Hello I’m super new to the hobby and have been using cherry mx brown for 6-7 months and it’s just not really what I thought mechanical keyboards were. It felt and sounded very normal. So I figured I know nothing about switches and saw the NK mystery box and I got Gateron black from the box and I like them, seems closer to the mechanical keyboards that I see videos of. My question is what does the sub think of them? Are they good? Not good? I see so many opinions so I’m just curious

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bngry t1_jaazdu1 wrote on February 28, 2023 at 3:05 AM

If you like them and you're happy with them, they're good. Gateron linear switches tend to be very well liked. Are they Gateron ink blacks or oil kings by any chance?

trulydandy OP t1_jab51ia wrote on February 28, 2023 at 3:50 AM

Definitely not oil kings, they’re translucent plastic with a black switch. I saw some folks raving about the gateron oil kings so looked it up and that is not what I have. Thanks for the info btw!

DeadliestArmadillo t1_jacwpxm wrote on February 28, 2023 at 3:15 PM

Just to reiterate the point made by others, the best switch is the one you enjoy using.

wokija t1_jab9pqp wrote on February 28, 2023 at 4:31 AM

Milky black switch. That's pretty lucky considering what people are getting from NK Mystery boxes. I've been using vintage MX black on an old Wyse keyboard and I really enjoy them, although they can get a little heavy with prolonged typing

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samvvell t1_jabajms wrote on February 28, 2023 at 4:39 AM

Do they have clear or milky tops?

I have some of the clear top blacks, and they're pretty decent.

NoOne-NBA- t1_jacxxk3 wrote on February 28, 2023 at 3:23 PM

Switches are the single most preference-dependent item in a keyboard.
A great keyboard, with crappy switches, is a crappy keyboard.

Keycaps are a close second, but I'd still rather have good switches, with bad keycaps, than the other way around.
That being said, you need to find out what your own preferences are.

My first suggestion is always to see if there are any meetups in your area.
Those will let you try out a lot of different things, side-by-side, to determine what you actually like.
More importantly, you will get to do so at somebody else's expense, which is really nice for keeping your personal costs down.

If there are no meetups in your area, I would recommend determining which type of switch you like, then getting several different sampler kits of that style, so you can get a better idea of what's actually available.
This is even more important if you like tactile switches.
The amount of difference between different tactile switches is night and day, compared to the differences between linears.
There are a lot of really nice switches out off the beaten path, especially in tactiles, so I'd highly recommend putting some time in exploring and experimenting.

Remember though, if you find a switch you really like, and they feel too heavy or light, you can always do a simple spring swap to them.
That can create an entirely different feel to the switch, and is what I do personally, with all my switches because I like lighter springs than most people.

trulydandy OP t1_jad95zy wrote on February 28, 2023 at 4:36 PM

Thanks for this!!

NoOne-NBA- t1_jadie5k wrote on February 28, 2023 at 5:35 PM

No problem.

I try to save everybody as much as I can in this hobby.
The more you save, and the more research you do, the more likely you are to end up with a couple really nice boards, rather than a whole pile of mediocre boards.