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if you’re a seasoned gamer, you have probably wondered what small things you can do to give yourself a competitive advantage. after all, in a frame-by-frame battle of the titans, every little edge counts. one thing you can do is upgrade your keyboard if you prefer to play with keyboard and mouse. a higher-quality keyboard can provide more responsiveness and better functional reaction times. let’s assess what keyboards are best for gaming.
are membrane keyboards good for gaming?
most keyboards on the market are membrane keyboards. the simple construction and relative cheapness of the materials make this keyboard type easy to produce. thus, it’s popular among budget manufacturers. however, membrane keyboards are usually the lowest in responsiveness and the keys are universally heavier than mechanical switches, making them harder to press. these factors can severely limit the player’s ability to respond to stimuli in-game and lead to hand fatigue when playing for long periods.
for gaming, i would recommend against all membrane constructions. in games where twitch reflexes don’t particularly matter, it won’t make a huge difference. however, in games where you need a high action-per-minute rate, you’ll experience hand fatigue and slower functional reflexes when using a membrane keyboard.
mechanical keyboard — clicky switches
clicky switches are a love-it-or-hate-it construction. the difference between clicky switches and other types of mechanical switches is that clicky switches have a click sleeve. the sleeve makes a loud, tactile “click!” when the key switch is depressed. since the user has to depress the switch and the click sleeve, clicky switches tend to be heavier on average than mechanical switches without the sleeve. however, they’re still lighter on average than membrane keyboards.
for gaming, clicky switches are good if you aren’t familiar with mechanical keyboards. the lightness of the keys can be unusual and unwieldy for new users. the click sleeve also offers tactile feedback that lets the user know when the key should register on the computer. thus, it can help new users acclimate to the novel feeling of a mechanical keyboard.
overall, clicky switches are better for typing than they are for gaming. the tactile feedback is more valuable for typists than gamers. however, they’re not bad for gaming. they’re a good middle of the road between the heaviness of a membrane keyboard and the lightness of a linear switch keyboard.
mechanical keyboard — tactile switches
tactile switches are a different kind of mechanical switch you can buy for your keyboard. these switches lack the click sleeve present in clicky switches, and provide tactile feedback through a bump in the stem chamber. the user must push the switch over the bump to actuate the key, allowing them to feel when the key has been fully depressed. tactile switches are good for people who want haptic feedback from their keyboard but don’t want or can’t use the clicky switches due to the noise pollution created by them.
for gaming, the tactile bump can prevent super-speedy reactions, which can turn off some users. however, it can also provide essential haptic feedback that allows you to determine if your keyboard is dropping inputs. so, it’s up to you. they’re about as good for gaming as clicky switches. you won’t see a major degradation in performance between these two types of switches.
mechanical keyboard — linear switches
linear switches are the fastest and smoothest type of mechanical keyboard switch. unlike clicky and tactile switches, these ones provide no haptic feedback to the user. the chamber is straight and unimpeded and the switches themselves make no sounds besides the scraping of the stem inside the switch as it moves. you may hear a clack noise if you press the key all the way down as the keycap may hit the keyboard’s backplate if you do that. however, this clack noise is not the same as a clicky switch and shouldn’t be mistaken for it. if you don’t want to hear that sound, all you have to do is press the keys softer.
for gaming, linear switches are the gold standard. they respond the fastest and have the smoothest feel, making them ideal for quick reactions and twitch reflexes. however, they can be unwieldy for users who aren’t used to them. they’re much lighter than a standard keyboard, making it hard to press them without bottoming them out at first. most linear switches have an actuation force of 50 grams or lower, compared to 180 grams or higher with a membrane keyboard. so, the transition will be more clunky if you’re used to a very heavy keyboard.