Novelkeys Cream switches review (MonkeyKing iGK61)
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 มี.ค. 2019
- Skip to 6:28 for a typing demonstration.
MonkeyKing iGK61 review: bit.ly/2V0xIXj
Today we look at NovelKeys' new cream switches! These are pretty interesting "self-lubricating" linear switches made entirely out of POM. Hope you enjoy the video! :)
My keyboard reviews: bit.ly/1TbOtft
My switch teardowns: bit.ly/2C1QGHz
My TOP X videos: bit.ly/2FmpZfd
My XL typing demos: bit.ly/2OoAW3w
My tutorials and featurettes: bit.ly/2OrkLUh
I'm Thomas and I do videos and reviews on mechanical keyboards ranging from the most sickening modern RGB gaming keyboards to vintage hardware relics, or sometimes keycaps or keyswitches ranging from Cherry MX to Alps SKCM to IBM buckling springs and anything in between.
Follow me on Twitter for updates on my keyboard videos! / chyrosran22
The practice sentence was: "Hello my name is Thomas and I'm typing on an iGK61 with Novelkeys Cream switches right now. These are very smooth and nicely weighted, if you like MX-type linear switches, you really ought to give these a go!" - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
Best april fools idea: you review a mouse.
review a piano
hi guys I'm zy and I've been playing quake for over 30 years
@@fengrr He did review a musical keyboard a couple years ago. "Yamaha magnetic reed"
Benjamin Smithynunta I’ve reviewed over 70 mice and I’m affiliated with every company and their mothers
Pilot dont comment if ur not gonna read the referenced post lol
This guy's voice is smoother than the switches holy damn
His voice sound like the guy loki from marvel
@@NamBeosOfficial like the guy in the movie trailers
I mean... creams feel like sandpaper unlubed sooo...
You should watch him review a bad product
its like the beta version of corpse
Ah, I've been waiting for this one. Don't let us down novelkeys, you're on a roll!
Same, didn't expect them to be this good.
@@firmament1325 I think the current innovative switch companies will eventually create end game switches for the 3 main types (clicky, tactile and linear), but it's taking quite long.
@@protocetid This is kind of an impossible task as "end game" is completely subjective and also not even a real thing for a lot of people. That said, plenty of modern switches have gotten really good, especially if you're a fan of linears and tactiles. What I'm more interested in is more modern clicky designs. Currently Cherry Style, BOX/clickbar style, and buckling springs are the only real options for modern clickies.
@@Markel_A Fair to assume there will be a plateau no? Other than really niche/very custom I think one day the basic types will have no large improvements left to do. Don't know enough about mechanical keyboards to say with full confidence, but linears might be the sole design that is close to being "done." Has been said time and time again by the gurus that Alps are the way to go for the more passionate enthusiasts. And if you have tons of money to burn you'll get recommended more esoteric hardware which beats the MX clones and Alps. NovelKeys etc still have a mountain to climb.
*Phases out Cream and replaces them with Blueberry*
We said DON'T let us down!
(That was a joke, I need to try them more and read up on them before I make a full opinion on them.)
Between your voice and the clicking of the keys this is always a comfy watch.
Was thinking the exact same thing when you mentioned why PTFE isn't used to make switches out of. "Yeah, why don't they make.... *remembers what basically happens to ALL my non-stick cookware*... nevermind."
Yeah PTFE is weak and can be scratched just like good mouse feet
The reason your Teflon pans get scratched is because the Teflon is just confined to a thin coating on the surface of the pan. It's really hard to get Teflon to stick to anything because it's such a good nonstick coating, which means it's also really easy to scrape the coating off your pan. But if you were to make a switch housing entirely out of Teflon by injection molding, this would be a non-issue because the whole thing is Teflon.
Another issue is that lube would probably not stay on a ptfe stem
@@Jeffrey_Wong Given that I've never even seen a solid moulded piece of pure PTFE plastic used in any application, I'm gonna go with Thomas and guess that its probably not strong enough to hold as whole component, especially one that's always rubbing with other parts. If its possible for a thin coat of PTFE to wear away at the rate that it does on cookware, it's likely that a solid piece of PTFE would also slowly wear and deform relatively quickly over use while in a switch. Anywhere from contact with the housing or the keycap stem, to the contact with the spring and electrical contacts (both of w/c can't not be metal), would probably wear away at it far faster than other plastics. Invyr's new UHMWPE stems probably overall just make more sense than solid PTFE.
