Diane

@DianeThePunk

Your small gay punk gf

They/She/He in that order
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Get over here I'm gonna kick your fucking ass

Opinions expressed are my own and not those of my employer or union. My contract requires the presence of that clause in my profile, which feels like a joke but is very real.

Diane @DianeThePunk12/27/2022, 9:31 PM

Hey mechanical keyboard users

I might be looking at getting a mechanical keyboard when my membrane keyboard bites the dust (which it shows no sign of doing right now, but I've had membranes break suddenly before). I've gone to micro center and gotten my hands on a few keyboards and tried out a few switches on display. I REALLY like the Razer reds, but I'm kind of torn and could use some opinions.

On the one hand, I know I like the Razer red switches, so getting a keyboard with those would give me something I know I like right out of the box, however I don't like that the keys aren't hot-swap and that the switches are proprietary. It means that if I ever have to repair the keyboard it would be MUCH less straightforward than going with a keyboard that has MX type switches, even if the MX switches were pcb mount.

But on the other hand, there are just so many fucking OPTIONS for mechanical keyboards with modular switches. I have no idea whether I'd like cherry silent reds or speed silvers more, because on the one hand the sound of the silent reds is closer to the Razer reds but the actuation force of the silvers is closer to the Razer reds.

Idk I guess I could just use some opinions? I'm also not looking to break the bank here, $150 tops for the whole build.

#mechanical keyboards

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in reply to @DianeThePunk's post:

Timrod @Timrod12/28/2022, 3:49 AM

Here's my opinion on it - I was looking at keyboards recently and realized that ultimately, they're going to be disgusting in a year or two no matter how clean you are, and cleaning them's going to be a pain even on the best keyboard. Better to just go cheap and replace them.

Diane @DianeThePunk12/28/2022, 4:39 AM

May I introduce you to the magical world of washable keyboard covers?

ur bff jll @wolfwood12/28/2022, 4:21 AM

i think your instinct is correct, get an MX-compatible hot swappable board. you can also get a switch tester to try out some different options before picking. personally i love kailh's speed switches.

Diane @DianeThePunk12/28/2022, 4:42 AM

I'll see if I can't get my hands on a switch tester at micro center. Hopefully they have one with silvers, red silents, and kailhs installed.

lani @spinning-valiant12/30/2022, 3:48 AM

my partner used silvers for a while and they weren’t particularly loud IRL - the sound is also going to be strongly dependent on the build itself, beyond the switches themselves, so even if they’re louder individually, if you put them in a quieter board overall you might still be happier. personally, if you have switches you already know you like and a budget, I’d actually recommend going with a board with those even if it means a non-swap board (if you’re not confident, experimenting means the risk of potentially even more cost) however, if you’re interested in experimenting for experimenting’s sake, which plenty of people are, then it can be worth getting the hot swap so then at least the cost is only the switches. I don’t know much about razer build quality, so you may be right about being concerned about repairs though! my understanding is that all things being equal, soldered switches are slightly more sturdy than hotswap, but I don’t know enough about razer boards to say if that’s true. if you want to look outside of razer, my personal favorite pre-built brand is Leopold, their boards are nice and solid which means there’s no echo or hollow sound from the switches echoing off the inside of the case, and you can get them with silvers or silent reds (I can vouch from personal experience that their boards with silent reds are very quiet). the biggest drawback would be the lack of rgb or backlight, and not being hotswap.

Diane @DianeThePunk12/30/2022, 4:52 AM

Thanks for the info! Razer build quality is usually pretty darn good, if a little bit expensive for what you get. I've been using the same membrane Razer keyboard since 2013 or so and it's still going strong.

I'm also leaning towards a hot-swap board because if something goes wrong with it, I want to be able to repair it myself and repair it easily. I don't want to have to desolder a switch if it breaks or something. I don't really care about RGB, since I never really look at my keyboard anyway.