Best gaming/media keyboard under $50

for $50 or under i highly doubt you will find a mechanical keyboard from a well known manufacturer. You might be able to find one from a no-name company made in who-knows-where but you take a gamble every time you do.

those well known brands are recommended because quite a few users have posted feedback on them and there is quite alot of information to be had on whether the keyboards are any good or not.

there is nothing wrong with buying a low end microsoft or preferably logitech keyboard meant for "office work" and using it for gaming. you will get a product known to last a decent span of time, has enough user backing to base your opinion on, is commonly found in stores so that you can play around with it and is widely available.

any time you see "gaming" before keyboard chances are you are going to pay more for a product which might sport a few macro keys but is otherwise almost identical to office type keyboards.

ive used everything from a $2 made in china, $100 logitech mx1000 set keyboard, ibm model m, $10 microsoft quiettouch, etcetera and really the only thing that matters are if the keys are more spongy (dell keyboards and cheap no-name keyboards normally) and the layout of the keys. gaming really isn't affected all that much provided the perepherals are comfortable for you to use.

i've found logitech to have less resistance to them than other brands. they also aren't quite as spongy as other rubber dome switch designs. the full sized keyboards also have a decent layout to them and they offer media and macro keys. how can you not recommend them? i do.

your choice whether you want to keep looking but my solution is to buy an "office" type keyboard instead of a "gaming" type keyboard. after all, if i can do it and use a $5 keyboard/mouse set to beat people running $200 sets then you buying an office keyboard under $50 should be fine!

just my opinion... take it for what it is worth. do try the keyboards out in person though or you will be sorry.