@@Boyetto-san solid moulded PTFE is used frequently in certain settings, namely laboratories. It's chemically very inert and resistant to heat and solvents, so it's pretty much the ideal material for moulded moving parts in chemistry glassware etc.
It's also incredibly expensive and difficult to fabricate, and in my experience quite easy to scratch if you get a piece of sand or similar caught between it and the glassware. Not a great material for a switch, or for a mass produced consumer product, but it does exist and has some pretty neat properties.
This mans voice is oblitirating my ears
I love it
2 things that I love on this channel
Chyrosran22's voice and the keyboards.
me: watching
my brain: OrGaSmIc VoIcE
You have the most pleasing thumbnails i know
just when I was looking for a review for these type of switches
Great stuff! Was wondering if you were going to do a video on these switches. Thank you sir.
Wow. Those sound incredible. Definitely need a typing-only video this keyboard. Unbelievable ASMR trigger.
I'll add them to the list :) .
Thanks for the review Thomas
I'm not sure if they've changed how they make these or if I just got a bad batch but mine are noticeably scratchy. Like, every single one of them is scratchy in the same way. It's like the sounds of a salt or pepper shaker being rattled right next to your ear got transformed into a switch. My black Inks are noticeably smoother and not even close to my C3 Tangerines.
thank you for the accurate description of cherry mx switches
I don't think I've ever heard someone correctly use the term "No Quarter" like that
please don't take this the weird way but your voice gives me asmr, thank u for the switch explanation it was super helpful but your soothing tones had me falling asleep halfway through
Review Gateron silent ink maybe
+1 very interested.
Well, it happened.
They are black inks but rougher and not that satisfying for some reason even though they are quieter
The creams how they come sound so damn good and dense thats exactly the sound I like alot I mean alot lol
reviewfor thetube honestly, this plus zeal-style silencing (less rubber protrusion than on cherry silent red or matias silent) would be an auto-buy for me. I like lubed healios, but they’re very expensive and labor-intensive (I’m a big guy with big hands, so lubing switches is especially hard), so that would be perfect. Add some cheap thick caps and throw into a socketed board with milled aluminum case options (igk61?) and that would be endgame for me.
if you like how these sound then id suggest checking out the gateron black inks as they sound even more dense
Congrats on 100k!
Man your have such a strong base in your voice :)
If James Hoffman is the David Attenborough of coffee, then you, sir, are the David Attenborough of Mechanical Keyboards
Awesome info! Respect for the test using the blue mechanism in a cream housing, dramatic demonstration. Sure wish you'd mod that space bar, though, ruins the otherwise "creamy" sound of that keyboard.
As a customer that bought these switches because of this video, I highly recommend them . Really smooth, not loud and comfortable to type with it. Its a switch, in my opinion, made for those who want to forget they are typing, since it feels like im typing in a floating keycap.
Are they good for gaming?
The thing about actuation being between reds and blacks is so simple but I've never thought about it, thanks.
Wow, the cream housings do wonders for click jacket style stems acoustically! If we didn't have BOX click bar switches already this would be a nice mod. I'm also curious as to how Aristotle stems would sound & feel in Cream housing? As those are the only click jacket stems worth their salt IME, but given Aristotles are becoming harder & harder to find. Plus the huge inconsistencies from stem to stem with Aristotles I don't think that really would be a viable mod unless you already have all the parts on hand. Especially when like I said before you can just buy Kaihl BOX click bar switches which will outshine any combo of MX housings with click jacket style stems. Anyways great review as always Chyros, keep up the good work my man! 🤘
I noticed great results with click jacket stems & Outemu Sky switch housings. Pretty sure they are similar materials.
@@FunkyDeleriousPriest I wonder how much of it is due to the stem post being able to hit the well at the bottom of the switch.
Spectacular.
Could you line up a Typing Demo XL with these and lubed space bar stabs? Would be interesting to hear.
Yeah... I need these in my life
Finally the video I was looking for
The switches themselves are gorgeous.
Every time you do a switch review I get the sudden urge to check my bank account :D
Woah, I hadn't heard of these before this video, really cool! I'm definetely going to look into getting some of these at some point, and I'm especially interested in seeing how they compare to my box blacks. Box blacks use the same weight of spring as these cream switches and I personally really like the weight, but I'm definitely interested in a smoother version of Box Blacks. My main issue with the switches from Flaretech/Wooting/Ace Pad Tech is that they don't offer switches with the same weight as Box blacks, which is my personal sweet spot.
