What’s the difference between mechanical keyboards and normal keyboards? Why do pro gamers prefer mechanical keyboards?
In: Technology
Mechanical keyboards have a dedicated [switch](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/910vWoPmesL._AC_SL1500_.jpg) for each key. Each switch contains a little spring to push the key back up. The alternative is a keyboard made with a [membrane](https://www.bytedelight.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/IMG_20180107_214329.jpg). Essentially a squishy circuit board. The advantage of a mechanical keyboard is the added tactile feedback you get from each key, and the ability to customize the switches to better suit your typing. I’m kinda ham-fisted so I use switches that take more force to press down and have a noticeable “bump” when pushing them down.
imo, it’s mainly marketing. but there are build quality differences between a mech keyboard and cheapie membrane keyboard. mainly in the tacile response, ie the keypress feel. the keys themselves have different range of movements until when the key is actually registered and how far you need to press and how much force you need to use. and of course the clicky noise. we actually started off with clicky noisey keyboards back in the day. then people didn’t like them because they made too much noise/too bulky/too expensive and we all switched to cheapie membrane keyboards that don’t have a good tacile response. but then when esports took off, pc accessories started becoming a huge market. so a lot of companies started making them and paying programers to use them.
but one thing that most mech keyboards have is N-key rollover (which you can also get from non mechnical keyboards), if you hold down multiple keys in cheapie keyboards, some only remember the last key you pressed. so if you’re trying to do something fancy like strafe left, while moving forward, and jumping while also changing weapons and checking the scoreboard while also using your push to talk button… yeah that might not work as you intended.
Mechanical keyboards provide feedback through your fingertips that you’ve pressed the key hard/far enough to count as a keystroke. If you type quickly, and I guess this counts gamers, the tactile feedback through your fingertip is important to knowing when it’s ok to lift the finger and move on to the next key. When I type on a non-mechanical keyboard a lot of letters get reversed when one is a right letter and the next is a left letter because my dominant left hand moves too fast and the keyboard sees both keys at “the same time” and picks the wrong one.
You have a lot more choice with mechanical keyboards, some prefer lighter switch, some heavier ones. Some like to have a acoustic or physical feedback when a key is pressed.
And most important, mechanical switch tend to age slower, the feeling is the same on day 1 or after years.
Membran Keyboard are fine for gaming, only advantage of mechanical would be games where you need to repeated hit a key fast and precise.
Mschanical ones meassure how much input is made. Think of normal keyboards as a regulad d-pad and mechanical ones like a joystick. In normal ones it’s 0 to 100 with no in-betweens, but the mechanical onss are pressure sensitive
Mechanical keyboards are mostly about the touch really. There are different standards for the key switches so you can consistently buy keyboards that feel a certain way. Many people think that in general mechanical keyboards feel better than the membrane ones but it’s purely subjective.
Also membrane keys tend to suffer more degradation over use, resulting in some keys softer than others on old keyboards.
Another diference is that mechanical keyboards usually support a higher number of simultaneous key presses, which may appeal to some pro gamers. You can still find membrane keyboards that are good enough in that matter though.
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