Razer Debuts Green and Orange Switches for Mechanical Gaming Keyboards

by Kevin Parrish March 6, 2014 at 1:58 PM - Source: Razer

Razer is calling a "world's first" with the launch of its new keyboard mechanical switch designed for gaming. This switch arrives in two flavors, and is available on the new Razer BlackWidow family of mechanical gaming keyboards. The company is also making the switches available to other gaming peripheral makers who wish to manufacture gaming-grade mechanical keyboards.

Traditional mechanical switches were originally designed for typing. Because of this, Razer set out to completely re-engineer the switch from the ground up with the gaming community in mind. That meant going back to the drawing board and doing a little research to see how modifying the standard switch would be beneficial to a gamer.

The result? Razer's team identified the optimal actuation distance for a gaming switch to a "fraction" of a millimeter. The Razer team also reduced the distance between the actuation and reset point by almost half to allow for faster, more precise gaming commands.

More specifically, a chart provided by Razer shows that the new switch has an actuation point of 1.9 mm, an actuation vs reset point of 0.44 mm and a lifespan of 60 million keystrokes. The standard mechanical switch has an actuation point of 2.2 mm, an actuation vs reset point of 0.7 mm, and a lifespan of up to 20 million keystrokes. That's quite a difference between the two.

"Instead of focusing solely on typing comfort, as traditional mechanical switches have done, we had to completely rethink the conventional approach behind the actuation and reset points of mechanical switches in order to fine-tune them for gaming," said Min-Liang Tan, Razer co-founder, CEO and creative director.

Razer reports that although the switches were designed in-house, mass production was done by a third party manufacturer. To make sure each switch met Razer's highest standards, Razer's own quality assurance team was on the production floor. These switches were then tested extensively by the "world's most demanding" eSports athletes.

According to Razer, the two flavors of this new Razer Mechanical Switch line include Razer Green that is tactile and clicky, requiring a force of 50 g to actuate. The other switch is Razer Orange that is tactile and silent, requiring a force of 45 g to actuate.

For more information about these new switches, head here.

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Kevin Parrish @tomsguide

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robert123_74

"eSports athletes". So this is what nerds, geeks, and losers are calling themselves now lol.
Trialsking

Quote:

"eSports athletes". So this is what nerds, geeks, and losers are calling themselves now lol.

+1Now I love games as much as the next guy and God bless someone who can get paid to play games, but these guys are not athletes.Athele - a person who is proficient in sports and other forms of PHYSICAL EXERCISE.
jimmysmitty

121365 said:

Quote:

"eSports athletes". So this is what nerds, geeks, and losers are calling themselves now lol.

+1Now I love games as much as the next guy and God bless someone who can get paid to play games, but these guys are not athletes.Athele - a person who is proficient in sports and other forms of PHYSICAL EXERCISE.

There are plenty of "Sports" that take little to no physical exercise to be proficient in. For example, Golf. I love Golf. Always have since my grandfather took me when I was 6 years old. I am a stick, as you might say, at almost 6'4" and barely 175 pounds yet I can drive the ball as far as some pros easily. If anything the same Pros take away the most physical part of the game, carrying the bag.

That said, I do agree they are not athletes. They are professional gamers but not athletes.

As for the switches, they don't look any better than Cherry MX Reds in terms of distance or actuation force (2mm, 45g for Reds) so I don't see the purpose in them really except for Razer to make money off of them possibly since everyone is going to mechanical for gaming these days.
ohyouknow

Intriguing, but Razer's QC has bitten me to the point of never again.
hotroderx

I take it we can expect them to fail with in the first 1000-3000 keystrokes? "To make sure each switch met Razer's highest standards, Razer's own quality assurance team was on the production floor." cause we all know thats a joke right there.
fil1p

From what I have heard, Cherry Corp's patent on their switches has expired. This has caused companies like Thermaltake and Razer to come out with their own switches. I'm sticking to my Mx Browns for now, but its interesting to see some new stuff out there (hopefully quality assurance is good on these).
jimmysmitty

430922 said:

From what I have heard, Cherry Corp's patent on their switches has expired. This has caused companies like Thermaltake and Razer to come out with their own switches. I'm sticking to my Mx Browns for now, but its interesting to see some new stuff out there (hopefully quality assurance is good on these).

That is a hope for sure. Right now I am very interested in the Corsair Cherry RGB keyboard they are coming out with. I like the idea of being able to choose the color bit not only that you can create patterns and all kinds of things.

Plus I really like my K90.
Dexter Kairaiuak

Isn't hitting buttons in rapid succession physical exertion?
UVB076

"To make sure each switch met Razer's lowest standards, Razer's own quality assurance team was on the production floor."FTFY
Red_Sun

Quote:

121365 said:

Quote:

"eSports athletes". So this is what nerds, geeks, and losers are calling themselves now lol.

