Hardware Is mechanical keyboard good for gaming?

[CarltonNewman]

Hello everyone,
I love playing computer games. So I want to buy a rig for my gaming. Currently I am not sure whether to choose a mechanical keyboard or not because I do not know the mechanical keyboard used to play games well? Hope everyone can answer for me.
Thanks everyone.

 

[emigre]

I have a cherry mc keyboard and the switches should last longer and be more stable which is useful with gaming compared to when I used a membrane keyboard.

It's also very satisfying to type with, especially since I've been WFH for nearly a year.

 

[AkikoKumagara]

Most gaming keyboards are mechanical for a reason.
The tactile feedback in gaming is very nice to have, and I would take it over the mushiness of a membrane keyboard any day.

I personally have this keyboard from Hyperkin: https://www.amazon.com/Hyperkin-Hyper-Clack-Tactile-Mechanical-Keyboard/dp/B01MQTSDWG/

A joy to type on and play games with.

 

[DinohScene]

I personally despise them.
Highly irritating clacking noise, mechanical keyboards died out for a reason.

I've seen a lot if not every PC gamer have a mechanical keyboard, they say the switches in the keys are better then the membrane keyboards.

 

[movinbacon]

clacking noise in most decent mechanical keyboards can be dampened a lot of keyboards come with partial dampening out of the box so noise really shouldnt be factor in this decision unless you cant be bothered doing the dampening

 

[linuxares]

Will it make you a better computer gamer? Not really.
Do they have a different feel to membrane? Yes, very much so.

There are a bunch of them on the market and you must find the once that fit you.
I personally have silent switches since I don't really fancy the clacking that much. I grew up with clacking keyboards in the 80s and early 90s. I done my fair share of them.

I do however like mechanical more because they don't feel so stiff/plastic as membrane.

PS. Stay faaaaaar away from Razer products. I thought of giving them a chance a while back.. big mistake Lots of ghosting and keys getting software stuck.

 

[notimp]

I am also leaning towards no.

If you have the money to spare (for little reason in terms of gaming), red or brown switches are considered mechanical switches for gaming.

See:
https://steelseries.com/blog/which-mechanical-switch-should-you-use-298

Reds are linear - what you'd want for gaming - (offer the same resistance all the way down), but not for typing - brown are tactile (so with a 'press through' point that indicates, that the switch has registered), and blue are tactile and clicky. (Make more noise. Good for typing.)

Actuation force also is a thing, and blah. But to be honest, membrane keyboards are perfectly fine as well - for anything but typing, and maybe even for typing..

With mechanical keyboards you mostly get into a 'could we have your money, please?' scene - until you've found something that superseeds your membrane keyboards by a lot -- which is dependant on:

'pinging' = most mechanical keyboards use a metal backplate, that if not vibration isolated gives you an audible echo (ping) on pressing. Most cheaper ones arent - you can modify with foam or latex, but -- results may not be satisfying, and you are buying a more expensive one...

'key stability' most cheaper switches actually wobble a bit, which doesnt give the best fealing during typing - can be offset by buying "o-rings" if your keycaps are detachable - and if you buy thicker ones, keys will get more stable - but they will also have less of a 'path to travel' -- results may not be satisfying, and you are buying a more expensive one....

-- and so on and so forth. If you want the entry level experience for cheap (as a european - buy a REDRAGON K552 during Prime Days or a similar event and use foam to dampen, as well als 50A o-rings ( https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B06W56R74Q/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ) to get the keys more stable, then decide, that you dont like blue switches, decide to change those and.... )

If you have a friend, thats way into that - and you are able to try out configurations they have made - maybe go that route, otherwise - dont if you usually look at cost/performance..

 

[Mollycule]

IMO:

• Mechanical keyboards are less prone to missclick or hyperclick.
• Hundreds of switch types to choose from.
• The difference in say, osu! gameplay is major, mechanical keys allow for much more speed and stability while membrane is mushy and inconsistent.
• Individual switches can be replaced per-key, if you get hotswappables, this is easy, but soldering isn't so bad either.

There is really no reason not to buy a mechanical keyboard in 2021.

And it's not going to cost that much more than a decent membrane gaming keyboard, if you're a serious gamer, the correct keyboard makes a huge difference!

 

[Jokey_Carrot]

I personally despise them.
Highly irritating clacking noise, mechanical keyboards died out for a reason.

I've seen a lot if not every PC gamer have a mechanical keyboard, they say the switches in the keys are better then the membrane keyboards.

Blue switches are the only loud ones. Red and Brown are fairly quite especially if you have o-rings.

 

[notimp]

• Mechanical keyboards are less prone to missclick or hyperclick.

• Hundreds of switch types to choose from.

