14 DAY TRIAL // Whenever we write about a gaming peripheral or another, we often end up mentioning mechanical switches as if they were the answer to the equation of life. They aren't, but they are important. Which is why it might be odd to learn that “mechanical switches” used in gaming peripherals were never actually made for gaming.
Razer has just launched the first mechanical switch that is especially made for gaming keyboards, mice, and gamepads.
In a way, it's not fair to say that all the switches we saw in the past (Cherry MX red, blue, brown, etc.) aren't made for gaming products. They work there just fine after all.
Still, they were never developed for gaming items, instead being intended to give all peripherals better tactile feedback and a longer lifespan.
The reason they were used mostly in gaming products is because “PC gaming” usually comes in when speaking of high-end products of that type.
Anyway, Razer's engineers have been working for some time on a new gaming switch, which would have the best actuation distance.
The Razer Mechanical Switch (pretty straightforward name, all things considered) has that distance set at a fraction of a millimeter, thus reducing the distance between the actuation and reset point by almost half.
This permits more precise gaming commands that are also faster. Not only that, but the lifespan is tremendous.
Between the new manufacturing technique and gold-plated contact points, the lifespan should be of 60 million key strokes. And to think in the past it was considered that 25 million key strokes was a lot.
Razer has invented two variants of the switch: one that makes audible and palpable clicks, called Razer Green, and that needs an actuation force of 50 g. The other switch, Razer Orange, is silent and needs 45 g.
Funny though. In the “trailer” and marketing photos, the Razer peripherals still come out colored green (green backlight, green key undersides).
One might say they are quite similar to the Cherry MX Blue and Cherry MX Brown, respectively, which fall behind in terms of key stroke lifespan by 10 million (ergo, they last for 50 million strokes).
Ironically, Razer won't actually mass product the switches itself, because it's not a product manufacturer but a designer. It will outsource the production to firms that specialize in hardware manufacture.
No clue when the first keyboards (Razer BlackWidow Ultimate) featuring the Razer Mechanical Switch will come out, so there isn't any live comparison between it and Cherry MX.