First time here. Looking for silent mechanical keyboards.

[ipwn3r456]

Hello community,

First time using AnandTech here, I am new. As far as I know, the Cherry MX Brown switches are the quiet ones for mechanical keyboards. What other switches are slient as well? I am looking for mechanical keyboards that is slient, I tried the Razer Blackwidow at Best Buy, but I just can't stand its loud sound overtime of it's blue switches. Anyone recommends a good mechanical keyboard (better if illuminated), that is not that too expensive? Thanks. I also did some research on keyboards, and found this quite good: http://www.amazon.com/CM-Storm-Trigg...ref=pd_cp_pc_2

it's the cherry red switch, are they quiet or not? Does anyone recommend that keyboard also?

 

[Ben90]

Most MX switches are pretty loud if you bottom out, which most people do. Browns, Reds, and Blacks can be almost as silent as a rubber dome if you learn to avoid bottoming out. This is going to be easiest on the Brown switch since the consistent tactile feedback helps build muscle memory. Reds arn't too hard to learn; and Blacks are just best left slamming the ever living shit out of the keys.

If you want illumination to help you find keys you may find it rather difficult to avoid bottoming out since good touch typing is almost a mandatory prerequisite. I find it much easier to avoid bottoming when I type in Dvorak instead of QWERTY because staying on the home row is actually useful instead of a hindrance. The popularity of QWERTY is unfortunate. No matter the MX switch you get, a cheap and easy o-ring mod will dampen the sound unless you are a god at not bottoming out.

 

[smackababy]

I was under the impression you had to bottom out in Blacks, which is why they are the 'best' for gaming. The actuation and the release are at the bottom IIRC. I might be thinking of clears though.

My current keyboard is uses MX Browns with rubberized 'padding'. I think Blues are probably the quietest if you are a wonderful typer because the actuation and release make bottoming out unneeded.

 

[ipwn3r456]

I will be using the keyboard for gaming and typing as well, so how will the keyboard that I listed will work on my purposes? And also, smackababy, I thought the cherry MX blue switches are the loudest... and the browns are the most quiet ones? :\

 

[bononos]

I was under the impression you had to bottom out in Blacks, which is why they are the 'best' for gaming. The actuation and the release are at the bottom IIRC. I might be thinking of clears though.

My current keyboard is uses MX Browns with rubberized 'padding'. I think Blues are probably the quietest if you are a wonderful typer because the actuation and release make bottoming out unneeded.

MX black is harder to bottom out (bottoming out is generally felt to be not a good thing) because it is stiffer. Bottoming out puts more stress on the finger joints which is why mechanical keyboards are supposed to be better- the various switches have even pressure (and various feels to suit the user) compared to rubber dome which aids the typist to avoid bottoming out.

The small round rubber pads are available for all mx switches, they just need to be installed for each key.

Mx blues are not the quietest because they are clicky. The quietest would be the non-clicky keys if the user doesn't bottom out.

 

[Ben90]

I was under the impression you had to bottom out in Blacks, which is why they are the 'best' for gaming. The actuation and the release are at the bottom IIRC. I might be thinking of clears though.

My current keyboard is uses MX Browns with rubberized 'padding'. I think Blues are probably the quietest if you are a wonderful typer because the actuation and release make bottoming out unneeded.

You don't have to bottom out in Blacks, but it is very difficult to type consistently that way. The reason they get recommended for gaming is because they don't suffer from the weird activation/reset issues that only the Blues have. Note how far away the reset is away from the activation vs the other key types. The issue this creates is when you hold down a key and attempt to reactivate it without lifting off completely, the key can stay depressed the whole time. After about two days of getting used to it, it becomes a non-issue.

To be honest it depends a lot on the context of the game as well. Games where you hit they key once and then release such as an RTS, Blues/Browns are better than their linear brothers. The Blues activation/reset problem doesn't matter here, and I would argue the tactile feel is a definite positive since it more closely resembles regular typing.

On the other hand there are games where you hold keys down such as FPS's and racing games. This is where the above problems can happen until you get used to the Blues characteristics. Even though Browns don't really suffer from the problem, misinformation spreads fast on the internet, and linear switches are recommended here.

The advice I give to those in need is to buy a switch based on how it feels to type on. When you game the switch really doesn't matter that much. When you need to nef on Anandtech in comfort or type a 100 page document, you will be kicking yourself for buying those l33t g@m1ng B1ack switches.

I will be using the keyboard for gaming and typing as well, so how will the keyboard that I listed will work on my purposes? And also, smackababy, I thought the cherry MX blue switches are the loudest... and the browns are the most quiet ones?

