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It’s the season of giving gifts to your friends, loved ones, and family members. Before the year ends, we’re here to provide you with a simple gift guide related to gaming! For this episode, it’s all about gaming keyboards!
Fret not, this list will not break your bank as it is meant for people with a tight budget. Before we start, we’ll discuss some basic knowledge with regards to types of keyboards. Let’s begin!
Note: this gaming keyboard gift guide that we’ll provide is mainly used on Personal Computers. There will be some that are compatible with your mobile devices so feel free to take a look at our curated list.
Brief background on keyboards (and gaming keyboards)
For the sake of relevance and simplicity in this list, we’ll only discuss the difference between two common keyboard mechanism types — Membrane and Mechanical.
First, Membrane keyboards are the most common type that you are probably using in offices, schools, and at home. These don’t have separate parts and have a flat surface with only rubber pads in between their circuit board. Basically, when you press its keys, it’s usually mushy, quiet, and requires little effort to push down.
Next are Mechanical keyboards or MKBs which can be considered as the main gaming keyboards. The most notable feature of this type is that it has Switches that provide users with a better feel when pressing down keys than membranes. A switch has a spring that provides a different typing experience. You can do a lot of things with MKBs as there is a wide variety of things that you can find that will suit your taste.
Switch Types
Speaking of switches, there are three main types of these which are:
- Linear – this type of switch can easily remind you of membrane keyboards but way better. This is because there is no tactile feedback or little to no noise when pressing it. The most common example of this are switches that are color Red.
- Clicky – This switch type is the loudest of all the switches. This provides an additional “click” sound along with tactile feedback whenever you press it. The most common color of these switches are Blue.
- Tactile – From its name, you’ll know that there is tactility or a bump when you press this switch type. This is actually in between linear and clicky so if you want a good balance, then this is a good choice. Brown is the most common color for this switch type.
Given that mechanical keyboards can be very comprehensive, we will be listing pre-built MKBs. This means that when you buy one, the switches along with the keycaps are already installed on the board.
What we will differentiate, however, are hot-swappable and non-hot-swappable ones. The former basically means that you can replace the switches in the MKB whichever type you want. The latter is usually soldered into the board and can’t be removed by normal means.
Keyboard Layouts
Lastly, there are different keyboard sizes to choose from. For the sake of this list, we’ll just boil it down to the most common sizes.
- Full Layout – This is the usual layout of keyboards that comes complete with function keys, arrow keys, and numpad..
- TenKeyLess (TKL) – Basically, if you remove the 10 keys of the numpad in a keyboard, you’ll get a TKL size.
- 65% – Reducing the keyboard size further and you’ll get a 65% layout. This type doesn’t have function keys and have limited navigation and editing keys like delete, home, and others. The good thing here is that it still has arrow keys.
- 60% – Slimming the keyboard further by usually removing the arrow keys and you have yourselves a 60% layout. This is great if you’re just really into typing without using much navigation.
We won’t discuss keyboard backlight given that it’s self-explanatory. So now that you’ve been oriented, let’s start listing down our top keyboard picks!
PHP 1,000 – PHP 2,000
I remember how I got one of my first gaming keyboards and it was in this price range. Yes, you don’t really need to spend much just to experience how mechanical keyboards feel. Of course, the following are entry-level but nonetheless, they’re great to start with.
