I have my keyboard, an AZIO Levetron Mech5. Whenever I see Razer keyboards in shops, they have a cut out on the arrow keys so people can see how they feel. Those ones make clicking sounds when you get about half way down, yet with mine they are silent the whole way. Just wondering, why is this? Are they meant to click? Is it better in some way? I think the Razer ones were MX Red and mine are Black. Just wondering if it just depends on who made the keyboard? Does it really matter?
I think the Razer one that you saw was an MX Blue, more likely. I have a Razer Blackwidow, and its a cherry MX Blue switch. The Blue switches has a clicky noise and require more actuation. The reds and blacks are virtuallyz silent.
Different switches give different responses.
MX blues are clicky and give tactile feedback. You can tell when the switch has been activated.
MX browns are like blues, but they are quiet.
MX blacks require more force to actuate the swtich
And so on...
People have different preferences. Some are good for a typing experience, some are good for first person shooter games et cetera.
I see. I understand now. But the box advertised MX Red and they were clicking
They must have mixed it up then, because I'm pretty sure Razer mechanical keyboards primarily use MX Blues. I think there is one other Razer keyboard that uses MX Browns. And if they made an audible clicking noise, then they were more than likely blues. The only other Cherry MX switch that makes a distinct clicking sound are the Cherry MX Greens.
Your keyboard has Cherry MX Black switches which are linear. They don't click and don't have tactile feedback. They are made this way so that it's easy to double tap and control the timing of actuation.
MX Red switches are the same but lighter to press.
Razer keyboards use MX Blue switches which have tactile feedback. And I think it's kind of unreasonable to make gaming keyboards with switches that are made primarily for typing.
Does it really matter?
A matter of preference. The best way is to try different ones and decide what's better for you.
I, personally, can't stand MX Reds; they feel very similar to standard membrane keyboards, just with more "weight" behind them.
I have a Rosewill 9000 with MX Blues, and I'm, an avid gamer. I have had 0 problems with the switch being my downfall in gaming situations; the added speed and audible response is great for in-game chat, or macros that are tricky to hit.
You are correct, however; it is best to try all kinds of switches that you can get your hands on first. I tried Blues, Browns, Blacks, Reds, Clears, and Greens before I decided on Blues.
Mx blues are my favorite, but I generally recommend mx blacks, since I have noticed more people seem satisfied after getting mx black than mx blue. I don't mind the noise of blues, in fact I love the clicking noise. Also I use a blackwidow and have had zero problems with the keyboard. In addition, with mx blue I know when I hit a key and never make mistakes posting ( I have bad grammar when I post from my iPad or windows 8X)