The best keyboard switches for gaming is a topic as complex as choosing between AMD and Nvidia for your gaming graphics card. We know what you’re thinking: it’s a keyboard switch, how hard could it be to choose one? After all, a switch is a switch and as long as it’s responsive and accurate, it should function just fine. Right?
You’d be surprised. Gaming keyboard switches have been a subject of countless debates among gamers, peripheral addicts, and those who build their own keyboards. That’s because it’s not exactly a one-switch-fits-all situation, and there’s not one switch that rules them all.
Rather, different switches have different characteristics and behaviors that make each of them ideal for different situations. For example, while the blue switch seems to be a favorite among gamers due to its satisfying clicky nature, it might not be ideal if you’re on Discord, as it can distract others. Meanwhile, many of the top keyboard manufacturers have their own keyboard switches, each of which has its specific behavior, actuation point, travel distance, and more. Finally, it still all boils down to personal preference, especially in terms of feedback.
Choosing the best gaming keyboard switch for you, therefore, isn’t going to be as easy as pointing you to the best performing one. That’s simply because, when it comes to keyboard switches, there’s no such thing. What we can do, however, is narrow down the choices and nudge you in the right direction based on your preference and on the genre of PC games you enjoy.
While it does seem like blue switches are a crowd favorite, thanks to their satisfying clicky feel, gamers and custom keyboard builders agree that it’s the red switch that’s the best for most situations, especially the Cherry MX Red. It’s not only quieter than other mechanical switches, but it’s also softer and requires less force to press, which allows users to make keypresses in quicker succession with minimal resistance.
That makes these switches ideal for FPS and battle royale games, both of which require quicker inputs than other games. Better yet, they’re supposed to be much quieter than clicky and tactile switches, which makes them ideal for late-night gaming sessions when you’re trying to not wake up your roommates.
Red switches do not offer that tactile feedback during presses that some find satisfying or reassuring, while blue switches might have too much noise for some people. Split the difference, and you’ve got brown switches which give a bit more resistance than reds, but are less tactile and noisy than blues.
You might say it offers the best of both switches, striking a great balance between having tactile feedback and quiet presses. It’s also faster than blue switches. And, it’s just the ticket for gamers who want speed, satisfying bounce, and quiet operation in one keyboard. For brown switches, a lot of gamers love Gateron’s although the Cherry Mx version is great as well.
While many gamers crave the clicky feel of blue switches, others find them too stiff and loud, which is what makes these switches more of a personal preference than anything else. They are, however, advantageous for some games. Their very tactile and responsive feel, as well as the resistance they offer in each press, helps minimize accidental presses, which make them excellent for MMO, MOBA and other reflex-intensive games that require precise inputs.
And, while rapid firing is a bit harder with these switches, a lot of gamers who love them more than get by using them for FPS and fast-paced games. They’re probably not the best idea for competitive gaming, however.
Whether you’re a Razer or a Cherry fan, there are even faster switches out there than reds. Both the Razer Yellow and the Cherry MX Speed Silver have a shorter actuation point than red switches, which allows them to deliver even faster responses. That’s while keeping the same linear and silent feel, and requiring light presses, as the reds.
Great for rapid-fire responses, they’re just what you need if you have a penchant for fast-paced games or are a competitive gamer – not to mention, an ultra-fast typer. Of course, these can be a bit of a double-edged sword. That short actuation point can prove to be a bit too sensitive if you have a heavier hand or if you’re prone to wrong presses. These switches might be best left to experienced hands.
It turns out that when it comes to keyboard switches, you can have your cake and eat it too. As great as they are, Razer Yellow and Cherry Silver do not have the shortest actuation point in the switch world. That title belongs to SteelSeries’ OmniPoint switches, which has an actuation point of 0.4mm, just the ticket for those RTS games where your APM matters. But, it’s better than that.
What makes these even more special is that their actuation point can be adjusted from 0.4mm to 3.6mm so you can make their actuation as sensitive or as deep as you need it to be. So, on a keyboard, you can not only set varying levels of sensitivities for different profiles and uses, but also set per-key actuation points. Best of all, these are rated at 100M keystrokes, making them much more robust than other traditional keyboard switches.
We’re going to lump Logitech’s Low Profile GL switches, which come in linear, tactile and clicky variants, in one entry because they all have one thing that sets them apart from others – their thin design. What’s so great about these switches is that they deliver the same level of accuracy and performance as traditional switches while keeping a low profile that allows any keyboard utilizing them to have a sleeker design.
But, that’s not just for aesthetics. The ultra-low design is for ergonomics-sake, as it’ll allow your hands, wrists, and arms to assume a more natural position when gaming, reducing fatigue and the likelihood of you getting chronic repetitive strain injury. Finally, these switches also tend to have a shorter actuation and a longer lifespan than their traditional rivals.
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