Most of the finest gaming keyboards are expensive, however one thing like our favourite high-end choice, the Corsair K100 RGB, or our different top-tier picks may be well worth the splurge. Jump to a detailed look at the best high-end gaming keyboards, or verify the record beneath:
TL;DR – These are the Best High-End Gaming Keyboard:
With high-end gaming keyboards, you’ll usually see higher high quality supplies used within the construct for longevity, additional reminiscence for onboard profiles, and a trove of options like unique swap mechanisms, enhanced RGB lighting, and zero-latency wi-fi to tackle the most effective PC video games like a champ. So, for those who’re on the lookout for an choice that may wow, we’ve weeded via and examined a bunch, bringing you the ten finest keyboards for these able to open their wallets to achieve an edge over opponents.
Best High-End Gaming Keyboard
1. Corsair K100 RGB
Best High-End Gaming Keyboard
Professionals:
- Responsive 4,000Hz polling price
- Six devoted macro keys
Cons:
Corsair is aware of find out how to make a high-performance gaming keyboard, and it continues to outdo itself. The Corsair K100 RGB keyboard would not settle, bringing your the most effective efficiency obtainable. For begins, fairly than the standard 1,000Hz polling price seen in most gaming keyboards, it has jumped as much as a 4,000Hz polling price for some insane responsiveness. The lightest of touches will register with no lag, providing you with a giant leg up in AAA video games. The highly effective onboard processor ensures it continues to remain responsive even whenever you go loopy with the intensive RGB lighting results.
The Corsair K100 RGB has two swap choices, so you may go for what feels finest to you. A totally mechanical expertise is obtainable with the Cherry MX Pace RGB Silver switches. Corsair’s personal OPX Optical Mechanical switches are additionally on provide, and in both case, you are getting quick efficiency. This wired keyboard additionally helps macros with 6 devoted keys on its left-hand aspect, plus a tactile wheel is on board for its Elgato Stream Deck integration. You even get 8MB of storage to avoid wasting all of your preferences and macros on the keyboard. And, do not get us began concerning the cozy palm relaxation or the additional keycaps within the field.
2. HyperX Alloy Elite 2
Best High-End Gaming Keyboard On a Funds
Professionals:
- Dependable mechanical switches
- Gorgeous per-key RGB lighting
Cons:
- Lacks devoted macro keys
Need all of the high-end options for much less? Take a look at the HyperX Alloy Elite 2. You are getting a solidly constructed wired keyboard with a metal body and dependable, responsive mechanical switches. Devoted media controls, a USB pass-through, full N-key rollover, and compatibility with PS4 and Xbox One add to its performance and worth. You possibly can even retailer three profiles onboard, making swapping between them a breeze. That is a compelling bundle to start out, however wait until we get to the RGB lighting.
The HyperX Alloy Elite 2 has all of the RGB lighting results you’d need, so that is excellent for those who’re seeking to exhibit your setup throughout a reside stream. You get per-key customization and a lightweight bar above the keys with loads of dynamic lighting choices. HyperX ensures these keys shine, too, as their Pudding Keycaps have a translucent backside to let extra gentle via. Best of all, although, is you may snag this keyboard for underneath $100.
3. Asus ROG Azoth
Best High-End Wi-fi Gaming Keyboard
Professionals:
- Wealth of connectivity choices
- Sizzling-swappable pre-lubed mechanical ROG NX switches
Cons:
- Slight software program limitations
The Asus ROG Azoth is a gaming keyboard with all of the performance and options you would need that allows you to stay untethered out of your PC. On board is ROG’s SpeedNova wi-fi connectivity, so after slotting within the USB dongle, the keyboard ought to really feel as responsive and lag-free as its wired counterparts. You additionally get multi-host Bluetooth, making it easy to modify between gaming in your telephone, pill, or pc, whereas a wired USB connection can be obtainable. And a couple of,000 hours of battery life with RGB and the OLED display disabled guarantee you may sport for a very long time earlier than charging up.
With a body comprised of aluminum and metal alongside PBT keycaps, the Asus ROG Azoth is a premium, sturdy keyboard. Pre-lubed mechanical ROG NX switches are underneath these keycaps for easy actuation and satisfying sound, whereas keyboard fans will particularly admire the lube package it comes with. These switches are additionally hot-swappable, and you’ll document and assign macros to any of the keys utilizing Asus’ software program. It’s additionally doable to mess around with lighting results and alter the settings of the helpful OLED display.
4. Roccat Vulcan II Max
Best High-End Wired Gaming Keyboard
Professionals:
- Speedy and sturdy optical mechanical switches
- 24 dual-functional keys
Cons:
If you happen to’re okay with being tethered to your pc, the dependable and responsive Roccat Vulcan II Max is price the additional cable working throughout your desk. This mechanical gaming keyboard has Titan II Optical Mechanical switches for long-lasting sturdiness and incredibly-fast actuation, providing you with a leg up on opponents. You possibly can remap and make customized macros for these keys, whereas a button duplicator know-how known as Straightforward-Shift+ makes it easy to swap their capabilities.
