Mechanical keyboards are not a new range of computer peripherals by any means. Membrane keyboards have largely replaced mechanical keyboards as the affordable keyboards in the larger PC peripheral market. The former reigning champions that are mechanical keyboards have made a resounding comeback in recent years.

If you want reliability, modularity, and the freedom to choose the type of keyboard that's right for you, mechanical keyboards are the way to go. The only problem is that there is a bit of a learning curve when it comes to understanding them. To help you understand mechanical keyboards and choose the right one for you, we've put together this guide. Let's get into it!

Mechanical keyboards are a category of physical keyboards that use spring-based mechanical switches for the keys. The use of mechanical switches with spring mechanisms is pretty much the defining characteristic of a mechanical keyboard. In contrast, a membrane keyboard uses a rubber dome on the switch. The keyboard switches themselves perform the same operation independently. Pressing the switch causes the contact mechanism to touch the point on the keyboard PCB assigned to the key. This completes the circuit, registering the key press.

A rubber dome switch has a rubber dome under the key that holds the contact mechanism below. The contact is held by a rubber membrane, which forms the rubber dome together with the contact. With hot swap mechanical keyboards, switching is much more complicated. It is made up of multiple components. This also means that there are some variables with mechanical switches that directly affect their use, which you need to be aware of.

The most basic differentiation between different mechanical switches is in three ways: linear, tactile, and clicky. Linear switches are as the name suggests: they have linear movement, up and down. On the other hand, tactile switches are designed to provide feedback. Tactile switches give you a nudge mid-ride to let you know the keypress has been registered. This means that you do not need to press the key all the way.

Lastly, clicky switches are tactile switches that have a click. There are a ton of variations you can get with click switches, so we recommend listening to the sound of the key click before deciding on a switch.

The mechanical keyboard's switch speech has its disagreements. Most of these have to do with the definition of what a mechanical switch does. Thus, a new category of keyboard switches has come to life: hybrid mechanical switches.

Hybrid mechanical switches promise a mechanical switch feel with a rubber dome membrane. However, most of the time, these switches are nothing more than a membrane switch with additional bracing and some tactile mechanism. While these may be better than typical membrane keyboards, they don't quite belong on the mechanical side of things.

Topre switches are an example of such hybrid switches which are essentially rubber dome switches with some mechanical components. Another example is the Steelseries Hybrid Blue Switches. These maintain many more properties of the mechanical switch, with a membrane actuation. Steelseries argues that this switch is a proper hybrid switch. However, mechanical keyboard purists may disagree.

However, hybrid mechanical switches have not shown any advantage over traditional mechanical switches. So if you're looking to buy a mechanical keyboard, you're probably better off ignoring hybrid switches.

Going down the custom mechanical keyboard rabbit hole

Custom mechanical keyboards help you pick (or pick Cherry MX!) every component of your build. You need to get all the components, from the chassis to the switches to the PCB. Some incredible assembly is also required. However, all of this requires quite a bit of technical knowledge, and assembly errors can add to costs.

At the end of the day, it all comes down to what you need from your keyboard. The branded assembled mechanical keyboard options are enough to meet the needs of most people. Custom mechanical keyboards are for those users and use cases that don't conform to convention, so you can make your choice accordingly. Happy click-clack!

Dustsilver is a leading manufacturer of gaming peripherals and accessories for young people, including keyboards and gaming accessories. We are a company specializing in the production of mechanical keyboards. We customize cool mechanical keyboards for interesting young people. It is changing the rules of the game.

Website - https://dustsilver.com/