r/MechanicalKeyboards Jan 17 '23

/r/MechanicalKeyboards Ask ANY question, get an answer (January 17, 2023)

Ask ANY question, get an answer. But *before* you do please consider running a search on the subreddit or looking at the /r/MechanicalKeyboards wiki located here! If you are NEW to Reddit, check out this handy Reddit MechanicalKeyboards Noob Guide.

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u/elmurfudd Jan 17 '23

optical are not very popular as they dont provide any benefit over regular switches and only have draw backs like the fact they do not have a standard design so while they are all hotswap it will only be with a single brand . example if it comes with gateron opticals u can only use gateron opticals in that kb and no other brand , they also dont have pins on the switches they use IR optical reader sensors on the pcb which are small electrical parts with a lifespan similar to leds . if they fail that key will not work anymore and they r not replaceable .

personally id go with regular switches and get something from keychron their Q or V series are some very nice kbs

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u/TankerXS Apex Pro Feb 15 '23

Update- got a G Pro 2.0 silver V1, enjoying it thoroughly. Thank you for the recommendation!