Gaming keyboards are often marketed as being purely for gamers. As a result, a lot of people steer clear of them. They don’t believe that they are good for typing. However, they are still keyboards, right? Can they really be that bad as a standard typing keyboard? We want to answer that question here for you.
So, are gaming keyboards good for typing?
yes, gaming keyboards are good for typing, specifically mechanical gaming keyboards as they feature physical switches beneath the keys which make them more responsive than an ordinary keyboard.
We can’t just leave you with that answer, though. Let’s go into a little bit of depth about why gaming keyboards are good for typing, shall we?
Are Gaming Keyboards Good For Typing?
We cannot say for sure that every single gaming keyboard produced is going to be good for typing. It won’t be. A lot of it is going to be dependent on the keyboard that you purchase in the first place.
In our opinion, in order to make a gaming keyboard good for typing, you will need to purchase a mechanical keyboard. If you purchase your typical membrane keyboard, then you won’t really notice any major benefit to your typing.
The gaming keyboards that we don’t really suggest that you buy for typing are those that do not have a number pad on them. Obviously, you still have numbers on the keyboard, but a lot of people love that number pad, and you lose a lot of functionality without it.
Mechanical Keyboards and Membrane Keyboards
Mechanical keyboards have physical switches beneath the keys. Each key press will trigger a specific switch.
With a membrane keyboard, if you opened up the keyboard, you would notice that there is a rubber membrane beneath the keys. This will have small bumps on it. When you push down on one of the keys, the bump pushes down onto a circuit board beneath. This is how the computer knows which key you are pressing.
Mechanical keyboards are more expensive, but they have long been a favorite of writers, whether they are gaming keyboards or not.
Mechanical Keyboards are More Responsive
Most people find that mechanical keyboards, gaming or not, are much more responsive and satisfying to type on.
If you use a cheaper, membrane keyboard, then the keys tend to sit pretty low. It isn’t uncommon to hit the incorrect key because everything is so close together.
It is very hard to describe how smooth it is to type on a mechanical keyboard. It is akin to typing on a typewriter, but ‘better’. It is one of those things that you really need to try out just to see how good it is.
Fast Response Time
A gaming keyboard will typically have a faster response time than your typical keyboard.
A mechanical keyboard averages a response time of around 15ms, whereas a cheaper keyboard will be closer to 30ms.
Now, in the grand scheme of things, this doesn’t really look like a major difference. It is a fraction of a second. However, if you are one of those faster typers, you will actually realize just how beneficial this is.
N-Key Rollover
This is a feature that you do not find on your average keyboard, and we think that it is a feature that will benefit some of the faster typers.
If you are a faster typer, then you will have probably run into an issue where you type so fast that you have barely pulled your finger off of one button before you tap the next button. This can result in the letters appearing in the wrong order on the screen.
Gaming keyboards often have a feature known as N-Key Rollover built into them. This feature allows multiple buttons to be pressed at the same time, but the keyboard is able to remember the order that the keys were pressed in. This means that the letters that appear on the screen will always be correct.
Now, this is only going to have a benefit to a limited group of those typing on computers. You would have to be an incredibly fast typer, but it is still a welcome benefit to some people.
Durability
In our experience, many gaming keyboards are built to a better standard than your typical keyboard. This means that they tend to last a whole lot longer. This is great if you are typing throughout the day.
Weight
Because gaming keyboards tend to be more durable, they also tend to have a lot more weight to them.
This means that if you regularly struggle with your keyboard slowly moving about your desk when you type, then a gaming keyboard may be beneficial.
Comfort
A lot of gaming keyboards have been designed to be used for hours and hours on end. As a result, they often have ‘comfort’ features added. This includes wrist rests. This is great if you are sitting in front of a computer, typing, for a long period of time.
Beyond this, any other features that gaming keyboards have will normally be there purely for gaming or aesthetics.
Will the Macro Keys on Gaming Keyboards Benefit Typing?
Many gaming keyboards will have what is known as ‘macro keys’.
The purpose of ‘macro keys’ is to allow people to accomplish in a single button press what would normally take a couple of button presses. Each macro key can be programmed to whatever you want. As you can probably guess, this is highly effective in games and can seriously improve somebody’s gameplay.
When it comes to typing, they are probably not going to be all that effective. There are probably very few situations where you can benefit from the use of macro keys. You may be able to use them to copy and paste items with just a single press rather than pressing CTRL + V and CTRL + P, but this is really not going to be saving you that much time.
Some writers will use them for formatting their writing. However, even then, the macro buttons will have limited use.
If you are solely typing on a gaming keyboard, then you will probably never touch the macro buttons.
Can You Turn the LED Lights Off on Gaming Keyboards?
As you may well know, a lot of gaming keyboards have lights on them. This is designed to make them look a little bit ‘prettier’.
The problem with the LED lights is that they can be somewhat distracting for certain people when they are typing.
You will be pleased to know that with most gaming keyboards, you can turn the LED lights off.
When you purchase the gaming keyboard, there will be included software that you can download and install onto your computer. From here, you will be able to turn the lights of the keyboard off with a quick button press.
Final Thoughts
Gaming keyboards will be fine for typing. If you purchase a mechanical gaming keyboard, then it may even be better for typing than the keyboard that you are using right now. Obviously, you should be doing your research to ensure that you end up with the gaming keyboard that is right for you.
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