How to choose the best keyboard for you?

Keyboards are an essential part of a computer. For a gamer, this is a vital accessorize that enhances the beauty of a gaming PC as well as improves the performance of the gamer. That’s why people spend a lot to buy a good quality gaming keyboard. But as I always say, price doesn’t confirm the quality. You have to know your keyboard first to choose the right one for your purpose.

Types of keyboards

Although there are several types of keyboards available in the market, we use mainly three types of keyboards in our daily life.

1. Membrane dome keyboard.
2. Mechanical keyboard.
3. Membrane Scissor switch keyboard.

The membrane dome keyboards have a rubber sheet over the keyboard circuit, which provides resistance and pushes back the key to its original position after every keystroke. It is a modern key system that uses in low-budget keyboards.

On the other side, a mechanical keyboard uses mechanical switches with several moving components, including a spring. This spring creates resistance and generates feedback after every keystroke. This feedback plays a vital part in making typing error-free and fast. The clicky sound confirms that the key has been pressed, and that’s how it reduces typing errors.

The scissor switch is a variation of the membrane keyboard. Here a crisscrossed pillar supports the keycap, and that’s why it has very little travel distance. And as it is slick, most laptop manufacturers use this type of keyboard.

Average lifespan and durability

Generally, membrane dome keyboards and scissor keyboards are built for budget desktops and laptops. That means the build quality is definitely not similar to an expensive mechanical keyboard. 

The average lifespan of a membrane dome key and a scissor-switch is around 5 to 10 million keystrokes. On the other side, traditional mechanical keys can handle 50 to 80 million keystrokes, and optical-mechanical switches can manage over 100 million keystrokes.

Types of mechanical switches:

There are mainly three types of mechanical keys we use, Linear, Tactile, and Clicky. The linear switch is quiet and smoother than other variants. A tactile switch has a bump in the middle of travel that generates feedback. The clicky switches also have the bump, but they produce a sharp click sound too.

Components of a mechanical switch

Unlike membrane keyboard switches, a mechanical key has several components. The main parts are:

• Keycap – the top part where the letter has been printed.
• Stem – the place where the keycap gets mounted.
• Housing – the cover that holds all components.
• Slider – that pushes the key against the spring.
• Contact points – the place where two metal parts touch each other and generate a signal.
• Spring – it pushes back the key to its original position after every keystroke.

Components of the membrane keyboard

There are very few parts used on a membrane keyboard. The main parts are keycaps, slider, membrane layer, and the electric circuit board.

It is clear that mechanical keyboards are more durable than membrane keyboards. But there is a great issue that a mechanical keyboard has; it is the noise. As a mechanical switch content several moving parts, it produces a loud noise. Although the linear switches comparatively produce less noise than clicky switches, still it is louder than a membrane keyboard.

If you want a quiet keyboard, you should go for a membrane keyboard, and if you want a durable, robust keyboard, that enhances your typing experience, should choose a mechanical keyboard.