what does anti-ghosting mean

[saba17]

so i want to buy an mechanical keyboard and it says that it is anti-ghosting.what does this mean?and wich keyboard should i buy blue or red switch

[Yashiees]

you can press many keys at the same time and have them all register at the same time

[Guest]

Anti-ghosting means you can press multiple keys down at once and have them all register (i.e., the keypress isn't a "ghost"). So, in an FPS where you need to use multiple keys at once, or in an RTS for shortcuts, anti-ghosting means your key-combinations can be long, whereas if you had a keyboard without it, you'd be limited to key-combinations of maybe three keys total.

 

The correct switch for you is subjective. They're not expensive, so buy a testing pad for the switches you're interested in. This will let you get a feel for the different types.

[minibois]

18 minutes ago, sabapro17 said:

so i want to buy an mechanical keyboard and it says that it is anti-ghosting.what does this mean?

it's a sort of marketing terms of key rollover.

Sometimes on keyboards you can't press too much keys down at the same time. Usually keyboards that claim "anti-ghosting" have their matrix set up so most people won't encounter a situation where you press a key and it won't register.

20 minutes ago, sabapro17 said:

and wich keyboard should i buy blue or red switch

entirely personal preference.

if at all possible, try out both on a keyboard (for example in a store, if possible).

[seon123]

2 hours ago, Yashiees said:

you can press many keys at the same time and have them all register at the same time

 

2 hours ago, alabistyr said:

Anti-ghosting means you can press multiple keys down at once and have them all register (i.e., the keypress isn't a "ghost").

It does not. Ghosting is when keys that are not pressed are actuated, by current finding its way down unintended paths in the keyboard matrix. As the sensing membrane on keyboards that use those do not have anywhere to mount diodes to prevent this, they are suseptible to this. "Anti-ghosting" can be as simple as blocking the key that would cause ghosting (common, and is why membrane keyboards have 2KRO), or it can be meaningless, as the keyboard inherently has 6KRO or NKRO (keyboards that have diodes, or fancier sensing mechanisms like Hall-effect).

 

On standard USB, you are limited to 6KRO (actuating 6 keystrokes at the same time), unless you do more fancy stuff.

 

You can learn more about this on the Deskthority page for Rollover, blocking and ghosting.

https://deskthority.net/wiki/Rollover,_blocking_and_ghosting

2 hours ago, alabistyr said:

you'd be limited to key-combinations of maybe three keys total.

What do you mean maybe three keys total...? Membrane keyboards are inherently limited to 2KRO, and keyboards with diodes do not have this issue.

 

2 hours ago, sabapro17 said:

and wich keyboard should i buy blue or red switch

Depends on where you're buying from, what requirements you have for your keyboard, your budget, and personal preference. For switches, the answer is likely neither.

[Dream Machines Official]

To cut a long story short Anti-ghosting is a technology which actually makes it so that even if you press some keys accidentaly the keyboard prevents from typing these and makes your writing / gaming experience more precise. Not really marketing move if it works. If it doesn't - then yes, I would consider it "catchy marketing". Best way to judge would be to test the keyboard in practice.