Which gaming keyboard should i get

For a quick look at our favorite picks for the best keyboard and mouse combos, the table below showcases out top pick overall, our runner-up pick, our favorite combo that includes a mechanical keyboard, and our pick for the best value combo. Check Price. You can also check out our Honorable Mention picks further down on this post. Our Rating: 8. Check Price on Amazon. The best overall keyboard and mouse combination for gaming is going to be this pair from Corsair.

This backlit keyboard featured three different color zones and 10 lighting modes that allow you to set your keyboard lighting perfectly to match your personality, your game or your environment. It also contains a lot of tools that can be useful for gaming such as six macro keys that you can program for major actions in game and full multimedia control that allows you to adjust your audio settings, volume and more, all without interrupting your game.

In addition to the full spectrum of features that the keyboard and mouse combination offers it is also incredibly responsive and intuitive. The mouse features dots-per-inch on the optical sensor with the most advanced tracking that you can get, and the keyboard and the mouse are both contoured perfectly to provide an ergonomic gaming experience. There are rubber grips to keep the mouse secure in your hands, and the keyboard provides easy access and intuitive placement that will help you game better.

These are plug-and-play devices that will be up and running seconds after inserting them into an open USB port, and they are one of the top gaming keyboard mouse combo options on the market. The runner-up is this ASUS Cerberus gaming keyboard and mouse that features two different lighting zones; one for the regular keyboard keys and one for the arrow keys and other keyboard keys that you use to game with.

You also get a lot more macro options with this keyboard. There are 12 different macro keys that you can program. One of the only things that is lacking about this combination is that the W-A-S-D keys do not have their own lighting zone.

Those are the keys most often used for movement in PC gaming , and it would be nice if they were lit up separately so you could easily find them in low light conditions. However, this combination has plenty of features to make up for that. For example, it features an internal metal plate that makes it more durable. With cheap keyboard, you can accidentally push them off the desk and you will have to replace your keyboard. In addition, this keyboard is protected against spillage.

It features a splash-proof design that incorporates drain holes far away from the vital parts of the keyboard so liquids exit quickly without leaving behind residue that will cause your gaming keyboard to stop working. Each key is lit by green, purple, red, blue, white, or yellow lights so that the label shows up clearly.

It is a fast response keyboard that is perfectly for professional play, and it comes with a variety of extra buttons that are already programmed to shortcut your most commonly used internet actions. This keyboard and mouse combination also come with a multimedia function key and other shortcut keys that ensure that you can complete tasks quickly.

For example, you can use the multimedia keys to control your playlist, including muting, volume change, skipping songs and playing, pausing and stopping. Then there are shortcut keys for accessing your email, opening up a browser window, going to my computer to search for files or opening your calculator for a quick solution to a math problem.

This is a sharp-looking plug-and-play keyboard with a gaming mouse that has all of the buttons you need for programming in-game shortcuts. Ultiamtely, it is responsive, cool-looking, and versatile, and it is our choice for the combo that comes with a mechanical keyboard.

This is a super cool package that packs so much into a little tiny price that it is difficult to justify choosing anything else. The two things that make this our choice for the best value keyboard and mouse combination is first, how many things it comes with for such a low price, and second, the fact that it can be both your gaming computer keyboard and your keyboard for office work. The shortcut keys allow you to access email, internet browsers and files on your computer instantly, which means you will spend less time working and more time gaming.

The bottom line here is that the headset is high quality, the mouse is an actual gaming mouse which comes with a solid pad and the keyboard can compete with any stand-alone gaming keyboard on the market that alone sells for the price of this package. The first honorable mention is this Cooler Master set that has full LED backlighting and an ergonomic gaming mouse that is lit up on the sides and on top go always let you know where your mouse might be hanging out on your desktop.

It works on a spectrum where you start off with purple, transition into blue, then green, then yellow, then orange, then red and then chartreuse. It is an extremely good-looking keyboard. One of the things that make this keyboard unique is how solid the keys feel when you click on them.

