9+ Best Mechanical Keyboard for Gaming and Typing | Unrivaled Guide 2023

A well-equipped gamer is worth two, but still, it is necessary to be able to decide when choosing its peripherals! Alongside our complete guides accompanying you in your quest for the gamer mouse and the perfect gamer, it is now the turn of gamer keyboards to be peeled to the smallest detail.

This is not really a secret, the vast majority of games on PC and Mac are played with the mouse and the keyboard, and even if the controllers come back in force in recent years, they are not ready to dethrone this famous combo. The crucial element of your gaming-oriented setup, an effective keyboard can clearly make the difference by offering a much better responsiveness and accuracy compared to conventional models generally intended for the office. here are the Best Mechanical Keyboard for Gaming and Typing

Best Mechanical Keyboard Comparison Table

Best Mechanical Keyboard Reviewed

1 Corsair K55 RGB

Probably the best value for money if you are looking for a membrane gaming keyboard. Regularly available under the 50 $ mark, the Corsair K55 RGB has more than one trick in its bag to appeal to players on a limited budget. If its responsiveness does not equal that of the best mechanical keyboards, we appreciate its 6 additional keys and its complete controls dedicated to multimedia. To top it all, the keyboard has a nice RGB lighting on three areas and a removable wrist rest.

2.

Entry level at SteelSeries, the Apex 100 is presented as a simple but effective keyboard. At this price, it is useless to expect miracles, but the keyboard is clearly the job for players looking to equip themselves without ruining. The 24-key anti-ghosting and 1ms response time ensure excellent responsiveness, while the blue backlight will bring an extra touch to the look of the keyboard.

What is a gaming keyboard

The term ” gaming ” is increasingly widespread in the world of PC peripherals, but it is never clear what it means. What features distinguish a normal keyboard from a gaming keyboard? I often hear about chairs or even “gaming” desks, as if a very comfortable chair or a nice solid desk can’t be perfectly good for playing games unless they have this label.

For keyboards , on the other hand, the situation is a bit different: there are concrete characteristics that make one peripheral more suitable than another for those who are serious about videogames and e-sports.

The parameter most felt by gamers is certainly reactivity , that is, perceiving the minimum possible delay between pressing the button and its actual input transmitted to the PC. Usually in a quality keyboard this is a few milliseconds but, for the more competitive gamer, that’s enough to make a difference. Especially on FPS games, where a single bullet can decide the fate of the challenge.

Gaming peripherals are often defined as such even only for the presence of an LED backlight , often RGB and customizable through software. This is obviously a completely superfluous feature for performance purposes, but also the aesthetic aspect has become a fundamental parameter for gamers.

Features to consider while buying

Before giving you some advice for the purchase of a new keyboard mainly dedicated to games, I believe it is right to provide you with some precise indications regarding the technical characteristics to be kept in mind when choosing.

Size and format

Without a shadow of a doubt, the first aspect you need to pay attention to when buying a new gaming keyboard is its size , which will certainly play an important role in terms of use (and your personal comfort. ). The first parameter that affects the size of a keyboard is its format , i.e. the number of keys it contains. Below is a list of the most popular formats.

• Full size – generally characterized by the presence of 104 keys (except for any multimedia, programmable or macro keys), this is the “standard” format, the most common for most gaming and non-gaming keyboards.
• Tenkeyless (or TKL) – this format is aesthetically similar to the one seen above, but has 87 keys (numeric keypad is missing).
• 75% – has the same characteristics as the TKL format, but more compact dimensions, as the function keys, the directional arrows and any quick commands are practically attached to the letters.
• Compact – is the format of mini keyboards, also known as 60% or 40%; this format is very rare in the gaming field.

Furthermore, you should know that gaming keyboards may or may not be equipped with wrist rests and / or other aesthetic elements that can increase their size: if you have to place this device on a small desk, or on a particularly “populated” desk, you I recommend that you take this aspect into consideration (together with what your needs are).

Ergonomics

Closely related to size, the ergonomics factor is particularly important, especially when it comes to gaming keyboards: when buying, carefully evaluate the spacing between one category of keys and the other (function keys / macros with letters, for example ) and the subdivision of the “islands” for right and left hands, if any, as these factors could have an impact on your gaming experience.

Also, do not underestimate the presence or absence of palm rests or other external components that can improve the position of the upper limbs, as these could reduce the possibility of health problems caused by long use of the keyboard.

Layout

Another aspect you need to pay particular attention to is the keyboard layout , i.e. the layout of the keys dedicated to letters and symbols. As for gaming, I always recommend that you opt for a QWERTY keyboard (whose first keys in the upper left are, in fact, QWERTY), as most games use this arrangement as a reference.

Therefore, beware of imported products, which may have QWERTZ layouts (Germany, Austria, German Switzerland and other Central European countries) or AZERTY (France, Corsica and other French-speaking countries): not only the letters may be arranged in different way than what you are used to seeing, but they could be uncomfortable for use within games (the classic “WASD” sequence , on an AZERTY keyboard, would not be so easy to use …).

