How to Buy a Gaming Keyboard
How to Buy a Gaming Keyboard
How Do Y'all Game?
If you lot like to play games on your PC, you could only buy a $20 role keyboard and call it a day. Of grade, you could also get to a fancy steakhouse and slather your repast in ketchup, or play the complete works of Beethoven through a smartphone speaker.
The fact is, if y'all want to get the most out of your gaming rig, you'll demand some quality peripherals to go on with it. A keyboard is absolutely vital for work, play and everything in betwixt. Still, there are dozens of keyboards on the market that claim to enhance your gaming experience. Which ones actually volition, and which ones are only overpriced digital typewriters?
Whether you're building your own machine or looking to upgrade over the peripherals that came with a pre-built computer, a practiced gaming keyboard can streamline your gameplay, increment your effectiveness and make something as routine every bit typing feel similar a real accomplishment. Here's how to pick the best keyboard for your setup.
Keyboard variations tend to exist a bit more restrained than their gaming mouse counterparts, but there are still a few of import considerations earlier yous start your search. The starting time matter you lot'll want to do is determine how you spend your PC gaming time. Are you hooked on the eSports scene, or do yous prefer single-player adventures? Will a dozen extra buttons aid your MMO raid political party, or is the extra space required for a numpad cramping your style?
MORE: All-time Gaming Keyboards
The first thing you lot should determine is whether you need a gaming keyboard at all. If your PC gaming is restricted to the occasional round of League of Legends or post-obit the episodic Telltale Games releases, a high-end peripheral with expensive switches and fancy lighting is probably not going to enhance your experience that much.
Likewise, if your PC is only a way to play the latest console port titles, you'd exist much ameliorate off investing in a practiced controller than a top-of-the-line keyboard. Keyboards tend to work best with first-person shooters, strategy games and MMOs, so if these are your go-to genres, a better keyboard may exist in your time to come.
Pricing
Gaming keyboards don't generally fit into neat toll categories. In my feel, every company has a different thought about how much a characteristic like full RGB lighting or mechanical switches is worth, and will charge accordingly. There are some very broad guidelines you tin can use when selecting a keyboard, only these will vary considerably depending on retailer, sales, and whether there is a newer model about to replace something.
Less Than $100
In this price range, you can expect to detect mostly membrane keyboards, older mechanical models or tenkeyless models from second- or tertiary-tier companies similar Cooler Main or Poseidon. There are some outstanding selections in this toll range, like the $60 Turtle Beach Touch 100 ($60, at Amazon), which tries to produce membrane keys with a mechanical feel. Otherwise, if $100 is equally much every bit you lot tin spend, try to hunt for mechanical models that have recently been replaced with newer versions.
Between $100 and $150
Between $100 and $150 is by and large the sweetness spot for gaming keyboards. This is where you lot'll notice models like the Corsair Strafe ($110, at Amazon) or the Razer BlackWidow Ultimate 2016 ($110, at Amazon). These keyboards take mechanical switches, monocolored backlighting and a full range of keys, including a numpad. They may or may not have an actress row of macro keys, merely if they do, one boosted row is probably all you'll get. If you can notice a keyboard you lot similar in a color that matches your setup, this is probably the cost range for you.
More than Than $150
If you can spend more $150, the sky'due south the limit. This is where you'll find keyboards with full RGB backlighting, like the Corsair Gaming K70 RGB($170, at Amazon) and the Logitech G910 Orion Spark ($180, at Amazon). Some of these keyboards have tons of macro keys, height-of-the-line mechanical switches or merely very colorful backlighting. Whether they're worth the premium very much depends on whether you need something extra to enhance your gaming feel — or to match your décor.
Membrane vs. Mechanical
Something you'll learn from fifty-fifty brief enquiry on gaming keyboards is that some cheaper, lower-end models are "membrane," whereas the more than expensive, ambitious models are "mechanical." For more on what this all means, you can check out our full breakdown.
Briefly, membrane keyboards work past running an electric current through 2 mushy plastic membranes. Mechanical keyboards work, similar typewriters of old, by placing a mechanical switch underneath each keycap. Naturally, the latter option feels better and works more than reliably, but information technology'due south besides considerably more expensive.
Nevertheless, unless price is a asymmetric consideration, there is no reason why a gamer should buy a membrane keyboard over a mechanical ane. With few exceptions, membrane gaming keyboards tend to feel almost every bit good as a $20 part model, and that won't do many favors for either your gaming habits or your everyday productivity.
Assuming you're on the hunt for a mechanical model (and you should be), in that location are still a few more things you lot should know. There are dozens of mechanical switch types and manufacturers, and keeping them all straight can be hard. To keep it brief, familiarize yourself with switch types from the German company Blood-red.
