LABS TEST / MECHANICAL KEYBOARDS
Edward Chester puts eight of the latest high-end
mechanical gaming keyboards to the testMechanical
animals
LABS TEST
How we test
W
hether you’re after a feature-packed game controller or a
rugged typing tool, there’s a mass of choice available when
it comes to mechanical keyboards. We’ve picked out eight
of the more premium models available to gauge your options if you’re
prepared to splash out.
The first test of our assessment concerns style and build quality.
While some keyboards opt for a basic design but solid build, others
pack in all the bells and whistles but can sometimes come up short
in terms of heft and solidity. Many people value weight and rigidity
above other factors, while others might prefer a more portable option.
Other build quality factors include the overall fit and finish of the
board and the type of keycaps – cheaper boards use thinner, less
wear-resistant ABS plastic with the key legends painted onto them.
More expensive keyboards use doubleshot keycaps made from more
wear-resistant plastic, so the key legends don’t wear away.
Next up, we look at what features the board offers. Some are pretty
basic in this respect, while others include features such as a USB port
for connecting other peripherals or USB dongles, a dedicated volume
wheel and other multimedia controls, as well as sometimes whole
rows of extra keys for convenient triggering of gaming macros. Some
keyboards also include several extras in the box, such as a wrist rest, a
tool for removing keycaps and even spare keycaps.
Next, we look at the switches. We fully explore and explain the
various options available when it comes to switches in our guide on
p82, but the short version is that some are better for gaming and
some better for typing, while there are various other factors such as
feel, noise and compatibility with other keyboards and keycaps to
consider. We’ve noted the switch force, actuation point and bottoming
out point in each review (in the format xxxg, xxxmm, xxxmm).
We used each mechanical keyboard over a period of several days
for both everyday typing and gaming duties, in order to assess their
comfort levels, typing speed and ease of use for gaming. We also
performed several typing speed tests on each board to gauge any
typing benefits of the switches.Contents
Cooler Master CK550 V2 / p51
Corsair K100 RGB/ p52
Ducky Shine 7 RGB / p53
Filco Majestouch-2 / p54
Logitech G915 TKL/ p55
Logitech G Pro X / p56 Razer BlackWidow V3 / p58
SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL / p59LABS TEST / MECHANICAL KEYBOARDS