Do you actually type faster on your mech KB?

[Novus]

No judgements here on wallet hack, but you actually type faster on your mechanical keyboards then you do on your plain rubber domes keyboards?

[Merranza]

Got a mech with mx reds... I actually type faster on it than I was on my mx brown. I have a very light touch when typing so anything in my way once I start pressing the key is making me type slower.

I really like my mx reds for typing but my fastest is my scissor switch (laptop). The fact keys are also not one next to the other (space between each of them) is also helping as I have no fear of typos while typing really fast.

[Ludovician]

I made a lot more typos on my membrane keyboard than I do on my Model M, partially because the keys are stiffer and partially because of the tactile feedback. I was making abundant mistakes yesterday on my new HHKB, because I grew accustomed to the Model M.

The tactile feedback helps a bit with my typing, but mostly I find the weight of the keys makes more of a difference. Mechs just feel significantly better to type on. None of that cheap $5 rubbish that feels like it could break with minimal effort.

[pr0ximity]

100% sure I type faster on my Realforce than my other boards or Apple chiclets. Model M and MX Reds are probably close, maybe slightly faster with Reds (though more error-prone if I don't use them frequently). Model F is probably on par with the RF.

I think it has mostly to do with the profile of the keys on the RF board, they feel much more accurate than any rubber dome that I've used.

[Computer-Lab in Basement]

isn't this already a thread?

[ablooga]

i type the same speed on my microsoft membrane, topre 45g and cherry mx blues approx (100wpm). i type around 70-80 wpm on mx reds.
But typing on a membranes feels loose and undefined.

[chyros]

Just a little, not a lot. They let me make fewer mistakes though, and the sound and feeling is of course much better .

[Joey Quinn]

Nope, I think I'm actually faster on my laptop because the lack of profile means I don't need to lift my fingers at all. 

[sidel]

Not even slightly, but you sure won't catch me going back to membrane boards because of it.   

[snipars]

nope, but it's usually more enjoyable

[Oobly]

Yes, because I don't type on rubber dome boards.

But typing speed is a largely irrelevant metric anyway. There aren't many typing tasks besides pure data entry where typing speed is the bottleneck. Even with data entry it's still worth rather using a mechanical board to prevent injury long term.

[Novus]

isn't this already a thread?

I don't think so

[azhdar]

a month ago : https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=67647.0

[mecano]

Oh let's fuse them, make a poll and a sticky then!

[Oobly]

Oh let's fuse them, make a poll and a sticky then!

Then lock the thread...

[Voixdelion]

Oh GODS yes - It's one of the reasons I sought out a mech board in the first place.  I used to remember clackity clacking away when I was in high school writing my essays the period before it was due in the computer lab, and couldn't figure out why my typing had suffered such a slowdown in the later years.  When I came across some article or other that reminded me about the clacking, I made the connection and went looking for a proper keyboard immediately.  Upon plugging in the first Model M I acquired, my typing speed immediately jumped from an average 45 wpm on the stupid rubber dome to 65wpm right out of the gate.  Not terribly impressive overall, but easily a 30% increase just from switching to a proper board again.  Totally worth it not to be backspacing all the time to fix errors, which was the primary slowdown for me, particularly with keys that didn't register properly.   

[ideus]

Why do you imply that a mechanical keyboard is for typing faster? You get a mechanical keyboard to enjoy typing, or because you expend a good part of your life working at a computer, or because as a digital age warrior you want the best sword possible.


Typing faster, actually? Who cares?

[cseng]

for me it's probably just placebo but yes i do type faster on my mech.

[aref]

I type about the same speed on my mechanical keyboards as I did on the many membrane keyboards I've owned/used; but I prefer the feel of mechanical keyboards.

[katushkin]

I like to think I do. But then I haven't typed on a rubber dome board in ages...

And I've never tested it as I don't believe those WPM things are a true representation of your typing speed. My typing is way quicker when I know what to type rather than reading it off a screen. But then maybe that is the point in them, idk.

[Novus]

Why do you imply that a mechanical keyboard is for typing faster? You get a mechanical keyboard to enjoy typing, or because you expend a good part of your life working at a computer, or because as a digital age warrior you want the best sword possible.


Typing faster, actually? Who cares?

Please cry more.

[toshiba]

I type a fair bit faster on a membrane keyboard (10-15 WPM, ~10-15% faster). However, that's all I've ever really used. I'm sure if I gave a mechanical keyboard more time my speed would be comparable. I'm sure that's true for most everyone.

[Ludovician]

Do you have a mech, toshiba? There's a short adjustment period and you may type slightly slower at first, but that's just a matter of getting used to what you're typing on.

