r/MechanicalKeyboards • u/ThereminGoat Switch Collector : Prototype Hoarder • Dec 04 '22
Review Cherry MX 'New Nixie' Switch Review
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u/ThereminGoat Switch Collector : Prototype Hoarder Dec 04 '22
Hey all,
Apologies for having taken last week off, but I really wanted to make sure this one came out perfectly. So, with double the amount of comparisons and hours more of break in testing, I finally am happy to present my take on Cherry MX's Black Clear-Tops, AKA 'New Nixies'.
Website: https://www.theremingoat.com/
Article: https://www.theremingoat.com/blog/cherry-mx-new-nixie-switch-review
Scorecard Repository: https://github.com/ThereminGoat/switch-scores
Force Curve Repository: https://github.com/ThereminGoat/force-curves
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theremingoat
As always, I hope that you all enjoy and thank you for your continued support up to this point. If it was for the readership of the combined community at large, I'm not certain I would have gotten this opportunity to check out these switches this soon.
Cheers,
Goat
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u/nonamepew Dec 05 '22
Unrelated question, is the Gateron speed silver prosame as Gateron G pro silver? Because I don't find any Gateron speed silver pro anywhere.
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u/tom_menary Dec 04 '22
It's insane how far I read into this article before finding out what kind of switch it was.
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u/Apk07 Dec 04 '22 edited Dec 04 '22
For real, 90% of people seeing this are like "wtf is a Cherry MX New Nixie" and click the link to glance at it real quick, not realizing they have to read an entire novel first. A basic description of the switch doesn't come until half-way down the ~8,000 word article.
I appreciate thorough reviews and testing, but holy moly this is the world's best example of needing a TL;DR summary. There is a mind-boggling amount of exposition and rambling.
Stating what the switch is advertised as and/or placing the "scorecard" at the top or in a side-bar would go a very long way for your articles and help people who respect your reviews but don't have an hour to spare.
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u/TheGeorgeForman NK65 EE + Gat Yellow Dec 04 '22
It's legit the mechanical keyboard equivalent of when you're searching for a recipe and there's a whole ass novella about how this recipe came about and how everyone in the author's family loves it and all this bullshit before the actual recipe which is like 200 words max.
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u/Grun3wald Dec 05 '22
Damn. The recipe description is spot on. The verbosity and the overwhelming amount of ads on cooking blogs makes the whole experience so painful.
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u/ronin_cse Dec 05 '22
Disclaimer: I'm not affiliated with that app at all, I just think it's really useful and I also really REALLY hate all the dumb stuff on recipe sites
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u/tom_menary Dec 04 '22
I don't even have issue with there being no tl;Dr but you still don't even really even know what it's about half way through was my beef.
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u/solracarevir SkeletorGang Dec 05 '22
You can always go directly to the updated scorecards if you only care about numbers. I think relying only on numbers is a mistake but there is always the option.
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u/HoshinoNadeshiko Mammoth75+Ooolong+Dusk | Bubble75+Neapolitan Ice Cream+Sakrua Dec 05 '22
I mean, they do have a TLDR? At the end of the article?
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u/brainandforce Everglide SK108 (Everglide Amber 67g), Model M122s Dec 05 '22
Also the fact that the link is not to the review but to a picture...
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u/Futuristick-Reddit Dec 04 '22
You can Ctrl + F for "Push Feel" and start reading there if you aren't interested in background; OP often acknowledges in articles that that's where a lot of people start reading.
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u/Apk07 Dec 05 '22
It sounds like this is a common issue with OP's writing and he is just ignoring the constructive criticism, then. If the main point is completely lost in the article and people have to be told to CTRL+F just to find it, isn't that an issue? It seems painfully simple to address
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u/Futuristick-Reddit Dec 05 '22
I mean, sure? Many people enjoy the background, I'm just telling you how you can tailor your experience to your preferences.
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u/Progmodsarecucks Dec 05 '22
"Push feel?" Wtf is "push feel?"
Did you mean Ctrl + F is "find in page?" Because that's what it actually is.
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u/anvilsp NiZ Atom68 | NK65 EE | 8BitDo FC Dec 05 '22
"Push feel" is the section of TG's reviews where the characteristics of the switch's feel are actually described. It's the same across all of his reviews, so it's an easy thing to search for if you just want the meat.
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u/SXLightning Dec 05 '22
Yeah I was scrolling and realised none of this is even about the switch lol. So I started scrolling faster but damn it took a while to even get to the scores. Then I went back and read the sections that interested me
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Dec 04 '22
[deleted]
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u/tom_menary Dec 04 '22
I guess I'm sorry for not know what a nixie was 🤷♂️
Need to read or hear something to know something.
Just because you know everything in the world doesn't mean everyone else does.
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u/ThereminGoat Switch Collector : Prototype Hoarder Dec 04 '22
Hey mate, if you're new to checking out my website and reviews and don't know a lot about switches it might be worth starting by hitting CTRL-F and searching for the 'Scorecard'
While these are also in my GitHub separately, that is a relatively condensed, single page review with some scoring that could help orient you before the rest of it. Rest assured that if you keep reading other reviews of mine that I keep virtually the same format eternally.
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u/GanyuFate Dec 05 '22
What I believe people are asking you for is a format similar to rtings . Scorecard and tldr at the top
In depth after:
https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/dell/alienware-aw3423dw
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u/tom_menary Dec 04 '22
I don't have a problem being oriented but why not put some of the simple info at the top. Before or after the pre amble about ambles perhaps.
