MX Browns or MX Blacks?

[Thewodus]

Hi Guys,

I am currently looking for a new keyboard.
I did use the search function but i could not get a satisfying answer to my, presumably, unique question.

So I am currently using a Sidewinder X4 which does feel kinda mushy atm.

I actually decided on a ducky shine 2 but i cant decide on a switch.
Around my town here (Munich, Germany) i have little to no chance of testing a keyboard with MX Browns / MX Blacks.
All we got here are Razer boards with MX Blues.

I do use my keyboard mainly for MOBA like League of Legends and typing.
I dont actually play FPS games so thats why i excluded Reds.
Blues are out due to the sound as my girl and me have our pcs in a room together.
Would drive her insane i think so blues are out, too.

Is there a way to determine, with which Switch i could be happier?
I know its all about personal preference but exactly this is hard to determine with just a rubberdome as reference.

Thanks already!
Best,
Norman

[Lastpilot]

If you need help deciding on a switch, here is something that might help you: http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=44165.0

[CPTBadAss]

Just because you don't play FPS doesn't mean you should exclude reds. What games you play shouldn't drive what switch you want. You might be very happy with them. I guess your first question is: Would you like a tactile feedback or a linear feedback when you type?

[Danule]

I have tried red, blue, black, and brown.  I prefer the brown because of the light touch and the tactile bump that allows me to know when the key is actuated while playing a game.  This makes it easy to hover over the acutation point and double tap (which is used in starcraft 2 a lot).

[CPTBadAss]

If you check my profile, you can find my Wiki which has an article called Switch Reviews. I've documented all my thoughts on all the switches I've tried.

And I play SC2 on Blues

[IvanIvanovich]

Right MX switch all do the same job. All that matters is the differences in the switch feeling and what one prefers. I prefer red most for all situations, typing, gaming it dosen't matter. I just like the light and smooth action of red switch best.

[Thewodus]

Just because you don't play FPS doesn't mean you should exclude reds. What games you play shouldn't drive what switch you want. You might be very happy with them. I guess your first question is: Would you like a tactile feedback or a linear feedback when you type?

Well yeah i just read alot on reds and due to the light activation force required they are prone to misclicks.
At least thats what i got from reading.
So that when you do FPS and press like WASD for longer periods (movement) its doesnt fatigue the hand much but if you need precise clicks or double clicks it might end up in a mistake.


As i cant test any keyboard pretty much its hard to decide whether i should go with tactile or linear D:
If i could answer this question and need to decide for myself between blacks and browns it would be clear.

Anyways im checking the sources you all provided and read through the profile.
Maybe i can get hold of a Logitech g710+ which uses browns iirc.

[CPTBadAss]

Yes, the Logitech G710+ has MX Browns. From all my research, I figured I'd love Clicky switches...and I do. MX Blues and MX Whites are my favorite Cherry MX switches after I've tried a ton of different switches.

[Photoelectric]

It's such a personal decision--I'm afraid no one can really TELL you which switch you will like more.  My favorite switch is Brown, and I find stock modern MX Black too stiff and scratchy.  But I love vintage MX Black for having significantly lower friction and a very slightly lighter spring.  I don't like MX Red at all.  MX Brown is generally suggested as a middle-of-the-road switch that is a safe choice for doing everything.  It's light enough to never be tiring, has enough tactility to be pleasant for typing, and not enough to be bothersome for gaming and button mashing.  *I think* you'll do well with MX Brown as your first Cherry MX switch.  But you won't know what you prefer until you try them all, which starts with getting your first keyboard, learning the feel of its switches, and going from there.

[shifted]

Do you have anything like Amazon where you could buy several boards and simply return them? 

I bought black switches as my first board after much debate.  I even purchased one of those samplers with all the switches.  However, after actually typing on it I knew from day one I wan't going to stick with it.  I had to think way too much while typing due to the amount of pressure they required.

So, I purchased the cheapest keyboard with reds I could find and have really liked it.  I don't make any more mistakes than I had before but I have poor typing technique ( I don't use my ring or pinky fingers and look at the keys a lot).  I also discovered with this second board that I don't like cherry stabilizers.  The second board had costar stabilizers.  In fact stabilizers in my mind were a bigger deal than switches in the end.

I originally bought blacks for the same reason you are considering them vs reds.  In the end I prefer reds.  They feel similar to black in that they are linear but are easier to press and seem to have less friction when you press them down, or what people are calling scratchy I think.  Like you don't hear plastic rubbing against other plastic parts as much as on the blacks.

I still have no desire to try out a tactile switch.   I don't like the idea of feeling the bump with the WASD keys when I play FPS games.  The brown switch in the sampler I got is as light as the reds pretty much and since I bottom out so much with my typing I don't even think I'd feel it.  Blue are nice but too loud.  I think I'd have to go for clears if I really wanted to feel a tactile switch.

Anyway, because I bought off Amazon I simply returned those two keyboards and bought one I knew I wanted from mechanicalkeyboards.com.

[Photoelectric]

Do you have anything like Amazon where you could buy several boards and simply return them? 

I would strongly discourage from this practice, as it's unethical, dishonest, and increases the overall price for all of us when enough people do this.  Especially if you send perfectly good keyboards back to manufacturers you like / vendors you like for no other reason than wrong switches.

[Thewodus]

Well yeah i was thinking about doing the amazon thing but for ethical reasons i dont want to do it. 
On the other hand its a 150$ investment into the blue.

Ill try to find a g710+ at a local dealer and see if i get along with the browns.
If yes i think ill order the ducky with brown switches with the intention to keep it.

If i really dont get along with it at all i must return but i can do it with a better conscience than simply ordering a bunch and returning 90%.

Anyways, thanks for all the input i got here.

When you think about it, its such an awkward spot people like me are in.
There are 29348 manufacturers of mechanical keyboards, yet most local dealers have at max a Razer BlackWidow.
Still they expect you to pay a lot of money without even testing the product in advance unless you do a shabby amazon-buy-ALL-the-keyboards action =/

Someone should just open up a mechanical keyboard renting service D:

[shifted]

Returning a product you are not happy with is not unethical.  They clearly state they have a 30 day return policy for anything.  Companies that are not as large typically have a 10-20% restock fee to cover things like time and packaging plus I have to pay shipping.