How silent are the red switches? The bigest reason i stay on membrane keyboards is the soun mechanical switches do , if the red switches are quiet enough i might start looking for one!

Venix:

How silent are the red switches? The bigest reason i stay on membrane keyboards is the soun mechanical switches do , if the red switches are quiet enough i might start looking for one!

Any mechanical keyboard can be silenced with some modding. If you want a decent out of the box experience, search for cherry mx Silent switches.

Venix:

How silent are the red switches?

Not silent at all, the one downside to mechy keys and switches are the clickety-clackety noises. The MX silent switches do really help with this, and MX Silent red does have the same actuation force as MX red. So I would recommend that very much if you are looking for a mechy and like low acoustics. https://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/corsair-strafe-rgb-mk-2-(w-silent-switches)-review,1.html

thanks a lot for the info HH and Cryo i will certainly give a look to the MX silents as soon as i am able to i will have a trip to test em from up close and finally leave the membrane keyboards behind me ...i find the "classic" mechanical keyboard sounds ok for few mins but after a while it starts to irritate me like fast ... :P thanks again !

Venix:

thanks a lot for the info HH and Cryo i will certainly give a look to the MX silents as soon as i am able to i will have a trip to test em from up close and finally leave the membrane keyboards behind me ...i find the "classic" mechanical keyboard sounds ok for few mins but after a while it starts to irritate me like fast ... 😛 thanks again !

Well, not all membrane keyboards are bad, there are plenty of examples of high-quality membranes - Topre is an extra. While it's a hybrid, it still is a great switch which uses both mechanical parts and membrane parts. In reality, do some research, any keyboard can be modified to your liking. Don't go for fancy junk. Aim for something with PS2 - Example - Leopold keyboards. Can't go wrong with that. Mod it and you have a solid product that will last for years.

Venix:

How silent are the red switches? The bigest reason i stay on membrane keyboards is the soun mechanical switches do , if the red switches are quiet enough i might start looking for one!

Black is for purist: all the good and the bad in the same package (but we all have started there isn't it) Red are not silent at all: they are linear and so if you don't know were is your activation point the keycap hit the switch but the activation is silent as linear. Blue are the same but with the noisy activation. Brown are very soft but with the silenced (but not totaly) activation so after adaptation your fingers push the key until activation and you never have the tok tok tok noise like with the Red or Blue (i own Brown since years, it's a real easy switch, as good for gaming than for coding a whole night without pain). Clear are like Brown but more firm. Pink (or MX silent Red) are silenced Red. Silver (or MX Speed) are for gamer or people understanding Typonese... 😀 lot lot lot of special switch too, and some copy QX2, Razer etc etc. there is also the Natural White that i love, it's quiet switch with really nice feeling. You can add also some bumper under each key (very easy to do) but the feeling will not be the same at all, better choise a more silent switch than mod.

rl66:

Black is for purist: all the good and the bad in the same package (but we all have started there isn't it)

My first mechanical was black and I'm still using it to this day. It's loud as hell and has a bit too much resistance for long gaming hours imo. The membrane keyboard I used to have many years ago was a dream to type on in comparison. I've seen people rag on Steelseries but my 7g was built to last. And the wristrest is really nice despite it's simple looks. I wonder if I could swap switches on it? I would like to try browns to avoid bottoming out as that's where a lot of the noise comes from. Is there anything negative about button bashing tactiles? I would probably have to de-solder them which I'm not really interested in doing.

try some rubber/silicon rings. a 110 pack is usually around 5 to 10$, and prevents the keycap to hit the frame, which is usually louder than the switch..

fry178:

try some rubber/silicon rings. a 110 pack is usually around 5 to 10$, and prevents the keycap to hit the frame, which is usually louder than the switch..

That's a bare minimum mod, it slightly reduces the key travel time and bottom out sound, while does absolutely nothing on the upstroke. Ideally lube the switch, add sound dampening material to the bottom of the case, add sound dampening clips, and lastly o-rings. That will significantly reduce the noise.

thanks a lot for the info everyone ! i never go for fancy on my hardware hell rgb i can avoid it when ever i can ...although white backlit on the keys is nice !