[toshiba]

Do you have a mech, toshiba? There's a short adjustment period and you may type slightly slower at first, but that's just a matter of getting used to what you're typing on.

No, I don't have a mech. I've only sampled them for a few hours at a time (I've done this about 5-6 times though).

But like I conceded in my first post, I think I type faster on my membrane keyboard simply because I'm accustomed to it. I think, with time, a good typist will become efficient and adapt to whatever keyboard they're using. That swings both ways, too. One may currently type faster on a mech, but I bet with time they'd match their efficiency on a membrane keyboard (and vice versa).

[chicken]

I don't, but I make like 20 errors at 40 wpm so...............................

[mr.squishy]

Short answer: No.
Long answer: Still no.

[quake4mhg]

I do type faster

[Puddsy]

i do in fact type faster

[sethk_]

i do in fact type faster

Same, I am up by about 10-20 WPM when typing on topre.

[dante]

I type the fastest on the switch I like the least: Cherry MX Browns.

[sethk_]

I type the fastest on the switch I like the least: Cherry MX Browns.

I have only typed on them for about a minute on my dads k70, as I remember them, they felt linear with a piece of sandpaper whenever I hit the tactile bump.

[dante]

I type the fastest on the switch I like the least: Cherry MX Browns.

I have only typed on them for about a minute on my dads k70, as I remember them, they felt linear with a piece of sandpaper whenever I hit the tactile bump.

Some batches of Browns are better than others.  This is the switch I would use in a typing contest when money is on the line.

[uzoc]

Not something most (here) want to hear or admit...
Rubber dome all the way (fastest),
Next maybe scissor switch,
Next mechanical (blue, brown, etc),
Then even older mechanicals (and the like),
and last but not least, the good old Remington or Olivetti!

[ADFX_Pixy]

I do type faster with my mech keyboard but I do make more mistakes with it for some reason compared to those generic Dell rubber domes that I use at school.

[keyhopper]

It Depends. I actually measured it a while ago. I type the fastest with Topre:

     Topre 55g  >=  Buckling Spring  >>  Kailh == Membrane

But the differences were surprisingly close. We are talking 10%. For instance, I could get 120wpm on some typeracer text with Topre and BS, but it took me a lot of retries to get the same with membrane and get past 110wpm for that same text.
Mechanical keyboards did improve my speed though, maybe because they made me rediscover and love typing again and enjoy wasting time on typeracer.com. Also, I've been using the Dvorak layout for more than a decade now.

Interesting note: with heavy switches I feel like I'm typing slow, but when measured it is actually fast. Don't ask me why.

Another Note: I read somewhere that the famous Sean Wrona achieves 200wpm speeds both with membrane and cherry (and he uses the normal Qwerty layout).

[davkol]

My top burst speed is on scissor switches, but I prefer linear or clear-like switches for longer typing sessions, because I don't have to bottom out and fingers never hurt just from typing consequently.

[flaming_june]

Considerably faster on my hhkb topre than anything else.  But if we're talking about whether mechanical statistically provide significantly faster typing speed, that's unknown. 

[chyros]

Typing on my KB-5162 with SKCM Whites now and I am consciously making an effort to type slower just to savour the sound more ^^ .

[gvfarns]

I type faster on my mechanical keyboard than on membrane keyboard.  I think it's because I no longer use as much force as I used to and have quicker recovery--in fact my hand position is quite different on my mechanicals.  The speed difference isn't huge, but it's also consistent and easy to measure.   By the way I use MX blues with O rings.

HOWEVER, I also make more typos with my mechanical keyboard.  The typos are always of the same type: I capitalize two letters at the beginning of a word instead of one.  The reason is that I can't get my pinky fingers off the shift keys fast enough.  Membrane keyboard shift keys are much better because they only register as depressed when they are fully depressed.

I really need to figure out a way to mod my keyboards so this isn't a problem.

[ander]

Heck yes!

If you don't, don't blame your MK. You're just not taking advantage of its capabilities. You need to learn to type without bottoming out all the time, by typing with your lower arms and hands as much as your fingers. You just need to develop a little technique, to learn to type more efficiently with less wasted movement and effort. Then you'll really zoom, and you'll get what the whole MK thing is about, IMHO.

[Sencha]

I type the fastest on the switch I like the least: Cherry MX Browns.

I have only typed on them for about a minute on my dads k70, as I remember them, they felt linear with a piece of sandpaper whenever I hit the tactile bump.

I always find if you press browns slowly they feel like two marbles rubbing together.

Anyway I probably type about the same. Although I only recently gave up my old typing style and re-learnt proper touch typing. It was actually when I bought my first Topre board that I did this. Even if I was slower though I'd still be on Mech. Its all about enjoyment, if your not enjoying things whats the point.