Types of mechanical switches
Before you invest your hard-earned money in a switch, it is important to know what options are available to you in terms of types. Switches are very important devices for any gamer because there are certain characteristics that they introduce in a keyboard that are worth having. Among the most important characteristics of switches is that they change the feel of your keystroke whenever you strike a key. You need a switch for your small mechanical gaming keyboard to improve your gaming experience and in this article, I will illustrate the various types of switches that you can choose from.
The kind of switch you choose will depend on many factors including your typing style. Basically, we have three main types of mechanical switches, namely, linear, tactile, and clicky. These three categories are arrived at based on the keystroke behavior they produce
Linear switches
Linear switches are the simplest in terms of how they operate. They do not produce any kind of tactile feedback of clicking noise. The fact that they do not produce noise makes them much quieter. Thus, you can game without producing a sound. This causes minimum disturbance to those around you. You could be gaming in your dining room while your toddler sleeps right next to you and you won’t make enough noise to disturb or wake them up.
Actuation happens much faster when you use linear switches because of smooth keystroke. These characteristic makes linear switches the best choice for most gamers. Just ask around and you will notice that most people you know actually use linear switches.
Tactile switches
Like the name suggests, tactile switches produce tactile feedback whenever you strike a key on your keyboard. The tactile feedback they produce is meant to let you know that your keystroke has been registered on the keyboard. You will notice a bump in the idle of the travel whenever you hit a key. Tactile switches are not ideal for gamers like they are for typists. When you are typing on a keyboard you get a slight indication when your keypress has been registered. As such, there is no need to press the key all the way to the bottom. A slight touch on the key is enough and you can stop when you get tactile feedback.
Clicky switches
Clicky switches are the same as tactile switches because they also produce some feedback when you click them. However, instead of tactile feedback, they produce a distinct clicking sound. The clicking sound usually indicates that the key you pressed has been activated. You can choose this kind of switch if the sound keys make when they are pressed makes you happy. Alternatively, you can opt for this kind of switch if you prefer to get a distinct indication that the key you pressed has been activated. For instance, when you are playing a game and you activate a certain function, being sure that the function has in fact been activated is very important for some people. You want to be sure that you don’t make a mistake that can cost you and/or your teammates the game.
