Mechanical keyboards offer incredible performance and durability compared to membrane switch keyboards, and they’re loved by gamers and day-to-day PC users alike for their unique tactile feel. There’s more to your typical mechanical keyboard than just the feel and the sound of the switches, you can choose the type of switches you want in your keyboard, such as Cherry MX Blue, Brown, Black, Red, Green and of course the mechanical switches from competing brands such as Kailh. There are a lot of MX compatible keyboards that allow you to remove the key caps and replace them with aftermarket ones, and that’s exactly what I’ll be doing today.

Mechanical keyboards do have one downside vs a membrane switch, plunger or even scissor switch keys, in that they’re often louder, this can be a big distraction for some and while the noise levels vary from one switch type to the other, mechanical switches are almost always noisier than membrane keyboards. There is a solution to this problem, known as O-Ring modding, which is something I’ve known about for a while, but never really had the opportunity to put to the test; until today. So while I’ll be replacing the key caps on my keyboard today, I’ll also be installing a range of O-Ring mods to test how they can effect the overall acoustic performance of my keyboard.



Link: eTeknix