Plus it has a rainbow backlight that makes it gay!
I had been using a membrane keyboard that was so worn out sometimes I had to press a key twice. Now the keys glide effortlessly.
It's just like playing the piano; speed comes from reducing tension in the fingers to allow the tiniest muscle impulse possible to accomplish the required motion, and having sticky keys makes things much more difficult because it raises the the key's "activation energy" (chemists' terminology).
My only disappointment is that I was hoping for even snappier keys. I once used a mechanical keyboard that was as loud as a typewriter. Apparently there are a whole variety of switches out there---again like a piano in that you can tune the "action" to your preference. It says I have "Outemu Brown" switches for whatever that's worth. Any switch stans out there? What are my options?
Welcome to the gay clicky clacky keys club!
Takatakataka 👇👇👇
BEWARE
custom mechanical keyboards is a rabbit hole that not many people can afford to fall into
there are a mindboggling number of websites to buy switches and other parts from and most of it is limited run only
I prefer tactile switches
MX Red switches are a crime perpetrated against living beings with hands
At my first programming job there was a super old database admin who had an old model M that he would type on using just his index fingers. Real radio in the cubicle type of guy.
Red or Black if your a G*mer. Blue if you want the loudest clickity clacks and annoy all your neighbors.
But browns are Goldilocks baby bear keys. Clicky without resistance. Audible but not loud. Chunk chunk chunk.
I bought my keyboard with browns almost solely because that was the version on sale, but didn't realise how much I love them until I tried a friend's reds. That little tactile bump really makes a huge difference.
Is that the loud one?
Edit: Oh shit, it's super quiet. It looks mushy as hell!
They're linear, which means there's no tactility on press until you bottom out.
IMO reds aren't actually that mushy compared to MX* browns, they feel smooth more than anything.
*MX brown clones like the Outemus feel better than MX browns in my experience
My keyb kit came with a pack of the new "improved" cherry MX2A reds. They are still so much scratchier than even the badly lubed switches that come with cheap prebuilds these days, and thats after i hand lubed them (i want those 5 hours back)
Switch stan here, since you want snappy switches i would almost rule out Linear ones, that leaves Clicky switches and Tactile switches.
For clickies there are the Kailh Box White (light spring, light click), Jade (light spring, heavy click) and Navy (heavy spring, heavy click). Dont listen to anyone recommending Cherry MX blue switches, the Kailh box switches are way better.
Your Outemu Browns are tactile switches, with the different brands of "brown" always being light spring switches with very light tactile bump that is in the middle of the keystroke.
With tactiles it gets the most complicated because while Linears just vary in sound, weight, and smoothness (mostly at least), Clickies, add the heaviness of the click itself into the mix but generally all have the click in the middle of the keystroke, while with Tactiles the position of the Tactile bump varies a lot between different Switches and will alter the feel of the switch a lot.
Since you want more snappiness id look for either a tactile with a larger bump that is further up at the beginning of the keystroke (maybe a stronger spring, but a strong spring can also cause the bump to be less noticeable) like the boba u4t, or a clicky switch like the Kailh box jade or navy switch.
I never liked linear switches, I always wanted them since it's better for gaming but I couldn't get over the mistakes I was making with typing. Then I got a wooting which has Lekker switches and those still feel good for typing, not as good as tactile but still good while also having the benefits of linear (and full analog control on every key). I won't use anything else ever again, they are damn good keyboards.
Welcome to the family, enjoy your stay.
My advice is don't get into it as a hobby. Take your mechanical keyboard and enjoy it for what it is unless you have plenty of money you want to burn or become fixated on ergonomics, comfort, or aesthetic in your day to day typing experience.
Try some Box Jade's. They're really nice and clicky. Like popping bubble wrap.
I just wanna say how impressive it is that you can type so fast with those tiny little paws.
Here's a frontier I want you to experience: 25g. and lower Kailh Choc switches.
They will probably require a different PCB because of different footprint (position of legs and contacts), but lightweight Chocs are sooooo satisfying, the actuation force is so small that resting a finger on a key can press it and it's GLORIOUS
Also, try split keyboards! My hands rest on the table, I don't need to move them, I just adjust the keyboard halves. And I can put a bowl of soup, a laptop, or a fully sized cat in between them!
20 wpm? I think your keyboard was just really bad or in bad condition
Welcome to one of the more expensive hobbies a normal person might still fall into! Are the switches in your board hot swappable? Cause if not, just know changing switches would require desoldering and soldering on the new ones. But if you have a hot swap board you can just pull them out
Now the keys glide effortlessly.
I feel this emote so much.
Lubricated mechanism can make it even better, if it didn't come pre-lubed up. It's effort to go through the mechanism on every key applying it but I can confirm it's worth.