Long-time lurker needs some help.

[Khanduras]

Hey guys.  I've been a frequent browser of the forums for the past few months, and visited every once in a while before then, but never really posted until now.  I have a slight dilemma, and was hoping to receive some advice from some more experienced mechanical keyboard users.

To be rather honest, I have never once used an actual mechanical keyboard.  Up until now, I've been using membrane keyboards for the longest time.  Even the keyboard I'm using now, a logitech G19 on its last leg, is a membrane keyboard.  The keyboard is starting to have some major issues, such as random keys being pressed at random times, and well... Instead of taking the time to take it apart and properly dignose it, I think I'm wanting to finally make that magical leap into the realm of mechanical keyboards.

The issue here is that I currently live in an area where computer/electronics shops aren't exactly common, and the few BestBuys that are within an hour drive from me never have any open keyboards on display, so I can't exactly get a feel for them.  Someone suggested a Fry's, but unfortunately the nearest Fry's to me shut down, and the closest after that is quite a few hours away.

The problem is this.  I have no way of actually determining where I can find a place that will actually allow me to type on a number of mechanical keyboards in order to get a feel for the switch types and see which I like best.  I'm aware of the differences between the switch types, but honestly, having never felt or heard them in person, I can't exactly make a decision based on what I know.

Does anyone know if they make any multi-switch evaluation boards of some sort that I could get in order to test them out?  I've heard varying opinions from people as to which type of switch feels better to THEM, but that doesn't exactly help me out any.  Sigh.  So lost.  HAAALP.

[gnubag]

here is an option

[omgFiRE]

For Cherry MX:
Ducky Shine II 78
Switch Tester Winter 2013 US Tour
WASD Sampler Kit

For others: Capacitive Buckling Spring, Membrane Buckling Spring, Alps Complicated, Simplified, Alps clone (Matias, XM, ..), Topre, ...
I think you should either search for local meetings (like this) or buy them all. 

[omgFiRE]

Or simply start with safe option like Cherry MX Brown inside CM Storm QuickFire Rapid (SGK-4000-GKCM1-US) for $60-$80. It's 2 times cheaper than your non-mechanical Logitech G19, nevertheless QFR has Costar quality. Then add plastics safe lube for stabilizer and o-rings. Optionally dedicated numpad if you need to.
It will be easy to choose switches, after you get experience with some mechanical keyboard for a month or so. 

[tp4tissue]

QFR has been plagued by defective switches..

if you're gonna buy one, get it from Amazon.com, so you know you can return it if something goes wrong..

[IvanIvanovich]

There is chance to get defective switch in any MX board. With CM it seems higher simply because they are more common and there is so many more of them increase the rate of reporting such issues. I think defective rate is still in usual ratio. Also most reports seem to be on blue variant. Also since those are usually the lowest price they are probably bought more. Higher number produced, higher number of things slipping past in QC.

Personally, I recommend finding a low price on used Cherry G80, like this G80-11900 which have blacks, and then buying some extra switches of other types. It's one of the cheapest way to try them all and swapping out the switches on PCB mount is so much easier.

[tp4tissue]

There is chance to get defective switch in any MX board. With CM it seems higher simply because they are more common and there is so many more of them increase the rate of reporting such issues. I think defective rate is still in usual ratio. Also most reports seem to be on blue variant. Also since those are usually the lowest price they are probably bought more. Higher number produced, higher number of things slipping past in QC.

Personally, I recommend finding a low price on used Cherry G80, like this G80-11900 which have blacks, and then buying some extra switches of other types. It's one of the cheapest way to try them all and swapping out the switches on PCB mount is so much easier.

errrmm... if you just want to try switches... get the sampler pack..

[fohat.digs]

There is chance to get defective switch in any MX board. With CM it seems higher simply because they are more common and there is so many more of them increase the rate of reporting such issues. I think defective rate is still in usual ratio. Also most reports seem to be on blue variant. Also since those are usually the lowest price they are probably bought more. Higher number produced, higher number of things slipping past in QC.

Personally, I recommend finding a low price on used Cherry G80, like this G80-11900 which have blacks, and then buying some extra switches of other types. It's one of the cheapest way to try them all and swapping out the switches on PCB mount is so much easier.

Damn. Now don't everybody start bidding on that keyboard that I wanted .....

[IvanIvanovich]

Sorry, I was just trying to point out how cheap they can be had at times, and a good option for trying something for a low cost.
Sampler pack is fine, but without the switches being mounted they don't give as good of an indication to how they feel, and only having one switch is not always giving a good impression on the real typing feeling. I think having at least 4 switch on a board will give a much better impression.

[zoolzoo]

You can try this switch sampler pack. It even includes popular o-ring types and key caps to mount.

http://www.wasdkeyboards.com/index.php/wasd-sampler-kit.html

[edit] omgFIRE already posted this link.

[omgFiRE]

QFR has been plagued by defective switches..

Is there any proof that QFR with cherry mx brown has higher failure rate than others cherry mx boards?
Failure rate is more interesting than amount of failure reports, because amount of events (reports) is, obviously, proportional to popularity (amount of sold boards).

[drdoooom]

i'd start off with browns like many people here have mentioned.
it's a nice switch to start off with and will always serve a purpose in your keyboard collection.
gl

[jdcarpe]

Another recommendation for browns here. It's a good place to start. Once you have a baseline to compare other switches, you can try out the others and see which you like best.

I tried out the other switches by buying keyboards of differing switch types, and then selling the ones I didn't like. You will usually only lose about 10-20% of what you paid doing it this way, and to me it was worth the cost to find out what I liked and what I didn't.

Good luck!

[jamdox]

Or you can get some from e-tailers and send them back if you don't want to keep them.  I did that with a couple. 

And if you don't want to spend too much, you can get one of the older keyboards like the Model M, Apple Extended or Dell AT101W.  Frankly, I don't really care for the lighter Cherry switches that are so common.  Similarly, lot of people swear by the Model M (or F); I personally like the AEKII that I got for $30 including adapter (from Craigslist) more than the browns or blues I tried for longer periods.  I have a keyboard with clears in the mail, so we'll see if there is a Cherry switch I actually like.

I wouldn't just get a switch sampler, though.  You really have to use a keyboard for a couple weeks to know what it's really like.  And if you're testing any keyboard, you'll want to test more than one.  Start with whichever is most convenient.

[Khanduras]

Well, it seems that I was able to talk WASD keyboards into sending me one of those 4-switch sampler kits at no cost in exchange for a written review on my blog.  We'll see how that goes.  It'll be hard to tell how I enjoy TYPING on the different switches, considering there's only one of each of the more popular switch types, but it'll likely give me a simple enough way to test to see which feels like the right fit for me.

Thanks for all of your suggestions, everyone.  They're very much appreciated.