While I do not want this to seem like a rant, I have to confess I do not like how the market is going for gaming keyboards.
So will start with this: What actually makes them "gaming" keyboards?
I understand one of the latest crazes are the Cherry mechanical weighted keys which feature fancy named things like "key rollover and anti ghosting technology" to avoid miss hit keys in game, but feel this is something they wouldn't have to incorperate atall, if they focused on the layout and shape of the product instead. The weight element I agree is a nice feature, but that's it.
You only hit the wrong key because they are spaced so tightly together and are often forced to rush.
If car makers were to move the clutch, brake and gas pedals closer together for a more compact look, it would be terrible, even if they then incorporated led backlighting and the equivalent anti ghosting technology to resolve the issue.
So why do it with keyboards?
Increasing processor speeds promise lighting fast response in games, but honestly there hasn't been anything I have found to be slow on my aging relic of a board.
Other features.
It seems to me that the trend is RGB backlighting and macro keys.
RGB lighting - fair enough if you want to coordinate your desk to your other gear, but that's all I see it as. While I would never buy a keyboard without backlight keys, I feel manufacturers are hyping up its practical use when it's more of a gimic. How do 16.7 millions colours help me game more effectively?
I see certain keyboards allow individual customisation to allow for popular keys like WASD to stand out, which is a very nice idea, but still see it as a "normal" keyboard layout because they are the same shape and unless you look down, cant tell which key it is all be it for a small raised "lump" on certain models.
Your still forced to use the keys in the same cramped fashion as every other one on the market, rather than design a more practical layout. A £100 million coloured keyboard forces the same hand positions as a £5 office version just with a few fancy colours.
Macro keys - what do you actually use them for? I play a mixture of games including FPS and MMORPG and have yet to find an actual use for them. Not only because the whole idea of having to program them in each game puts me off, but seem to be placed in very inconvenient places which force you to abandon your left movement hand to reach.
I'm sure the guy in bf4 running at you with a knife will wait for you to stop running and hit your melee macro.
So if not for gaming, what are they for? I've seen people say they use it for webpages or word documents like app buttons, but this really isn't helping my gaming is it?
My naga molten mouse on the other hand, have found invaluable in all of the above because it eliminates the need to take my fingers away from WASD, to reach the 1-9 numbers - it also allows for simple key binding in any game that allows it because they double as the number/numpad keys rather than an extra button I need to customize.
For example I have BF4 setup to have melee, crouch, prone, map, minimap zoom and Fraps all bound to my mouse hand, aswell as all the weapons and fire mode, never once having to worry to reach for a macro or number key ( and probably miss it) on the keyboard. This makes it near instant and never forces me to adjust my hands - all thanks to a practical layout.
The only macro I have ever used is a DPI sensitivity switch for BF4 when I get in a jet and this is bound on my mouse as it lacks a on-the-fly button.
I suppose all this boils down to is the fact I have used my old steel series merc stealth for many years and find using standard keyboards an absolute muddle, I simply cannot stand having my fingers cramped together.
I want a keyboard I can use with my eyes closed so it demonstrates I can happily play fast paced games without having to worry where keys are.
I bought a Razer to replace my increasingly worn stealth but sent it back within the day. They keys were so small and compact, it felt like a laptop with green LEDs. This cost 3x more than my current one which cost me the grand total of £30 new. It offered me zero beneficial gaming advantages.
For those who haven't seen the keyboard I am talking about, will attach a PIC below.
It features a completely separate gaming area which are much more spaced out and recognisable, not only from looks but also the feel. Some are made of a completely different material (QWEASD) which have a soft rubber texture and are a totally different shape, while others are hard plastic rounded shapes amongst flatter versions and ones with a dipped shape.
You simply cannot mistake a key, even in the dark.
It probably predates things like anti ghosting and mechanical keys but the fact they focused on layout, it doesn't require it in the first place. It also lacks things like LCD screens and a million macro keys.
It features a choice of 3 led colours, has adjustable brightness and a media player hotkey and track selection with the all important separation of the gaming keys. What more do you need?
(It also features a Razer-like driver which had a very nice key swap software, where I could, for example, swap the arrow buttons for the wasd so I could play COH with the arrows, keeping my hands close together and play a more relaxed, lazy style to avoid arm fatigue.
Another nice feature was it had premade profiles for games where they automatically assigned a coinvinient keybinding layout for you, without having to change a single setting. Heck it even did this just by clicking the game exe.)
But I stopped using these after driver support ended and I had already found my ideal layout which I use for most games.
Unfortunately now discontinued, steel series have also decided to follow the smaller, cramped RGB craze. The fact that the only few remaining keyboards are on "the bay" for over £100, can only support my suspicion that many gamers miss this type of keyboard.
I have tried several standalone game pads such as LG and Razers Orbweaver but none have the same practicality as the merc stealth.
Mini rant over - TL: DR I feel keyboards today are focusing more on looks and colourful gimics than practical use and gaming advantages.
