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Test Bench 1.4.3  
Changelog

 0
Updated 

Our 1.4.3 keyboard test bench update makes several improvements to our Keystrokes test group.

What's Changed?

Test Group Changes
Keystrokes
  • Renamed the Operating Force measurement to Peak Tactile Force
  • Two new measurements: Initial Force and Bottom-Out Force

Keystrokes

Our goal with these changes is to bring our terminology closer to community usage and to expand our measurements so they better capture how a keystroke feels at different points in its travel.

Renamed Measurements

Manufacturers and the wider community frequently use the terms Actuation Force and Operating Force interchangeably, but we've been using them to describe separate measurements. This created confusion and made it harder to compare our results with spec sheets or other reviewers' force-curve databases. To fix this, we've renamed our Operating Force comparison to Peak Tactile Force.

Peak Tactile Force

This measurement represents the highest amount of force required for the tactile bump before actuation. This measurement only applies to Tactile and Clicky switches and is reported as the average value from all samples.

Two New Measurements

Initial Force

This is the amount of force required to overcome the switch's preload and start the keypress. Reported as the average value from all samples.

Bottom-Out Force

This is the force measured at the end of the key's travel when fully pressed down. Reported as the average value from all samples.

OLD NEW
A force-displacement curve graph from our originally published Keystrokes test group for the REALFORCE GX1, which uses tactile Topre electro-capacitive switches. The press and release curves are shown, and the graph labels a Tactile Point, an Actuation Point, a Reset Point, and Total Travel.
Our originally published Keystrokes test group from our review of the REALFORCE GX1, which uses tactile Topre electro-capacitive switches.
A force-displacement curve graph from our new Keystrokes test group for the REALFORCE GX1, which uses tactile Topre electro-capacitive switches. The press and release curves are shown, and the graph labels an Initial Force, Peak Tactile, Actuation, and Bottom-Out Measurements.
Our new Keystrokes test group for the REALFORCE GX1 showing newly-added Initial Force and Bottom-Out Force measurements, and Operating Force renamed to Peak Tactile Force.

Additional Fixes

We've also corrected a visual issue in our switch actuation graphs where a tactile point was sometimes erroneously identified on linear switches.

OLD NEW
A force-displacement graph from the originally published Keystrokes test group for the NuPhy Kick75, which uses silent linear Kailh Blush Max switches. The press and release curves are shown. The graph incorrectly marks a Tactile Point, despite the linear curve.
Our originally published Keystrokes test group for the NuPhy Kick75, which uses silent linear Kailh Blush Max switches, incorrectly identifies a tactile point on the graph.
Alt text: A force-displacement graph from the new Keystrokes test group for the NuPhy Kick75, which uses silent linear Kailh Blush Max switches. The press and release curves are shown along with the new Initial Force and Bottom-Out Force measurements. The graph correctly does not indicate a Peak Tactile point since the switch is linear.
The new Keystrokes test group for the NuPhy Kick75 shows the Initial Force and Bottom-Out Force measurements and correctly indicates that the Peak Tactile Force value is not applicable because the switch is linear.

Let Us Know What You Think

Your feedback is instrumental in helping us improve our testing. If you have comments, questions, or suggestions about this or any future updates, reach out to us below in the comments, on our Discord server, or email us at feedback@rtings.com.

36 Keyboards Updated So Far

We are retesting popular models first. So far, the test results for the following models have been converted to the new testing methodology. However, the text might be inconsistent with the new results.

41 Keyboards Planned To Be Updated

We are also planning to retest the following products over the course of the next few weeks:

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