This keyboard is tactile, and there is a lot of weight behind each press. Other features include key anti-ghosting, four mouse DPI levels ranging from to that you can adjust on the fly right at the top of the mouse, two active mouse effects, nine RGB LED keyboard effects and much more. Another honorable mention is also from Cooler Master. It is damned pretty, but you don't get the wrist rest Read our full HyperX Alloy Elite 2 review. I know there are people out there who prefer the soft embrace of a pure membrane switch, and that's fine—each to their own.

While it may lack some of the features several gaming boards pack in, stuff like a dedicated wrist rest or media controls, it does boast Razer's extensive RGB lighting, which can be programmed on a per-key basis or applied by zones. It's a solid, no-frills, nice-looking keyboard that's the best membrane option of a huge range that I've tested.

There is a step-up version of the Cynosa available. We can talk for hours about the feel of mechanical switches versus membrane switches, but ultimately that's a personal choice.

What makes mechanical switches objectively superior, however, is their far extended life span. They can take far more punishment and keep responding long after a membrane switch has collapsed in on itself. The switch type is arguably the most important choice to make when picking your new gaming keyboard. Cherry mechanical switches are the most common and most recognizable, but there are a host of alternatives on offer, as well a bunch of upmarket, specialist switches to choose from.

Only you can make that call, but we would suggest that at least having the option to toggle the top row between function and media controls would be our choice. Having a discrete volume wheel can be super useful, however. Keyboard size is absolutely a defining factor.

Full-sized keyboards tend to offer the most features and a Numpad, but if you don't have space, then all of those extras you paid for will be useless. Tenkeyless boards the ones with no number pad and compact keyboards can be a great option, too, if you don't care about all the extra bells and whistles or you don't have any use for alt codes how barbaric! The height to which a key needs to be pressed before it actuates and sends an input signal to a device.

A switch that delivers an audible click every time it's pressed, generally right around the point of actuation. The result of the actuation point and reset point in a switch being misaligned.

This generally means a key needs to be lifted off further than normal before it can be actuated again. A switch that moves directly up and down, generally delivering smooth keystrokes without noise or tactile feedback. A keyboard built around individual switches for each key rather than a membrane sheath mounted on a PCB. A keyboard on which all the keycaps are mounted on a membrane sheath; when a key is pressed, a rubber dome depresses and pushes against the sheath and PCB beneath, actuating the key.

The physical component of a mechanical keyboard beneath the keycaps on a mechanical keyboard. The switch determines how a key is actuated, whether or not it provides audible or tactile feedback with each press, and more. This is a type of mechanical switch which instead of a physical metal contact switch uses light to measure when actuation takes place. These can be more configurable too, allowing for not just off and on states, but more analog designs, and even dual actions for a single key depending on how far the switch is pressed down.

Jacob earned his first byline writing for his own tech blog from his hometown in Wales in From there, he graduated to professionally breaking things at PCGamesN, where he would later win command of the kit cupboard as hardware editor.

Nowadays, as senior hardware editor at PC Gamer, he spends his days reporting on the latest developments in the technology and gaming industry. When he's not writing about GPUs and CPUs, you'll find him trying to get as far away from the modern world as possible by wild camping. Included in this guide: 1. View Deal. Image 1 of 4. Image 2 of 4. Image 3 of 4. Image 4 of 4. Size: Full size. Backlights: RGB. Passthroughs: USB. Media Controls: Dedicated.

Wristrest: Detachable. Keycaps: PBT double-shot. Reasons to avoid - Lots of software. Mountain Everest Max. Size: Full size or TKL. Backlight: Per-key RGB. Passthrough: USB 3. Media controls: Dedicated unit. Wristrest: Magnetic, plush. Keycaps: ABS. Reasons to avoid - Unsure about Base Camp software. This gaming keyboard comes geared up to suit your preferred playstyle with the option of Cherry MX Blue, Red, Brown, Speed, or Silent mechanical switches, giving you plenty of options from extra clicky to smooth and linear.

