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How to choose a mechanical keyboard

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So you’ve finally settled on one of those mechanical keyboards that everyone is talking about. However, you may find yourself overwhelmed by the variety of keyboards out there today. And it can be very easy to make a mistake in your purchase. So how do you choose one?

We’ll take a look at some of the most important factors to consider when it’s time to buy a mechanical keyboard, so you can type the way you’d like.

Choose the right switches

Perhaps the most important part of your purchase is the switches that you write to. Switches are basically the mechanisms under each key that help register every keypress and keystroke you type. There are many different types of keyboard switches, all with different feels and sounds, so do your homework and research which one is best for you.

However, to keep it simple, there are three different types of switches: linear, tactile, and clicky. Linear switches are quiet and have a smooth ride, while tactile switches provide tactile feedback when registering a keystroke and are quiet as well. Finally, clicky switches also have tactile feedback, but they do have a distinctive clicking sound when you press them, which some people, myself included, find quite satisfying. They are most easily identified by color. Click switches are typically blue, tact switches are typically brown, and linear switches are typically red.

Your choice of switches may vary depending on what you normally do on your keyboard. If you’re a gamer, you may benefit more from a linear switch, since you need fast keystrokes, while if you type a lot, you may find the tactile/auditory feedback of tactile/click switches better.

Check the voting rate

Logitech G PRO Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Product Image
Logitech

A keyboard’s polling rate is rarely advertised, but it can be an important specification, especially if you’re a pro gamer and need your keyboard to register your keystrokes as quickly as possible. Basically, since your keyboard is connected via USB, your computer is actively checking, or “probing,” your keyboard to see whether or not it has registered a keystroke. A higher polling rate just means that your computer is checking for keystrokes faster and more consistently than other keyboards.

Most keyboards have a polling rate of 125 Hz, which means that a computer will check keystrokes 125 times per second. However, the best competitive options can have a polling rate of up to 1000 Hz, which means it will check 1000 times per second for keystrokes. This is quite a similar concept to a screen’s refresh rate, and sure enough, the higher the polling rate, the faster your keyboard will be.

choose your design

Your keyboard layout is important and will vary completely depending on your personal needs and preferences. Keyboards come with different layouts and, as you can imagine, different keys.

A full-size keyboard will come with a full set of keys, including a number pad on the right, function keys, and many more. And from there, different keyboard layouts remove different keys. A tenkeyless keyboard has a full set of keys without the numpad, while a 60% keyboard also removes several non-essential keys, including function keys.

This is not an option that will affect the quality of your keyboard, so you should debate whether you need a full-size keyboard, or if you can get by with some missing keys.

Don’t buy cheap gaming keyboards

Razer BlackWidow V3 Mechanical Keyboard Product Image
razor

Finally, you might want to stay away from gaming keyboards unless they’re the higher-end options. It’s possible to buy a cheap mechanical keyboard, but if you’re on a budget, you might not want to buy one from gaming brands like Corsair or ASUS ROG.

Why, you might ask? It’s because these keyboards can look and feel pretty flashy, but ultimately they often cut corners in all the wrong places to keep the price down. A cheap gaming keyboard can be made from cheap materials and plastics, or it can be flimsy. There are gaming keyboards out there that are pretty decent quality, and some of the best mechanical keyboards are actually gaming keyboards. But if you’re on a budget, those RGB lights should probably be the first thing to go.

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