Redragon KARURA 2 (K502) (RGB)
Keyboard Layout – Full Layout
Keyboard Type – Membrane
Available Switches – N/A
Hot-swappable – No
Lighting – RGB
Connection – Wired
Price – PHP 1,095
Redragon Lakshmi (K606) (RGB)
Keyboard Layout – TKL
Keyboard Type – Mechanical
Available Switches – (Outemu Blue, Red, Brown)
Hot-swappable – No
Lighting – RGB
Connection – Wired
Price – PHP 1,295
Redragon Kumara (K552) (RGB)
Keyboard Layout – TKL
Keyboard Type – Mechanical
Available Switches – Outemu (Blue, Red, Brown)
Hot-swappable – No
Lighting – RGB
Connection – Wired
Price – PHP 1,695
RAKK Lam-Ang Lite (RGB)
Keyboard Layout – TKL
Keyboard Type – Mechanical
Available Switches – Outemu (Blue, Red, Brown)
Hot-swappable – Yes (Compatible with Outemu switches only)
Lighting – RGB
Connection – Wired
Price – PHP 1,795
RAKK ILIS (RGB)
Keyboard Layout – TKL
Keyboard Type – Mechanical
Available Switches – Outemu (Blue, Red, Brown)
Hot-swappable – Yes (Compatible with Outemu switches only)
Lighting – RGB
Connection – Wired
Price – PHP 1,995
PHP 2,000 – PHP 3,000
Now we move on to the price range that will definitely be your target point in gaming keyboards. Here, you’re already on the edge of entry-level gaming keyboards and entering the mid-range segment.
RAKK Lam-Ang Pro RGB
Keyboard Layout – TKL
Keyboard Type – Mechanical
Available Switches – Kailh (Box White, Bronze Speed)
Hot-swappable – Yes (Compatible with Outemu switches only)
Lighting – RGB
Connection – Wired, Wireless
Price – PHP 2,195
Royal Kludge RK61
Keyboard Layout – 60%
Keyboard Type – Mechanical
Available Switches – RK (Blue, Red, Brown)
Hot-swappable – Yes (Compatible with Cherry MX Type of switches)
Lighting – RGB
Connection – Wired, Wireless
Price – PHP 2,250
Royal Kludge RK71
Keyboard Layout – 70%
Keyboard Type – Mechanical
Available Switches – RK (Blue, Red, Brown)
Hot-swappable – Yes (Compatible with Cherry MX Type of switches)
Lighting – RGB
Connection – Wired, Wireless
Price – PHP 2,500
CORSAIR K55 RGB PRO
Keyboard Layout – Full Layout
Keyboard Type – Rubber Dome (Between Membrane and Mechanical)
Available Switches – Rubber Dome Switches
Hot-swappable – No
Lighting – RGB
Connection – Wired
Price – PHP 2,795
PHP 3,000 – PHP 4,000
If you’re going to go deep in gaming keyboards, this is a good place to start. The real fun begins as lots of good choices widen at this price range.
STEELSERIES APEX 3 TKL
Keyboard Layout – TKL
Keyboard Type – Rubber Dome (Between Membrane and Mechanical)
Available Switches – RK (Blue, Red, Brown)
Hot-swappable – No
Lighting – White
Connection – Wired, Wireless
Price – PHP 3,095
Keychron C1
Keyboard Layout – TKL
Keyboard Type – Mechanical
Available Switches – Gateron, Cherry, Kailh
Hot-swappable – Yes
Lighting – Non-backlight/RGB
Connection – Wired, Wireless
Price – PHP 3,295
HYPERX ALLOY FPS PRO
Keyboard Layout – TKL
Keyboard Type – Mechanical
Available Switches – Cherry MX (Blue, Red, Brown)
Hot-swappable – No
Lighting – White
Connection – Wired, Wireless
Price – PHP 3,290
COOLER MASTER CK530 V2 TKL
Keyboard Layout – TKL
Keyboard Type – Mechanical
Available Switches – Gateron (Red)
Hot-swappable – No
Lighting – RGB
Connection – Wired
Price – PHP 3,550
Keychron K8
Keyboard Layout – TKL
Keyboard Type – Mechanical
Available Switches – Gateron (Red, Blue)
Hot-swappable – No
Lighting – White
Connection – Wired, Wireless
Price – PHP 3,550
And this wraps up our Gaming Keyboards gift guide for 2021. It was really hard to pick given that there are lots of budget-friendly keyboards on the market. What do you guys think? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