The keyboard also comes with some handy features for both utility and tidiness. It also has dedicated media keys, giving you more control all in one place, so you can quickly dial in the volume or skip a track without missing a beat in your game. You can get cheaper keyboards than the SteelSeries Apex 5 , and you can even get cheaper mechanical ones, but you'd be missing out on a lot of what SteelSeries has to offer with this keyboard. By using hybrid switches, SteelSeries is able to offer much of the feel of mechanical key switches while saving on the cost.

By keeping the cost of the switches low, SteelSeries manages to offer some great value everywhere else. You get a magnetic wrist rest, full RGB lighting that you can customize on a per-key basis and SteelSeries has some of the snazziest RGB lighting effects around, and a sturdy aluminum build. The Roccat Vulcan Aimo is arguably one of the most unique looking gaming keyboards you'll find on the market.

Rather than having keycaps that cover up the key switches, the Roccat Vulcan Aimo only has keycaps over the top of the key, leaving the rest exposed. Its reduced keycaps only weigh half as much as regular ones, allowing them to reset more quickly. Roccat recently introduced a linear speed switch that removes the tactile bump and reduces the actuation distance from 1. Razer has updated its already quality Razer Ornata to continue offering a valuable option for gamers on a budget.

The Razer Ornata V2 replaces the more-or-less unused space in the top right corner of the original keyboard with dedicated media controls, including a volume wheel. Having quick access to media controls is surprisingly handy once you get used to it, and it can be hard to go back. Beyond that update, you're still geting the same hybrid Mecha-Membrane key switches that combine the feel of mechanical with the affordability of membrane.

You'll also find a thoroughly cushioned wrist rest that attaches to the keyboard with magnets. That's per-key RGB lighting, so you can customize it at a granular level, but Razer naturally has a number of fanciful effects already baked in. Roccat has really spiced up the budget-keyboard market with the Roccat Magma. The name is the best hint at the effects in store from this keyboard. Roccat has built the keyboard around a semi-transparent top plate that lets the five-zone RGB lighting glow through almost the entire top surface of the keyboard.

With membrane key switches, the light also shines up through each keycap to clearly illuminate the legends. While the Roccat Magma lacks dedicated multimedia keys and macro keys, Roccat has put some extra control right at your fingertips while gaming.

With the Easy-Shift button, you can map a number of secondary inputs to a bunch of keys in the WASD area, where your hand will typically sit while gaming. The Logitech G is a pretty amazing wireless gaming keyboard all told.

It's was made from the ground up to be low-profile between chiclet keyboard-style keys to its ultra-slim chassis that's sits so low you don't even need a wrist pad. It also uses low-profile GX switches basically customized Kailh switches that offer a satisfying click, tactile bump, or smooth linear action despite their short height.

As a wireless board, you can have it connected to up to three devices including over its wired, 2. Logitech's latest wireless peripheral also offers the longest battery life out of any wireless gaming keyboard with up to 35 hours with lighting turned on at full brightness and about hours with all lighting turned off. Tenkeyless gaming keyboards are a great option for gamers who don't need a numeric keypad or have a lot of desk space, or simply want to play with their hands closer together.

The Logitech G Pro is a stand out option in its class largely thanks to it's detachable key switches, which allow to install a mix of clicky, tactile, or linear switches anywhere you please—even on the arrow keys. It's the first gaming keyboard that truly allows customize the keyboard and put different feeling keys right next to each other. Beyond the astounding level of customizability you won't find anywhere else, the Logitech G Pro keyboard is built like a tank.

This keyboard was also designed to brought to gaming events with its fully detachable cable and inner steel frame. You don't have to worry about banging it up on your way to LAN parties and tournaments..