some of these tweaks are possible on other
switch designs, but it’s a lot trickier to offer the
sheer breadth of options.
Customisation
With Cherry MX having led the charge
with the recent popularity of mechanical
keyboards, we now have many compatible
components. You can buy hundreds of
different compatible keycaps, with different
profiles (shapes), types of plastic and
more. Cherry itself now offers over a dozen
different Cherry MX switch variants and
there are dozens more from other brands
(such as Gateron, Kailh and TTC), that are
compatible with both the keyboards into
which Cherry MX switches fit and the keycaps
that sit on top.
As we explored in our guide to building
your own keyboard (see Issue 203), you can
easily (though seldom cheaply) build your
own keyboard from scratch, choosing any
number of circuitboards, cases, switches and
keycaps. In fact, in the mechanical keyboard
enthusiast market, Cherry MX’s switches
aren’t necessarily considered to be the best- the clones are often preferred. You can
even get hot-swappable switches, so you
can have different switch types in the same
board – a stiffer-sprung Spacebar switch is a
classic tweak.
It’s this level of customisation that has
also led to an interesting trend in many big
keyboard manufacturing brands.
A few years ago, as the mechanical
keyboard market was hitting big, the likes of
Logitech, Razer and SteelSeries embarked on
creating their own switches, in order to save
money, improve performance and control
their supply chain. However, not all these
switches were compatible with Cherry MX
keycaps, and to a lesser extent, they weren’t
always compatible with Cherry MX switches
as a whole.
Now, realistically, many of us will go
the entire life of a keyboard without ever
upgrading the keycaps, and we’re even less
likely to unsolder a duff key switch and solder
in a new one. However, it’s reassuring to have
the option. By travelling the proprietary route,
all these manufacturers put a major black
mark on their products.
A few years later, nearly all the major
keyboard brands have changed tack, and
although they’re still producing their own
switches (or at the very least buying from
third-parties other than Cherry), the switches
are generally at least compatible with Cherry
MX keycaps and many are essentially
direct clones. In our Labs test on p50, all the
keyboards have keycaps that can be swapped
between each other, other than the low-
profile Logitech G915.
The main overarching variant you’ll see
on the Cherry MX formula (other than the
obvious RGB lighting and newer optical
switching systems) is that, instead of the
simple cross stem keycap mount, they use
a wider ‘box’ stem that has extra support
pieces around the cross. These supports
provide a slightly more stable base for the
keycap, which some users prefer. They’re
still compatible with Cherry MX keycaps, and
vice versa, though.
Cherry has also just recently released
a new low-cost mechanical switch called
Viola – as seen in the Corsair K60 RGB Pro,
reviewed in Issue 20, which simplifies the
switch design and allows for hot-swap
capability. It fundamentally lacks some of the
potential for tweaking that’s inherent in the
MX design, however, so it remains to be seen
if it’s taken up by the enthusiast market.Keyca ps
The ability to swap out keycaps is one of
the most fun and cost-effective aspects of
tinkering with mechanical keyboards. With
Cherry MX cross stem-compatible switches
being so commonplace, there are thousandsLeft: A doubleshot, thick-walled PBT keycap. Right: A cheap, painted, ABS keycapCherry’s new budget Viola mechanical
switches have a simplified mechanism
but are less easy to customiseCherry’s newbudgegeet Vt Vt Viola ma a ma mechanicalTHE ABILITY TO SWAP OUT KEYCAPS IS ONE OF THE MOST
FUN AND COSTEFFECTIVE ASPECTS OF TINKERING WITH
MECHANICAL KEYBOARDS