The Roccat Vulcan II Max provides fairly the sunshine present with per-key RGB lighting that basically shines due to clear key swap housings and keycaps that give the phantasm they’re floating—and are simply swappable with many third-party keycaps. It doesn’t cease there, because the removable translucent wrist relaxation additional illuminates the keyboard whereas bettering the ergonomics of your setup. There are even devoted media controls and 24 dual-functional keys with LEDs to specify when utilizing the secondary operate.
5. Razer Huntsman V2
Best High-End Optical Gaming Keyboard
Professionals:
- Speedy 8,000Hz polling price
- Constant and responsive linear optical switches
Cons:
Most keyboards tote the basic mechanical switches, however for those who’re into aggressive gaming, the place successful or dropping comes right down to milliseconds, optical will be the method to go. These switches provide up an excellent faster actuation and don’t endure from the identical debounce electrical interference that may add enter delay to mechanical keyboards. The Razer Huntsman V2 provides up stable linear optical switches which might be each constant and responsive, making it among the best optical gaming keyboards,. And with a polling price of 8,000Hz to register inputs even sooner, this keyboard is all about clicking first to win the sport
At $200, the Razer Huntsman isn’t low cost, but it surely provides spectacular worth contemplating its efficiency and options. Naturally, you’re getting some slick visuals with Razer’s RGB lighting. You may as well arrange 5 profiles to avoid wasting on the keyboard itself, and a dial together with media buttons add to the comfort. So far as ergonomics go, there’s a big, plush wrist relaxation that attaches with magnets. The keyboard additionally doesn’t take up more room in your desk than it must.
6. Logitech G915 TKL
Best High-End Tenkeyless Mechanical Gaming Keyboard
Professionals:
- Low profile switches
- Compact TKL design
Cons:
The Logitech G915 is fairly nice, so if you’d like a barely extra compact keyboard, you are in luck. The Logitech G915 TKL takes what was already a successful keyboard, and trims it down, making for among the best TKL mechanical gaming keyboards. You, after all, lose out on that num pad, however do you even want it? Preserving it even sleeker is the slim design afforded by its use of low-profile GL switches. These mechanical switches are nonetheless speedy and tactile, however half the dimensions of your common mechanical switches. It is really spectacular that even at its decreased dimension, this keyboard manages to incorporate devoted media controls and a quantity wheel.
And did we point out it is wi-fi? That is proper, the Logitech G915 TKL additionally makes use of the corporate’s gaming-grade Lightspeed Wi-fi to supply 1ms response occasions. You possibly can take pleasure in a top-notch gaming expertise with out turning your desk area right into a jungle of wires. All it’s essential do is plug within the USB dongle and get gaming. Whenever you wish to use the keyboard with different gadgets, it will possibly even join over Bluetooth.
7. Das Keyboard 6 Skilled
Best High-End Gaming Keyboard for Work
Professionals:
- Sturdy, dependable construct
- Two USB pass-throughs
Cons:
- Can’t remap keys or create customized macros
The Das Keyboard 6 Skilled is geared towards individuals who need a keyboard for work and infrequently prefer to dabble in some gaming. You gained’t be capable to remap keys or create customized macros with this wired mechanical choice, but it surely’s well-made, provides full n-key rollover to make sure each press is registered and options Cherry MX Brown switches. These switches are tactile and clicky, making for an amazing expertise whether or not you’re annihilating opponents on the battlefield or typing up a report.
The main target of the Das Keyboard 6 Skilled is productiveness, so there isn’t any colourful RGB lighting such as you usually discover on gaming keyboards, however fairly a easy white glow to make viewing at the hours of darkness simpler. Nevertheless, you get two helpful USB-C pass-throughs that are excellent for charging up your peripherals or transferring information. One other handy inclusion is the devoted media controls above the quantity pad, together with an enormous quantity knob.
8. Razer BlackWidow V4 Professional
Best High-End Mechanical Gaming Keyboard
Professionals:
- Dependable and responsive 8,000Hz polling price
- Ample customizability
Cons:
- Lacks hot-swappable switches
Razer’s BlackWidow V3 Professional was an excellent keyboard, and the latest mannequin, the BlackWidow V4 Professional, solely improves upon its greatness. There are two mechanical swap choices, so you may go for both a tactile really feel and satisfying clicky sound with inexperienced switches or pace and a easy typing expertise with yellow. Whichever you select, they maintain up nice and provide dependable, responsive gameplay, whereas an 8,000Hz polling price may give you a slight edge over opponents. The complete-height, doubleshot ABS keycaps that cowl these switches are engaging and really feel nice, although PBT would’ve been good to fight inevitable put on.
This wired mechanical keyboard is barely bigger than most full-size keyboards, leaving room for a quantity curler, 4 media keys, eight devoted macro controls, and a helpful “Razer Command Dial” with eight default modes and 100 customized modes. All of the keys are additionally programmable, so you may customise settings to your gaming preferences and save as much as 5 profiles onboard. And Razer didn’t neglect about consolation as you frantically hit keys by together with two incline settings and a well-padded wrist relaxation.
