4.5 KiB
title: Mechanical keyboard switchees tags: computers, keyboards date: 2022-04-24 00:00
I am trying something new. Here I will be recording my thoughts about various keyboard switches I tried.
Tactile
Gazzew Boba U4
Silent high-tactility switch, 65g. Does not produce a lot of sound, but not completely quite. Great tactility with a sharp early bump. I tend to bottom out easily when typing on these.
My favourite switch so far, in terms of pure tactility.
Gazzew Boba U4T
High-strength tactile switch. All bump, no pre/post-travel. Feels very nice. The sound is supposed to be "thocky", but I subjectively found it more "poppy" than SP Star Magic Girl, for example, which tends to have a more muted sound. Overall, a great switch with an amazing tactile signature and a moreish sharp bump.
Durock T1
TBD
Glorious Panda
I have not tried the original Holy Pandas yet, but I was told that Glorious Panda can be a sufficient replacement. So far I have been enjoying those switches. They are on the more heavy tactile end of things with a sharp bump (still not as heavy as Boba U4 dd, and not as sharp as Kailh Box Royal). The sound is alright, not too annoying, and it seems to improve with some lubing on the housing. However, under heavy typing there can be a noticable ping.
Purple Panda
Mid-high-strength tactil from Tecsee, 68g. Another take on the "Holy Panda" signature with a P-shaped bump. However, the stem is very long, resulting in very short travel (3mm?). Because of that, the post-travel is rather small, and it is not very hard to bottom out with these switches. The upstroke also feels very fast.
Initially when I got them, there was very little ping stock. However, after using them actively for a week I think the ping has gotten worse.
Comparison with some other tactile switches:
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Compared to Glorious Panda, Purple Pandas have shorter post-travel and a more rounded bump. Purple Pandas also have less ping.
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Tecsee Sapphire Techsee Sapphire have a much shorter, lighter bump, and have way more post-travel.
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SP Star Magic Girl. The Magic Girl switches have a generally similar tactile signature, with almost no pre-travel before the bump. The bump on Magic Girl feels longer than on Purple Panda. Despite of that, the post-travel on Purple Panda is shorter than that on Magic Girl, probably due to the stem length.
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Compared to SP Star Magic Girl, Purple Pandas have a way shorter ..
SP Star Magic Girl
Mid-to-high-strength colourful tactiles. A pronounced but rounded bump with very little pre-travel. Smooth for the post-bump travel. Since the post-travel is longer than on some other tactiles (probably the most post-bump travel on this list, at the time of writting), it is quite possible not to bottom out on every keypress. Sound-wise they are kind of muted. Not silent, but with quiter typing force the sounds of keycaps etc will easily drown on the switch-proper sounds. For example, compared to Box Royals or Glorious Pandas, these have way less ping.
Kailh Box Royal
Mid-strength tactile, on the more tactile end of the scale. These have a really "fun" tactile bump, with almost no pre-travel. I don't think it requires a lot of force for the bump, but since the bump is so sharp it may feel heavier than it is. I find it hard not to bottom out when using these switches.
Soundwise, these can sound quite inconsistent (stock), and some switches have really annoying ping.
I do not think I will be using them for a full build, but I enjoy having this switch on some of designated keys, maybe return or the F-keys?
Tecsee Sapphire
Mid-strength tactile. Has a nice bumb and and very smooth travel afterwards. Cannot really say anything bad about it. The sound may be too high pitched for the connoisseurs, but I do not mind too much.
Gateron Brown
Hated among many. I actually do not think it is too bad, but it does require lubing to sound more tolerable. Not a fan of such a "light" tactile signature tho.
Cherry MX Brown
TBD
Frankenswitches
- Glorious Boba (?): Glorious Panda stem in Boba housing. Feels like Glorious Panda with less pre-travel and easier bottom-out. Sounds quite similar.
Linear
Gateron Red
Linear switch. A bit too smooth for my taste. It feels like for some of these switches the actuation point is really close. I sometimes accidentally triggered a switch when i was resting my fingers on the keyboard.
Can be very clacky, but sound is drastically improved with a tape mod.
Gazzew Bobagum
Silent linear, 62g. Nice linear switch, smooth, but with a good amount of force. Produce very little sound.