are mechanical keyboards really necessary for gaming or are they just a trend?

[IMPERIUS]

Are mechanical keyboards really necessary for gaming or are they just a trend?

Yes, I do believe that mechanical keyboards are better than membranes, but are they really THAT much better?

I personally use some plain old white 7-11yrs old membrane keyboars. And I'm very surprised it holds up. All of the letters are 100% in brand-new like shape still after several years of 3h of daily usage and I use it for everything, including gaming.

I started seriously gaming when I got bf3 and I never felt like my keyboard was holding me back, that other players have some sort of an advantage over me and I still dont have that feeling.

But the time has come and I need a new keyboard since I will be moving out.

The question is, are mechanical keyboards really worth the extra 70$? What kind of an advantage do you get or is it purely for the better typing experience?

Thank you

[Luc401]

Their just for funzies , their awesome to use 

[Jade]

Trend would imply it's leaving, but they're better hands down.

[Jobbe03]

Are they necessary? no.

 

imo though, they look better, feel better and sound amazing. it's definitely worth it.

[QueenDemetria]

Mechanical keyboards are not necessary, just a preference.

[Guest Kloaked]

They wouldn't cost so much if they weren't better. Better, meaning they're a luxury to type on over membranes for the people who like them.

 

In my opinion, they feel much better to type on than your typical membrane keyboard. Now there are some nice membrane keyboards to type on, but I find mechanicals to be better. It's all up to you. They don't necessarily give you an advantage from my experience since they can actuate at exactly the same time.

 

You should try one out to see if you like it.

[Jerakl]

And then there's topre ( ͡º ͜ʖ ͡º)

[loccilucas]

the won't make your gaming any better, but they make using your computer 10000 times better, Its abit like an SSD, if you can justify spending $100 on an SSD you can justify spending $100 on a mech keyboard.  I have never once regretted buying mine, and I think everyone who gets one feels the same and will never go back to membranes.

[ttam]

It's an aesthetic upgrade essentially. Maybe minute performance upgrades.

 

They wouldn't cost so much if they weren't better. Better, meaning they're a luxury to type on over membranes for the people who like them.

 

In my opinion, they feel much better to type on than your typical membrane keyboard. Now there are some nice membrane keyboards to type on, but I find mechanicals to be better. It's all up to you. They don't necessarily give you an advantage from my experience since they can actuate at exactly the same time.

 

You should try one out to see if you like it.

Cost has nothing to do with it being better.

Mechanical keyboard are a niche market. It costs more to make them, purchase the switches and market them. A lot more compared to the typical membrane keyboard which has manufacturing down to a T, and able to make 200,000 in one full swoop.

 

That's why you pay $400,000 for a Lambo with 450HP when a $45,00 car has 500HP

[_ASSASSIN_]

trend? no

necessary? no

[flibberdipper]

They're not a trend, and they sure as hell are not necessary (look on my profile for my keyboard, and then Google it, you might be amazed). But they are extremely nice.

[FizzyFantom]

It's an aesthetic upgrade essentially. Maybe minute performance upgrades.

They're undoubtedly better for typing on. Not having to bottom out the keys does improve typing speed and reduce fatigue, but for gamers it's just a preference. You could argue that nothing we enthusiasts do is "necessary", that's pretty much why we're enthusiasts.

As for it being a trend I don't think so, there will always be enthusiasts and they will always want to spend their money on mechanical keyboards even if it doesn't actually improve their gaming.

[Guest Kloaked]

It's an aesthetic upgrade essentially. Maybe minute performance upgrades.

 

Cost has nothing to do with it being better.

Mechanical keyboard are a niche market. It costs more to make them, purchase the switches and market them. A lot more compared to the typical membrane keyboard which has manufacturing down to a T, and able to make 200,000 in one full swoop.

 

That's why you pay $400,000 for a Lambo with 450HP when a $45,00 car has 500HP

 

Actually, it does have something to do with it. Even your own comparison would say that, if you were to go in depth with the in-house made custom parts that Lamborghini uses. They also have manufacturing down to a T since their quality control is arguably better than mainstream car manufacturers.