In this particular keyboard space bar a bit too loud, but the switches indeed sound really great, kind of lubed-like sound
Raul Saavedra Kaihl tends to pre-lube their switches
Ahhh space bar has a distinct *chuka* sound from hollow board and rattling stab bar
5:27
oh god you can hear the scratchiness, it's painful
I think that I will have to get myself some of these Cream switches to try out
The space bar stabs... my ears! :D
my god, I wasnt paying attention and I thought it was one of those text to speech voices lol, smooth voice
Love your videos, informative.
Is there any info on coefficient of friction vs density of plastics?
If there is perhaps it would be a some what of a quantifiable way of showing how a switch might feel/sound?
I would love to see a best modern switch round up video for clicky, tactile and linear switches.
I am thinking of getting a couple of modern clicky switches to test in a hot swapable keypad that I have. Then modding my Ducky shine 6 that currently has mx blues when I determine which switch i want to go for. I want to get about 4-12 different switches to try out on my pad before i go at it with the ducky and would love some input.
Will be my first mod as well so I'm looking forward to the de-soldering :)) (wish me luck)
He predicted the Novelkeys Blueberry switches
Your voice is so relaxing.
I definitely need some of them creams.
damn this looks really good
Woot? I already bought Zbrojovka keyboard with Honeywell single magnet Hall effect switch clones to borrow switches from there, but now you tell me that I could just buy new Novelkeys selflubricating cream switches to get same level of smoothness?
wot
I would be very interested to see you do kailh pro switches. I recently swapped purples into my work board and then to be very interesting, but would love to hear your take.
This man created the nk blueberrys
Nathan Kim's review of these switches touches on an issue that is worth considering before going for the buy here. I appreciate Chyrosran's explanation of the plastic types here though!
He appears to have been given an earlier production batch.
Huh, that's quite a pleasant typing sound.
The lighting in the thumbnail makes them look like theyre made of colored gold
I have 50 laying around and am waiting for thr NIU mini to arrive and finally build it. Just testing them by hand I really like the weighting and they are quite smooth.
Nice choice for a 40% ortho board! I tried out a good bit of ortho 40% boards included the venerable Planck, but the NIU mini was easily my favorite of the bunch & the one I decide to build for myself. Solid construction, a thick integrated plate, it has angle to it vs how most 40% ortho boards lay flat, an available CNCed acrylic bottom that dampens the noise very well vs the all alum. version, & RGB underglow if you are into that. Also I think it looks the sharpest of them all, really not much to not like about NIU minis IMHO!
@@robr640 Same! I tried the kbd4x before but even the really small flex of the plate is way too much. I like my plates rocksolid (thick stainless steel on my 60s). I also have some soundabsorbing sheets handy, as I went for the all alu (in silver).
Could you do a video on spring weights and spring swapping (maybe with sprit springs?) Would be interesting to know how much of a difference better springs make.
I my opinion, these are scratchy for POM. I played with these in testers and they feel like Cherry MX reds, I had moments where they felt smooth but they feel like Cherry MX reds most of the time.
I believe it is because it is POM rubbing against POM, while Gateron Yellows feel smoother because it is POM rubbing against a non POM material.
In my opinion, Gateron Yellows are better, they are cheaper and slightly smoother, I know chyrosran22 said that it can give a bad impression of how a switch feels and it is a little different than typing on a whole board.
I have these on order along with Gateron Silent Inks for comparison.. Also i'd give money immediately to whoever produces a refined clicky switch. The Kailh Box Pale Blue is almost that, make that POM and with pads for removing bottoming out sounds that would be fantastic..
Chyrosan, I would HIGHLY recommend getting a medium to thick grease lubricant put on these. I put Tribosys 3204 on mine, and the sound they produce is easily the BEST linear sound I have ever heard.
Also, the whole "self-lubricating" thing about POM is kinda misleading, I've found. What it's really referring to is the plastic forming a hard outer shell from friction.
Chyrosan, the Morgan Freeman of keyboards.
Hey Chyro, have you ever heard about Input Club's Hako Switches?
Along with the Hako Royal Switches?
The quirk for both types is that the spring is made to have a relatively low(ish) actuation force, but the bottom out weighting is high to discourage or outright prevent bottoming out due to the bottom put weighting.
I've been told that first impressions are bad but long term use it grows on people. Not unlike Topre lovers. (Funnily enough, there's a reason for other parallels with Topre)
I had just settled on Kailh BOX Blacks for my linear board and now I am torn again...creams, inks, box blacks, or gateron yellow/blacks...so many conflicting opinions! Also the price on inks and creams are pretty close to tealios...
