Do mechanical keyboards have faster response times?

WomboCombo713 · Nov 1, 2015

What's the difference with a mechanical keyboard. I'm wondering if it's worth spending my money on it. I've heard they last longer, but I'm mainly concerned with response times. Will they perform better, or is just more of a quality/feel sort of thing? Cause then I'll have more money to spend on a mouse.

gondo · Nov 1, 2015

Mechanical keyboards have switches that last longer. Like 50million strokes compared to 10 million with a regular keyboard.

They also have a different feel depending on which switches you get. Some are more quiet, and some have that click click click feel and sound as you type like the old IBM keyboards. Some switches have more resistance to press and little bump to know when you activated the key. Some hardcore gamers think this is awesome. Personally I just type very hard and never noticed the actuation of the keys.

Mechanical keyboards are more loud. They don't have the smooth quiet feel of a laptop keyboard. If you do decide on a mechanical keyboard then try them out first, since depending on what switches they use will determine the feel and noise level. You either love or hate them.

Some non-mechanical keyboards have long lasting switches now. Logitech makes one.

But definitely get a gaming keyboard as it has anti-ghosting properties so you can press multiple keys simultaneously. Some gaming keyboards have built in programmable macro keys if you want that. I personally use a Logitech G-13 board so never use the macros of a keyboard. I also will never buy a keyboard that isnt' back lit. Can't type in the dark without one.

Also mechanical keyboards are all the big rage now. So every company is releasing one and I find there are a bunch of reliability issues with lots of them. I'd be going with a Steelseries. Those are some of the most reliable peripherals on the market while still being good. Even their non mechanical Apex keyboard is nice for just $40. My wife likes it because it's quiet. She hates my mechanical keyboard.

If I had to choose I'd go with the Apex and get a nice mouse over a mechanical and cheap mouse. The Steelseries Rival 300 is a nice mouse and not expensive. Right-handed though. They make ambidextrous mice as well. Don't forget the mouse pad. The steelseries DEX is amazing. Purchase the mouse direct from steelseries and they'll send a free mousepad with it. I may seem like a steelseries fanboy but I'm not. I just got burned by all the other brands such as coolermaster, razer, logitech, microsoft, etc.... Steelseries is the most reliable I ever used.

broidk · Nov 1, 2015

There is the new Cherry 6.0 keyboard which has analog as apposed to digital inputs(I think is what it is) They are actually the manufacturer of the switches in Corsair keyboards. I think Cherry was the original creator of them also and they are made in Germany(Like actually in Germany and not china) It's said to have a 1ms response time as apposed to 20ms for normal keyboards.. Now whether it makes a difference with a keyboard is really the questions, it's more of the innovation of it..

gondo · Nov 2, 2015

That Cheery 1ms input lag doesn't really do anything. Humans can't detect 1ms vs 20ms. You would have to be superman typing to pick up the difference.

Also Cherry are more of an industrial dustproof waterproof keyboard manufacturer. Purchase a GE MRI machine for a million dollars and it comes with a Cherry keyboard. Can't have an MRI down because a tech spilled a cup of coffee on the keyboard

But for gaming they are one of the last manufacturers you look at.

What I look for in a keyboard is a full layout with numberpad and the usual 4 arrow/cursor keys and the 2x3 layout for ins/home/end/del/pgup/pg down. Some keyboards have a bit more compact layout with the cursors and home/del/etc... layout. I hate this. It fells like you're on a laptop and everything is too compact. Some people look for a keyboard without a numbpad since they find regular layouts are too big and take up too much desk space. I use the calculator and spreadsheets so I want the numbpad.

Only you can decide what keyboard is comfortable for you. I like the natural curved keyboards. Some hate them. Backlighting is a must. I prefer wired since there are no batteries to change or die midwway through a game. Some love wireless and hate tugging on wires. The wrist rest design will play a part in comfort. You know those feet that fold out to tilt the keyboard that always break? Steelseries uses rubber pads that snap on so they can't break and they hold the keyboard in place. It comes with different heights and you use the ones you want. Brilliant.

