It is true that to make a good Set Up Streaming, some basic elements are necessary. However, streamers always like to go further and every day, it is a trend to buy gaming keyboards, especially backlit keyboards.
In this article we tell you the main reasons why buying a gaming keyboard for your streamings is a good idea.
Mechanical gaming keyboards started to boom in the 2000s. They have many more advantages compared to typical membrane keyboards (a membrane keyboard is one that is embedded in your laptop, for example). Let’s take a look at the main reasons to buy a gaming keyboard.
Once you try it, you’ll hate all your old keyboards
Although video games have become much shorter in the last few years, there are still some games that are still relevant, and each game can take you half a lifetime to play. In fact, sometimes you may need a few (quite a few) hours. Gamers’ keyboards tend to have larger mechanical keys with better spacing that are easier and more comfortable for longer periods of time. In addition, the shape of the keyboard is often designed to fit your hands perfectly, so you can use the keyboard for hours without your hands and wrists getting sore.
Mechanical keys allow faster typing
Most gaming keyboards have mechanical keys instead of the membrane keyboards that exist (membrane keyboards are the typical ones that come for example on the laptop PC). The keys on these keyboards are much easier to press and often do not have to be pressed as hard as other types of keyboards. This means that you can type much faster compared to other keyboards. For example, if you are playing a video game, you will be able to move your character much more easily compared to the other keyboard.
Because it’s easier, you won’t suffer from fatigue while playing and you’ll be able to make all your moves much faster. Sometimes in gaming, milliseconds matter, and you can easily gain a few milliseconds by using a mechanical keyboard.
Did you know that there are many different types of mechanical switches and keyboard accessories? Some examples are Cherry MX Blue, Brown, Red or Black switches.
Macro keys make your life easier
Macro keys are definitely the biggest advantage of gaming keyboards.
Gaming keyboards often come with keys that you can customise to do almost anything in your favourite video game. In addition, you can often set up multiple profiles if you play different games. This allows these keys to function differently for each game you play.
By creating custom macros, you can automate some of the most important, and sometimes tedious, tasks you have to perform in your video game. These tasks will not only make the game easier to play, but may also give you that little edge you sometimes need.
Customised control pads improve your control
While this does not apply to all commercially available keyboards for gamers, there are many gaming keyboards that come with custom control pads on the left side of the keyboard. These controls mimic the WASD keys and the keys surrounding them on a custom control pad. These custom keys make it much easier for you to control your characters in the game. Better control often translates into better response time while playing the game.
Backlighting to play with any type of light
So that you can experience all the excitement of the games with your entire room lit up and look better than Jim Carrey in the Truman Show.
It has to be said out loud: backlighting is fuckin’ cool. The backlighting on keyboards, especially gaming keyboards, often include multi-coloured backlighting that you can customise yourself.
But beyond this fact, backlighting serves a purpose. Backlighting allows you to play with all kinds of lighting. When you play, for example, you can turn off the lights in the room and play in the dark. This is especially fun when you’re playing a horror game or streaming. Whatever the colour, the backlighting will help you see what you’re doing in the dark so you can enjoy your games and stay fully focused.
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Types of Gaming Keyboards
Mechanics
Mechanical keyboards use individual switches for each key. Once the key is depressed long enough and the key switch is actuated, it registers as a keystroke. That is, it has a mechanism for operation, not a rubber layer like a membrane keyboard. This makes typing for hours much more comfortable and faster.
Semi-mechanical
Semi-mechanical keyboards are keyboards where a few important keys have mechanical switches and all other keys have a rubber or membrane dome. They are a mix of the two. It is a cheaper alternative for those who want to start experimenting with a mechanical keyboard but are reluctant to take the leap either because they are used to membrane keyboards or for financial reasons.
Membrane keyboards
Membrane keyboards are the typical keyboards included in notebook computers. That is, when the rubber layer presses on the circuit, it simply sends the information. There is no switch. The main difference between membrane keyboards and mechanical keyboards is that the keys have to be pressed very hard on membrane keyboards so that the rubber layer can touch the circuitry.
