Filco cherry black v. brown for gaming

[mljs54]

Hi there ---

First time poster:

Looking into picking up a Filco mechanical keyboard.  Question: which is better for gaming: black or brown cherry switches?  I tend to hit my keys pretty forcefully so will that have anything to do with my decision?

Thanks much in advance

[AndrewZorn]

brown - very light / easy to press, with a subtle bump when the switch actuates
black - very heavy / difficult to press (with no bump)

these switches are nearly polar opposites

(never used cherry black myself)

[savage]

I find the browns not optimal for gaming. I prefer my Unicomp, but suspect the blacks to be even better.

[mljs54]

Welcome to Geekhack!

Check the "Mechanical Keyboards Sorted By Switch" wiki entry (home page).  At the bottom are several links to threads with this same question.  Take a look at them and post back.

Short Answer:  Pros use Blacks.  Everybody else often get by fine with their favorite typing switch.

Thanks much for this -- after reading a few posts it sounds like the Cherry Blacks are what I want.  I have a very heavy hand and keystroke and one thing I notice right now is that I tend to really bottom out my keys.  Also, if I accidentally hit the wrong key and pull back up I'm usually too far into depressing it and it registers on screen (hope that description made sense).  Does this sound like something the Blacks are meant to prevent?

[AndrewZorn]

actually, the cherry switches in general should only make that happen more.  since you dont have to bottom it out, like a rubber dome, the key will register earlier, mid-stroke.

[imsto]

games    black 's the best choice i think

[hyperlinked]

Although the conventional wisdom is that heavier linear switches tend to be better for a lot of games, if you're playing FPS games, you may want to give light switches like the Cherry Browns a try. It might be easier on you hands in the long run. My left hand is a little worn out from too much work and too much Unreal Tournament. These days, I can only play on a light switched board and even then only in moderation.

[mljs54]

Yea I'm getting confused as well.  I wish elitekeyboards had a 30 day satisfaction policy.  I definitely want a Filco for gaming but it's annoying that you could spend $140 and not get what you want since you can't really go and try these in a store somewhere if you've never used any of the switches before.  I'm almost leaning towards a Deck now since they have that kind of return policy.

As a side note, I use a IBM M at work that I had our IT guy dig out of the supply closet and that would be waaay overkill for gaming comfort for me.

[microsoft windows]

I thought people liked tanks in games.