The best gaming<\/a> keyboards can bring a greater sense of comfort and control to your PC play time, whether you\u2019re luxuriating with a lengthy RPG or sweating through an online shooter. While they don\u2019t always feel as premium for typing as a good custom mechanical keyboard<\/a>, they\u2019re usually a nice upgrade over a typical membrane model. To help those looking to upgrade, I\u2019ve spent more time researching gaming keyboards than any person reasonably should, testing dozens of well-reviewed options along the way. Whether you want something mini, analog, wireless or just plain cheap, these are the best I\u2019ve found.<\/p>\n To be clear, any keyboard can be a \u201cgaming keyboard.\u201d If you play lots of video games today and have never sighed to yourself, \u201cman, this keyboard is holding me back,\u201d congratulations, you probably don\u2019t need to pay extra for a new one. Self-proclaimed gaming keyboards often come at a premium, and while the best offer high-quality designs, snazzy RGB lighting and a few genuinely worthwhile features, none of them will give you god-like skill, nor will they suddenly turn bad games into good ones.<\/p>\n Now that we\u2019ve touched grass, I did prioritize some features while researching this guide. First, I mostly stuck to mechanical keyboards, not laptop-style membrane models. They can be loud, but they\u2019re more durable, customizable and broadly satisfying to press \u2014 all positive traits for a product you may use for hours-long gaming sessions.<\/p>\n Next, I preferred tenkeyless (TKL) or smaller layouts. It\u2019s totally fine to use a full-size board if you really want a number pad, but a compact model gives you more space to flick your mouse around. It also lets you keep your mouse closer to your body, which can reduce the tension placed on your arms and shoulders.<\/p>\n Linear switches, which are often branded as \u201cred,\u201d are generally favored by gamers. These give keystrokes a smooth feel from top to bottom, with no tactile \u201cbump\u201d that could make fast, repeated presses less consistent. They usually require little force to actuate, and they tend to be quiet. However, if you prefer the feel and\/or sound of a more tactile or clicky switch, get one of those instead. You might lose some speed in esports-style games, but nothing is more important than your comfort.<\/p>\n Some gaming keyboards are based on different mechanisms entirely. Optical switches, for instance, use a beam of light to register keystrokes, while Hall effect<\/a> switches use magnets. These often feel <\/em>linear, but they can allow for a more versatile set of gaming-friendly features, such as the ability to set custom actuation points. (You can read more about how this works below.) In general, they\u2019re faster and more durable too. But keyboards with those extra features typically aren\u2019t cheap.<\/p>\n Regardless, you want a frame that doesn\u2019t flex under pressure, keys that don\u2019t wobble and stabilizers that don\u2019t rattle when you hit larger keys like the spacebar. I prefer double-shot PBT (polybutylene terephthalate) keycaps over those that use cheaper ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) plastic, as they won\u2019t develop a greasy shine over time and their icons won\u2019t fade. A hot-swappable PCB (printed circuit board) that makes it easy to change switches if the mood arises is ideal, as are dedicated media keys.<\/p>\n For the sake of simplicity, I only considered prebuilt gaming keyboards for this guide, though many of the picks below allow for customization down the line. If you (and your bank account) really want to go wild, check out our guide to building a custom keyboard<\/a>.<\/p>\n If a keyboard has companion software, it should let you program macros and custom key bindings for games without frustration. For convenience, a wired keyboard should connect through a detachable USB-C cable. A good wireless keyboard won\u2019t add serious lag, but only if it uses a USB receiver, not Bluetooth. (It\u2019ll probably cost more as well.) Some gaming keyboards advertise super-high polling rates \u2014 i.e., the speed at which a keyboard reports to a computer \u2014 to reduce latency, but unless your monitor has an especially fast refresh rate, the usual standard of 1,000Hz should be fine. And while nobody needs<\/em> RGB lighting, it\u2019s fun. Consumer tech could use more of that, so the cleaner and more customizable the RGB is, the better.<\/p>\n The best way to evaluate a keyboard is to just\u2026 use it, so that\u2019s what I did. To cover a variety of use cases and design styles, I\u2019ve researched dozens of keyboards over the past several months that\u2019ve broadly received high marks from professional reviewers and users alike. I\u2019ve then used each model I\u2019ve brought in as my daily driver for numerous days. Since I write for a living, this gave me enough time to get a strong sense of each keyboard\u2019s typing experience.<\/p>\n For gaming, I give special focus to each keyboard\u2019s responsiveness in fast, reaction-based online shooters such as Halo Infinite<\/em>, Counter-Strike 2<\/em>, Apex Legends<\/em>, Valorant, <\/em> Overwatch 2 <\/em>and (more recently) XDefiant<\/em>, as many would-be gaming keyboard buyers get one in the hopes that it\u2019ll help with that genre in particular. I made sure each keyboard felt comfortable with other types of games, though, such as Baldur\u2019s Gate 3<\/em> (a turn-based RPG), Hi-Fi Rush<\/em> (an action game with an emphasis on timing and rhythm) and Forza Horizon 5<\/em> (an arcade racing game). I used the latter to better evaluate the pressure-sensitive features of the analog keyboards I tested.<\/p>\n If a keyboard could be configured with multiple switch types, I got the linear model. Upon receiving each keyboard, I removed several keycaps to ensure none were chipped or broken. I noted whether any keys felt wobbly, whether the case flexes under pressure, whether the texture and finish of the keycaps changes after use and whether larger keys like the spacebar felt particularly rattly or hollow. I typed on each keyboard in quick succession in a quiet room to get a sense of where they ranked in terms of noise. For wireless models, I checked whether the battery drain at 50 percent RGB brightness aligned with a manufacturer\u2019s estimate. I looked to results from sites like Rtings<\/em><\/a> to ensure nothing was out of order with latency. I did my own testing on a 144Hz monitor with my personal rig, which includes a 10th-gen Core i9 CPU and an RTX 3080 GPU.