Will A Gaming Keyboard Really Make A Difference?

We have all seen those fancy light-up keyboards from our favorite gamer or gaming store, and some of them can be ridiculously expensive. While there is no guarantee that a gaming keyboard will improve your skills, these keyboards are popular for a reason, and they may help you become a better gamer and a better typist.

Gaming keyboards can make a big difference for gamers and people who type often. Manufacturers design gaming keyboards to give gamers a comfortable, convenient experience that regular keyboards can’t. 

How Do Gaming Keyboards Make A Difference For Gamers?

Gaming keyboards claim to make your gaming experience more pleasurable, and for the most part, they do. However, how does something as simple as a keyboard make gaming easier?

Gaming keyboards make a difference with gamers’ comfort and keyboard visibility. They also have notches marking the most frequently used keys so that gamers don’t have to look away from the screen as much. They are also more durable. 

Let’s break down these differences a little further and figure out if a gaming keyboard is right for you.

Gaming Keyboards Are More Comfortable for Gaming

Manufacturers design keyboards with comfort in mind, but gamers use keyboards differently than ordinary typists. So, regular keyboards may be better for people who want to reach higher words per minute, while gaming keyboards offer a unique format that supports standard gaming controls.

As a gamer, your positioning on the keyboard will be different because you are focused only on specific keys. Games traditionally use the keys W, A, S, and D for character movement. So, gamers will have their left hand hovering over these keys at all times.

Because this is so different from ordinary keyboard positioning, designers have made gaming keyboards more comfortable for those who use this position. Some gaming keyboards also have modes that only let you use specific keys to help reduce errors and make your in-game movements faster and more accurate.

Backlighting on gaming keyboards certainly looks cool, but this isn’t the only purpose that it serves. Backlit keys help gamers who like to play in low light. Seeing keys in low light can be a challenge, but many gamers prefer to play in low light as it helps with immersion.

This atmosphere can be great for gaming, but it can also make it difficult to see the keyboard you are using. So, backlighting on a keyboard can be highly beneficial for those who like to game in low light. Designers created backlit keyboards for much more than just how cool they look.

Gaming Keyboards Have Notches for Important Gaming Keys

Traditional keyboards have notches on the J and F keys following proper keyboard finger positioning. These aren’t necessary on a gaming keyboard because the gaming finger positioning is different.

Instead, gaming keyboards focus on W, A, S, and D keys, as we discussed above. These are considered the home keys for gamers. So, gaming keyboards will often have notches to represent the appropriate finger resting place.

Gaming Keyboards Are More Durable

We can be pretty rough on our gaming keyboards, so they are built to last. Like controllers, they tend to take a lot of pressure when we fight for our lives out there in the gaming world. While standard keyboards might not withstand the abuse of frantic, hard clicking for long, gaming keyboards usually can.

So, getting a gaming keyboard can allow you to relax and enjoy your gaming experience, and you won’t need to worry about hurting the keyboard with rapid, forceful clicks.

Will A New Keyboard Help You Be A Better Gamer?

Overall the keyboard probably won’t help you get better at gaming, but it can improve your overall experience. Comfort and familiarity can help you have more fun and potentially enhance your skills at gaming, but the keyboard won’t help you directly. 

You will still have to put in the work and hours to get better at gaming, but here is how the keyboard can help:

• One of the best parts about owning a gaming keyboard is how comfortable they are to use. That comfort can help you stay in the game even longer than you usually would. Also, keeping your hands and wrists comfortable can allow you to have faster responses and less pain when playing for long hours.

• Things like notches and backlighting can also help you get more comfortable with gaming. They allow you to keep looking at the screen without looking away from the game, potentially making your movements and reactions faster and more natural. The time it takes to look at your keyboard may seem like a short, insignificant amount of time, but concentrating is vital for gaming.

• Overall, manufacturers don’t design gaming keyboards to make you a better gamer. Instead, they create them to make your overall gaming experience easier and more comfortable. Ease and comfort can help you do better at gaming, but it is not guaranteed. If you consider a gaming keyboard only to improve your skill, you may not get the results you want.

Mechanical vs. Membrane

One of the most significant differences that keyboards can make in gaming is whether the keys are mechanical or membrane-based.

In mechanical keyboards, each key has an individual switch underneath it. On the other hand, membrane keyboards have lower-profile keys that don’t click.  Membrane keyboards have switches that all connect, too.

Overall, mechanical keys work a little faster than membranes and have more sensitive reaction times.

So, a gaming keyboard can help you improve your reaction time, making you a better gamer. However, this is also not guaranteed to make you better at gaming. The fast response time is there, but you still need to react quickly to be an effective gamer.

Final Thoughts

Gaming keyboards are great for gamers who spend a lot of time on their computer. These keyboards can help the gamer be more comfortable and find the necessary keys more easily. Overall, they are ideal for gamers who spend a lot of time at their computer and want an aesthetically pleasing tool to make gaming more comfortable and efficient.