+1Now I love games as much as the next guy and God bless someone who can get paid to play games, but these guys are not athletes.Athele - a person who is proficient in sports and other forms of PHYSICAL EXERCISE.

There are plenty of "Sports" that take little to no physical exercise to be proficient in. For example, Golf. I love Golf. Always have since my grandfather took me when I was 6 years old. I am a stick, as you might say, at almost 6'4" and barely 175 pounds yet I can drive the ball as far as some pros easily. If anything the same Pros take away the most physical part of the game, carrying the bag.That said, I do agree they are not athletes. They are professional gamers but not athletes.As for the switches, they don't look any better than Cherry MX Reds in terms of distance or actuation force (2mm, 45g for Reds) so I don't see the purpose in them really except for Razer to make money off of them possibly since everyone is going to mechanical for gaming these days.

Filco Majestouch-2 NKR 104 ASCII with red switches FTW.
edogawa

121365 said:

Quote:

"eSports athletes". So this is what nerds, geeks, and losers are calling themselves now lol.

+1Now I love games as much as the next guy and God bless someone who can get paid to play games, but these guys are not athletes.Athele - a person who is proficient in sports and other forms of PHYSICAL EXERCISE.

Wrong.

Here is the definition of an athlete:

a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina.

A person spending 8 hours or more every day honing in on their skills are showing signs of stamina both physically and mentally. They have high levels of dexterity and quick response times meaning they are training themselves both physically and mentally for use of peripherals, and of strategy.

These "pro-gamers" are just not athletes by your unofficial definition. You could argue it requires more talent to be a top of the charts pro-gamer than an athlete in a garbage sport like American football too. Whether you like it or not, an e-athlete fits the definition of athlete. If we disregard professional gamers as athletes then we can exclude NASCAR, gold, chess, and more!
roger smith

Quote:

If we disregard professional gamers as athletes then we can exclude NASCAR, gold, chess, and more!

i am fine with the notion that sports should involve physical excretion and completly fine with computer/video/board games not being sports. and i think saying things like nascar, golf and curling arent sports either. screw it, baseball is barley a sport.
UVB076

648374 said:

121365 said:

Quote:

"eSports athletes". So this is what nerds, geeks, and losers are calling themselves now lol.

+1Now I love games as much as the next guy and God bless someone who can get paid to play games, but these guys are not athletes.Athele - a person who is proficient in sports and other forms of PHYSICAL EXERCISE.

Wrong. Here is the definition of an athlete: a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina. A person spending 8 hours or more every day honing in on their skills are showing signs of stamina both physically and mentally. They have high levels of dexterity and quick response times meaning they are training themselves both physically and mentally for use of peripherals, and of strategy. These "pro-gamers" are just not athletes by your unofficial definition. You could argue it requires more talent to be a top of the charts pro-gamer than an athlete in a garbage sport like American football too. Whether you like it or not, an e-athlete fits the definition of athlete. If we disregard professional gamers as athletes then we can exclude NASCAR, gold, chess, and more!

Motorsports actually requires quite a bit of physical exertion and strain. NASCAR always gets shit on by people. It takes FAR more skill than the average person would think. Just because most of the fanbase are more, well, simple people does not mean that the sport itself is simple or easy.
excella1221

Rofl, we're introduced with 2 new arguably interesting switches, and there are more comments debating about the legitimacy of the term e-Athletes.Oh, Tom's.
edogawa

My point exactly. An athlete comes in multiple forms no matter what, and we shouldn't disregard others because they don't run around a field with big muscles.
jimmysmitty

723640 said:

Quote:

121365 said:

Quote:

"eSports athletes". So this is what nerds, geeks, and losers are calling themselves now lol.

+1Now I love games as much as the next guy and God bless someone who can get paid to play games, but these guys are not athletes.Athele - a person who is proficient in sports and other forms of PHYSICAL EXERCISE.

There are plenty of "Sports" that take little to no physical exercise to be proficient in. For example, Golf. I love Golf. Always have since my grandfather took me when I was 6 years old. I am a stick, as you might say, at almost 6'4" and barely 175 pounds yet I can drive the ball as far as some pros easily. If anything the same Pros take away the most physical part of the game, carrying the bag.That said, I do agree they are not athletes. They are professional gamers but not athletes.As for the switches, they don't look any better than Cherry MX Reds in terms of distance or actuation force (2mm, 45g for Reds) so I don't see the purpose in them really except for Razer to make money off of them possibly since everyone is going to mechanical for gaming these days.

