Why really use linear switches over tactile ones?

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1

So, let's talk mechanical switches.

As you all know, mechanical switches tend to be categorized into two categories, gaming and typing. You will usually find the tactile switches in the "typing" category and the linear ones in the "gaming" category. 

So then you have all this marketing ploy, like "the best gamer has the fastest gear" (just something random I pulled out of my ass, much like the advertisers)

My first mechanical keyboard had red switches, and at the time, I saw the red switches as a mixture between typing and gaming, although the reds have become the ultimate gaming switches, really. Since then, I switched to blues.

So without being a pro gamer, that plays a lot of FPSes and strategy games, is there really any reason to use linear switches over tactile ones?  I understand the concept of double tapping, but really, browns and blues work just fine for general gaming.

Let's also think about the difference between the switches. The only meaningful difference between reds and blacks is the required actuation force, and I really do use the term "meaningful" very loosely.

Blues vs browns. Browns are more quiet, which is a perfectly legitimate difference. Maybe you livestream, and you need a more quiet tactile feeling? Greens require a fair amount of extra force to be actuated, which can be handy for those who like to really go to town with their typing (someone like me)  

if someone think they can convince me that linear switches are a legitimate option to tactile ones, you have my ear, citizen.

2

It's a matter of personal preference in the end. I still see some gaming oriented keyboards with blue switches. To me they don't feel bad at all, but are just too noisy even when gaming. I like the extra click for confidence when typing, while the physical bump doesn't really add anything to me. I'm sensitive to noise so I've stuck with the red, and bottom out much less with time. At first I experimented with adding rubber buffers under the keys, but bottoming out is doing it wrong when typing anyway.

Unfortunately even then these mechanical keys are still a bit noisy, so to be honest I might try going back to some higher end rubber dome in the future. At least I'm well away from the scissor keys that were so quick, but hurt my hands in the long run. I wish Cherry could come up with some way to dampen the noise of the mechanism itself, just hitting a key without beginning to pressing it down much makes as harsh enough noise in a quiet environment. But it's mostly the spring itself so that won't be easy without sharply raising costs.

3

Alright, that's a fair argument.

4

For the average gamer I also don't really see the need for red switches (except if you simply prefer the feeling of them) but for competitive players (= you earn your living through e-sport) I guess it could make a difference. I don't know if you follow competitive Starcraft, but south korean starcraft players are just unreal. I guess once you are at that kind of level you can seriously benefit from shortening every keystroke by a few milliseconds. Also, they need something that will simply function 100% of the time, which is what high quality mechanical keyboards (in general) provide.

5

If you just play kind of casual or slow paced games blues are fine but my friend has blues and trying to do fast side to side movements or double tap to reload an AWP in CSGO is slower and requires more effort over my mx black switches.  When a fast movement is the difference between living or dying or with other fast paced games winning and losing I don't know why you would use a tactile switch.  They browns might be fine but have not tried they seem to be the best option if you want to game with a tactile feed back.

6

As a person with both tactile switches and linear switches used daily, I can say it is entirely personal preference. I love tactile switches (Blues, ghetto Greens), but for typing, lately, it's been a tossup - I find linear switches to be very enjoyable. However, I do like feedback, but prefer heavier switches. That's why I switched the springs out of my Blues with those from my Blacks for Ghetto greens and Ghetto "Dark Reds." Use whatever you want, and however you want to.

7

Thanks guys. I do actually see some justification for linear switches now, and in addition I can also see them as a good entry level for membrane users. The most probable reason for my criticism against linear switches is that they really do not really have any uses for me personally, which is not fair when I considered the big picture.