What are other people's thoughts on this?
So will start with this: What actually makes them "gaming" keyboards?
I understand one of the latest crazes are the Cherry mechanical weighted keys which feature fancy named things like "key rollover and anti ghosting technology" to avoid miss hit keys in game, but feel this is something they wouldn't have to incorperate atall, if they focused on the layout and shape of the product instead. The weight element I agree is a nice feature, but that's it.
You only hit the wrong key because they are spaced so tightly together and are often forced to rush.
If car makers were to move the clutch, brake and gas pedals closer together for a more compact look, it would be terrible, even if they then incorporated led backlighting and the equivalent anti ghosting technology to resolve the issue.
So why do it with keyboards?
Increasing processor speeds promise lighting fast response in games, but honestly there hasn't been anything I have found to be slow on my aging relic of a board.
Other features.
It seems to me that the trend is RGB backlighting and macro keys.
RGB lighting - fair enough if you want to coordinate your desk to your other gear, but that's all I see it as. While I would never buy a keyboard without backlight keys, I feel manufacturers are hyping up its practical use when it's more of a gimic. How do 16.7 millions colours help me game more effectively?
I see certain keyboards allow individual customisation to allow for popular keys like WASD to stand out, which is a very nice idea, but still see it as a "normal" keyboard layout because they are the same shape and unless you look down, cant tell which key it is all be it for a small raised "lump" on certain models.
Your still forced to use the keys in the same cramped fashion as every other one on the market, rather than design a more practical layout. A £100 million coloured keyboard forces the same hand positions as a £5 office version just with a few fancy colours.
Macro keys - what do you actually use them for? I play a mixture of games including FPS and MMORPG and have yet to find an actual use for them. Not only because the whole idea of having to program them in each game puts me off, but seem to be placed in very inconvenient places which force you to abandon your left movement hand to reach.
I'm sure the guy in bf4 running at you with a knife will wait for you to stop running and hit your melee macro.
So if not for gaming, what are they for? I've seen people say they use it for webpages or word documents like app buttons, but this really isn't helping my gaming is it?
My naga molten mouse on the other hand, have found invaluable in all of the above because it eliminates the need to take my fingers away from WASD, to reach the 1-9 numbers - it also allows for simple key binding in any game that allows it because they double as the number/numpad keys rather than an extra button I need to customize.
For example I have BF4 setup to have melee, crouch, prone, map, minimap zoom and Fraps all bound to my mouse hand, aswell as all the weapons and fire mode, never once having to worry to reach for a macro or number key ( and probably miss it) on the keyboard. This makes it near instant and never forces me to adjust my hands - all thanks to a practical layout.
The only macro I have ever used is a DPI sensitivity switch for BF4 when I get in a jet and this is bound on my mouse as it lacks a on-the-fly button.
I suppose all this boils down to is the fact I have used my old steel series merc stealth for many years and find using standard keyboards an absolute muddle, I simply cannot stand having my fingers cramped together.
I want a keyboard I can use with my eyes closed so it demonstrates I can happily play fast paced games without having to worry where keys are.
I bought a Razer to replace my increasingly worn stealth but sent it back within the day. They keys were so small and compact, it felt like a laptop with green LEDs. This cost 3x more than my current one which cost me the grand total of £30 new. It offered me zero beneficial gaming advantages.
For those who haven't seen the keyboard I am talking about, will attach a PIC below.
It features a completely separate gaming area which are much more spaced out and recognisable, not only from looks but also the feel. Some are made of a completely different material (QWEASD) which have a soft rubber texture and are a totally different shape, while others are hard plastic rounded shapes amongst flatter versions and ones with a dipped shape.
You simply cannot mistake a key, even in the dark.
It probably predates things like anti ghosting and mechanical keys but the fact they focused on layout, it doesn't require it in the first place. It also lacks things like LCD screens and a million macro keys.
It features a choice of 3 led colours, has adjustable brightness and a media player hotkey and track selection with the all important separation of the gaming keys. What more do you need?
(It also features a Razer-like driver which had a very nice key swap software, where I could, for example, swap the arrow buttons for the wasd so I could play COH with the arrows, keeping my hands close together and play a more relaxed, lazy style to avoid arm fatigue.
Another nice feature was it had premade profiles for games where they automatically assigned a coinvinient keybinding layout for you, without having to change a single setting. Heck it even did this just by clicking the game exe.)
But I stopped using these after driver support ended and I had already found my ideal layout which I use for most games.
Unfortunately now discontinued, steel series have also decided to follow the smaller, cramped RGB craze. The fact that the only few remaining keyboards are on "the bay" for over £100, can only support my suspicion that many gamers miss this type of keyboard.
I have tried several standalone game pads such as LG and Razers Orbweaver but none have the same practicality as the merc stealth.
Mini rant over - TL: DR I feel keyboards today are focusing more on looks and colourful gimics than practical use and gaming advantages.
What are other people's thoughts on this?
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