CM Mechanical Keyboard and Cherry BROWN Switch

[Pete.B.]

maybe people are put of by the sound of the colour lol

[kalniel]

Heh. Forgot to say that while I'm not in the market for a new keyboard at the moment as my cheaper one is good enough, I'm more than happy to evaluate a CM with MX Brown switches and write a Hexus review

[Pete.B.]

show me a review you have written before

[Rookie1986]

Why are brown switches so rare if they offer a good compromise?

I think it's because due to their high price tag people who are buying these keyboards are buying them for a set purpose and not just as a general "all round" keyboard, until I bought my mechanical keyboard last month the only people I knew that used then were the secretary's at work for the enhanced typing experience they offer (they use blues). I think as more and more people buy them or show interest in them then we will see a lot more offerings with brown switches.

Rookie

[Singh400]

Why are brown switches so rare if they offer a good compromise?

Something to do with cost maybe? I see a lot of mech k/boards with Cherry MX Red. Hardly ever seen any with Brown.

[kelvincool]

I've read the opposite, Reds are considered the rare ones. Supposedly due to the higher production costs.

[kalniel]

show me a review you have written before

Xonar Xense: http://hexus.net/ce/reviews/audio-vi...ing-audio-set/

The Witcher 2: http://hexus.net/gaming/reviews/pc/3...sins-kings-pc/

Oblivion (forum review): Kalniel's Oblivion Review (no spoilers, but long!)

[Pete.B.]

very nice - ok i will check with Mr Ross if its ok and then i will ask coolermaster about sending out a review sample - bearing in mind they are still will be a couple of months away.

[kalniel]

very nice - ok i will check with Mr Ross if its ok and then i will ask coolermaster about sending out a review sample - bearing in mind they are still will be a couple of months away.

Thanks. Yeah of course check with DR, they might already have had plans for a review, but if they didn't I'm very happy to do one in a few months if they'd like me to.

[GeorgeStorm]

I'm not sure why reds are the most expensive (as a general rule) and the most rare, since they used the same stems as blacks (just a different colour) and the same springs as blues and browns, so in theory they should be the cheapest.

[Pete.B.]

I've read the opposite, Reds are considered the rare ones. Supposedly due to the higher production costs.

im sure there is no cost difference with the keys

its just purely down to what they think will sell better in the market

so for me it started with Razer and the blue key and another brand with black keys, but then most people dont like the noise and some people didnt like the harder key press, so people started using the RED so it was interesting to hear that a lot of you guys preferred the red keys (i have the MK-85) which i find a little bit too light as i type a lot with my keyboard. so it will seems like brown could be a good in between so i think in the next few months you will see a lot more starting to move to Brown keys maybe from the likes of thermaltake and RAZER becuase as i did hear that the online only steath widow is going to be released to e-tail/retail - which i heard uses BROWN keys ?

so this will be my first try with brown keys so im looking forward to giving it a good play testing

[RRC]

Like Hicks12 I am also trying to buy a CM Storm Quick Fire Rapid with Red switches in UK layout, but I can't find stock anywhere.

[Hicks12]

If i remember correctly Pete the reds and browns have the same activation force so will feel too light for you also, however you do get the nice activation bump feedback so it may make up for it in your preference. Keycaps can also make a difference aswell as the actual board you use, higher quality boards will feel better to use .

[GeorgeStorm]

Hicks is right, both the reds and browns use the same force spring, the bump on the browns means they feel slightly heavier in general.

[RRC]

How do the blues feel compared to the reds? I've only tried blue before.

[GeorgeStorm]

Well, the blues are both tactile and clicky, whereas the reds are linear.
So, the only sound of the reds is the bottoming out sound, and their range of movement is smooth, with no bump.
The best thing to do is to find somewhere local where you can try them out, PCWorld may have a Corsair board out on display you could try and see how you like them.
The reds feel very light, and took me a while to get used to coming from blues, but once I did I loved them. (I've since gone back to blues, and now am using blacks )