The Blues are definitely the loudest although a surprising amount of noise can be eliminated by not bottoming out. Therein lies the problem. All the MX switches are decently loud when bottoming out and honestly; I don't find not-bottoming-out to be a solution to the problem. I recommend an o-ring mod for anybody concerned about sound on MX switches. Take a look at this video as it might answer some of your questions. Reds will be a slightly higher pitched Black.

On a side note, this is why I use a Topre for daily driving. It might not be as fun and exciting as a buckling spring, but it is a jacks-of-all-trades master-of-none type of thing with very few downsides. I honestly can't believe Unicomp hasn't released a NKRO board yet. They missed a huge huge market.

 

[birthdaymonkey]

I also use Topre. I tried the o-ring and pad mods to make MX switches quieter, but I felt that these made the keys less fun to type on. All Cherry switches are loud if you bottom out, and I can't avoid bottoming out with my current typing skills. I was in the position of a) making wife mad because my keyboarding is so noisy b) investing time in learning how to touch type without bottoming out c) investing $250 in a Realforce 87u 55g.

I went with option (c) and am very happy with my choice.

 

[ipwn3r456]

As I kept doing more deep research and watching videos of mechanical keyboards, also learned what "bottom-out" means, and I can't really avoid it either. Not really sure if I should really invest of cherry MX black switch keyboards, since they need quite some force to push the button. But either way most of the time I will bottom-out while typing, so it doesn't really matter. I am eliminating the blue switches, with brown, black, and red switches. What is the difference between linear and tactile bump?

 

[vbuggy]

While bottom out is a noise factor you can train yourself to avoid it - but the other major noise factor is also in the return stroke and the key movement clatter. You'll get this with Browns or Blacks.

Technically Reds are the most silent but again, still a lot of clatter all round.

O-ring mods are a laughable waste of time IMO - you spend literally hours slipping these things on to make it feel like a really crappy dome.

I really think many people just get too involved in the fact that they've just dropped what for them must be a large amount on a keyboard and in their attempt to justify it, ram it down people's throats. No Cherry mech could be said to be even 'not that loud' with a straight face.

And also, on the matter of Realforces I'm typing this on a Topre as it happens and it's again not silent, though considerably better than any Cherry-based setup - but most Dell pack-ins (especially the current, pretty nice, short-travel dome) are quieter at full typing pelt. And unless you're professional typist I really, really, would hesitate to say that the Realforces are a game-changing experience.

If you actually want silent, get a scissor-action.

 

[birthdaymonkey]

While bottom out is a noise factor you can train yourself to avoid it - but the other major noise factor is also in the return stroke and the key movement clatter. You'll get this with Browns or Blacks.

Technically Reds are the most silent but again, still a lot of clatter all round.

O-ring mods are a laughable waste of time IMO - you spend literally hours slipping these things on to make it feel like a really crappy dome.

I really think many people just get too involved in the fact that they've just dropped what for them must be a large amount on a keyboard and in their attempt to justify it, ram it down people's throats. No Cherry mech could be said to be even 'not that loud' with a straight face.

And also, on the matter of Realforces I'm typing this on a Topre as it happens and it's again not silent, though considerably better than any Cherry-based setup - but most Dell pack-ins (especially the current, pretty nice, short-travel dome) are quieter at full typing pelt. And unless you're professional typist I really, really, would hesitate to say that the Realforces are a game-changing experience.

If you actually want silent, get a scissor-action.

I would agree with most of this. I definitely didn't care for O-rings, although some people seem to like them. A very skilled typist on a Cherry red board could be nearly silent, but even then a good scissor switch keyboard would be almost as quiet. Generally if you're going for mechanical, you're willing to accept that a bit of noise is part of the bargain.

A Realforce silent is probably the best OP would be able to get, but it'll set you back even more than a normal Realforce ($265 +shipping right now at EK to be exact).

Personally, I get a lot of enjoyment out of my keyboards. I've never felt that I'm justifying the cost irrationally. It's like any aspect of the computer hobby. I don't feel the need to justify spending $600 on displays or $300 on a GPU, etc. etc. even though much cheaper options would have got the job done.

In fact, it seems most silly to me to spend $2000 on a nice system and then $20 on a cheap keyboard and mouse combo that constitutes my primary means of interfacing with that system.

 

[vbuggy]

i would agree with most of this. I definitely didn't care for o-rings, although some people seem to like them. A very skilled typist on a cherry red board would still be pretty damned noisy.

ftfy

As I said, the return noise is a huge part of the overall noise pollution of any mech. And don't get me started on ALPS, especially crappily built ones like the Matias.

I generally use what works well for me regardless of cost - which means short-travel domes, as most scissors don't do more than 2-3KRO. Topres are the only so-called premium keyboards I can stand using for any extended period of time. So I have a *lot* of e.g. Filco's on my least-used machines. Part of me rues the money wasted on the sheer number of mechs I've bought, another part as usual also is OK with the fact that it let me know what was BS and what wasn't.