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Author Topic: Cherry MX Blacks?  (Read 6127 times)

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Offline AUAnonymous

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  • Posts: 42
Cherry MX Blacks?
« on: Mon, 25 July 2011, 15:47:01 »
I'm looking at buying a board with Cherry MX Black switches and was wondering what difference the "linear feel" makes over a Blue or Brown switch. I do a bit of gaming, but typing feel is probably more important to me. Is there anything I should know about black switches before (maybe) buying a board with them?

Thanks in advance
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Noppoo Choc Mini (MX Blacks) - First mechanical keyboard :D
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Offline Chobopants

  • Posts: 590
Cherry MX Blacks?
« Reply #1 on: Mon, 25 July 2011, 17:29:34 »
They feel like they require a LOT of force to actuate and make my fingers tired. I find them fun and novel to type on once in a while for kicks but are far from my favorite switch. I could never make them a daily driver, unlike all my other switches.
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Realforce 87UW 45g - Filco Blue 87 - Filco Linear R - Filco Brown 104

Offline IvanIvanovich

  • Mr. Silk Underwear
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Cherry MX Blacks?
« Reply #2 on: Mon, 25 July 2011, 17:41:46 »
When I came from rubberdomes, black was my first MX switch. They feel great in comparison to domes, but after I got browns and reds... black not as nice. I gave that blacks board to a friend. It's still an ok switch, but I don't like them as much as others.
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Offline AUAnonymous

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Cherry MX Blacks?
« Reply #3 on: Mon, 25 July 2011, 17:50:10 »
Yeah from what I can gather from these forums, they are generally not as popular or desirable as blues or browns. It's kind of unfortunate because there seems to be a pretty good deal on a board with blacks, but I'm just not sure if it's worth it.
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Noppoo Choc Mini (MX Blacks) - First mechanical keyboard :D
Why don\'t you give Colemak a try? You\'ll like it, I promise.*

*Not a real promise

Offline arc2

  • Posts: 99
Cherry MX Blacks?
« Reply #4 on: Mon, 25 July 2011, 18:01:22 »
Quote from: AUAnonymous;386996
Yeah from what I can gather from these forums, they are generally not as popular or desirable as blues or browns. It's kind of unfortunate because there seems to be a pretty good deal on a board with blacks, but I'm just not sure if it's worth it.


You may well find like a lot of us here that once you start on mechanical keyboards you will tend to eventually try all the switch types anyway. So my advice is to think seriously about getting the board if it's a good deal.
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Offline Orphagn

  • Posts: 170
Cherry MX Blacks?
« Reply #5 on: Mon, 25 July 2011, 18:17:24 »
People who complain about Black switches have sissy fingers.  Blacks are fine to use, I use them as a daily driver on both my boards.
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Offline RiGS

  • Posts: 1594
Cherry MX Blacks?
« Reply #6 on: Mon, 25 July 2011, 18:20:05 »
Quote from: Orphagn;387003
People who complain about Black switches have sissy fingers.  Blacks are fine to use, I use them as a daily driver on both my boards.

Well said, my friend.
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Last edited by RiGS; Jan 2011

Offline sordna

  • Posts: 2249
Cherry MX Blacks?
« Reply #7 on: Mon, 25 July 2011, 18:21:20 »
Black switches activate at 60 cN. The blues' tactile bump takes 60 cN to overcome. My guess is that if you don't bottom out, blacks and blues require a similar effort to type on. The nice thing about blacks is they go up to 80 cN at the end of their travel, helping prevent bottoming out. Some folks with sensitive joints/tendons use blacks for that reason. The Maltron super expensive ergonomic keyboard, specifically designed for heavy typing, uses black switches.
At the end of the day it comes down to personal preference and work habits, and for some folks black switches are ideal for typing, so they are certainly worth trying out!
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Also: Kinesis Advantage Classic, Kinesis Advantage2, Data911 TG3, Fingerworks Touchstream LP, IBM SSK (Buckling spring), Goldtouch GTU-0077 keyboard

Offline AUAnonymous

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  • Posts: 42
Cherry MX Blacks?
« Reply #8 on: Mon, 25 July 2011, 18:21:58 »
Quote from: arc2;386999
You may well find like a lot of us here that once you start on mechanical keyboards you will tend to eventually try all the switch types anyway. So my advice is to think seriously about getting the board if it's a good deal.

I'm not planning on becoming a "collector" (a bit expensive :/), I just want a good board that I won't want or need to replace later and that will be nice to type, and occasionally game, on.
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Noppoo Choc Mini (MX Blacks) - First mechanical keyboard :D
Why don\'t you give Colemak a try? You\'ll like it, I promise.*

*Not a real promise

Offline Chobopants

  • Posts: 590
Cherry MX Blacks?
« Reply #9 on: Mon, 25 July 2011, 18:22:39 »
Quote from: Orphagn;387003
People who complain about Black switches have sissy fingers.  Blacks are fine to use, I use them as a daily driver on both my boards.

I probably have some of the strongest fingers of anyone here on the forum (guitar + rock climbing) and find blacks tiring. It's really just preference and how your tendons deal with the speed and force of your typing. Insulting people who find them not the best is not constructive.