Makes me wonder about diminishing returns on linears...also are the creams loud when compared to the others? I would use this board at work and my BOX Jades wont quite work for that!
This is a bit late, I don't know if you've already built your board...
For the smoothness, Inks and creams go first, then gateron yellows and blacks, then box blacks
For the least amount of wobble, Box blacks go first, and then Inks/Creams, then yellows and blacks
For the best sound, Inks, then creams, then yellows/blacks, then box black
For the most affordable, yellows/blacks, box black, creams, inks.
I wonder what powdered ptfe would be like as a switch lubricant. I haven’t seen many people use dry lubes in their switches, and it would be a very interesting twist on things
Cherry has nature white switches that are in between red and black (55 actuation) as well.
I have some dry teflon powder lubricant. Gonna try some in a box switch...
how are the smoothness compared to linears like tealios or vint. blacks?
I hope you get to review the new Novelkeys Cream Clicky Switches, if I’m not work they have a metal plate at the bottom of the housing?
I heard these are a lot better when lubed. Do you ever plan to do a followup review of lubed creams?
Probably not, I tend to not lube my switches very often. Especially as these are supposed to be "self-lubricating"... xD
Do these switches make you type more accurately over other linears or does it still feel like typing on eggshells gauging the actuation for a definitive key press just because they're linears?
Thanks for your thoughts on these, i was wondering about them. Like the pitch difference too.
What i was expecting.... 2:42 "...sum them up in a nutshell." .... (famous expletive rant) "utter *&$%", and swipe them all off the desk.
I was expecting him to swipe the linears and tactiles and save the clickies for the HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDEOUS
Can the rgb light on my keyboard shine through the switch?
Politetraflouroethylene (PTFE) also known as Teflon. I would love to see switches made out of that polymer.
They'd never survive for very long xD .
6:28
Thanks
The mechanical keyboard community doesn't seem to like this switch very much, not quite sure why. They seem generally think that they are inferior to retooled cherry blacks, gateron yellows, and tealios in the linear market. I'm actually pretty surprised you haven't gotten your hands on some of the more popular switches from the community, like holy pandas, tealios, and the gat yellows. I'd very much like to see your take on their hype.
im a huge fan of gateron yellow and i think i need one of these
@@pancakelegend lubed gat yellow even better
@KishkaGaming I am honestly don't know the actuation and bottom out force for the gat yellow in number, but what I can tell is gat yellow feels smoother than cherry black. compared to cherry red, gat yellow is better IMO, all reds for me is way too light for my liking. I can say so because I have switch tester form kbdfans
the creams are incredible when you've worn them in
hopefully, they make a Tactile version in that POM material.
Moac you got your wish, novelkeys blueberry were announced with a super drawn out bump
ok but how did the cream housing and cherry blue slider feel compared to a straight cherry blue or straight kailh cream switch?
How about you review gateron yellows? They are widely regarded to be pretty smooth. Many people adore the weighting as well.
I'd like to, but I don't have a board with them.
I wish novel keys would design a switch to replace the Kaihl navy switches. I would like somehting with the same weight and tactility but with standard X stem specifications
what type of MX switch can i compare this too, i want to get these switches if they sound like reds
Alps housings are certainly not ABS. I believe they're probably nylon, but either way, they didn't dissolve in acetone, both when I swapped a housing in the past and when I left a housing to sit in acetone for a day.
they sound alright
Hi Thomas, have you heard about new version of Zealio switches? Now they provide linears too. I would happy to hear your oppinion on them If you could get them.
Yeah, I've heard about them, but I don't have any atm.
we love friction and force vectors : )
@Chyrosran22 Hey Thomas, so I got some Kailh Cream switches for testing and as I was testing and comparing them to other linear switches (mostly Gateron), I noticed that Kailh cream has a noticable 'leathery' feeling to them, which is pretty similar to what Taeha stated in his review, this makes the switches a lot less smoother even compare to standard Milky Gateron switches, or at-least before they clear the contact leaf, where after that the Kailh switch's travel become smoother.
However there is no mention of this in your review and you seem to put them pretty favorably even among the top of the line linear switches, which kind of bugs me a little given that I really have high hope for them.
So Thomas what is your take on this? Do you experienced the same thing with the switches?
Novelkeys has since retooled the cream switches so that there is no leathery feeling to them anymore. This retooling was done not long after Nathan's video so I'm guessing Thomas got the retooled version.
