PCB-mounted MX clears review

[Daniel Beardsmore]

I finally bought myself a Cherry G80-3000LQCDE-2 (Q = Clears, DE = German, 2 = black) from PC-Planet, €59.87 shipped from Germany to the UK. This is the only model in ISO layout. I'm going to focus just on the switches, not the G80-3000 range.

I've been using it at work all day for a couple of weeks now.

Clears are a cross between linear and tactile. They do have the sponginess about them of linear switches, in that even after passing the tactile point, they don't bottom out, as the springs are very stiff. The advantage for a heavy typist is that you don't bottom them out hard (which is fatiguing if you do, so you learn not to) because they absorb the force of the stroke nicely, without having the jarring tactile point and rapid drop of ALPS. Being PCB mounted helps here too; I don't have a G80-3000 with blues or browns for comparison on bottoming out.

I think I can echo the general sentiment that that they're insufficiently tactile. Most people say that clears are too stiff and insufficiently tactile. I've always wanted that perfect balance between ineffectual featherweight (MX browns) and violent heavyweight (ALPS) switches: a tactile point that's smooth instead of sharp, and enough meatiness in the spring that you can put some feeling into the keystrokes without bottoming out hard. I don't know that making clears lighter necessarily help in my case – they counterbalance heavier strokes nicely. My complaint is simply that the force curve of all Cherry switches is linear, with a notifying hump in the tactile variants.

That said, I don't have a problem with the lower resistance in a Topre Realforce variable, as the lower resistance 45 g domes is offset by the top-heavy force curve. The Realforce variable is an exceptional keyboard. It would be interesting to compare—if it existed!—a 55/45 variable instead of 45/35 (for some reason the only 55 g key in the variable is Esc, which seems pointless).

As for clears, I find the G30-8000 to be a pretty usable keyboard. Not a patch on even a cheap Dell KB1421 for feel, yet I can use it for hours and hours with the only complaint being the sponginess of the linear force curve bothering me occasionally. (I don't have a problem with the Cherry stabilisers either. I can't even sense a difference honestly.)

It's a viable alternative for anyone who wants something that's much harder to bottom out than normal Cherry switches, but that is relatively quiet compared to buckling spring or ALPS.

[tp4tissue]

So what you're saying is Mx Blue is still awesome. Got it! 

[Daniel Beardsmore]

Not really … blue is still too light, and it's noisy, which limits where it can be used. Clear gives you more stiffness without the clicky sound, and the tactility that black doesn't offer.

It's much smoother than black ALPS, and a lot cheaper than Topre.

You just can't have a clicky Topre.

[sth]

you might want to give panda clears (black spring) or ergo clears a try. i know you said you think lighter springs may not help but with ergo clears the tactile bump is much more noticeable. pandaclears still pretty noticeable but it is a definite increase in weight, which you might like.

[Daniel Beardsmore]

I have a Realforce .... ;-)

Besides, Cherry switches don't have a tactile force curve, they have a linear force curve, with a constriction in the middle. The tactile bump in clears is pretty sharp, but the rest of the keystroke is totally linear. The stiffer springs in clears makes this a lot more apparent, because there is no force build up, and as you pass the actuation point, the key doesn't drop. Nothing you can do to a Cherry switch will alter their fundamentally flawed premise.

Buckling spring is the only perfect switch, where the true, smooth tactile force curve and the click sound are one. If you can make a lot of noise ....

[sth]

me too. i use ergo clears at work right now, it's the closest i've gotten to emulating RF but still too wobbly

[Daniel Beardsmore]

Try a Dell KB1421 – cheap, but it has that smooth, light feel of a Realforce variable ;-) (Seriously, it's a decent rubberdome.)

As for Cherry MX, if you can adjust to typing lightly, brown is a really decent switch. I don't hate Cherry, but their idea of tactile is laughable. I can see why everyone loves reds: they're linear, the only thing Cherry do well ;-) (For some reason they refuse to even sell keyboards with brown switches. They're business-oriented – do many businesses seriously stock up on MX blue switch keyboards? It would be like the 60s again.)

[sth]

i type lightly. browns feel ok to me but they're nothing i'd want to use on a regular basis.
the tactility of ergo clears is more along the lines of 'clunky' in a good way - and with the 45cN spring the bump feels a bit like the rubber dome of a topre switch being inverted. the point is not too sharp and once you get going at a pretty smooth pace you hardly notice the tactile bump, but it's just enough so that you don't get the 'glide' like with reds/blacks. i have problems transposing some characters when using linear switches because of that.