I simply dont buy it. The way I see it - you've got gamepads. All of them are rubber dome. You've got the speedrun scene, all of them use gamepads.

You've got the mechanical keyboard scene, which is set up to be a cost sink for no reason. (Margins of probably 500% and more.) You've got youtubers, who are sponsored by manufacturers, all of a sudden realizing, that they play Super Mario Bros. better on a mechnaical keyboard - while those youtubers usually are the ones hyping up trends for revenue reasons anyhow - and you've got the highest need for switches not 'double registering' on a control scheme thats mostly used for shooters, where movement isnt even analog.


So i call, BS, BS, and BS.

Oh - and I'm writing this on a butterfly switch keyboard on a Macbook, that was prone to 'doubleregisting' keystrokes - let me tell you -- you'd notice, if you were double registering while typing or playing -- all the time, you'd usually not - on any rubber dome keyboard. In the case of the Macbook air I'd eventually install a utility called shaky, that would prevent doublepresses, unless a few ms were in between them - because the double registering keyboard got so annoying. Even when only double registering once in a paragraph of text.

I call marketing fluff. Cherry blue switches not feeling as good as buckle spring switches in the IBM days, and an enitre artisan community - thats set up to sell you on 200USD+ keyboards for no reason.

The rest is confirmation bias. (I've bought it, so it must be good. See: https://minimaxir.com/2014/06/reviewing-reviews/ )

 

[AkikoKumagara]

I simply dont buy it. The way I see it - you've got gamepads. All of them are rubber dome. You've got the speedrun scene, all of them use gamepads.

But a lot of fighting game players use mechanical "fight sticks" when they rely on accuracy of inputs. Both you and Elemi have only anecdotal evidence.

 

[Armadillo]

I use one, I prefer the feel of it over membrane, but other than that, meh. I play no better on it than I did on the membrane.

I'd get one, but only a reasonably priced one. This one (Mionix Zibal 60) cost me £50 years ago, which isn't much more than a decent membrane keyboard. The £100+ ones just because it has dancing lights can fuck right off, not worth it.

 

[notimp]

But a lot of fighting game players use mechanical "fight sticks" when they rely on accuracy of inputs. Both you and Elemi have only anecdotal evidence.

True. People at the level of a fighting game player that might need that accuracy: 0.2%. Written as a fighting game player doing stuff like this:



Higher medium tier level casual.

Percentage of players you'd think would need the gear based on manufacturers PR: 88,7% (guesstimate ).

Also - in most tournaments, even at the near top level, some gamepad players remain competitive. You only go 'stick only' at a level were reaction times are so important, you are out of the top level at age 25.

Also - fighting games.

If you compare to movement in shooters... how often do you do frame perfect 720° inputs on arrow keys in shooters? How often do you need to?

 

[DaFixer]

I personally despise them.
Highly irritating clacking noise, mechanical keyboards died out for a reason.

I've seen a lot if not every PC gamer have a mechanical keyboard, they say the switches in the keys are better then the membrane keyboards.

I love those mechanical keyboard, I know a funny story from my ICT workplace.
On the office center is a old guy still using a a IBM Model M keyboard from 1983 on his work pc.
They putt him in a another room, because his coworkers getting sick off the clicking noice of his keyboard.
He said it was one the first keyboards he ever used and also the last he want to used, his coworkers try to change or
destroy the Model M. But this guy have like 15 off those Model M keyboards at home as spare.

 

[Deleted User]

To answer the original question, yes, it is good for Gaming; you can get away with a lot more abusive presses than normal keyboards, if you're emotionally prone to that, but it's up to the Consumer whether the price hike is justified.

That said, if the question was is it better than conventional keyboards, then it's a mixed bag answer; as stated here, some people don't play on keyboards altogether and those that do may or may not feel any benefit compared to their existing non-Mechanical hardware.

Personally, the biggest reason to change keyboards for me is ghosting, i.e. only one key is recognised when pressing multiples at once. Ever since the early 1990s when I tried my hand at Games of the 80286 era, this was the usual problem, all the way up to the late 2000s.

After those years, I have not had the problem in my purchases, even with the Wireless Logitech K375s that I use as my current daily driver, so I cannot argue for Mechanical keyboards outside of novelty. These days, I prefer a more quiet workspace and am mindful of the excess noise my peripherals make in public spaces, so I am the target consumer for Logitech's Silent line, like the Wireless M590 Mouse I use when not on a Trackball.

As such, I may not be the ideal source of affirmation needed to justify a Mechanical purchase.

 

[leon315]

I personally despise them.
Highly irritating clacking noise, mechanical keyboards died out for a reason.

I've seen a lot if not every PC gamer have a keyboard, they say the switches in the keys are better then the membrane keyboards.