@@khcstewie Super late reply but mines actually most likely to be retooled version as well, as I got my Novelkeys Cream switches from KBDFans slightly after this video so I reckon KBDFans should have retooled one in stock by that time already, hence my confusion as I'm well aware of the supposed retooling after Nathan's review.
Though in hindsight, the 'leathery' sensation I describe could be just what Thomas describe as feeling like 'lubed' and the leathery feeling Nathan described in his review are entirely different issue than what I'm experiencing.
@@GlennL42 KBDFans doesn't always have a direct supply line. It's possible that they got a shipment of pre-retooled version for cheap and are selling those instead for a long time afterwards. They even had a scandal where they shipped counterfeit zealios a while back.
@@acebulf Welp, I doubt that there's even enough pre-retooled cream switches produced for that to happen, retooling happened fairly quickly and pre-retooled switches are in pretty scarce volume from what I can tell, given mostly to reviewers and as sample.
I've since ordered some more Cream from other vendors for testing and they felt pretty much identical -- the same 'sleekness' or leathery sensation in their friction, while it's not the normal 'itchy' kind of scratchiness, it certainly doesn't contribute to the feel of the switches positively.
@@GlennL42 Hiya. I know I'm 2 years late in replying 🤣 but did you end up using the creams long term? If so, did it become smooth after a while?
hi, im using cherry low profile keycap and my keyboard gets north facing interference with red cherry rgb, im looking for some switch to replace, im wondering and not know for sure that does novelkey cream can avoid that problem because of longer stem than other ? if you know about this one please tell me i need some advise, thank you for helping me out
These would probably sound even better in a full size with some thick cherry doubleshots.
I had originally planned to mount them in my GMMK (which I fitted with thick doubleshots, fantastic caps those) but the GMMK doesn't allow for fixing pins xD .
You say MX switches are noisy? Hold that thought, Thomas, I can't hear you over my MX blues.
Well I've got much louder than MX blue, it's just that I think MX blue have a very UGLY sound xD .
@@Chyrosran22 I have only tried Cherry switches since I'm new to this and I feel both poor and ignorant D: I just bought a keyboard with cherry blue switches and barely could afford it T_T
@@KdN17 do not feel that way, cherry isnt bad but if you are really into having a refreshing sound when you type, see if you can save up money for something more on the expensive side, but if your fine with your keyboard, dont think you are missing out bud
@@KdN17 shd check out kailh jade boxes
@@retropetroleum I thought about them, but I don't know if they are going to be too hard to press. Thanks!
Please review the Input club Hako violet switches, they are my favourite switches.
Nice voice and nice review they switches sound great but I dont like the sound of the spacebar
rocketjumpninja of keyboards
Gateron yellow is comparable, I just tested them
Gateron yellow next, please?
Binging with babish if he was an electronics channel
What are the switches you have in the intro?
im trying to understand whats going on in this video with no sound because i just woke up and i dont have my headset plugged in.
To sum it up: this is the MX box that Cherry should have made
6:00 I would love to see his face when saying that
Since they are made out of POM can they be used to make Panda like switches?
I wonder if this would work on the GMMK modular keyboard. I'm running Kailh box reds at the moment.
You would need to snip off the two extra plastic pins in order to make them plate mount.
I don't think PTFE is really so expensive that a switch would cost too much, especially considering that those cream switches are not dirt cheap! You can buy one meter of bowden tube for a 3D printer that is made with that plastic for just a couple of euros, and it's probably enough for 20-30 switches! Even if it's not 100% PTFE it still feels a lot smoother than any other kind of plastic. Probably it is not used in switches as it is semi-flexible, something that probably doesn't seem great for applications where you want really tight tolerances! But still it may be cool to be able to trade a little of wobble for insane smoothness!
Review KBDFans T1 switch!
**sees intro** ok cool
**hears voice** 👁👄👁
If I wanted to make a switch of my own design, who should i contact to produce it?
Probably Kailh or Gateron. Kailh is most well known for producing a lot of commissioned switches, such as the ones from Novelkeys, Input Club, and others, and Gateron makes Zeal's switches.
Hey mate, do you mind typing out those other contactless switches names? They sound quite interesting, but I've never heard of them before.
Cheers.
Those around the 3:45 mark.
From top to bottom: Fujitsu leaf spring , Bloody LK Light Strike, Adomax Flaretech B, Acepad Tech Hall Effect.
Far right: Honeywell dual-magnet Hall effect