I’ve talked about how the keyboard connects
to the PC and the switch under the key, but I haven’t yet covered the physical
key top. As this the part you actually strike, it’s important to understand
that you can see plenty of variations here.
The top of the key is usually shaped in one
of three different styles; flat, spherical or cylindrical. The flat key looks
nice but is the worst design, because there’s no touch feedback to tell you if
you’re hitting the key in the centre or off to one side. Dished designs train
your fingers to hit the centre, improving accuracy, and most keyboards come
with cylindrical depressions. It’s normally only old typewriter designs that
use spherical, because it tends to make the key top smaller, and therefore
harder to hit cleanly.
Quad
MK-85 Red LED
Whatever their shape, the keys themselves
are usually made from either ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) or PBT
(Polybutylene Terephthalate) Plastic, although Apple has made a few that had
metallic tops to them.
If a choice is available, then PBT is
harder wearing, though it usually costs more accordingly. How the key reacts to
repeated use is also affected by the means that the keyboard maker uses to mark
the key top.
The cheapest method and the one that
Microsoft likes is called pad printing, which looks great for five seconds and
is invisible just a few months later.
More hard wearing is laser etching, but the
results of burning plastic using coherent light aren’t as aesthetically pleasing
as other methods, and can make the key top uneven.
The two preferred methods are either dye
sublimation or double-shot injection moulding. Both of these produce keys where
the letter doesn’t get rubbed out, but they also look sharp and you can’t feel
the letter form with your finger tip. The snag is that both these are only
available on keyboards that cost the most.
Steelseries
6G V2
Having explained what to look for in a
keyboard, let’s look at some popular designs and connect the dots, so to speak.
Filco Majestouch ($160 + VAT from the
Keyboard Company)
This is a classic design that uses Cherry
MX Black switches and it’s a USB design with a PS/2 converter supplied along
with it. The 60g activation force and the 2mm activation point make this
potentially ideal for gaming, but the linear action is also good for typing
too. What’s especially nice about this design is that you can buy a key puller
for the Flico design, and replacement tops when they’re needed. It might seem
like lots to spend on a keyboard, but it’s an investment. You can get this
design with other switches, if you’d like a different feel.
Qpad MK-85 Red LED Pro Backlit
Mechanical Gaming Keyboard ($176 from Overclockers UK)
As gaming designs go, this is one of the
more striking, and also rather expensive. What’s certain is that you’ll be able
to identify all the keys even in complete darkness due to the LED backlighting
on each individual key.
Qpad used the Cherry MX Brown switch on
this model, and it comes with four special orange keys, which you can replace
using the provided key puller.
Cherry G80-3000 Mechanical Keyboard
($104 from Overclockers UK)
This is another keyboard that uses Cherry
switches, this time the MX Blue. As such, this is aimed more specifically at
those who type long documents on a regular basis. This is almost an identical
design to a Das Keyboard that shares many of the parts but costs twice as much,
so the G80-3000 is something of a bargain at this price.
Cherry
G80-3000 Mechanical Keyboard
Topre Realforce 105UB Variable Gold on
Black ($307 from The Keyboard Company)
This is an expensive design, but it’s a
very sophisticated keyboard that uses Topre switches. Where most keyboards have
the same switch on every key, the Realforce 105UB has a range of actuation
weights according to where on the keyboard the key is, reducing typing fatigue.
Sadly, this only comes with USB, but it’s hardly a gaming keyboard so that’s
not a big issue.
Topre
Realforce 105UB Variable Gold on Black
SteelSeries 6G v2 Mechanical Gaming
Keyboard ($120)
I’ve included this one, because it’s the
keyboard I’m actually using to write this, and it’s not bad for typing even if
it’s specifically built for gaming. It uses the ever popular MX Black switches,
though it’s been rumoured that SteelSeries might release the design with
alternative switches at some point.
SteelSeries
6G v2 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard
It comes with a USB to PS/2 adapter, and it
has excellent anti-ghosting technology. The only downsides to this keyboard are
that it’s invisible in the dark and laser etched key tops do wear eventually.
Where To Find The Best Ones?
If you have a particular design in mind,
say something by SteelSeries, then there are many online retailers and stores
that will offer you those. However, true aficionados will often seek out a
supplier who specialises in the very best keyboards and can even provide
replacement parts to keep a much loved input device in perfect working order.
Most online retailers carry the standard
gaming keyboards from the likes of Logitech and Steelseries, but if you want
something more sophisticated then you might need to look for a specialist
distributor of input devices. One of these is The Keyboard Company
(www.keyboardco.com), which has a fantastic range of keyboards with all the
information about the switches used in each. It stocks Realforce, Filco, Seal
Shield, Matias and Cherry keyboards among others.
My only concern about buying keyboards
without first-hand experience is that you can so easily be disappointed by a
design that looked ideal on paper but less wonderful on your desk. Some direct experience
is ideal, unless you already have a design that you’d like to replace.
