You already know you’re going to go for a mechanical gaming keyboard, but are you lost in this jungle of contactors, each one more colorful than the last? Let’s take stock.
First of all, it is impossible to choose a mechanical keyboard without encountering the famous Cherry MX switches. This manufacturer has really established itself to a large extent in recent years and although many contenders – Kailhua, Gateron, Outemu, etc. – try to imitate his switches, cherry switches remain REFERENCE.
Regardless of the manufacturer, there are two types of switches: linear switches and tactile switches. The difference is simple and while the tactile ones have a slight relief indicating activation, the linear ones do not. Within touch screens, we also find the so-called click models that make a clicking sound when activated.
We also classify different contactors according to the pressure required to activate them. The lower this number, the more sensitive and responsive the writing will be. The lowest force is generally 45g, especially on Cherry MX Red, Brown, Silent and Speed. Conversely, Cherry MX Green are the ones that require the most pressure with 80g.
We also find “internal” switches from several peripheral manufacturers, such as Logitech and its Romer-G, Steelseries QS1 or Razer Orange and Green. Finally, although they are not very widespread at the moment, we also find hybrid mecha-membrane switches such as Topre or “mech-brane” from Asus.