Milktooth (https://milktooth.nu) will let you try 10 different switches for $15. Worth it to save you the trouble of buying multiple sets of switches before finding ones you like.
this post was submitted on 19 Dec 2023
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Mechanical Keyboards
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Wouldn't that be too expensive for a full size keyboard? They sell 10 switches for $4+. Don't I like need over 100 of them for my keyboard?
Think of it as a sampler. You get a sample of 10 different switches, 5 of each kind of your choosing, and then return the sampler after 5 days. When you find the switch you like, you can buy a whole set for your keyboard.
Right, but I was talking about the switches purchase, not the sampler. It could get very expensive.
My wallet agrees with that description of this hobby.
I’ve paid between $0.25/Switch and $1.50/Switch…
Luckily I tend toward small splits with 42-54 switches.
As some other commenters said, find a tester and see what you like when it comes to switches.
I'm personally a big fan of linears but I've been warming up to tactiles though I'm a big cherry brown hater.
Atm my main keeb has SP-star tactiles and they feel pretty good compared to other tacts I've tried. (though i haven't tried some all stars like the bobas or holy pandas)
My favorite linears (that aren't in the zealios family) are probably Durock L2s though I'm very partial to Tangerines. Good starter switches are milky yellows and inky blacks as well. You can't really go wrong with cherry reds though.
As to keycaps, You can't really go wrong as long as you find something that'll fit your keeb size. The keychron V6 is a full size board so look for anything that has enough caps for full size boards.
Double shot PBT is pretty sought after for caps because the legends on each key are their own layer of plastic rather than just being painted on like some OEM keycaps. Pudding caps are very nice if you're not looking for anything too expensive or fancy. There's a world of keycap profiles as well, you can take a look here: https://www.keycaps.info/
OEM and cherry profile are what most people are probably familiar with. I heavily prefer SA profile as it's a sculpted profile (meaning it has a nice dip on each key for your fingers.) Though I do enjoy DSA as well. (on DSA profile every key cap has the same shape and height)
I'd recommend you get a nice OEM profile set first though before splurging later on a different profile.
Wow, great info. Thank you so much. You made me save my post. lol
No problem! I'm just happy to help 😊
By the way, don't shy away from aliexpress in this hobby. You can find some very good deals if you're willing to wait for shipping.
Much appreciated. I hear a lot of horror stories about AliExpress. Never tried it myself, but might stop by there and see.
Their website mentions that “both 3-pin and 5-pin MX mechanical switches” are supported. 3-pin switches are also known as “plate mount” switches and 5-pin are also known as “PCB mount”. I’d recommend getting a switch tester / sampler off Amazon to get an idea for what switches you want (linear vs tactile vs clicky). There’s a lot of switches out there and most of them will fit the keyboard because it supports 3 and 5-pin. I personally like Boba U4 silent tactile switches.
I’m not sure about the keycaps. Keychron’s website also mentioned that their RGB works with OEM or Cherry profile keycaps, but I’m not sure if they have a specific layout on the bottom row that you need to take into consideration.
Oh thank you so much. This is very helpful. I want to try all 3 types of switches. I think the red ones I have are linear, browns are tactile? Blues are clicky? Is there really a major difference between 3 and 5 pins? Does it matter which ones I get?
That’s correct about the red / brown / blue.
For your keyboard there’s no major difference between 3-pin and 5-pin switches, but for other keyboards (or rather the PCBs within other keyboards) it does matter. You can use a 3-pin switch on a 5-pin PCB, but you can’t use a 5-pin switch on a 3-pin PCB (technically you can clip off 2 plastic pins on a 5-pin switch and it would work with a 3-pin PCB).
The 5-pin switches do offer extra stability versus 3-pin switches, but it’s not a big difference.
The most important part of picking a switch is deciding your favorite between linear vs tactile vs clicky, then narrowing down based on other factors like spring weight and mushiness. You can do that through trial and error or by looking up reviews / information about switches. I still recommend getting a switch tester / sampler, but you can also check out ThereminGoat’s reviews at: https://github.com/ThereminGoat/switch-scores.
Awesome. Thank you so much for the details. I have tried the red linear switches at microcenter and I think they're too mushy for me. Then I tried the brown ones and I really liked them. I just couldn't find blue ones.
As the others have said, a tester can be really helpful, especially when trying to figure out what all the different terms mean that people throw around online.
I currently have Novel Keys Cream (linear/smooth) switches on my main keyboard, cherry browns (tactile) on another for work, and jade box switches (clicky) on a little project board I made for when I want to feel the click in my bones.
I'd recommend trying any of them, though personally I find the most variation in linear and clicky switches and I never found a tactile switch that felt different enough to me to justify the price.
Enjoy the new keyboard!
