In doubt! have a 6v2 now thinking I took the wrong switches.

[edujackass]

Hi guys, first il introduce myself real quick.

Im Eduard, and i use my pc mainly for my work (writing.. ''intimate'' storys :D:D), study and some gaming.

I got interested in mechanical keyboards a few months ago and halfway december i bought one with black switches. As i read alot that gamers are most pleased with black key switches (because they register when not yet bottomed)
Now I'm typing on it for a month (for gaming its great+i love how the keyboard always stays in place because of the weight and the lack of windows button is realy nice) but here comes the problem. I think i took too stiff switches. whenever im typing something with a letter that requires minor more push (like the letter Q with my left pink i often not press it too far thus not registring the key.. I have the feeling i have to press hard on all keys when typing and thereby made the wrong switch decision. So I'm thinking about buying an other keyboard with other switches and sell this one on ebay.

I was thinking on getting the noppoo choc mini as I think it has an amazingly compact layout (i nearly never use the numpad anyways) and its nice media keys compared to my 6v2. On the choc mini the media keys are placed under the AWSD game keys.

Now to the switches.

I have heared that reds are like blacks but alot easyer to press? Do they also type better?
Are the browns the same as blacks but just slightly less stiff? (reds being the most easy to press..)

and are there any gamers on this forum that use blue switches? is the key registerd in the same way as a black switch would do?


now my last question
I am reading alot about custom keycaps. As an ex-designer I'm realy interested in designing my own custom keycaps. Is this possible? If yes, where? and how much will it cost me? I'm reading alot about group purchases.. How much caps qualifys as a group order? If via this way i could order custom caps I'd like to do so and sell them to my friends who play the same games as i do!

Thanks alot for your time and answering my questions! I'm looking forward to reading them tomorow morning!

Sincerly

[TotalChaos]

I used to have the exact same problem as you.  My pinkies would sometimes not mash the q down hard enough.  So I waited 20 years for Cherry to figure out the fantastically complicated task of inserting a less stiff spring and creating the "Cherry Red Switch".

Get Red and all your troubles are gone.  I tell everyone to get Reds but nobody listens to me. 

Or just get a new switch every month until your bank account is empty. 

[codymaust]

Or just get a new switch every month until your bank account is empty. 

Or half month   

Is there any way that you can test out a board/switch before you buy?

Sounds like reds will work out for you though, if you already like the blacks

[edujackass]

my local computerstore is one that keeps his keyboards behind glass :/ maybe i can ask if i they can open it up for me to type on some of their keyboards but im not sure if they have one with red switches. But its good to see i'm not the only one with this problem. I had the idea i have lazy fingers or something..

[TotalChaos]

I am reading alot about custom keycaps. As an ex-designer I'm realy interested in designing my own custom keycaps. Is this possible? If yes, where? and how much will it cost me? I'm reading alot about group purchases.. How much caps qualifys as a group order? If via this way i could order custom caps I'd like to do so and sell them to my friends who play the same games as i do!

What do you mean by "design"?
Do u just want to customize color and writing?
You can just goto WASDkeyboards.com and use their custom keyboard designer.  Its cheap and quick.

If you want something more elaborate than that it can cost real big bucks.



Do u want to custom mold keycaps into a specific shape?

Or ?

[dachef]

Very easy problem to solve, switch to red switches you will not regret it.  I would sell your Steel Series in the process on ebay or something because they are exactly the same switches but have a difference of around 20 grams or so.  You will not regret this decision.  I would recommend a Ducky because they come with media keys which you seem to like.  They have a tenkeyless version too.  I recommend this ****, http://tigerimports.net/sunshop/index.php?l=product_list&c=73  They seem to sell Duckys for cheaper than other sites.  If you want to save money I would recommend the CM Quickfire Rapid and buy it on Amazon.  Amazon has it for the cheapest possible price and they have excellent service in terms of shipping and return policy.  The inside of the board is red which gives it a really cool look.  It is unanimous that pretty believe CM Quickfire Rapid is a ghetto Filco and I don't mean ghetto in bad way. Excellent board I have one myself.  And lastly you should check out wasdkeyboards.com  You can create custom keys I believe.  Good luck! 

Edit: I apparently typed **** instead of site which is why I have **** right before the site. I'm going to leave it there because I think it's funny.

[edujackass]

I just discovered  wasdkeyboards.com!! very nice, this was exactly what i needed.

and @dachef, im also thinking about going for red switches now. But I'm just browsing youtube and kinda fell in love with the sound of blue switches not sure if they will be as usefull as reds when playing games like league of legends or COD. I've checked the ducky boards btw but they seem a bit pricey.. I think the 80 dollars i paid for that 6v2 was realy cheap for a mech keyboard.

[TheProfosist]

Reds suck go tactile and get ergo clears.

[Peter]

Reds suck go tactile and get ergo clears.

No, they don't 'suck' any more than Blacks, Clears, Browns or Blues .

The problem here is a classic :
Your pinkie is your weakest finger, by a large margin, unless
you are a trained guitarist, violinist, pianist or typist !, in that case it's stronger than most other peoples pinkie ..
- But STILL your weakest finger !

If you just spend some more cash and switch to Reds (or Blues, or Browns, or Clears) :
Your pinkie will STILL be your weakest finger .
To make matters even worse :
QWERTY-layout is specifically designed to slow your typing-speed down,
so the metal-bars don't jam !,



- by deliberately placing often-used keys under the weakest fingers and/or as far away from each other as possible .

Personally, I have a keyboard for gaming (like the one you have, I love it !) and another for serious typing (It even sounds a bit like a typewriter!)
because my requirements for a good gaming-board vs a good typing-board are close to mutually exclusive .
My advice is that you train your pinkies for a month or so AND that you look into 'alternative' layouts like DVORAK or COLEMAK .

[edujackass]

uppon googling i found out this would require me to ''mod'' my expensive keyboard! i think i'm just replacing some custom keycaps but nothing more. Thinking about going reds or blues IF blue's are viable in gaming but im not sure about that

DVORAK or COLEMAK sounds very interesting but im not sure how it would be with gaming (eg. using AWSD)
also im just a student, im glad i can afford 1 mech keyboard.