Membrane keyboards have a membrane in which each key is located on different parts of the three-layer membrane that are sensitive to pressure. Simply put, they have a circuit covered by the rubber layer and on top of that we have the buttons or keys that you can see on the keyboard. When any button is pressed, it forces the rubber layer underneath, which in turn is attached to the circuitry.
- It has an internal rubber layer
- Pressing the key forces the rubber layer to touch the circuit.
- The keys have to be pressed very hard so that the circuit knows which key is pressed. This is very annoying when typing for a long time.
- They are cheaper.
- The keys have to be pressed very hard so that the circuit knows which key is pressed.
- No sound is produced when the keys are pressed.
Ergonomic Keyboards
Ergonomics is the process of designing or arranging workplaces, products and systems to suit the people who use them. And this field has also reached keyboards: ergonomic keyboards.
Ergonomic keyboards differ from regular keyboards only at a quick glance. They are generally curved keyboards produced to naturally adapt to the position of your wrists and fingers to avoid long-term injuries if you are a heavy keyboard user such as gamers, writers or bloggers. In addition, these keyboards will allow you to be more productive because the more comfortable they are, the more productive they are.
There are not only ergonomic keyboards, but ergonomics has gone further, reaching ergonomic mice as well. Ergonomic mice are vertical mice. Finally, we also mention the popular laptop stands, because if we talk about ergonomics we have to at least mention them. These will allow you to avoid long-term injuries to your neck and to work more comfortably.
We highly recommend you to try this innovative branch of ergonomics applied to laptops and to continue exploring all the new products that are being launched on the market.
Backlit Gaming Keyboards
Backlit gaming keyboards are keyboards with lighting effects. They usually have LED lights just below the keys. The keys are usually marked with transparent symbols, so the letters are not simply printed on them. In this way, the lights can be seen through and around the keys, illuminating them for ease of use. The lighting effects can be monochrome or multicoloured.
In recent years, many gaming keyboards have adopted rainbow lights. Some can even have various motion effects, such as lights that rotate around, pulsate or even light up under the keys that are pressed.
Many serious gaming keyboards may even have the light under each individual key set to a certain colour. Backlighting is something that will come in handy if you work (or play) in dark environments. However, you may also want to have it for aesthetic reasons.
Silent Gaming Keyboards
Silent keyboards are keyboards where typing does not produce the metallic clacking noises that are common with mechanical gaming keyboards in general.
With all the quiet keyboards on the market today, there is no reason to keep using those noisy keyboards that sound so loud. They will only irritate you and the people around you. Quiet mechanical keyboards usually have some kind of padding that prevents the key from hitting the plastic underneath. There are even some ways to make your current keys more cushioned and prevent them from wobbling and making so much noise. For example, you can use damping rings or some kind of lubricant.
Wireless Keyboards
A wireless keyboard is a keyboard that sends information to the computer via infrared. Sometimes, sitting near a computer at your desk can be uncomfortable, as there can be so many tangled wires that it can be a pain to unwind them, and this is where this wireless keyboard comes in.
A wireless keyboard is exactly the same as a normal computer keyboard, except for one important difference: as mentioned above, it transfers typing data to the computer via infrared beams. A quantity of information is sent from the keyboard, as you type, to a receiver, which is connected to the computer. This allows wireless typing, which eliminates the problem of a more tangled cable behind the computer.
It is also common to look for a wireless mouse as a complement to the wireless keyboard, which are the best of the best.
Wireless technology also allows you to place the wireless keyboard or mouse in a position that the wired version cannot reach. They’re also super useful if you usually work in an office and take your keyboard and mouse home with you, as the cables eventually break from rubbing against each other, which is a big advantage. One small downside is that the infrared receiver on the keyboard needs to be placed in a place where the infrared can easily reach it. This distance can vary from model to model, so always check the specifications before buying a wireless keyboard.
Disadvantages? I see very few. How about you?
