Mechanical keyboards are the favorite peripheral of gamers , but are they the most appropriate type of keyboard for you? If you are thinking of buying a mechanical keyboard soon , then we will tell you what are the advantages and disadvantages of this type of mechanisms with respect to other technologies so you can decide better.
Like all products, mechanical keyboards have their advantages and disadvantages compared to other switch technologies (membrane, scissors, butterfly ...), and although they are currently the best selling type of keyboard in the gamer field, they do not It is global and does not have to be the most suitable for you. So, here is a list of the advantages and disadvantages they have compared to other types of keyboard so you can decide if it is the type of keyboard you need.
Advantages of a mechanical keyboard
We begin seeing the advantages, being understood by these the characteristics in which a mechanical keyboard is superior with respect to the others.
They are more durable
The durability of the mechanical switches depends on the manufacturer, but ranges from 20 to 80 million keystrokes per key, a real barbarity thanks to which we could be using the keyboard for a decade without damaging the mechanisms. Faced with this, the best keyboards with membrane or scissor switches usually have a maximum of 5 million durability keystrokes.
They provide greater customization
Personalization can come in several ways, but the main one is that we have many types of mechanisms to choose from, and within these, several more types. That is to say, we have Cherry MX, Logitech Romer-G, Razer switches ... and within these there are also several types, differing in colors to distinguish them but that vary in hardness, at the point of activation and whether or not they have tactile feedback . The noise they make depends also on the switches.
Likewise, the mechanical switches are the only ones that allow you to customize the lighting by key, being able to create lighting effects much better than with any other type of keyboard.
They have full anti-ghosting
The anti-ghosting functionality is what allows you to press as many keys as you want simultaneously without the keyboard collapsing. Many gaming keyboards have this functionality but it is limited , generally to 6-Key Rollover, being able to press up to six keys at once. Mechanical keyboards are the only ones capable of providing N-Key Rollover , that is, we can press as many keys as we want at the same time. Therefore, among other things, they are preferred by gamers.
They are the fastest and most accurate
Another of the faculties by which gamers prefer a mechanical keyboard rather than another type is because the keystrokes are more precise, since having the keys more traveled the keystrokes are better noticed. Similarly, and according to the point of action, these types of keyboards are the fastest to record the keystrokes we make.
They are easier to clean and repair
It is inevitable that, with the use and the passage of time, the keyboard will be filled with dirt, not to mention if any liquid is spilled. On a mechanical keyboard, cleaning is easier because all the hoods of the keys can be easily placed and removed , greatly facilitating the task of cleaning them.
In addition, if a key gets stuck or gives us problems, it is easier to access the mechanism to see what happens or why it gets stuck, again thanks to the fact that we only have to remove the hood.
Disadvantages of a mechanical keyboard
Just as mechanical keyboards have their advantages over others, they also have their disadvantages.
They are less comfortable and more tired
Mechanical keyboards are not ergonomic as a rule (except for a specific model), and since the path of the keys is greater we have to make a greater effort to press the keys , so they get more tired. Using the keyboard for an hour is not that we are going to notice it much, but if we have to use it all day, it shows in the long run.
For this reason, too, as a rule it is written faster with other types of keyboards (almost all records in the typing world have been set with scissor-type switch keyboards).
They are much louder
Even the quietest mechanical switches, the Cherry MX Silent, make more noise than a membrane keyboard, not to mention a scissor or butterfly, which are the quietest. Therefore, if noise bothers you, a mechanical keyboard is certainly not for you.
They are very expensive
Even the low-end mechanical keyboards are quite expensive, and unless you go to Chinese models of dubious quality and reputation, you will not find models below 60 euros, having to stretch up to more than 200 in the higher-end models . On the contrary, a membrane keyboard can be bought below 10 euros, or even if we want a gaming one, it will not cost us more than 50 euros (there are also more expensive models, of course).
They occupy more space and are taller
Even the low profile mechanical keyboards are quite large, heavy and, above all, high, so that for its use it is almost essential to have a wrist rest that slightly elevates the position of the hands, which further increases the space they occupy on the table.
This is all. With these advantages and disadvantages, we hope that now you can choose knowingly if a mechanical keyboard is what you need according to your preferences and the type of use that you are going to give it, or if on the contrary other type of switches are more suitable for you.