Gaming may have been getting more casual-friendly in the last few years but if you are serious about it you’ve probably realized how poorly designed standard keyboards are for gaming. In fact, standard keyboards aren’t particularly good for writing and working either and they often lead to carpal tunnel, wrist pain, and other problems.
Proper gaming keyboards maximize performance while guaranteeing comfort – so much so that they are getting more and more popular with non-gamers too. Their ergonomic and convenient designs make gaming keyboards ideal for any type of work and not just gaming.
If you’re having doubts, we’ll go over the seven main benefits most high-quality gaming keyboards share. Quickly going over these points will give you a clearer idea as to why you need a gaming keyboard for gaming as well as for most other types of work on a computer.
The 7 benefits of gaming keyboards
Gaming keyboards come in many different designs these days. In fact, that’s one of their many benefits – the variety we get from this niche guarantees that there’s something for everyone’s taste and preferences. More importantly, however, is the sheer quality you can see in this niche – like gaming chairs, mouses, headphones, monitors, and most other types of technology, gaming keyboards just are at the very pinnacle of keyboard technology today.
Optimize your gaming for the best possible results
Casual gaming may have been growing in popularity but competitive gaming is still extremely popular. What’s more, even casual gamers are starting to realize just how much they can improve their gaming and their enjoyment of it with the right accessories.
Gaming keyboards are a fantastic way to achieve this by optimizing your gaming performance. With them, you can forget about misclicks, poorly placed keys that take too long to reach and click, and other such problems that just hamper your gaming performance.
Hand comfort is essential for long gaming sessions
Whether casual or competitive, gaming can be hard on your hands and wrists after a while. That’s not a problem with gaming, however, but with the tools we use – standard keyboards are just not designed with our health in mind.
Gaming keyboards fix this issue with their ergonomic designs that are perfectly made to give our hands the best possible posture for long-term gaming or work.
Type as fast as possible
Gaming keyboards are useful for much more than just playing video games. Their practical and ergonomic design also makes typing and working much easier and faster. This often feels counter-intuitive at first when you see some of the more bizarre gaming keyboard designs. And, yes, not all gaming keyboards are the same and most of them do take a bit of getting used to. However, when you find the right fit, you’ll be amazed at how faster and easier your writing and work can become.
Using macros is the best way to work and play
Most competitive and hardcore gamers know very well what macros are – putting several commands into a single key was the best way to play WoW 15 years ago and the practice has transferred to various other games.
Macros are fantastic for much more than just gaming, however – they make writing and working much more effective too. Instead of having to type out “gaming keyboards”, “comeptitive gaming”, and “casual gaming” a bunch of times during the writing of this text, we simply assigned several macro keys for each phrase and turned 10-15 clicks into just one click per phrase. Essentially, macros are similar to copy/paste but a gaming keyboard can use dozens of macros at the same time, making both writing, work, and gaming much easier.
Personalize your experience with custom control pads
Many high-end gaming keyboards can come with various custom control pads. The most common type is a left-hand keyboard add-on tab with conveniently-placed alternatives to WASD and other key buttons.
Custom pads can come in various other types too, however, and their goal is to help you further personalize and optimize your experience. Like most other aspects of gaming keyboards, the right custom control pad can be exceptionally useful for both gaming and work.
Backlights for gaming in the dark
The backlights of most gaming keyboards are usually seen by adults as an unnecessary addition that’s just meant to make kids happier – light snickers with lights in them. And while many people do get them just because they look cool, these backlights do serve the purpose of making gaming in the dark easier.
If you want to play or work in the dark, whether to help your other family members sleep or just for your own preferences, the backlights of a gaming keyboard can perfectly complement the light coming out of your monitor for a well-lit, effective, and enjoyable experience.
Get a keyboard that lasts
Probably the biggest and most underestimated benefit of the best gaming keyboards is just how durable and long-lasting they are. Most standard keyboards you see in any tech store usually last just a year or two before their keys start dislodging or stopping to work, before they start creaking with every push, or before the USB randomly stops working.
The best gaming keyboards are made with quality in mind, however, and are meant to last years and decades without any malfunctions. This makes their price tags much more appealing than they initially do as you’ll get a high-quality and long-lasting keyboard instead of having to buy a new one every other year.
In conclusion
As with most other modern technology, the “gaming” in gaming keyboards is pretty much synonymous with quality. So, even though they are marketed toward gamers, their benefits extend far beyond just gaming. Instead, such a keyboard is fantastic for writing, working, and even just casual use. High-quality, durable, perfectly and ergonomically designed, gaming keyboards protect our wrists and joints, maximize our effectiveness, and make anything we do on a computer that much more fun.