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Noise aside, why are browns consider better for gaming than blues?

post #1 of 7
8/11/12 at 2:13am
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I've read the guide and a few other threads, but it's not quite clear to me why one is better than the other. Is it because the browns take less force to push down?
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post #2 of 7
8/11/12 at 2:20am
Its all preference.
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post #3 of 7
8/11/12 at 2:23am
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AFAIK, browns and blues are exactly the same aside from the click the blues have. So gaming-wise they should perform the same.
For gaming (depending on the genre) lineair switches may be better like the blacks and reds. IIRC the reds are just lighter versions of the blacks.

Personally I think it's all personal preference. I have the browns and they are great to type on without annoying the people around you too much with the clicks the blues have. And I game with them as well and they're miles above any rubber dome. I might prefer reds for pure FPS gaming but for anything else I'm very satisfied with my browns.

I suggest you look for some place where you can try them out. Quite a few shops might have a Razer Blackwidow (MX bleu) or Steelseries 6/7g (MX black) on display since they are common brands. Switches are all the same, the difference is in the features and the build quality.
Edited by Bloitz - 8/11/12 at 2:28am
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post #4 of 7
8/11/12 at 3:29am
browns and blues are completely different and feel nothing alike. Brown's tactile bump is far less pronounced than blue's.
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post #5 of 7
8/11/12 at 5:32am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wompwomp View Post

browns and blues are completely different and feel nothing alike. Brown's tactile bump is far less pronounced than blue's.

Oh yes, you're completely right. Been too long since I bought my mechie.

http://elitekeyboards.com/support.php?lang=en#1a

I should've checked before replying.

EDIT: Edit to not cause a misunderstanding. Post looked kind of sarcastic when I reread it ^^
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post #6 of 7
8/11/12 at 5:38am
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Blues require slighty more force to apply, and their click seems to have more of a stick to it due to its design, resulting in increased difficulty in double taps which are commonly used in FPS games in particular. Browns have the tactile bump, but its not quite as pronounced, allowing you to double tap your key without fully releasing the key.

Blacks and reds are even better for this due to the lack of tactile bump. Blacks are regarded as the "gamer" key because they require the most force to depress, reducing chances of accidental key presses. They're rather mushy to type on though (once again, preference).

My favorite all around at the moment are the browns. I find them better as a pure typist switch even than the blues, but then again it could have been something to do with the shape or height of the keys on the Blackwidow with blues... something... just didn't feel right when I typed on that. I'll be able to make a better judgement on typist switch after I get replacement key caps for that keyboard and start bringing it to work to type on.
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post #7 of 7
8/14/12 at 1:24am
What sets the Blacks and Blues apart when it comes to gaming is the linearity of the keypress. With the Blacks/Reds, there is a specific point at which the key goes from "not pressed" to "pressed", and when the key comes back up, the key transitions from "pressed" to "not pressed" in the exact same spot. With the Blues, the point at which the key goes from "not pressed" to "pressed" is deeper than the point at which the key switches back to "not pressed". That means that for a double-tap of a key to work, the key has to go much further with the Blue switches than it does with the Blacks/Reds.

The Brown switches are much closer to linear than the Blue switches are. They have a very small gap between "pressed" and "not pressed" while maintaining the advantage of knowing exactly where the key transitions to "pressed". This way you don't have as much of a double-tap handicap when gaming, and you can learn to avoid pressing the keys all the way to the bottom, which gives you a huge speed advantage as a typist.
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