The Wooting 60HE+ doesn’t make many promises about its ability to enhance gaming play, but it is an outstanding keyboard at an economical price. Equipped with Gateron Linear switches offering a soft key feel and featuring a gasket mount and Poron sound absorbent foam technology for quietness, this keyboard should serve you well for years.
Customizability and software features also abound, including a Command Dial with eight default settings and space for 100 keys of your choosing.
Razer Deathstalker V2 Pro
The Deathstalker V2 Pro keyboard is stylish and responsive for gamers who prioritize comfort without compromising performance. Its linear optical switches offer a light feel with a short pre-travel distance, making typing comfortable. Furthermore, their faster actuation point than traditional mechanical keys reduces wrist fatigue by registering presses more quickly – an added benefit to keep in mind!
Razer’s optical technology stands out as one of the top solutions on the market, using a light beam to detect keypresses much more quickly and accurately than physical contact would. Furthermore, it has lower debounce times and greater durability than traditional mechanical switches.
Chroma lighting software allows users to personalize each switch with customized colours or patterns, adding another level of customization. Furthermore, the keyboard offers a multi-function roller and media button, which can be programmed to control volume, brightness, play/pause, and volume-rollback features. You can remap most functions through Synapse except for Windows Key/Razer HyperShift functionality, which cannot be altered.
The keyboard is constructed solidly and features a strong aluminium alloy top plate and wide keycaps made from ABS plastic that feel soft yet sturdy compared to most keycaps on other high-end gaming keyboards. Though heavier than its competitors, it feels comfortable for long-term typing sessions due to minimal flex and reassuring heft. Although a bit heavier than others, this one still feels great and provides minimal flex. Keycaps made from ABS plastic feel soft when touched but don’t feel cheap or cheap like their competitors; however, they vary slightly when typing, especially those modifier keys like Tab, Ctrl, and Alt.
Corsair K70 Pro
Corsair has long been known for making quality keyboards, and the K70 Pro takes everything that made its predecessors great while adding new features. It is a wired mechanical gaming keyboard with individually lit keys and a sturdy build; its low pre-travel distance switches offer light yet responsive keys and Tournament Mode disabling macros for reduced distraction and offering single colour RGB lighting, not to mention premium 6-foot USB-C-to-A braided cables – everything a gamer could ask for in a gaming keyboard!
This large and heavy keyboard is still comfortable thanks to a thick wrist rest and generous, magnetic palm rest. The black PBT keycaps feature shiny RGB LEDs with a silver diffuser, illuminating your desk. While there are no dedicated media controls like dedicated media players, this model offers an adjustable brightness dial and mute button reprogrammable via Corsair iCue software.
The K70 Pro comes equipped with 8MB of onboard storage that allows up to 50 profiles and 20 layers of lighting effects, boasting an astounding polling rate of up to 8000Hz for gaming. Although its companion software may initially seem intimidating, it offers plenty of customization options once mastered.
As one example, you can customize the actuation points of movement keys so they are more responsive to light touch, making Respawn’s battle royale game Apex Legends easier to use. Anyone will appreciate this feature, while competitive gamers especially will understand its value – making this gaming keyboard the best!
SteelSeries Apex 3 TKL
The SteelSeries Apex 3 TKL keyboard is an entry-level option with solid performance and handy features, including some unique ones. It uses all the same keys as its full-sized sibling but is forgoing its numpad for a smaller, more compact design. Furthermore, this model boasts additional gaming-oriented features and RGB lighting customization options to personalize its experience further.
SteelSeries Whisper Quiet switches on this smaller keyboard are rated to withstand over 20 million key presses without failure and feature low friction material for an exceptionally smooth feel. Furthermore, their quiet operation makes this perfect for use during night or early morning gaming sessions.
As with the other keyboards on our list, the SteelSeries Apex 3 TKL features anti-ghosting to ensure every keystroke registers properly, no matter how fast or frequently it’s pressed. It is, therefore, vitally important when purchasing mechanical keyboards like this one that they contain such anti-ghosting mechanisms – making this keyboard one of our picks!
SteelSeries GG software is easy to use and offers many customizable keyboard features. These include remapping keys, creating macros, and live thermal readings from your keyboard – a convenient and useful feature!
Apex 3 TKL’s only downside is its lack of wrist rest, which may cause issues during longer play sessions. Luckily, its incline setting makes for greater comfort – particularly when coupled with wrist support pads that can easily be attached or detached as desired.
Keychron Q3 Max
The Keychron Q3 Max and its stablemates are excellent choices for anyone in search of an elegant keyboard with high-end features, including RGB backlighting and a programmable knob. Their premium feel comes from their CNC-machined aluminium case and double gasket design, while Gateron G Pro Brown switches provide a superior typing experience. They support 1000Hz polling rate in both wired and 2.4GHz wireless modes to give users an optimal typing experience that is responsive and lag-free.
The Q3 Max is unlike its Q1 and Q2 siblings in that it features an 80% layout in TKL form factor, providing more space between the alphanumeric keypad and navigation cluster for increased key count and more durable PBT keycaps with a consistent feel than ABS keycaps; also it boasts a higher maximum keystroke count than their smaller counterparts.
Another key advantage is the inclusion of a USB-C connector, providing users with greater connectivity options. They can connect via USB-C, Bluetooth 5.1, or 2.4 GHz wireless to customize the board according to their needs and environment – with low latency that provides responsive gaming experiences or other high-performance applications.
The acoustics on this keyboard are fantastic. Utilizing IXPE foam between its plates and PCB to minimize acoustic resonance and make typing quieter, as well as being compatible with third-party screw-in stabilizers that make upgrading internal layout simple, it is fully programmable with VIA for customizing key functions and macros easily and features full programmability allowing full customization with VIA; unfortunately, though it doesn’t feature an indicator for Caps Lock status.
Wooting 60HE+
Unleash your competitive edge with the Wooting 60HE+, a compact keyboard designed to improve precision and speed. Boasting analogue input for unrivalled accuracy and customizable actuation points to meet gameplay demands, it’s engineered to help maximize performance in any setting.
The 60HE+ ticks many of the standard boxes, such as offering a polling rate of 1,000Hz and full n-key rollover to record all inputs simultaneously. Furthermore, custom actuation depth settings range from as shallow as 0.1mm up to 4.0 mm for optimal control over input data collection.
But the small details that truly set this keyboard apart, such as its handy wrist rest strap or carry bag feature – something rarely seen among gaming keyboards but added here for added comfort or mobility when out and about. These details help make this product feel like more than just another keyboard.
Adjusting the actuation point per key can also be an appealing feature, enabling easier hitting of keys you use most frequently – something which could prove invaluable when playing fast-paced first-person shooter games where every millisecond counts.
Customize your 60HE+ with customized keycaps and case, or build it yourself thanks to the modular 60HE+ Module’s flexible design. It includes a hall effect PCB, polycarbonate plate, silicone sandwich pad (to dampen click sound) and screw-in stabilizers – you can install this module into any Wooting Alumaze60 case or most third-party aluminium cases with tray mounts – swap out silicon sandwich pads for poron plates to further reduce noise levels!