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Showing 1 of 880 conversations about:
Vortex POK3R Mechanical Keyboard (Poker 3)
equalunique
475
Feb 11, 2019
I bought one of these with Cherry MX Clears 2 years ago around the time I was learning Dvorak. The hardware Dvorak mode is super helpful. These boards never gave me any issues whatsoever. Not ENDGAME but good choice for beginner who isn't interested in programming layouts IMO.
(Edited)
Urano_Metria
658
Feb 11, 2019
equaluniqueDefinitely an excellent quality "beginner" 60% board. For people who have a lot of experience in mechanical keyboards as a hobby though, not so much.
"The great news is that the case has been upgraded with a much higher quality metal and the programming capabilities have been vastly improved."
That's all well and good, the problem is the Cherry MX switches. They're starting to show their age as a relic from a bygone era. Almost every Cherry switch has been superseded by either community or Chinese innovation. There are just so many better options for switches these days that I don't really give Cherry boards a second look.
If I want clicky switches, Cherry MX Blues are the last thing on my mind. Kailh BOX White and Jade are infinitely more satisfying to type on, and if you like heavy, BOX Navy. Even Kailh Speed Bronze/Pink sound better even though they feel similar to Blues. Most manufacturers are either unaware or refuse to jump on the bandwagon even though the cost per switch wholesale is lower than Cherry.
Tactiles? Don't even get me started. Zealios, Zilents, the Holy Panda resurgence, Hako Violets, Halo Clears. The list goes on and on.
Even Gateron is no company to laugh at these days.
Cherry does still have a stronghold in linear switches it seems, I will concede that.
A community member
Feb 11, 2019
Urano_MetriaEven with linears, the ones that are usually popular within the community are spring-swapped vintage or retooled blacks.
But with that said, if you look at some of the Massdrop polls regarding switches, you'll see that majority of people who use mechanical keyboards still prefer Cherry switches, simply because they're so accessible in the mainstream market. No doubt the alternatives are better nowadays (with the exception of spring swapped blacks or ergo clears), but there's just not enough traction for everyone to know about them.
equalunique
475
Feb 12, 2019
@Urano_Metria You make a lot of good points and I agree with basically everything you said. I have some points to add to the discussion about Cherry since they often go unnoticed:
1) One advantage Cherry has over others is their housings are made of a softer material than Kailh, Gateron, Zealio, Outemu, so the overall pitch of the switch tends to be lowest of all the other options. I think just about everyone would benefit from switch housings like that.
2) In spite of the popularity of Cherry MX Blue, we all know Kailh has more tactile clicky switches, but I'd say that they aren't necessarily better on all fronts. Aside from the housing material resulting in a higher pitched noise, there's also a lack of hysteresis in clickbar Kailh switches. You won't notice it in many of the clicky box switches because these actuate very close to the clickbar, but on the clicky Kailh Speed switches where the clickbar is somewhat below the actuation point, the result is pretty poor. You can trigger the switches without ever clicking at all at 1.1mm, which is counter intuitive! It's a problem faced by anyone who might rest their hands just a little too long on their keyboard. The one exception to this is the glorious Kailh Speed Gold, which maintains a 1.4mm actuation point while using a Cherry-style click mechanism - hysteresis guarantees the click and your keypress are inseparable.
Those two points aside, I would be pleased to see the Cherry MX Blue momentum die down. There are certainly better options for people who know how to type. What I'd find even more interesting is more keyboards with hot swap sockets, or at least more with plates that supported Cherry-style switch top opening. The latter is probably harder to do because it increases the amount of machining involved in manufacturing keyboard plates, and it also means a factory cannot simply use a bajillion ton hole punch to make plates like how Filco, Leoplold, and most others do it. The former might be easiest because kailh hot swap sockets are essentially surface mount components, and by eliminating switch soldering, keyboards might be manufacturable without any hole-through components whatsoever.
Cherry could be displaced by Kailh, but it would take more than clicky switch enthusiasts to do it. A whole lot of Cherry's income is from keyboards found in office, industrial, POS, and kiosk environments. These are nearly all linear switches. While a Kailh Box Linear is a better choice, we all know big institutions can move at a very slow pace. (Also personally I'd like to see them made with more than just 3.5mm of travel but that's just me)
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