8 key points to consider when buying your first mechanical keyboard

Mechanical keyboards have been sold for years, but in the past few years, thanks to social networks, the popularity of these types of keyboards has multiplied. Naturally, a mechanical keyboard has a higher price than a normal keyboard, so you should pay more attention to it before buying it so that you can make the best choice. Whether it makes sense for you or not, and then we will raise important points for buying it.

• 6 logical reasons why you need a mechanical keyboard

Why should we use a mechanical keyboard?

We can propose various reasons for the rationality of buying a mechanical keyboard. In the following, we briefly and usefully discuss 5 important reasons for doing this.

• Building quality: mechanical keyboards usually have a better building quality than many normal keyboards. And they are heavier. Of course, this is not always the rule. Due to the higher durability of these types of keyboards, they are better for heavy use, and high-quality examples can perform the task in the best way for years. A mechanical keyboard is not considered. The reason for this is the high accuracy, the satisfying feeling of pressing the keys and the received tactile feedback. Therefore, for many gamers, using a mechanical keyboard is something that they have no doubts about.
• Sense and sound: Overall, the sound of mechanical keyboards is very special. and on the other hand, pressing its keys conveys a very good feeling to the fingers. In the meantime, mechanical keyboards use different switches, of which linear, touch and key examples are considered the most important. Each of these switches provides a different function in this regard.
• Personalization: Most mechanical keyboards are customizable to some extent. Usually, in these keyboards, you can at least change the keys easily. Also, some of these keyboards support switching switches. Personalizing the function of the keys with software and other things are among their side attractions.
• Increasing typing accuracy: As we said, choosing the right switch for a mechanical keyboard is completely a matter of taste. But usually, when many users find their favorite switch, they face an increase in typing speed and accuracy.

Now after addressing these points, if you think a mechanical keyboard is worth buying. In the following, we discuss several points that you should consider when buying a mechanical keyboard.

Important terms related to mechanical keyboard

When you want to buy a mechanical keyboard and you are not familiar with this topic, you will come across many new terms and these terms will confuse many users.

Switch

But in simple words, switches are mechanisms that are activated when you press a key on the keyboard. Also, in this context, we should mention the importance of switches to receive a touch response, and at the same time, these switches determine the amount of pressure required for typing and the amount of sound produced.

Distance

This term refers to the distance traveled for the key to verify its use. For example, laptop keyboards travel very little distance, but mechanical keyboards have to travel a long distance to type.

Click

This refers to the sound made by the keys of a mechanical keyboard, which can be loud or low depending on the switch used.

Drive force

The driving force is the amount of pressure required to press a key on a mechanical keyboard. The gram unit is usually used to measure this force.

Specify the purpose of using a mechanical keyboard

Unlike conventional keyboards that are used for a variety of applications and users, mechanical keyboards have various switches that are Depending on your goal, you should choose between these switches. For example, to use some switches, you have to press the key all the way, but some other switches do not have such a requirement, and even if you press the key halfway, for example, the work is done. Usually, people who deal with a lot of typing prefer the second type, but gamers prefer the first type of switches to avoid accidental clicks.

Determining the budget

5

Do you want to use the best switches to buy a gaming keyboard? Is lighting important to you? How many years do you expect the keyboard to work for you? Before buying a mechanical keyboard, you should ask yourself several such questions to make a better choice. Like most gadgets, mechanical keyboards are divided into three main categories: low-end, mid-range, and flagship, and you should choose between them according to your budget and needs.

Which keyboard size is better?

Keyboards in sizes They are sold in different ways, of course, some of them have a special shape and image, but we have nothing to do with their shape in this article. But in the meantime, which keyboard size is better for you?

• Full size keyboards have 101 to 104 keys and use all the expected keys such as number pad and function keys.
• Keyboards without a number pad, which are also called TKL keyboards, naturally do not use a number pad and have about 87-88 keys.
• 75% keyboards are almost the same as TKL keyboards in terms of the number of keys, but they are smaller overall. The number of keys of this type of keyboard is about 70 to 75. 65 percent keyboards are naturally smaller and use about 66 to 68 keys. Due to this size reduction, there are no function keys, direction keys and other items in this type of keyboards. 60% keyboards have about 60 to 61 keys. Due to the lack of function keys, in order to take advantage of the functionality of these keys, you have to use a combination of different keys. 40% keyboards are very compact and offer about 40 to 44 keys. they give. Because of this very small size, many users do not show much interest in using them.

The sound of switches

So if you are interested in loud keys, you should choose a switch that makes a lot of noise, and if you want the keys to be quiet, you should keep this in mind before buying.