All gaming boards will have some macros and anti ghosting so that is a non issue. When it comes to mechanical you have to try the different switches like cherry red, black, brown, etc... to see which you prefer. Some companies are making their own switches now like Steelseries and Logitech and supposedly are very good. And some membrane keyboards are being made more durable like the logitech with 25million keystroke membrane or whatever it is.

When it comes to brands every single manufacturer is into the keyboard/mouse game. It's ridiculous. Asus, Corsair, OCZ, Zalman, GSkill, Coolermaster, Logitech, Microsoft, Razer, Roccat, etc.... Go on newegg and you'll see 50 manufacturers of gaming keyboards. Yes the mechanical switches last, but sometimes the electronics in the keyboard fail and I've seen my share of reliability issues even with mechanical keyboards. Razer seems to be the most popular with their neat designs and advertising, but they also have their share of reliability issues. Right now I'm gonna say that Steelseries has the best designs and best reliability and their prices are damn right acceptable. The Apex keyboard for $39 and the Mouse for $39. Can't beat that for entry level gaming and they are quite nice. Also after going through all the forums, I find thousands of people agreeing. Steelseries is building quite the reputation and becoming more well known.

WomboCombo713 · Nov 3, 2015

gondo :

That Cheery 1ms input lag doesn't really do anything. Humans can't detect 1ms vs 20ms. You would have to be superman typing to pick up the difference.

Also Cherry are more of an industrial dustproof waterproof keyboard manufacturer. Purchase a GE MRI machine for a million dollars and it comes with a Cherry keyboard. Can't have an MRI down because a tech spilled a cup of coffee on the keyboard

But for gaming they are one of the last manufacturers you look at.

What I look for in a keyboard is a full layout with numberpad and the usual 4 arrow/cursor keys and the 2x3 layout for ins/home/end/del/pgup/pg down. Some keyboards have a bit more compact layout with the cursors and home/del/etc... layout. I hate this. It fells like you're on a laptop and everything is too compact. Some people look for a keyboard without a numbpad since they find regular layouts are too big and take up too much desk space. I use the calculator and spreadsheets so I want the numbpad.

Only you can decide what keyboard is comfortable for you. I like the natural curved keyboards. Some hate them. Backlighting is a must. I prefer wired since there are no batteries to change or die midwway through a game. Some love wireless and hate tugging on wires. The wrist rest design will play a part in comfort. You know those feet that fold out to tilt the keyboard that always break? Steelseries uses rubber pads that snap on so they can't break and they hold the keyboard in place. It comes with different heights and you use the ones you want. Brilliant.

All gaming boards will have some macros and anti ghosting so that is a non issue. When it comes to mechanical you have to try the different switches like cherry red, black, brown, etc... to see which you prefer. Some companies are making their own switches now like Steelseries and Logitech and supposedly are very good. And some membrane keyboards are being made more durable like the logitech with 25million keystroke membrane or whatever it is.

When it comes to brands every single manufacturer is into the keyboard/mouse game. It's ridiculous. Asus, Corsair, OCZ, Zalman, GSkill, Coolermaster, Logitech, Microsoft, Razer, Roccat, etc.... Go on newegg and you'll see 50 manufacturers of gaming keyboards. Yes the mechanical switches last, but sometimes the electronics in the keyboard fail and I've seen my share of reliability issues even with mechanical keyboards. Razer seems to be the most popular with their neat designs and advertising, but they also have their share of reliability issues. Right now I'm gonna say that Steelseries has the best designs and best reliability and their prices are damn right acceptable. The Apex keyboard for $39 and the Mouse for $39. Can't beat that for entry level gaming and they are quite nice. Also after going through all the forums, I find thousands of people agreeing. Steelseries is building quite the reputation and becoming more well known.

20ms is actually quite a lot of lag, and I can notice it. It depends on what you are playing, and how fast. For a game like Super Smash Bros Melee I can definitely tell the difference, because for a game like that you want to be as close to frame perfect as possible, and 20ms is extra frames you have to delay everything by. But anyways do you think you could explain the pros and cons of each switch?

broidk · Nov 4, 2015

there aren't any cons of the different switches, it's more about how they feel to you. I would watch a video and they will explain each switch and then you could buy a switch tester or make your best judgment off of there description.

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Do mechanical keyboards have faster response times?

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