Also pay attention to the localization of the keyboard, which instead affects the position of punctuation symbols, accented letters and special characters: be sure to choose keyboards with Italian QWERTY layout , otherwise you may have to learn to type with the keyboard again!

Membrane or mechanical keyboard

It can be said that, as far as gaming is concerned, the use of a membrane keyboard or a mechanism can really make a difference. Because? I’ll explain it to you right away.

Membrane keyboards are made up of a single multi-layered membrane, directly connected to the physical “switches” responsible for the perception of pressure, on which the individual keys are positioned. Therefore, although they are well divided, all the keys belong to a single mechanism that actually dominates the pressure.

Because of this, typing is generally quieter. However, at least for low and medium-range membrane keyboards, the tactile sensation is extremely reduced, you have to exert a certain pressure on the key to be sure that it has actually been pressed but, above all, typing and switching from a key the other may slow down due to the resistance opposed by the keys themselves.

These problems are completely solved with mechanical keyboards , by far the most widespread in the gaming field (but also much noisier than the previous ones): they use a single mechanical switch for each key, which significantly increases their precision and feel. tactile. Each mechanical switch, in particular, is combined with an electronic card responsible for managing the behavior of the corresponding button.

The switches are not all the same and differ above all for the feedback offered when pressing the keys (as well as for the precise characteristics related to the movement of the finger necessary to generate inputs): below you will list the most common ones.

• Cherry MX Blue – are the fastest and most responsive switches, but definitely the loudest.
• Cherry MX Brown – require less pressure to release input (so you don’t need to “sink” your finger).
• Cherry MX Black – are linear type (suitable for long presses and half presses, double keystrokes and rapid keystrokes) and require some pressure to generate input.
• Cherry MX Red – are also linear switches, but they require less force.

It will be useful to know that some manufacturers of gaming keyboards, such as Razer and Logitech , instead use proprietary switches with different characteristics, albeit attributable to those seen in the Cherry MX series.

Key rollover, anti-ghosting and polling rate

Still talking about mechanical keyboards, there are parameters to take into consideration, which could significantly affect the quality of typing (and the actual in-game yield): you can find them listed below.

• Key rollover – identifies the ability to press multiple keys at the same time, without confusing the input. Most gaming keyboards are able to detect simultaneous pressures of a high number of keys (N-Key rollover), however it is always good to pay attention to the presence or absence of this feature (and the maximum number of simultaneous keys supported) .
• Polling rate – identifies the time interval between pressing a key and the next for the last one to be detected: the higher the polling rate, the lower the time interval, the better.
• Anti-ghosting – is the set of features that, in fact, serves to prevent the keyboard from recognizing non-existent pressures. The anti-ghosting system is almost always present on gaming keyboards and is usually identified by a number or a percentage.

Programmable keys and trackpad

For some categories of games, it is necessary to perform sequential actions, often repeatedly, to succeed in your goal: for this reason, many gaming keyboards provide the user with a series of programmable keys , or macro keys , via the such as “recording” the necessary sequences (or macros) and replaying them by pressing a single key each time.

This functionality, however, is generally dominated at the software level: the “recording” of the macros takes place through a specific program, therefore, when choosing, make sure that the keyboard is compatible with the operating system you are using.

In addition, there are keyboard models that integrate pointing systems , such as trackpads or trackballs , which can act as a “mouse” and move the cursor on the screen: they are not very common in the gaming field, however you can consider buying a keyboard of this type if your favorite title requires quick interaction between keyboard (with both hands) and mouse.

Backlight

If you are a gamer who is very attentive to the aesthetics of your station or, again, if you love playing in low light conditions, I recommend that you opt for a keyboard with a backlight .

Most mechanical gaming keyboards (but also some membrane models, especially high-end ones) have keys with RGB backlighting, which can be activated by pressing a physical button and customized using special software: the latter allows you to choose the color (or colors) with which to “illuminate” your keyboard and, in some cases, define time intervals after which the setting must be changed.

Connectivity

As you certainly know, as far as connectivity is concerned , keyboards are divided into at least three different categories, which I list below.

• Wired keyboards – very popular, these keyboards are connected to the PC via USB port. Until recently, it was also possible to come across keyboards equipped with a PS / 2 connector, however, to date, this type of port has become obsolete.
• Bluetooth keyboards – are wireless keyboards based on Bluetooth connectivity, which can be connected to PCs equipped with the same technology (or an external adapter dedicated to it) like any other device of this type.
• Wi-Fi keyboards – also wireless, these keyboards use radio frequencies (precisely proprietary technologies based on the 2.4 GHz band) and require an external receiver to function.

Clearly, in the gaming field, it is always better to rely on a keyboard with cable, which is not subject to various types of interference (which can occur, however, on Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connections) and does not depend on batteries or batteries, in how much the necessary power is supplied directly from the USB port of the computer. Some very high-end Bluetooth keyboards, however, allow for a stable connection and respectable autonomy.