<\/p>\n This helped me ensure each keyboard met a baseline of overall quality, but to reiterate, so much of this process is subjective. I can tell you if a keyboard is loud based on how I slam my keys, for instance, but you may have a lighter touch. What my tastes find \u201ccomfortable,\u201d \u201cpleasing,\u201d or even \u201cuseful,\u201d you may dislike. As I\u2019ve written before<\/a>, keyboards are like food or art in that way. So, keep an open mind.<\/p>\n Photo by Jeff Dunn \/ Engadget<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Connectivity<\/strong>: USB-C | Size(s)<\/strong>: 60 percent | Switches<\/strong>: Gateron Lekker Linear60 | Hot-Swappable<\/strong>: Yes | Material<\/strong>: Plastic | Keycap material<\/strong>: Double-shot PBT | Backlight<\/strong>: RGB (north or south-facing) | Software<\/strong>: Wootility<\/p>\n With most gaming keyboards, claims of \u201cimproving your play\u201d are just marketing fluff. With the Wooting 60HE+<\/a>, it\u2019s actually true \u2014 or at least, it can be. The key is its analog Lekker switches<\/a>, which can respond to varying levels of pressure, much like the triggers on a PlayStation or Xbox controller. These use magnetic Hall effect sensors<\/a>, so they have fewer physical contact points that can suffer from wear and tear over time.<\/p>\n This setup enables a few genuinely beneficial features. For one, you can adjust the actuation point of each key anywhere between an ultra-low 0.1mm and 4mm, in 0.1mm steps. With a fast-paced FPS, setting the actuation point low makes the keys more sensitive and thus exceptionally responsive to quick movements. For a turn-based RPG or simply typing, raising that pre-travel distance makes each press more deliberate and less prone to errors. You can also mix and match, making your WASD keys faster to actuate but leaving the rest at a less touchy level.<\/p>\n Another feature, \u201crapid trigger<\/a>,\u201d registers the actuation and reset points of a key press dynamically. This lets you re-actuate a key mid-press, before it has to go all the way back up, so you can repeat inputs faster. It\u2019s a boon for shooting and rhythm games in particular: In a 1v1 shootout in Halo Infinite<\/em>, you can strafe, stop and start with a little more speed and granularity. We\u2019re still talking milliseconds of difference, but sometimes that\u2019s all that separates defeating a foe and leaving them with a sliver of health.<\/p>\n Beyond that, you can tie up to four actions to one key based on how far it\u2019s pressed. In Halo<\/em>, for instance, I\u2019ve made it so I can mark enemies and switch grenades by long-pressing Q and E, respectively \u2014 i.e., the keys right next to WASD. Short-pressing those keys, meanwhile, still lets me use their default bindings. In another game, you could lightly press a key to pull out a grenade, fully press to throw it, then release to reequip your main weapon. All of this requires some brain retraining, but it ultimately lessens the need to contort your fingers to perform a full set of commands. Which, in turn, can save you more precious seconds during a battle.<\/p>\n Because the keys are pressure-sensitive, you can also set them to mimic an Xbox controller. With a racing game Forza Horizon 5<\/em>, the W and S keys could stand in for the LT and RT buttons, while A and D replicate the left joystick. Does this feel as natural as using real joysticks or a good wheel<\/a>? Of course not. But for games that don\u2019t expect you to use a mouse alongside the keyboard, it\u2019s really not as clunky as you\u2019d expect.<\/p>\n That caveat is important: Plenty of games aren\u2019t designed with analog keyboards in mind, so don\u2019t expect the 60HE+ to replace your gamepad. Owning this won\u2019t magically make you a top-tier player either. When you\u2019re up against other people around your skill level, though, the extra bit of precision these features provide is tangible.<\/p>\n There\u2019s been a wave of Hall effect keyboards released in the last year, but the 60HE+ stands out for getting most of the fundamentals right. While there are certainly nicer-feeling mechanical keyboards, its double-shot PBT keycaps feel crisp, its keys are well-spaced and the pre-lubed, linear-style switches are smooth and satisfying to press. (They\u2019re technically hot-swappable too, though the 60HE+ is only designed to accept Hall effect switches.) It sounds a smidge chattery<\/em>, but it\u2019s still pleasing to the ear and not especially loud. The compact case doesn\u2019t flex or wobble. Crucially, the charmingly-named Wootility software makes it easy to remap keys, assign macros, create profiles and or adjust the RGB lighting. Refreshingly, it\u2019s also entirely accessible through the web<\/a>. That per-key backlighting is tidy, and changing profiles right from the keyboard is simple.<\/p>\n That said, there are a few downsides. The case, while sturdy, is largely plastic and only has one incline setting. It doesn\u2019t come with a wrist rest (though you can buy one<\/a> separately for $30), and the 60 percent layout won\u2019t be for everyone. If you want to add dedicated arrow keys and a numpad, get the full-size Wooting Two HE<\/a> instead. A new 80 percent model called the 80HE<\/a> is also on the way, though it\u2019s only up for pre-order as of this writing. Just know that you can only buy each device from Wooting, which sells its gear in batches<\/a>.<\/p>\n Also worth noting: We previously recommended an older version of this device, the 60HE, in our top spot. The \u201cPlus\u201d model is a very minor revision that adds support<\/a> for screw-in stabilizers but is otherwise identical.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nWhat to look for in a gaming keyboard<\/h2>\n
Mechanical vs non-mechanical<\/h3>\n
Size<\/h3>\n
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Switches, keycaps and build quality<\/h3>\n
Software, connectivity and RGB<\/h3>\n
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How we tested<\/h2>\n
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