Filco Majestouch-2 NKR 104 ASCII with red switches FTW.

Corsair K90 here. Love the reds. Just makes it so easy.

648374 said:

My point exactly. An athlete comes in multiple forms no matter what, and we shouldn't disregard others because they don't run around a field with big muscles.

Hence golfers. Most golfers are not in extreme shape and driving the ball requires more finesse and an understanding of how it works vs big muscles.

I still remember one time I was with a friend showing him how to golf at the driving range. Right next to us was a very muscular guy. His hits sounded great but then again he had top of the line titanium hollow head clubs.

That said, I was driving further than he was mostly because he was focusing on power.
user 18

I don't know that new is the right word for these switches. The Razer orange is a Cherry MX brown with a higher actuation point, and the Razer green is a Cherry MX blue with a higher actuation point. IMO, moving the actuation point actually does nothing, as someone who has fine enough control to 'float' the switch will float it no matter where the actuation point is, so long as it's reasonably close to the middle of the switch's travel. Of course, if you bottom out the switch, it doesn't matter where you actuate, you're still moving from top to bottom, and it won't make a significant difference in reaction time. I'd rather get my switches from Cherry than whatever knockoff OEM Razer has found.
biggestinsect

While I was institutionalized we had competitive head banging and wankathon competitions which are as about much a sport as rigorous typing. Very silly to describe computer gaming as athletic. As far as generic Cherry Key knock-offs we shall see; may bring the price of mechanical keyboards down. More interested in the Cherry/Corsair RGB switches.
patrick47018

All of you all hating on e-sports professionals are probably just jealous you weren't successful in sports, e-sports or more physical sports. Get a life, if someone is good at something let them thrive at it, especially if they enjoy themselves doing it. Rather than saying they should go play football or MMA, it's not feasible for everyone to make a living out of someone's ideal of sports, most sports players from professions like MMA probably wouldn't be good in e-sports and vice versa. Sorry for the rant, but people were being downright fools.
Innocent_Bystander-1312890

So what measurable difference is this going to make over a regular keyboard for someone that doesn't game 23 hours a day?
therogerwilco

Agreed. After several mice and keyboards failing JUST after the warranty expired, I won't be going to Razer ever again. Plus they need to fix their crappy QC on the firmware for keyboards. Just when you don't expect it, and after the warranty, you'll start typing and oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.... Until you unplug the keyboard. (but there's nothing wrong with their keyboard they say)
dhhdhghq

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_(sport) "The simplicity of the competitions, and the lack of a need for expensive equipment, makes athletics one of the most commonly competed sports in the world." This sentence alone should be enough to disqualify gaming as athletic, especially if ur using razer or other similar "pro-gaming" equipment xD I think its pretty much an insult to athletes the world over to call a gamer an athlete. You could call it a sport though just like dart or pool is a sport that can be competed in. but what it really is, well thats in the name isnt it?...its a GAME, like chess and others. Calling it anything else is just marketing tricks to make us gamers feel less geeky and maybe even cool when buying their keyboards and what not. You could also argue that athletics should be something that is good for your physical health increasing physical stamina, agility, flexibility and so on, and sitting in a chair in front of a computer is pretty much the opposit to healthy. Games are hell of fun though.
Mand12

When the U.S. State Department recognized several Korean Starcraft II players as athletes and gave them athletics entry visas, I'd say that makes them athletes.Quibble about definitions all you want, minimize their accomplishments all you want. Doesn't change what they can do.
cburke82

Quote:

121365 said:

Quote:

"eSports athletes". So this is what nerds, geeks, and losers are calling themselves now lol.

+1Now I love games as much as the next guy and God bless someone who can get paid to play games, but these guys are not athletes.Athele - a person who is proficient in sports and other forms of PHYSICAL EXERCISE.

Wrong.Here is the definition of an athlete:a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina.A person spending 8 hours or more every day honing in on their skills are showing signs of stamina both physically and mentally. They have high levels of dexterity and quick response times meaning they are training themselves both physically and mentally for use of peripherals, and of strategy.These "pro-gamers" are just not athletes by your unofficial definition. You could argue it requires more talent to be a top of the charts pro-gamer than an athlete in a garbage sport like American football too. Whether you like it or not, an e-athlete fits the definition of athlete. If we disregard professional gamers as athletes then we can exclude NASCAR, gold, chess, and more!

Since it is so easy to become an American football star maybe you should do it. They get paid very well. Or in reality your just nerd raging because someone had the gaul to say playing video games is not a sport and video game players are not athletes. You sir are what makes all other people who play games looks silly and you should take a good look at what you said and how stupid it sounds.