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Cherry Mx Browns vs Blues

post #1 of 12
11/11/12 at 12:18pm
Thread Starter 
Hello!

I am wondering if there is anyone who has tried both the brown and the blues switches can tell me if there is a difference between brown switches and blues apart from the clicky sound? Do they feel roughly the same to type on?

I know the blues have a slightly higher actuation force than the browns, but they are supposed to have the same tactile feedback. Is there a difference? I read somewhere that one person described the browns as more "squishy". Is there any truth to this?

I appreciate any answers. Thank you!
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post #2 of 12
11/11/12 at 1:05pm
Blues are LOUD - they have the a tactile bump AND click when you press them. They feel awesome for things like typing.

But harder to "double tap" or wahtever since the release point is actually higher than the actuation point - but its really not an issue in the games i play

I own a Razer BW with Blues and they feel great but annoying whenever i have friends over lol

I was recently at my local computer shop and i got the chance to try out the CM QuickFire w/ Browns and they felt pretty good - there is a tacticle bump but no click, i then tried another w/ Reds and they felt weirdest of all - no bump or click..just went up and down...they were both super quiet compared to the Blues...i think come Black Friday/Cyber Money/Boxing day - if theres a good deal ill try and pick up whatever best deal is for Brown/Red

I even bought 40A-L O-Rings for this blue and while it does dampen the sound, its really not that noticable - maybe i just type heavy.
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post #3 of 12
11/11/12 at 1:11pm

Personally, i'd describe pressing on Blues feels smooth, whereas Browns have a slightly more rough feel with their feedback (as in Blues are like a speed bump, Browns more like a road with rough areas).


Edited by Sainesk - 11/11/12 at 1:23pm
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post #4 of 12
11/11/12 at 1:13pm
The browns are easier to press and have less of a bump then the blues.
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post #5 of 12
11/11/12 at 1:18pm
Blues aren't very good typing keys like for typing documents and get annoyingly loud after awhile. I have been using browns for about a year now and blues for about 3 months and I love my browns keyboard better.
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post #6 of 12
11/11/12 at 1:21pm
Browns are supposed to be harder to press down than blues, and make less noise because there is no click with the tactile feedback.

For some reason, Cooler Master's mechanical keyboards have the resistances reversed - my MX Brown QuickFire Pro had more resistance than my MX Quickfire Rapid, and the boxes even label MX Blues as "Low Resistance" and MX Browns as "Medium Resistance."

They're almost the same to type on if you ignore the difference in resistance, but without the click, the Browns (to me) felt almost like a rubber dome keyboard.
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post #7 of 12
11/11/12 at 3:38pm
Thread Starter 
Thank you all for your replies! I feel much wiser on the subject now smile.gif
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post #8 of 12
11/12/12 at 11:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by GuardianDuo View Post

Browns are supposed to be harder to press down than blues, and make less noise because there is no click with the tactile feedback.
For some reason, Cooler Master's mechanical keyboards have the resistances reversed - my MX Brown QuickFire Pro had more resistance than my MX Quickfire Rapid, and the boxes even label MX Blues as "Low Resistance" and MX Browns as "Medium Resistance."
They're almost the same to type on if you ignore the difference in resistance, but without the click, the Browns (to me) felt almost like a rubber dome keyboard.

What? Cherry MX Browns have an actuation force of 45g (peak force is 55g) while Cherry MX Blues have an actuation force of 50g (peak force 60g). Just remember it's actually supposed to be cN's (CentiNewtons) but one gram and a cN is close to one gram. It just makes it easier to understand too.
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post #9 of 12
11/12/12 at 11:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by txtrkandy View Post

Blues aren't very good typing keys like for typing documents and get annoyingly loud after awhile. I have been using browns for about a year now and blues for about 3 months and I love my browns keyboard better.

Couldn't disagree more with you. Blues are fantastic typing keys if not the best (a lot of personal preference is know).

I haven't used the browns but I have heard much the same, not quite the same feedback but feel good. If you don't mind the sound of the blues (I think it's a great sound) I couldn't recommend them more. Both for gaming and typing they are a great choice.

I have blues in my Filco Majestouch 2. Highly recommended.

Crooks from my GS3
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post #10 of 12
11/12/12 at 8:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by HybridCore View Post

What? Cherry MX Browns have an actuation force of 45g (peak force is 55g) while Cherry MX Blues have an actuation force of 50g (peak force 60g).

Cooler Master labels their MX Blue keyboards as "Low Resistance" and MX Browns with "Medium Resistance". That's why I said it's backwards.
I ordered an MX Brown CM QF Pro expecting a lighter switch than the MX Blues in a CM QF Rapid. I was surprised and disappointed when the opposite happened. Pics from Boxes (Click to show)
cm-storm-quickfire-rapid-1-588x389.jpg
IMG_3735.jpg

And yeah, as Crooksy said, MX Blues tend to be the go-to switch for typing. I, too, enjoy their click-ity sound. MX Browns are middle-of-the-road, and MX Blacks/Reds are usually for gaming.
Edited by GuardianDuo - 11/12/12 at 8:36pm
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