The best mechanical keyboards | Digital Trends

Mechanical keyboards are some of the most beloved among typists and gamers. They can offer the fastest and most accurate switches, great RGB lighting, and fantastic durability. But even among the best keyboards, some simply outshine all the others. Our favorite is the Logitech G Pro, which has a great compact design, excellent switches, and beautiful lighting.

Whether you’re looking for a wireless keyboard or a gaming keyboard, we’ve gathered the best mechanical keyboards for everyone.

Logitech G Pro X Gaming Keyboard

Best mechanical keyboard overall

It might target gamers, but the Logitech G Pro X is a fantastic keyboard whether you’re fragging enemies or feverishly typing away.

For this model, Logitech ditched the age-old Cherry MX switches for its own, lower-profile, fast-response Romer-G switches. They’re rated to last for up to 70 million key presses and go through rigorous testing. The sturdy frame includes rubber feet so that your keyboard won’t slip out of position during a crucial moment, and it offers three different angles depending on what your wrists most prefer. The result is a compact, high-performance mechanical keyboard that will last a lifetime.

Whether you’re customizing the RGB LED backlighting (onboard storage can hold multiple profiles) or remapping the keys, the tools are intuitive and powerful. You can even create bespoke profiles for individual games so the Pro G X responds exactly as you want as soon as the game starts.

Thanks to the combination of fast — and surprisingly quiet — switches, a compact and light package for LAN gaming, RGB backlighting, and a price tag that’s not exorbitant, the Logitech G Pro X is our favorite mechanical board in quite some time.

Razer BlackWidow Elite

Best mechanical keyboard for gaming

Razer might produce all sorts of great hardware like the Razer Blade, but its high-profile peripherals — top-notch mechanical keyboards, for instance — are still its bread and butter. Our recent Razer favorite is the BlackWidow Elite, a mechanical keyboard that boasts RGB LED backlighting, multiple switch options, a magnetic wrist rest, and dedicated media keys.

Sporting Razer’s in-house mechanical switches and fully programmable keys, you can configure the Elite exactly how you want, whether it’s with custom RGB lighting, bespoke Macro keys, or how the keys feel under your fingertips (our purchase link offers some customizations right out the door, but there is more you can tinker with over the long term).

The combination of USB 2.0 and audio pass-through makes cable management easier, leading to a cleaner desk. Backing the whole BlackWidow Elite keyboard is Razer’s excellent Hypershift software that lets you minutely control every aspect, like keypress combinations. The keyboard is also compatible with Philips Hue devices and gear from more than 30 brands, so it will probably be right at home no matter what setup you currently have.

Das Keyboard 4 Professional

Best mechanical keyboard for professionals

German-engineered and American-made, the Das Keyboard 4 Professional stands out among all others in the Das lineup. It features a standard 104-key layout with multimedia keys located in the top right along with an attractive dial, which fine-tunes your system volume with just a single turn. It flaunts full n-key rollover, so you can press as many keys as you like without interruption.

Additionally, the 4 Professional’s gold-plated Cherry MX keys are rated to endure more than 50 million keystrokes, which is now a mechanical keyboard standard. The key caps even feature a new Das Keyboard font for a more refined look and easier reading.

The ergonomics and aesthetics of the Das Keyboard 4 Professional remain intact regardless of the key switches you choose, but the tactile feedback and active response rate are entirely up to you. We prefer the Cherry MX Blue key switches due to the satisfying audible click, but check out the brown or red key switches if you’re looking for something a bit quieter with less action.

Corsair K95 RGB Platinum XT

Best premium mechanical keyboard

Corsair was once known exclusively as a memory manufacturer. Now it produces some of the world’s best mechanical keyboards for gamers and typists alike, too. A good example is its K95 Platinum XT, the peak of that click-clacking mountain packing some of the best features of any keyboard on the market.

Available with a selection of Cherry MX switches — Brown or Speed (silver) — and a choice of black or Gunmetal Gray finishes, the K95 includes RGB backlighting with deep customization options, onboard storage for profiles, and a set of dedicated, textured macro keys. The frame derives from anodized brushed aluminum and includes a detachable wrist rest, one of the most durable designs we’ve seen. It’s designed for low noise and includes six macro keys for gaming.

Arguably the best part of the whole package, though, is that it’s backed by the Corsair Utility Engine. The backend Elgato software is hands-down the best available at the moment, providing an easy-to-understand interface that enables deeper customization than most for backlighting and key remapping.

The only downside to the Corsair K95 RGB Platinum is the price. Even then, it’s money well spent.

HyperX Alloy Origins 60

Best compact mechanical keyboard

Sometimes a full-sized keyboard isn’t the right fit: This HyperX keyboard has a 60% layout, a compact design that’s ideal for traveling or saving on space while still providing a reliable mechanical experience. It’s also one of our most affordable picks, so you’ll save some money along the way.

That compact design is supported by aircraft-grade aluminum, and the PBT keys are made to last no matter where the keyboard ends up. Even the in-house key switches are high-quality and offer great durability with a rating of 80 million keypresses. The keyboard comes with plenty of customization for macros, RGB lighting, a dedicated gaming mode, and more.

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