- May 8, 2013
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Hello there. I'm glad you're taking the time to learn about mechanical keyboards -- they're quite different from traditional rubber-dome keyswitch keyboards and can, in many cases, improve your typing experience.
First thing's first: What is a mechanical keyboard and how is it different from a rubber dome?
The major difference is the design of the keyboards.
Here you can see the basics of a rubber-dome keyswitch set up:
It is pretty much a rubber mat on top of a circuit board. The black circles on the underside of the mat are what close the circuit when the buttons are pressed, leading to an activation of the button. Since the buttons are practically just rubber caps, they don't have any leeway with the pressing -- either it's not pressed, or you use force and it is pressed. There's no in between with these.
Mechanical keyboards, however, use springs and levers that DO have that middle ground, allowing for the ability to slow-press them. This design allows the keyboard to have an "actuation point" -- a spot in the middle of the press where the button truly activates, as opposed to rubber-domes which only actuate at the very bottom of the press.
Mechanical keyboards also feature some cool options:
N-key rollover means you can press your face to the keyboard and every key pressed will activate
Anti-ghosting plays a part in the N-key rollover -- none of they keys will prevent others from activating
LEDs are often present on these keyboards, but not all. They are also present on rubber-dome keyboards, but shhh, don't tell anyone.
What are the kinds of mechanical switches?
I'm glad you asked! There are four main switch types that a person would normally be concerned with: Red, blue, brown, and black. There are others like green and clear, but they are much more uncommon.
Red: Reds are a very common switch for strictly gaming. Many professional gamers that play games like LoL prefer this switch due to its fast return speeds, allowing for quick successive presses.
Red Switch Diagram
The red switch is a linear press without a tactile click. This means that when you reach that halfway actuation point, it will not make a distinct noise nor will you necessarily feel it. The red switches feel a little mushy when you type, making them not very ideal for typers or people who want to mix typing with gaming.
Black: Blacks are very similar to the reds. The major difference between the two is the amount of force required to press down the key.
Black Switch Diagram.
The blacks require a slightly greater force to press down than the reds. This can be beneficial in games where you don't want to accidentally press certain keys, as you would have to exert more force on the key to get it to press down. Although it requires more force, the actual force you need to press down on any of these keys is not that great, so don't worry about that so much. Again, these are not very ideal for typists; they are mostly a gaming oriented switch.
Blue: Blues are a typist's heaven, a paradise for the fingers. I don't think I've heard anybody that owns a blue switch complain about it. These differ from the previous two by quite a bit.
Blue Switch Diagram
Blues are the other end of the spectrum, for keys -- they are mostly a typer's switch, as opposed to a gamer's switch. The blues have a tactile feel to them, which makes them clicky, and they make a distinct, high-pitched noise when they are pressed down. For typists, this means that you can lightly touch the key to activate it, hear the noise, and move onto the next key, allowing for increased typing speeds. When the key reaches the actuation point, you will both hear and feel the bump.
Brown: Browns are most similar to blues, but are somewhat of a middle ground when it comes to switches. Browns, like blues, have the actuation point you can feel and hear, but they don't have the high-pitched clicky noise.
Brown Switch Diagram
Browns are most ideal for half gaming and half typing. They have the nice feel of the blues with the responsiveness of the reds/blacks. I would recommend this color switch to anybody who wants an all-around keyboard.
Scroll down to hear blues and browns.
What to do after learning
Now that you know a little bit about each color, the next thing you should do, ideally, is go out and feel them for yourself. If that is not an option for you, you could order keyboards with different switch colors from Amazon, try them out, and send them back.
Good Brands of Keyboards
Now that you know what switch you want to get, it's time to talk brands and prices.
Budget: Sub $100
CM Storm (Not the Devastator)
Tt Esports Click one of the Mechanical options
Ducky brand keyboards (Some below $100)
Vortex (Some below $100)
Rosewill (Some below $100)
More expensive: $100+
Corsair Vengeance K70
Max Keyboard Nighthawk
Tesoro Durandal or Tesoro Colada
Ducky Shine 2 or 3
Razer Blackwidow and variants
If you have any questions or comments please feel free to post them or message me.
