We may earn a commission for purchases made through our links. Learn More

 

How to Choose the Perfect Keyboard for Your Needs

Let’s take a look back a few years ago when buying a keyboard for gaming or for work was simple as taking a walk in the park. However, gone are such days as buying keyboards in the modern day and age is a task that requires proper thought process and some care in case you are looking for the best possible product.

Keeping that in mind, we want to talk about the keyboard buying process. Whether you are looking to buy the best gaming keyboard available in the market or just a keyboard that you can use for pretty much any task; the market is currently flooded with options that are available for you to buy.

To make things simpler for all of us, we are going to be looking at some of the tips or tricks that you can use to buy the perfect keyboard.

The Pricing Game

First things first, before you step into the market to look for a good keyboard, you need to look at the pricing or the budget that you are willing to spare for the keyboard. Believe it or not, good keyboards can cost upwards of $200, which certainly seems insane. Whatever the case might be, let’s have a look at the pricing breakdown so you can decide better what you want to buy and what you want to avoid.

  • Below $100: This is one of the most common price points for many beginners who are looking to get their feet wet in the market. The good news is that you can actually find some pretty decent mechanical keyboards. However, most of them will not have the advanced features that many people want. But still, if you want to see just how green the grass is on this side, this price point is a sweet spot to begin.
  • Between $100 and $150: This is where things start to get interesting; not only do you get a good gaming keyboard, but you also get the best of both worlds like RGB, as well as mechanical keys. You can get the keyboards from some of the bigger brands like Logitech, Corsair, or Razer in this price tag.
  • $150 and Above: This is where you get the bragging rights in the market. This is the price point that has the best keyboards available in the market. We are talking about keyboards like the Corsair K95 Platinum RGB, Razer Huntsman Elite, Logitech G910 Orion Spectrum, and so many more. Sure, this is mostly reserved for the enthusiasts, but the fact that you can spend so much on a keyboard and get away with it is astonishing, to say the least.

Choosing Between Mechanical and Membrane

This is something that serves as a crossroad for most people in the market. Whenever you are buying a keyboard; you can choose between membrane keyboards or mechanical keyboards.

Membrane keyboards work on a simple principle of having rubber domes work in tandem with a sheet that sends signals to the computers. The keyboard works in the same fashion as it should but the downside here is that you have to press the key all the way down in order for it to register. Additionally, over time, the rubber starts losing its elasticity, which only makes matters worse, for many people n the market.

On the other hand, the mechanical keyboards work in a different fashion altogether; here, we have moving parts like a stem, a spring, along with a few other parts. The best part is that these keys do not need to be bottomed out completely to register properly. Additionally, mechanical keyboards are inherently better when it comes to longevity. So, that is another plus point that you should keep in mind.

Now the important part that you must know here is that there is a price disparity between the membrane and mechanical keyboards. That is, of course, one of the main reasons why most people tend to steer towards membrane keyboards because they are cheaper.

The one thing that I would suggest you is that if you are buying a mechanical keyboard, do study as much as you can about the switches available so you can have a better understanding about what you should invest in and what you should avoid.

Backlighting

Although something like the keyboard backlighting is trivial at best, the thing that you need to know about this feature is that if you are someone who works or games at night, this might be a very useful feature for you. With backlighting, you really do not have to worry about anything wrong as the keyboard will illuminate for you.

However, you have to decide if you are going for RGB backlighting or static backlighting. Whatever you choose, can have a significant impact on the overall price of the keyboard, as well. Keyboards with RGB lighting tend to be more expensive than keyboards that offer static lighting options.

Still, you should always look for such things whenever you are going in the market and looking for a good keyboard.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the one thing that I would say is that buying the right keyboard is not as easy as it used to be. With so many variables present now, choosing the right keyboard can be a tricky process. Hopefully, this buying guide will make things easier and simpler for you when it comes to choosing the right keyboard.

Whether you are looking for something to game on, or you have other purposes with the keyboard, you will not run into any issues that might come in the way.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bill Wilson


Bill is a certified Microsoft Professional providing assistance to over 500 remotely connected employees and managing Windows 2008 to 2016 servers.