MORE: Why You Desire a Mechanical Keyboard
Cherry MX keys are industry-standard; if a keyboard manufacturer tin't get Cherry keys, you tin can be sure information technology volition imitate them instead. They come in a variety of colors, the most common of which are Red, Brownish, and Blueish. Red keys are quiet and respond to a soft-bear on; Brown keys are quiet merely resistant; Blueish keys are clackety and resistant. If a keyboard manufacturer advertises Blood-red, Blueish or Brownish keys, fifty-fifty if they're non authentic Cherrys, it volition still aim for that full general mode.
Other mechanical switch types include Blacks (shallow and potent) and Greens (louder and more resistant than Blues). Topre switches, of Japanese origin, are relatively uncommon in the West, but provide a quieter, more rubbery feel with a total mechanical system underneath.
Types of Keyboards
Every bit stated earlier, gaming keyboards don't really get as granular as their mouse counterparts. Since every keyboard has to be an all-purpose peripheral to some extent or some other, the differences between diverse types are subtle. Still, there are at least three general types of keyboards worth exploring.
The vast majority of gaming keyboards are all-purpose models. This is where y'all'll find mechanical models that look more or less like a standard office keyboard, perhaps with a few extra keys or some fancy backlighting to set them apart. All-purpose keyboards usually look unassuming, but (hopefully) pack some gorgeous mechanical switches under the hood. They may or may non have an extra row of macro buttons. Either way, they're ideal for FPS, RTS, MOBA or whatsoever action/adventure holdouts who grew up during the '80s or '90s and simply refuse to sully their setups with a console-style controller.
For gamers who live and dice past cooperative online games, an MMO keyboard may be the way to become. These keyboards accept tons of extra macro keys, oft in multiple rows. Conservative MMO keyboards start at six extra keys, but can become all the way up to 18 for those who want to truly micromanage every aspect of a graphic symbol's skill rotation. These keyboards are often expensive and enormous, though, and then make certain you have both the funds and the desk space.
On the other finish of the spectrum are tenkeyless models, which eschew the numpad entirely. These devices are pocket-sized, (relatively) inexpensive and usually calorie-free enough to transport. Some of them even allow you to disconnect the wire, or come with a carrying case. If desk-bound infinite is at a premium in your home, or if y'all're constantly on the become for tournaments, a tenkeyless keyboard is well worth investigating — peculiarly in conjunction with a many-buttoned gaming mouse.
Illumination
When information technology comes to backlighting, gamers generally have iii choices in keyboards: none, one colour, or full RGB. Backlighting is, overall, not every bit useful as information technology may sound; fifty-fifty if yous're not an excellent typist, you'll probably figure out where you need to put your fingers for game commands hands plenty. On the other mitt, if you have a bluish estimator case, a bluish mouse and a blue power indicator on your monitor, a blazing red keyboard is going to look pretty light-headed.
RGB features can increment a keyboard'south cost by dozens of dollars, and then consider advisedly whether information technology's really something you need. My recommendation is to purchase a monocolored keyboard if you can find one that matches your setup, and to leap for RGB lighting if you can't. If you're an all-star touch typist, y'all can simply eschew lighting entirely.
More: Best Gaming Mouse
If you already own other gaming peripherals, similar gaming mice or headsets, backlighting can as well be a point of synchronicity between them. Brands like Logitech, Razer and SteelSeries accept unified gaming software that can link the backlighting across mice, headsets and keyboards. Furthermore, running only one programme instead of iii produces less of a bleed on organization resources. If you lot already have a headset or mouse from a sure brand, consider buying a keyboard from the same manufacturer.
Lesser Line
Choosing a great gaming keyboard is probably easier than choosing a great gaming mouse, merely there are notwithstanding a few important things to keep in mind. Get a mechanical model, be certain it has the correct number of extra keys (begetting in mind the correct number might be "zilch") and consider whether you really need to spend a lot of actress coin for colorful illumination.
Information technology's worth noting that a mechanical keyboard is not only a cracking gaming tool; it's a fantastic addition to whatsoever productivity setup every bit well. Yous may find a keyboard that costs more than than $100 much easier to justify if you tin state with confidence that it volition come up in handy every time you type something.
Best Gaming Keyboard Overall
Corsair K70 RGB Mk.two
Beautiful, functional and innovative, the Corsair K70 RGB Mk.2 is a gaming keyboard that has something for everyone.
Best Keyboard Blueprint
Roccat Vulcan 120 Aimo
The Roccat Vulcan is a case study in how a hit artful, married to not bad performance, tin have an inventive new product far.
Best Small Keyboard
Logitech G Pro
For times when space is at a premium, either at a convention or in your dwelling house, the Logitech G Pro admittedly nails the small keyboard blueprint.
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/us/buy-gaming-keyboard-guide,review-3368.html
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