 

Same with Cherry. The amount of money and time they've poured into R&D and quality control would make them better. It's also subjective to the user to see what they like, which is why you should take my entire post with the proper context.

[Shroomster]

It is basically like audio gear. You can get a cheap pair of headphones that do the job fine, but some people just prefer to spend the extra to get something truly spectacular. Will it revolutionalise your audio experience? Probably straight up performance wise not for all the extra money you spent (debatable) but some people just buy better equipment to get more out of their experience or just for the cool factor.

[Robi_g]

For gaming I wouldn't bother if you're money constrained.

But for typing.... B)

[Blecter]

I use to think they weren't worth it...

Then I bought a SteelSeries 6Gv2 with Cherry MX Reds.

Now I'm in love. The keys are so much more responsive and comfortable to use. That alone has me sold on them.

They might not make you a better gamer per say, but for a lot of people mechanical keyboards make gaming/typing/etc more comfortable. Worth the money IMO.

[EeveeTechTips]

Not even close to being necessary. Its a luxury, fun and one of those things people just have to try for themselves.

[STRMfrmXMN]

Is it a trend? No.

Are they worth it? Yes.

Are they a necessity? No.

[NeoZeon]

I was a professional gamer without a mechanical keyboard.

 

I don't play any video games now and i own a ducky. 

 

Its really just another way for the companies to make huge profit margins off us (just as big as apple if not bigger). But they sound cool so yolo. 

[olbaze]

I don't think that mechanical keyboards are a necessity for gaming. In fact, for some people they might affect their gameplay negatively by messing with their muscle memory. But I also don't feel that they are a "trend". If anything, gaming peripheral manufacturers like Logitech, Razer and SteelSeries are finally noticing that a lot of gamers like mechanical keyboards, so they are making their top-of-the-line products mechanical keyboards.

 

I think the reason why those manufacturers are putting out mechanical keyboards is simple: They're realizing that gamers are realizing that "gaming" keyboards are a sham. There's very little that a keyboard can offer to actually improve your game. Macro keys are one thing, but a lot of people don't use any of those. Things like backlighting and media keys have nothing to do with gaming, but they are conveniences that a lot of people like. A keyboard being mechanical is the same: it's a convenience. You simply cannot sell an expensive product to a person who is not a complete idiot. And making mechanical keyboards is an easy way to maximize the appeal of your product: Since you are a gaming peripheral manufacturer, you're already getting that crowd, but you can get so much more by making a mechanical keyboard that is cheap and feature rich.

 

With mechanical switches, you get another facet to your usage: comfort. With mechanical switches, you actually get the option to say "hey, this feels better than that", while actually having a tangible reason for why that's the case. And that enables you to customize your peripherals to fit yourself better. Which is exactly what's been going with mice for years: there's a reason why Razer keeps rehashing the DeathAdder over  and over again.

[Shuai]

You won't have that much of an advantage just because you have a mechanical keyboard, you'll perhaps be a split second faster but the real value of a mechanical keyboard comes from how much nicer it feels, Reds feel airy and smooth while Blues has this crisp light click. That's not the only thing to justify the cost though, you can see your purchase as an investment, mechanical keyboards not only last way longer than any cheapo rubberdome keyboard but does more importantly feel consistent throughout it's lifecycle (as a osu! player I can tell a clear difference between the x/z keys and the rest of them on my old rubberdome).

[Yog]

You're lucky. I've gone through three or four membrane keyboards in the past 7-11 years and I'm tired of replacing them. The latest is a logitech I payed what I thought was a premium price for a premium board but after only one or two years it's already breaking on me. Definitely the next keyboard I buy, hopefully in the next few days, will be a mechanical keyboard...if only because I want it to last...having a better experience is just icing on the cake to me. Now if only k70 blues were available...if corsair waits too much longer I'll have to get a blackwidow...and a deathadder as well...I'm in the market for a mouse as well (logitech has earned a place on my never-buy-again list) and I want it to match the keyboard.