Keyboards are awesome, I could talk about them forever. And I pretty much have. But if you want to know the most important things about keyboards for PC gaming, then my associate Adam Patrick Murray over on PCWorld’s YouTube channel has you covered.
In this video sponsored by Asus, Adam lays out everything you need to know. What makes a gaming keyboard? Speed. Normal keyboards are fine, but keyboards with low latency (the time it takes your computer to register an input) are faster. That doesn’t really matter for most games, but if you can measure your reaction speed in milliseconds, it might make the difference in an online multiplayer match.
Are mechanical keyboards good for gaming? Yes! And they can be even better if you pick the right switches. Some of them let you swap out the switches to customize the feel and speed of the keys.
And the most advanced models have adjustable actuation, letting you pick how “hard” or “soft” you need to press the keys to register an input. With magnetic sensors, an adjustable actuation keyboard can do some unique tricks, like binding multiple commands to a single key or performing strafing moves at near super-human speed… assuming your fingers are that fast.
What about wireless? It’s fine. Really, it is, you don’t need to stress about it. As long as you use a dedicated RF dongle instead of Bluetooth, the wireless connection for any modern keyboard will be fast and stable enough for all but the most obsessed and twitchy gamers. And finally, RGB lighting… yes, it’s fine and it looks cool. But it won’t increase your K/D ratio or get you lower ping.
Ready to buy? Then check out our roundup of the best gaming keyboards on the market. If you want more guides on the latest PC gaming tech, be sure to subscribe to PCWorld on YouTube, and check out our weekly podcast The Full Nerd.
