Guide: Which Gamer keyboard to choose? Mechanical or membrane? Switches?

Are you bored of your keyboard and don’t know what to buy? In this guide we try to help you change that boring keyboard into a Gamer keyboard with lights that will increase your chances of winning in your next game (It may or may not be reality).

To begin, we have to explain to you why most of the components that you see on the market now carry the acronym “Gamer”. Gamer means that the component is ready for an enormous amount of hours of play, made of quality and reliable components. Gamer is what brings a number of functions and specifications that can help us when we need, for example, a macro.

The Gamer keyboard, adapts to the needs of each one, of each game and has a wide variety of configurable keys (or not), they do not simply have to have little lights.

Now, you must first define what you are going to use the keyboard for, MMORPG games, MOBA, etc. This should be your base and then start looking for a Gamer keyboard. Then comes the physical part, which we are going to specify. More keys? What is mechanical? Membrane, for being quieter? What switches do you use? Material?

Alright let’s start at the beginning, more keys?

A good number of keys can help us implement a good number of macros, these macros can be used in simulation games, strategy, MOBA and RPG. Macros are recorded functions that can be attached to a single key, for example, we have a combo that must be done by pressing X + C + W + 1 and this must be done at high speed. The macro allows us to record on the M1 key and then press it and perform that combo in a second.

A good example of a good amount of Macros is the SteelSeries APEX 350

But not everything is Macros, with more keys we can also configure multimedia keys and many other things. On the other hand, it should also be noted that the use of Macros is seen as a trap on some sides. For example, in Starcraft they are prohibited, so this point is up to the user.

Okay, let’s move on to the second question, Mechanical Keyboard?

What do we understand by mechanic?

Well, mechanical is a type of keyboard that uses individual switches and springs under each key, rather than a membrane. This type of keyboard is usually louder but has a longer life expectancy, most of them support a total of approximately 50 million keystrokes.

These keyboards are very well seen by writers and programmers who are pressing the keys all day. They are also widely used in the Gamer arena, thanks to their wide variety of switches and push types.

Pro’s are very good but what does it mean that there is more variety? This we will discover in question four.

Question three: Membrane, is it quieter?

Membrane keyboards are the ones found on most work PCs, for example. These keyboards have a rubber membrane that captures the user’s pulsation and transmits it electronically to the PC.

This type of keyboard is cheaper, it has a softer touch and makes little noise, but it has a great counter, it has a very short life time. In most cases, the service life of these is from 1 to 10 million keystrokes approx.

Okay, but are there membrane keyboards for Gamers? Sure, they’re usually low profile and achieve a faster beat.

An example of a membrane gamer keyboard is the Corsair K55 RGB

As we see, the PROS are quite good, but it must be remembered that it usually comes with a lower profile, giving us a bad position for the hands and if you are one of those who spend a good time on the PC this can feel a lot.

Now, we move on to the fourth question. This is the one that should have the most attention, because it is not going out to buy a mechanical keyboard and bye. We must look at some aspects such as its switches.

In the world of mechanical keyboards, there are companies that stand out for their switches, one of them is Cherry MX . Cherry MX manufactures switches for a large number of brands, such as Corsair, Cooler Master, among others. But what does Cherry make?

Cherry manufactures mechanical switches or switches for keyboards. These switches are a capsule that contain a trigger and a mechanical spring, providing very precise operation. Cherry has managed to experiment with these switches and I sort them by color, where each one has a purpose.

Cherry MX Red

Cherry MX Reds are the most common and are found on a wide variety of mechanical keyboards. They are geared towards standard keyboards and are a lighter version of the Switch-Black. A 4mm stroke is needed to press it and 2mm for its activation, requiring only 45g of pressure.

These are geared towards writing and games that require a lot of movement like Shotters.

Types of plastics:

The type of plastic or manufacturing material can be closely linked to its texture and duration. Currently there are three components derived from plastic that are used to manufacture peripherals:

ABS:

This material is the most used for the keys and is also the cheapest, but it does not convince. Most prefer plastics with nicer textures. ABS is used to make LEGOS.

KBC:

This is used to make the translucent keys so common in gaming keyboard designs.

PBT:

PBT is considered the best, its texture demonstrates superior quality to that of other plastics. However, this material is more expensive, and many times it may not offset the expense.

Conclusion: 

We go through macros, membrane, mechanics, switches, all this to help us choose a keyboard that meets our needs. The conclusion, you draw it, I cannot tell you which keyboard to buy because I don’t know why you need it, but I can give you the tools for your choice.

I hope it works and if you have any questions or suggestions you can write it in the comments.