Thank you so much. I'm very excited for the keyboard. I've already watched a ton of videos on modding and changing switches etc. I'll definitely be modding it to make it sound the best it can. As for switches, I've already tried the red ones (linear) and they felt too mushy for me. Also tried brown and I liked them more. Couldn't find blue ones, but I'm honestly thinking of just buying a set of tactile and another of clicky and use the one I like and keep the other one for another keyboard (I'll be getting another keyboard in the near future when I build a PC for me son). Also, I'll be purchasing a tester soon. :)
Keycaps are easy, anything MX compatible (which is like most of them) will work. Since the V6 is a 100% it's even easier, since it's a standard layout and you don't need to look for extended keycap sets that have keys to correspond to certain layout types.
Switches you need to just bite the bullet every now and then. A tester only will get you so far. Expect to make a few regretful purchases from time to time.
Thank you. That's basically what I realized. Watching youtube videos and having a tester won't cut it, as switches tend to sound different on different keyboards. So, like you said I'll probably be buying a couple of sets that I won't like until I find something that works for me. As for the key caps. The only issue I'm facing at the moment is finding the actual keychron ones. The keychron ones have double legends (is that what the letters are called on caps?) Like on the F buttons, it shows the F and another icon like the sound or mute etc. I couldn't find any set that has that. Also, above the numpad there are 4 extra keys that I really like, circle, square, triangle and an X and I'm not sure what to replace those with.
The 4 icons are just for you to customise with.
Double legends are meaningless on a fully programmable keyboard. Just use VIA and take a screenshot of your layers if you're worried about forgetting.
Yeah, I actually used VIA to assign a function for each of those 4 keys. Very handy. And yeah, I agree now, those double legends aren't really that important anymore since I can customize anything. There is one thing I don't understand on VIA, layers where when you hover over a button it explains it to you. That makes no sense to me. Time to watch some YouTube I guess.
There is one thing I don’t understand on VIA, layers where when you hover over a button it explains it to you.
Eh, what do you mean? And isn't that good?
What I mean is I don't understand layers on the app. Still, the app is amazing, and I really appreciate the fact that it fully supports Linux.
Keychron right? There should be four layers. 0 and 1 are for when the keyboard is set to Mac, 2 and 3 when it is set to Windows.
Yes, keychron. I know about 0 1 2 3, but what I'm talking about is the section in the app where it says "Layers" then it has squares with F1s and F3s and so on.
Oh! They're the ways you can configure a key to interact with layers! The hover usually is quite self-explanatory. But yes, might want to do a search if some of them are not clear.
There's actually a lot you can do; If you ever feel like VIA can't let you do something, you can actually program strings directly with the "Any" key in the "Special" category. That lets you directly enter QMK keycodes, and you can set up pretty nifty functions if you want to. That's definitely a long read or video for another time though.
Once you find a style of switch that you like, I’ve gotten some from https://drop.com when they were on sale for a decent price.
I’ve also had success with switches from https://kono.store
I think usually you can find switches usually sold in groups of 10, 35, or 70 depending on where you get them, and the price per switch can vary pretty heavily, anywhere from like 50¢ per switch to a couple dollars per switch.
I would highly recommend sampling a switch style or exact switch if possible before buying, though I have bought switches without doing that (after watching YouTube videos on them) and been mostly happy.
Thank you. Do they charge for shipping? I noticed a lot of these sites charge a lot for shipping (almost the same price as the switches themselves sometimes lol). The issue with the sampling or a tester is that switches sound different on different keyboards(And I have not seen a single video about the V6), and I'm not sure if there are sites that just let you sample their stuff, are there? Oh boy, it already sounds like a long journey until I have a solid understanding of all of this. lol
You should choose some keycap from brand GMK, JTK, Keykobo, PBTfans, EPBT. For switchers, start with entry, easy to find brand like Gateron, KTT. They are good brand, also if you want to save some money, you can buy used keycaps, and switches, the quality doesn't drop.
I've already ordered gateron baby kangaroo. I've watched so many YouTube videos and they sound the best for me. And I did NOT think I could buy used key caps and switches, damn. Where do I find those. I don't really care if they're used as long as they're not badly worn out. I'll just soak them in alcohol for a while to sanitize them. Where do you get them used? Got any links? Thank you
As for switches, I bought a cheap sample kit from Amazon to test a few of them, it was incredibly helpful as someone new to mechanical keyboards.
Could please be so kind and link it?
I've been rocking the keychron k3, the low profile one. Got it with brown switches and I think they're perfect.
I'm not 100% confident around 100% keyboards, but it seems to me like a standard 100%/full-size layout. You'd want to find keycaps that say that they are for 100% or full-size layouts. It looks like their website lists those as "Full Set Keycaps". If you have any other questions, lmk! I'd be happy to answer
Thank you. I actually do have one more question that I forgot to include in the post. The keyboard I'm getting says it has "south facing" LEDs, which means(I think) the light doesn't shine through the key caps as much. Is there a way to get switches that have light that actually does shine really well through the caps? Meaning other than "south facing" LEDs?
Unfortunately i don't think there's really anything you can do to remedy that (that i'm aware of at least)