First thing's first: What is a mechanical keyboard and how is it different from a rubber dome?
The major difference is the design of the keyboards.
Here you can see the basics of a rubber-dome keyswitch set up:
It is pretty much a rubber mat on top of a circuit board. The black circles on the underside of the mat are what close the circuit when the buttons are pressed, leading to an activation of the button. Since the buttons are practically just rubber caps, they don't have any leeway with the pressing -- either it's not pressed, or you use force and it is pressed. There's no in between with these.
Mechanical keyboards, however, use springs and levers that DO have that middle ground, allowing for the ability to slow-press them. This design allows the keyboard to have an "actuation point" -- a spot in the middle of the press where the button truly activates, as opposed to rubber-domes which only actuate at the very bottom of the press.
Mechanical keyboards also feature some cool options:
N-key rollover means you can press your face to the keyboard and every key pressed will activate
Anti-ghosting plays a part in the N-key rollover -- none of they keys will prevent others from activating
LEDs are often present on these keyboards, but not all. They are also present on rubber-dome keyboards, but shhh, don't tell anyone.
What are the kinds of mechanical switches?
I'm glad you asked! There are four main switch types that a person would normally be concerned with: Red, blue, brown, and black. There are others like green and clear, but they are much more uncommon.
Red: Reds are a very common switch for strictly gaming. Many professional gamers that play games like LoL prefer this switch due to its fast return speeds, allowing for quick successive presses.
Red Switch Diagram
The red switch is a linear press without a tactile click. This means that when you reach that halfway actuation point, it will not make a distinct noise nor will you necessarily feel it. The red switches feel a little mushy when you type, making them not very ideal for typers or people who want to mix typing with gaming.
Black: Blacks are very similar to the reds. The major difference between the two is the amount of force required to press down the key.
Black Switch Diagram.
The blacks require a slightly greater force to press down than the reds. This can be beneficial in games where you don't want to accidentally press certain keys, as you would have to exert more force on the key to get it to press down. Although it requires more force, the actual force you need to press down on any of these keys is not that great, so don't worry about that so much. Again, these are not very ideal for typists; they are mostly a gaming oriented switch.
Blue: Blues are a typist's heaven, a paradise for the fingers. I don't think I've heard anybody that owns a blue switch complain about it. These differ from the previous two by quite a bit.
Blue Switch Diagram
Blues are the other end of the spectrum, for keys -- they are mostly a typer's switch, as opposed to a gamer's switch. The blues have a tactile feel to them, which makes them clicky, and they make a distinct, high-pitched noise when they are pressed down. For typists, this means that you can lightly touch the key to activate it, hear the noise, and move onto the next key, allowing for increased typing speeds. When the key reaches the actuation point, you will both hear and feel the bump.
Brown: Browns are most similar to blues, but are somewhat of a middle ground when it comes to switches. Browns, like blues, have the actuation point you can feel and hear, but they don't have the high-pitched clicky noise.
Brown Switch Diagram
Browns are most ideal for half gaming and half typing. They have the nice feel of the blues with the responsiveness of the reds/blacks. I would recommend this color switch to anybody who wants an all-around keyboard.
Scroll down to hear blues and browns.
What to do after learning
Now that you know a little bit about each color, the next thing you should do, ideally, is go out and feel them for yourself. If that is not an option for you, you could order keyboards with different switch colors from Amazon, try them out, and send them back.
Good Brands of Keyboards
Now that you know what switch you want to get, it's time to talk brands and prices.
Budget: Sub $100
CM Storm (Not the Devastator)
Tt Esports Click one of the Mechanical options
Ducky brand keyboards (Some below $100)
Vortex (Some below $100)
Rosewill (Some below $100)
More expensive: $100+
Corsair Vengeance K70
Max Keyboard Nighthawk
Tesoro Durandal or Tesoro Colada
Ducky Shine 2 or 3
Razer Blackwidow and variants
If you have any questions or comments please feel free to post them or message me.
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