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Pro Tip: How to pick the Best Mechanical Keyboard, and how best to Customize it

by Felix Omondi
mechanical keyboard

Mechanical keyboards keeps surprising us with their resilience. You would think with all the tech revolution the computer has undergone, it will be a relic by now. But no, more and more people are turning back to the good old mechanical keyboard for their typing and even gaming needs.

Before we go any further, I must admit. There is something therapeutic about the click-click-clack sound made by these ancient keyboards, especially when you are typing in a silent room. Where the only sound is from your keyboard. The soothing sound might just open up a creative side of your brain and you just might surprise yourself.

But enough about my fetish for mechanical keyboards. Although they have gotten popular in recent year, the mechanical keyboards of nowadays are a little bit different from the old days. Sure, the trademark click-click-clack sound is still there, but they are a lot more user friendly to type on for an extended period.

You can actually type on it all day on your 9-to-5 without leaving in the afternoon like you had taken (only) your fingers to the gym. If you are in the market looking to buy a mechanical keyboard, here is what you should be looking for:

The Switches

The switches should be the first place to start when you are analyzing a mechanical keyboard. Most come in variants of the popular Cherry MX design that have varying click actuations and spring strengths which makes for the ‘feel’ of each keypress. Although this design is notorious for having some keys harder to press down than others. Others will be too clicky, some have no tactile response, while others will be bumpy. Usually the characteristics of these keys is identifiable by their designated color for the switch; each color denotes a particular level of tactility and resistance.MECHANICAL KEYBOARD

Then again, there are many variations for the Cherry MX design. Such as niche Topre electrostatic switch, the older Alps and buckling spring design.

Go all out on the Bells and Whistles you’d want in a mechanical keyboard

After locking down the type of switches you want, the next step is to identify other features such as key layout, function keys, and backlighting among others.mechanical keyboard

Finding a wireless mechanical keyboard is quite rare, but when you do, the experience of click-click-clacking away on it will be priceless. There is a wide variety of Bluetooth-enabled mechanical keyboards available, though they are not so easy to find at your nearest computer shop.

Customizing your keyboard with unique keycaps

The fun with mechanical keyboards does not stop on the click-click-clack, and best tactile and response per keypress. You can spice things up by selecting unique colors for various keycaps.mechanical keyboard

However, if the sound they make become too unbearable for you, you can add dampeners to each switch to make it run a bit more quite.

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