[tex_live_utility]

Wassup yall, I'm new (be gentle I'm still tight). I have ventured through all the standard switches, well that I would considered standard on premade boards. In conclusion, I found that I love Cherry MX Blacks. While I have yet to get a chance to lube them in a custom build, they are my favorite by far. With that being said I am planning on building a keyboard shortly here and would like some opinions on what you all think are the best linears that are similar to blacks. Just for reference reds are waayyyyy to light. Price isn't an issue but would like to be able to buy them and not have to group order or wait for a drop.

Unholy Pandas are a fantastic heavy linear and can be had for under $30. Just look on mechmarket and you'll find em

You're joking right? Those BSUN stems suck and the Halo housing sounds bad and isn't the smoothest either. They're okay with thick lube and mid-weight springs but really not something I'd ever want to use compared to e.g. milky-top Gateron linears or even stock Kailh linears.

[Kevadu]

SKCL Creams are some of the nicest Alps linear out there that can be used in a custom board. They don't really fall into the same place as SKCL Green with that slight tactile bump. The weighting of SKCL Creams is amazing as a person that loves to bottom out their switches.

Pretty sure they were talking about the new Novelkeys Cream switches...

[treeleaf64]

SKCL Creams are some of the nicest Alps linear out there that can be used in a custom board. They don't really fall into the same place as SKCL Green with that slight tactile bump. The weighting of SKCL Creams is amazing as a person that loves to bottom out their switches.

Pretty sure they were talking about the new Novelkeys Cream switches...

SKCL Cream is better than Novelkeys cream; if you don't have money, however, buy Novelkeys Cream if you're looking for an extremely smooth, relatively cheap linear. You could also use UHMWPE stems in a milky top Gateron housing to decrease friction, which gives the typist a smoother experience.

[blackstabs]

You all are fantastic for your input, I think that I am going to go with Milky Black Gaterons (lubed of course). As for the case, I think I'm just going to go for the KBD75, unless someone knows of a better case that is readily available with the same layout. Need the function keys my guys. I think I may make a 60% for my secondary PC with Novel Creams but that will be after my first build. Got any recommendations for lube for the Gaterons.

[Sintpinty]

No mention of Vintage and Retooled Blacks?

If you're interested in both sound and feel, check out some of these ASMR typing videos:

Gat Inks:

Vint Black:

The case must affect the sound and feel quite a bit as well...

I'm facing the same dilemma myself, trying to select switches for a new board.

What about the other switches in the gateron ink lineup? Do gateron ink blacks feel just as good as vintage blacks?

[Henrythewound]

I bought silent gateron yellow switches and am happily using them stock 

[treeleaf64]

You all are fantastic for your input, I think that I am going to go with Milky Black Gaterons (lubed of course). As for the case, I think I'm just going to go for the KBD75, unless someone knows of a better case that is readily available with the same layout. Need the function keys my guys. I think I may make a 60% for my secondary PC with Novel Creams but that will be after my first build. Got any recommendations for lube for the Gaterons.

205 should be fine if you know what you're doing 

[treeleaf64]

No mention of Vintage and Retooled Blacks?

If you're interested in both sound and feel, check out some of these ASMR typing videos:

Gat Inks:

Vint Black:

The case must affect the sound and feel quite a bit as well...

I'm facing the same dilemma myself, trying to select switches for a new board.

What about the other switches in the gateron ink lineup? Do gateron ink blacks feel just as good as vintage blacks?

About the same when lubed. I still prefer vintage black over Ink because I like its sound profile more, but many prefer Ink over vint black.

[Venaros]

No mention of Vintage and Retooled Blacks?

If you're interested in both sound and feel, check out some of these ASMR typing videos:

Gat Inks:

Vint Black:

The case must affect the sound and feel quite a bit as well...

I'm facing the same dilemma myself, trying to select switches for a new board.

Pretty much everything in the construction in the keyboard will affect the sound, not the just case. Then there are the different audio setups of these videos to consider too; while these typing tests do give you a general idea of what a switch sounds like, it's best to try it out yourself.

[treeleaf64]

To elaborate on that, different materials do make a big difference. For example, brass and polycarbonate plates sound very different, as do plastic cases compared to aluminum cases.