Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. News

Cherry Americas’ silent Cherry MX switches now available for all keyboards

Kevin Parrish
By

CHERRY MX SILENT
Cherry Americas introduced its latest Cherry MX switches for mechanical keyboards on December 21. The Cherry MX Silent and the Cherry MX Silent RGB. As their names indicate, these switches are completely silent, providing the same tactile feedback as the company’s other Cherry MX switches, but without all the noise. Both switches will be sold to mechanical keyboard makers in Red and Black models.

Key switches are responsible for “actuating” the user’s desired keypress. Cherry MX switches have different ways of activating the desired letter and of providing feedback to the end user. For instance, “Black” switches are linear and don’t provide loud clicks or tactile “bumps” when a key is depressed. “Red” switches require less force to actuate the letter, and feel smooth as the key goes up and down, making them great for PC gaming.

There are other Cherry MX “colors,” too, that aren’t available in the new Silent series. “Brown” switches provide a tactile bump during the middle of the keypress, and target both PC gamers and typists. “Blue” switches provide a tactile bump when the switch is all the way down as it actuates the keypress. “Clear” switches aren’t quite as well known as the other colors, and provide the most friction of the series due to their large tactile bump.

Related

“The popular Cherry Silent Red Keyswitch, with its light linear feel and no pressure point, and the linear Silent Black both carry the unique and unequalled Gold Crosspoint technology the world has come to expect from Cherry,” the company said. “Gold Crosspoint contacts are self-cleaning, resistant to dust and dirt, and they ensure the reliability of the keyswitch in a keyboard layout.”

The new Cherry MX Silent switches are now offered to keyboard manufacturers in multiple fastening configurations. Each one features an actuation force of 45cN, less than 5 milliseconds of bounce, and IP40 protection against solid objects over 1mm. They also promise over 50 million actuations, meaning they will last a good long time in mechanical keyboards. Even more, the RGB versions come packed with a transparent case and light-scattering lens.

The Cherry MX Silent RGB switches were previously used exclusively in Corsair’s Strafe RGB mechanical keyboard, which sells for $160. The description of the switch on Corsair’s product page states that it’s the world’s first to feature “fully integrated noise reduction technology for gaming key switches.” The patented noise reduction tech consists of two integrated component tappets, and a “precision-engineered” glass-fiber reinforced base.

As for the overall switch, it consists of pressure-resistant metal alloy springs, gold-plated contact closures, and gold cross-point contacts. The stems that connect the switch to the actual keycap are indeed colored to represent its type, and based on Corsair’s product page, the Strafe RGB uses the Cherry MX Silent RGB Red model. The keyboard also ships with non-silent Cherry MX RGB Red, Brown, or Blue switches.

Here are the model numbers for the company’s new Cherry MX Silent switches:

Name Part Number
Cherry MX Silent Black MX3A-11NN
Cherry MX Silent RGB Black MX3A-11NA
Cherry MX Silent Red MX3A-L1NN
Cherry MX Silent RGB Red MX3A-L1NA

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
I built my own gaming keyboard for the price of buying one — and it’s so much better
A custom keyboard sitting among keycaps and switches.

I'm fed up with mainstream gaming keyboards. They're just too expensive for what you get. My frustration to find something I really loved led me to finally bite the bullet and build my own. It's a hobby that's billed as niche and prohibitively expensive, but that's not the case. You can build a keyboard for the same price as buying one from a mainstream brand, and you'll come out with a much better result.

Keyboards are complex beasts, despite how simple they appear. Once you open the can of worms that is custom mechanical keyboards, you'll quickly become an expert in minor differences between keycaps, switches, and everything in between. If you want a keyboard that can put even the best mechanical keyboards to shame, you need to build your own.
Building your own keyboard isn't that expensive

Read more
Razer’s new Ornata V3 keyboard uses hybrid ‘mecha-membrane’ switches
The Razer Ornata V3 mecha-membrane switch

Razer's latest peripheral offerings are full-size keyboards that have interesting designs and affordable prices. The Razer Ornata V3 and Ornata V3 X are both available now and sell for $70 and $40, respectively.

The Razer Ornata V3 features the brand's coined "mecha-membrane" switches, which are a mix of mechanical and membrane switches in the internals of each key. This helps with the cushioning of the keys while typing for more "satisfying clicks," Razer said.

Read more
Logitech’s new MX keyboard brings mechanical switches to the masses
MX Mechanical keyboard from the top left corner.

Logitech has announced the MX Master 3S mouse and two wireless MX Mechanical keyboards. The mouse is the update to the uberpopular MX Master 3, while the MX Mechanical keyboards are totally new products that promise to leverage Logitech's expertise in gaming keyboards.

The MX Mechanical keyboard comes in a full size and a compact 75% variant known as the MX Mechanical Mini. Both look to combine the strengths of mechanical keyboards with the productivity-focused features of the company's MX Keys membrane keyboard.

Read more