Try Red cherry ones, I own a Corsair keyboard and it's definitely not as noisy as Brown or green mechanical ones.

 

[HaloEliteLegend]

Speaking anecdotally, I find mechanical keyboards more comfortable. I've gone thru many membrane boards over the years, and I'd always end up with hand cramps, no matter the size, travel distance, etc. of the board. I have a Corsair keyboard with Cherry MX Brown switches, never had cramping problems after that. YMMV of course with the brand and switch type, but I enjoy the increased tactile feedback and comfort of this board and switch type.

Certainly don't need to break the bank for one. I got mine for $80 or so, without the RGB fluff or macro keys or what have you. Good options for cheaper than that as well.

Some other things to consider:

• Mechanical keyboards are likely more maintainable, as you can replace the keys/switches relatively easily.
• The type of switch can radically alter how the keyboard feels. If you're going mechanical, make sure you research the switch type.
• Your actual gaming performance may not change much, unless you're a very experienced or competitive player looking for marginal improvements. I'd focus on feel/comfort more than game performance, what would feel better for a marathon session?
• I've encountered ghosting and inaccurate key inputs on membrane keyboards numerous times. This is also anecdotal too, but I find membrane keyboards less reliable overall. YMMV.

 

[Mollycule]

I simply dont buy it. The way I see it - you've got gamepads. All of them are rubber dome. You've got the speedrun scene, all of them use gamepads.

You've got the mechanical keyboard scene, which is set up to be a cost sink for no reason. (Margins of probably 500% and more.) You've got youtubers, who are sponsored by manufacturers, all of a sudden realizing, that they play Super Mario Bros. better on a mechnaical keyboard - while those youtubers usually are the ones hyping up trends for revenue reasons anyhow - and you've got the highest need for switches not 'double registering' on a control scheme thats mostly used for shooters, where movement isnt even analog.


So i call, BS, BS, and BS.

Oh - and I'm writing this on a butterfly switch keyboard on a Macbook, that was prone to 'doubleregisting' keystrokes - let me tell you -- you'd notice, if you were double registering while typing or playing -- all the time, you'd usually not - on any rubber dome keyboard. In the case of the Macbook air I'd eventually install a utility called shaky, that would prevent doublepresses, unless a few ms were in between them - because the double registering keyboard got so annoying. Even when only double registering once in a paragraph of text.

I call marketing fluff. Cherry blue switches not feeling as good as buckle spring switches in the IBM days, and an enitre artisan community - thats set up to sell you on 200USD+ keyboards for no reason.

The rest is confirmation bias. (I've bought it, so it must be good. See: https://minimaxir.com/2014/06/reviewing-reviews/ )

to;dr

Ask the entire osu! community and you will find that mechanical keyboards are superior in every way.

My points are based on the application in pro gaming btw.

 

[notimp]

to;dr

Ask the entire osu! community and you will find that mechanical keyboards are superior in every way.

My points are based on the application in pro gaming btw.

So we've established, that if you play Virtua Fighter using a Keyboard exclusively, and that gaming subgenre with incredibly tight timing windows -



that tighter and more consistent activation windows are great.

In other news - typing speed doesnt necessarily improve with mechanical keyboards:
https://old.reddit.com/r/Mechanical...0htb/do_any_of_you_really_type_faster_with_a/

The only thing that comes up, when you search google for 'hitbox controllers' is the smash community noticing, that there was not sufficient enough interest to write up a regulatory spec for its community. (With Smash being the most casual fighting community out there - ).

With beat em ups we have established, that you can do half circle and longer movements more consistently on stick - and in terms of competitive advantage - we could go with something like this:

https://www.eventhubs.com/news/2017...ation-has-influenced-fighting-game-community/
--

Which still brings me back to the mismatch of degrees of freedom with your mouse (aim) vs. movement in ego shooters, which subsequently means, you will never need the precision in key movement comparatively to your aim.

In 20 Minutes of googling I could find no mention of CPM improving for esports gamers using mechanical keyboard - although all of them probably do by now - because of sponsor pressures.

And mechanical keyboards arent necessarily faster either:


So whats left - that makes them 500x better in terms of price performance? Durability?

The entire market is dominated by 'variability' - there is no universally considered 'good' low price model. Every review feels the need to explain, that you need to find the switch, that suits you ---

all of this - when it comes down to it registers as BS galore to me, or 'different feeling' meets confirmation bias.

 

[Mollycule]

Bro I can buy a Steelseries 6Gv2 for £40, and it's a very good pro gaming keyboard with mechanical keys, you can pay for expensive keyboards with RGB and crazy gimmicks if you want lol, but nowadays the price gap for a similar spec membrane to a mechanical is very small.