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Dec 04 '22
[deleted]
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u/tom_menary Dec 04 '22
I'm aware of that, I largely enjoyed it but it's still not unreasonable to ask for the bare minimum up front. It contextualises the whole thing.
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Dec 04 '22 edited Dec 04 '22
[deleted]
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u/vidoardes I use ISO & split space and you can't stop me Dec 04 '22
r/gatekeeping is that way.
God forbid some newbie try and get involved in the hobby.
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Dec 04 '22
[deleted]
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u/vidoardes I use ISO & split space and you can't stop me Dec 04 '22
I've been in the hobby for over five years, built several of my own keyboards. I have never heard of the word Nixie until this post.
All the person you replied to is asking for it's a little context at the start of the review. It's not a big ask, it's not a criticism, it's a bit of feedback for the author. No need to get so defensive about it.
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u/tom_menary Dec 04 '22
I have no doubt its not for me, now.
How am I to know that before clicking on it lol.
It's not like this was posted with a big 'only for people who know what a nixie is'.
I'm all for niche content but surely it should be signposted as such.
And regardless, the amount of preamble was unrelated to any of it.
who don't even know of the switch they are reading about.
Ie, in practice possibly every review anyone could ever read?
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u/Odd-Possible-3727 Dec 04 '22
Can someone TLDR me lol
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u/thunder2132 Dec 05 '22
Good switch. Heavy bottom out, no spring ping, smoother than other Cherries with less break-in needed. Arguably the first Cherry switch aimed at enthusiasts, and it meets that goal.
Edit
I have ADHD, took me several tries to get through the review. That said, it's well written and has a nice summary at the end if you can't make it through the longform writing.
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u/Silentism Dec 05 '22
Scroll to the bottom of the review. The easiest thing to digest is probably the description of push feel (ctrl+f) and maybe some of the other sections afterward. Theres a section where he also compares it to other switches which might be helpful.
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u/yayfurui Dec 05 '22
Hey /u/ThereminGoat thanks for the detailed review as usual. Some of your older reviews helped me make some informed decisions when building my boards. Glad to know you have a Patreon to support your endeavors.
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u/valiiance Dec 04 '22 edited Dec 05 '22
Thank you for the extensive and detailed write-ups you do. It reminds me of the old web and is increasingly rare in the world of vlogs and video reviews.
You have me excited to try these switches in the future!
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u/ProvidingSound Dec 04 '22
Where to buy?
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u/WonderSausage Dec 05 '22
Here's what's wrong with this hobby in a nutshell. Somebody asks a legitimate question, gets 3 downvotes and one reply saying "NK" which is deliberately obscure to someone who isn't familiar with Novelkeys. Hell, the switches aren't even called "New Nixie" at Novelkeys, they are called MX Black Clear Tops.
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u/thunder2132 Dec 05 '22
Great write-up! I have ADHD so it took several visits to get all the way through the article, but it further convinced me that I made a good choice ordering some of these. I right now plan on putting them in my QK75 when it gets here.
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u/MarHip Dec 05 '22
I havent looked at an article from you in a while but damn are they getting longer? You looked at everything that can be looked at with a Switch!
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u/aphaits Dec 05 '22
Sorry to be off topic but I'm really curious how you get such detailed and crisp close up images of the switch. Great photos on the article.
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u/synthesize-me Dec 05 '22
Most likely the use of a macro lens on a mirrorless or dslr camera
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u/aphaits Dec 05 '22
Yes that's what I'm curious on. What are the macro lens setup / lighting setup for the shots?
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u/ThereminGoat Switch Collector : Prototype Hoarder Dec 06 '22
See comment above and a $40 Amazon light box.
Not exactly breaking any ground with my setup.
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u/ThereminGoat Switch Collector : Prototype Hoarder Dec 06 '22
It's just a beat up Lumix G85 with a 30 mm f/2.8 Mega O.I.S lens.
And a lot of patience and practice.
Nothing super fancy, whole rig put together second hand for ~$600
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u/Mechanical_Nightmare Dec 04 '22
a bit unrelated but i clicked on this thread and then your post on instagram was the first thing to appear on my Explore page lol
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u/gama69g Dec 05 '22
A. Where is the bloody review? It just links to an image. B. After finding the review, the writer seems to really enjoy typing away on whatever keyboard/switch they were using. Holly molly.
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u/NicholasMistry Dec 04 '22
For those who are not in the know - a "nixie" switch was a switch produced by Cherry for the company Nixdorf in the 80's. The switch had an integrated diode and characteristic black and white top coloring. The actuation force was specific as well. Glad to see the return of the diode, and i hope other switch manufacturers follow suit.
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u/ThereminGoat Switch Collector : Prototype Hoarder Dec 04 '22
I'm going to take a guess and say that you didn't look at the review lol.
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u/The_gamer315 Dec 05 '22
Oh god I just got into building Nixie tube clocks, and the information that I have been gathering for months flashed in my head
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u/special-agent-carrot Dec 05 '22
Technically not nee but they are officially produced in Germany. Rather then being a franken
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Dec 04 '22
So thocc or no thocc?
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u/Yellow_Triangle Dec 05 '22
If you use it in certain ways, you should be able to make it go plonk.
As for real sound? Well I gave up once I began reading the review. Way too much information for what I was looking for.
I was basically just looking for the talking points but got an essay.
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u/nubsors Feb 08 '23
I got my shipment of new nixies and found that they had significant spring ping/leaf ping and housing wobble. Had to lube and film to fix.
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u/[deleted] Dec 05 '22
This review cannot come at a better time.
I wonder how many sellers with OG Nixdorf switches going to lose their potential profits with the release of the New Nixies.
Speaking of, splendidly written review as always.