Drop Holy Panda X vs Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch)
One of these is ready out of the bag and one is a project: the Drop Holy Panda X comes factory lubed, the Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch) does not. Our switch library puts these two on each other's shortlist, and the player below is the fastest way to settle it: match the volumes, then work down through the table and the verdict.
Hear them back to back
simulated from real specssound loads on your first tapShortcuts: press A or B anywhere outside a text box to fire that burst. Use the volume trims to loudness-match the pair before judging which sounds better.
Spec by spec
| Spec | Drop Holy Panda X | Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch) |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Tactile | Tactile |
| Brand rates force at | bottom-out | bottom-out |
| Actuation force | 60 g | 60 g |
| Bottom-out force | 65 g | 67 g |
| Pre-travel | 2 mm | 2 mm |
| Total travel | 3.5 mm | 4 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | No | No |
| Factory lubed | Yes | No |
| MX-compatible stem | Yes | Yes |
| Price tier | Premium | Premium |
| Street price | varies | varies |
Drop and Community both advertise a bottom-out force, so the two headline figures in this table are measured at the same point and can be read against each other.
Verdict
The Drop Holy Panda X and the Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch) are both tactiles, so nothing separates them at the fingertip until you look at springs and acoustics. One of them is ready out of the bag: the Drop Holy Panda X is lubed at the factory and the other is not. Their springs sit close together, just 2 g apart at bottom-out, with the Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch) the marginally firmer press. We land on the Drop Holy Panda X for every use we score, and it is the safer of the two in a shared room, so the Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch) makes sense only if you preferred its voice in the player above.
- Overall pick
- Drop Holy Panda X
Gaming, typing and a shared office all point at the Drop Holy Panda X, so printing the same name three times would tell you nothing. One pick it is.
Force curves
Drop Holy Panda X
Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch)
Drop Holy Panda X or Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch): the long answer
The practical gap comes first here, because only one of these arrives ready to use. Both are premium priced. Only the Drop Holy Panda X comes factory lubed, so the Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch) asks for either an evening with a brush or tolerance of a drier stroke.
Now the part the spec table measures. Actuation lands at 2.0 mm on both, but the Drop Holy Panda X bottoms out 0.5 mm sooner, 3.5 mm against 4.0 mm. The stroke itself is shared: each one puts a felt event in the middle of the stroke. Spring weight barely separates them, 2 g at bottom-out with the Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch) on the firmer side, which most fingers will not register. Same family of stroke, so read the detail rather than the headline.
Sound is where most people finally pick a side. Played back to back, the Drop Holy Panda X is deep polished thock, smooth and rattle-free against deep rounded thock with a snappy tactile knock from the Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch). Worth repeating: the audio here is a simulation built from specs and community descriptions, not a recording of either switch.
The scoring gives up trying to divide this pair: the Drop Holy Panda X is our pick for gaming, for typing and for a shared desk. On speed, this axis is nearly a tie, and it comes out ahead only once the scoring is added up. On typing feel, its keystroke stays consistent and comfortable across a full day of writing. On noise, it makes the least fuss of the pair in a shared space. That leaves the Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch) to anyone who preferred its voice in the player above, which is a good enough reason on its own. The player above is the cheapest part of this decision, so use it before your wallet is involved.
Each of these has a page of its own with the full spec sheet and the sound notes. Start with the Drop Holy Panda X page and the Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch) page. If you are here to check the board you already own, use our free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
For gaming, should I buy the Drop Holy Panda X or the Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch)?
We pick the Drop Holy Panda X for gaming. The two are close enough for gaming that either works; our scoring defaults to it by a small margin.
Is the Drop Holy Panda X quieter than the Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch)?
Volume is roughly a wash: no dampening and no click mechanism on either, so your typing force and your case decide the level. The character is not a wash, with the Drop Holy Panda X reading as deep polished thock, smooth and rattle-free against deep rounded thock with a snappy tactile knock from the Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch).
Which switch is heavier, the Drop Holy Panda X or the Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch)?
The Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch), by 2 g. Both figures are published at bottom-out, 67 g against 65 g, so they are measured at the same point and can be read straight.
Do the Drop Holy Panda X and the Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch) need lubing?
The Drop Holy Panda X arrives lubed from the factory, so it is usable straight out of the bag. The Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch) does not, and on a full board that is an evening of work if you want it at its smoothest. Plenty of people run unlubed switches happily; it is a question of whether a slightly drier stroke bothers you.
More comparisons
More vs Drop Holy Panda X
More vs Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch)
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