• Click switches: These types of switches are very popular among some users because of the noise they make. So if you are very interested in this feature, it is better to choose from mechanical keyboards with switches such as Cherry MX Blue, Kailh Box White or Outemu Phoenix.
• Touch switches: These types of switches provide tactile feedback to the user and after being pressed, they make a faint sound to the user's ear. So, if you want to not face a lot of noise while typing and on the other hand get tactile feedback, the mechanical keyboard you want should have switches like Cherry MX Brown, Kailh Box Brown or Drop Halo Clear.
• mechanical keyboards on the market use linear switches. These types of switches have a fixed movement and do not provide any tactile feedback to the user. Therefore, these types of switches are not very different from normal keyboards. Among the famous linear switches, we can mention Cherry MX Red, Gateron Yellow and Kailh Box Red.
• Silent switches: Finally, we should not forget the silent switches, which practically do not make much noise. do not create Switches such as Cherry MX Silent Red, Gateron Silent Black and Topre Realforce Silent fall into this category.

Finally, we must say that naturally all switches - even silent switches - make some noise and This is completely normal. But you have to see in which environment you want to use a mechanical keyboard. In a public environment or offices where people are not in separate rooms, the use of mechanical keyboards based on noisy switches are undoubtedly considered very annoying for the people around.

The keyboard switch Choose wisely

No doubt you've figured it out by now. For mechanical keyboards, the type of switches is very important. So depending on whether you like the switch to be noisy or not, what distance it travels and how it feels, you can choose between different options. Undoubtedly, the Cherry MX series The most popular family of switches are mechanical keyboards, and these switches are so famous that their color has become the default color of different types of switches for many users. Of course, in this market, hundreds of different switches from different brands are used. but finally there are some main categories of switches that we discussed a little above. Also, many famous companies use the same naming system and colors for these switches so that users don't get confused. In addition, we should note that many switches from other companies are compatible with Cherry MX switches. Next, we will discuss some famous switches.

• Cherry MX Red: This linear switch has many fans and is usually used in gaming keyboards.
• Cherry MX Brown: This switch provides very soft tactile feedback to the finger and does not make much noise. Usually, this switch is popular for users who want to have a balanced experience between gaming and typing.
• Cherry MX Blue: Because of providing tactile feedback And it makes a lot of noise, it has many pros and cons. Gateron Brown: It is similar to Cherry MX Brown and we can consider it as an economic alternative to the desired switch.
• Gateron Red: This switch is similar to Cherry MX Red and is a good option for users who don't want to put too much pressure on the keyboard key.
• Kailh Box White: This is a clicky switch with tactile feedback that is known as a durable and tough switch.
• Kailh Box Brown: This switch is also a linear type and does not make much noise.
• Topre: This is a special electrostatic capacitive switch known among enthusiasts for providing a unique experience. But this switch has a much higher price than its competitors.

As we said, there are hundreds of different switches in this field, and in this article we discussed only 8 of the famous switches.

Choose from reputable brands

In the Iranian market, due to the high exchange rate and reduced purchasing power of users, many famous brands active in the field of mechanical keyboards do not have many fans. For this reason, instead, brands that can provide good quality for a reasonable price are considered in the Iranian market. In this context, in the Iranian market, Repo and Redragon brands have introduced very good mechanical keyboards to the Iranian market, and according to your budget and by comparing the available options, you can choose from among very good models.

Build quality

As a final point, we must mention the importance of the quality of mechanical keyboard construction. For this, it is better to consider the following points:

• Construction materials: The main part of the body of mechanical keyboards is usually plastic or metal. Also, if the aluminum frame is used, the desired keyboard can have a long life.
• Switch quality: Cherry MX series switches are excellent in all respects, but if the keyboard you are looking for is one of the manufactured switches used by other companies, it is better to research the quality of the switches before buying. In this regard, we should mention the ease of switching switches in some keyboards. Thanks to this feature, you can get a different experience from the keyboard without having to buy a new keyboard.
• Quality of the keys: The quality of the keys themselves is also very important, and for example, a high-quality key with clean
• Cable: Although we see some high-quality wireless mechanical keyboards in the market, but in general, for gaming, it is always recommended to use keyboards Use a wire. In addition, it is better that the cable in question can be connected to the keyboard so that if there is a problem with it, you can easily replace the cable.
• Lighting RGB: It can be said that it is almost impossible to buy a mechanical keyboard without any lighting. If the quality of lighting is very important to you, be sure to consider this before buying.

Final Remarks

You need a mechanical keyboard, let's pay. So even if you are new in this field, by reading this article you can safely go to the market or online stores like SafirSoft and buy the mechanical keyboard you want. Fortunately SafirSoft sells all kinds of mechanical keyboards that you can choose from according to your needs and budget.

• Why is it better to buy mechanical keyboards for gaming?

Source: MakeUseOf