9. Mountain Everest Max
Best High-End Modular Gaming Keyboard
Professionals:
- Consists of attachable quantity pad, wrist relaxation, and media dock
- Sizzling-swappable switches
Cons:
All the opposite keyboards on this record are cool and all, however what if you’d like one thing completely different? The Mountain Everest Max is strictly that. This keyboard is modular in various methods. Whereas loads of keyboards will allow you to swap keycaps and even switches, the Mountain Everest Max helps hot-swappable key switches, so you may make your modifications on the fly.
That is simply the beginning. The Mountain Everest Max comes with a couple of attachable equipment, together with a media dock that may management a wide range of settings and a quantity pad with 4 customizable shortcut keys. These equipment are attachable at a number of factors on the keyboard, or you may put them away for a extra compact footprint. There’s additionally a magnetic wrist relaxation. Mainly, you may flip this keyboard into a really completely different system everytime you need.
10. Asus ROG Falchion
Best High-End Compact Gaming Keyboard
Professionals:
- Extremely-portable 60% body
- Presents dependable Cherry MX switches
Cons:
Asus has taken a high-end keyboard and distilled it into an extremely compact type issue. The Asus ROG Falchion is a 68-key keyboard with a 65% structure packed right into a 60% keyboard body. From a sensible standpoint, which means you’re getting a high-performance mechanical keyboard able to razzle-dazzle whereas solely taking on a foot of horizontal area in your desk. And, sure, that additionally means the ROG Falchion is kind of transportable, so it’s considerate of Asus to have included a keyboard cowl for all of your on-the-go wants.
Regardless of its small dimension, the Asus ROG Falchion is surprisingly ripe with options. It boasts Cherry MX key switches that come backed with RGB lighting. It’ll allow you to run in a wired mode, but it surely additionally provides 2.4GHz wi-fi for a 1ms response time that’s game-ready. It even has sufficient battery to run for as much as 450 hours on a cost. Although the shape issue has to sacrifice some keys, Asus snuck a contact panel onto the aspect of the keyboard that may deal with quantity controls, swap apps, or serve up macros.
Easy methods to Select a High-End Gaming Keyboard
At the moment, the most effective high-end keyboards for gaming all sport the same design and have set that is dictated by what’s presently en vogue within the gaming world. That features a wholesome mixture of a lot of the following: per-key RGB lighting, mechanical or optical switches both from Cherry or made in-house, devoted media controls and macro keys, USB and headset passthrough ports, and easy-to-use software program to allow you to assign macros, customise your lighting, and even arrange per-game profiles.
Discovering the correct high-end keyboard for you is all about looking at how producers mix these options in several methods. It’s best to hunt down a high-end gaming keyboard that strikes the correct steadiness between type, operate, and what you are trying to make use of it for.
High-End Gaming Keyboard FAQ
Is an costly gaming keyboard price it?
Whether or not or not you splurge on a gaming keyboard actually relies on how usually you play and for those who do it competitively. For many who simply sometimes sport after college or work, you’ll get by simply effective with a extra primary funds gaming keyboard. However those that kick it up a notch by taking part in numerous completely different video games or are pro-level will discover a high-end keyboard could make a world of distinction.
Pricier keyboards usually provide higher-quality mechanical switches and extra sturdy keycaps to extend the longevity of the board. It’s often simpler to swap out these switches, making them extremely customizable, and you’ll generally set the actuation distance of the keys, which generally is a actual boon in sure video games. Past that, you’ll discover macro controls and media keys, whereas many choices are totally programmable with additional cupboard space to avoid wasting profiles on board.
That’s simply touching the floor, because the polling charges are increased for faster, extra responsive gameplay, and RGB results are often taken to the acute with these top-tier boards. Many of those options may give you an edge over opponents, however for those who don’t assume you’ll use most of them, then you definitely may as nicely avoid wasting bucks and spend on different peripherals, like a gaming mouse or headset.
Are high-end wi-fi keyboards good for gaming?
Sure. The finest wi-fi keyboards may be simply nearly as good as their wired counterparts for gaming, particularly choices within the increased value vary, as you’ll greater than doubtless get a 2.4GHz dongle for a devoted hyperlink between your keyboard and gaming PC. This USB dongle delivers related latency to a wired connection and is much superior to Bluetooth. Nevertheless, there may be at all times the potential of sign interference.
Ought to I take advantage of a high-end keyboard and mouse or PC controller for gaming?
Loyalists to the church of keyboard and mouse will stick their noses up at those that attain for the finest PC controllers when PC gaming, however the gaming equipment you select to make use of are a matter of non-public desire. Excessive-end keyboards ship precision and responsiveness with their usually tremendous dependable mechanical switches. You can also’t ignore the surplus of doable key inputs, that are greater than doubtless remappable and customizable. Controllers will relaxation comfortably in hand with all of the controls inside straightforward attain and embrace a helpful analog stick that may be a boon in racing video games. Nevertheless, the variety of inputs is restricted.
Kevin Lee is IGN’s {Hardware} and Roundups Editor. Observe him on Twitter @baggingspam
Danielle Abraham is a contract author and unpaid music historian.