I find blacks really fun to type on but would definitely slow me down if I were trying to code on them all day.
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Realforce 87UW 45g - Filco Blue 87 - Filco Linear R - Filco Brown 104

Offline RiGS

  • Posts: 1594
Cherry MX Blacks?
« Reply #10 on: Mon, 25 July 2011, 18:27:10 »
You said that you had tendon issues.
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Last edited by RiGS; Jan 2011

Offline Chobopants

  • Posts: 590
Cherry MX Blacks?
« Reply #11 on: Mon, 25 July 2011, 18:29:44 »
Quote from: RiGS;387014
You said that you had tendon issues.

They only hurt because of the non standard force of the cherry style stabilizers. Blacks don't hurt my tendons at all, my whole hand just feels a little tired after an hour or two of rapid typing. Nothing bad about it but definitely more fatiguing than reds.
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Realforce 87UW 45g - Filco Blue 87 - Filco Linear R - Filco Brown 104

Offline RiGS

  • Posts: 1594
Cherry MX Blacks?
« Reply #12 on: Mon, 25 July 2011, 18:33:41 »
I never type more than an hour straight, but I can see that reds can be better for long periods of typing.
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Last edited by RiGS; Jan 2011

Offline spitfire6000

  • Posts: 107
Cherry MX Blacks?
« Reply #13 on: Mon, 25 July 2011, 18:58:50 »
blacks are the best switches for me compared to blues or browns, hands down.

Also blacks are by far the QUIETEST switches cherry mx.
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Offline Arcanius

  • Posts: 288
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Cherry MX Blacks?
« Reply #14 on: Mon, 25 July 2011, 19:00:06 »
Imagine that linear switches are just like pushing on a spring. That's really what you're doing.
It just happens to be a pretty heavy spring on the blacks.
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Offline rodya

  • Posts: 115
  • Location: Southern California
Cherry MX Blacks?
« Reply #15 on: Mon, 25 July 2011, 19:07:52 »
Nice informative post, sordna.

He is right.  Check out the actuation graph for blacks and compare it with blues right below:

http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Cherry+switches+and+boards#Black:

The operating point for both is 60cN.  Blues top out at a little over 60cN before bottoming out.  Blacks let you go all the way to 80cN.  In fact, you can type on blacks by lightly tapping each key.  The reason blacks feel heavy is because the key travels less for the same amount of force.  The actuation is almost the same.  What this means, in terms of feel, is that if you're typing lightly, it feels like you're expending energy to press the key but not getting a lot of mechanical work done (though it actuates) relative to other switches.  If you're typing heavily, well, it's 80cN of force.   With that said, I do like my blacks.
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Offline Chobopants

  • Posts: 590
Cherry MX Blacks?
« Reply #16 on: Mon, 25 July 2011, 19:22:04 »
Quote from: RiGS;387023
I never type more than an hour straight, but I can see that reds can be better for long periods of typing.


Yeah, for just an hour or so at a time typing on blacks is really fun! The problem is that, for work, I'm typing for 3-4 hour chunks at a time only with little breaks for thinking. Blacks are really fun to type on and if you don't get any fatigue from them I could see people loving them. Great switches regardless, they're just kind of niche for me.
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Realforce 87UW 45g - Filco Blue 87 - Filco Linear R - Filco Brown 104

Offline AUAnonymous

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  • Posts: 42
Cherry MX Blacks?
« Reply #17 on: Mon, 25 July 2011, 20:16:32 »
Quote from: Arcanius;387042
Imagine that linear switches are just like pushing on a spring. That's really what you're doing.
It just happens to be a pretty heavy spring on the blacks.

Aren't all MX switches just pushing on a spring?
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Noppoo Choc Mini (MX Blacks) - First mechanical keyboard :D
Why don\'t you give Colemak a try? You\'ll like it, I promise.*

*Not a real promise

Offline sordna

  • Posts: 2249
Cherry MX Blacks?
« Reply #18 on: Mon, 25 July 2011, 20:31:10 »
Quote from: AUAnonymous;387087
Aren't all MX switches just pushing on a spring?

No, just the linear ones (blacks and reds). The other types have a tactile "bump", a point of resistance in the middle of the stroke which a plain spring does not provide of course.
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Kinesis Contoured Advantage & Advantage2 LF with Cherry MX Red switches / Extra keys mod / O-ring dampening mod / Dvorak layout. ErgoDox with buzzer and LED mod.
Also: Kinesis Advantage Classic, Kinesis Advantage2, Data911 TG3, Fingerworks Touchstream LP, IBM SSK (Buckling spring), Goldtouch GTU-0077 keyboard

Offline Arcanius

  • Posts: 288
  • Location: All over Canada
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Cherry MX Blacks?
« Reply #19 on: Mon, 25 July 2011, 20:52:47 »
Quote from: AUAnonymous;387087
Aren't all MX switches just pushing on a spring?

They all have springs, but the tactile ones have the bump, adding tactility.
Linears are special in that they're.... linear! Just pure spring.
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