Beginner’s Guide to Mechanical Keyboards: Switches, keycaps, form-factors, and more (2023)

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If you want to level up your typing or gaming experience, you can't go wrong with a mechanical keyboard. But given the variety of mechanical keyboards available on the market today, choosing the right one might prove to be a challenge for newcomers. To help you select the best mechanical keyboard that suits your needs, we've compiled this beginner's guide to mechanical keyboards highlighting everything you need to know before making a purchase.

Mechanical keyboard vs. Membrane keyboard

Keyboards fall under two broad categories — mechanical and membrane. Membrane keyboards are more common out of the two and, if you're not familiar with mechanical keyboards, you're probably using a membrane keyboard right now. As the name suggests, membrane keyboards feature a layer of pressure pads or rubber domes under each keycap that transfers your keystroke from the keycap to the underlying circuit board.

Membrane keyboards are relatively inexpensive, and they're great for most people. However, they're not the best if you want an elevated typing experience with satisfying clicks when you press each key. That's where mechanical keyboards come into the picture.

Mechanical keyboards use individual mechanical key switches for every single key. Each switch includes a keycap with a stem, along with a spring, metal contact leaves, and a slider placed inside the switch housing. Each part can have variations, thus allowing manufacturers the flexibility to give a large variety of options with different typing feels and sounds. They can fine-tune the pressure required for bottoming out each key, travel distance, actuation point, the sound made, and more.

A mechanical switch can be offered with a wide range of customizations when compared to a membrane keyboard. However, like every mechanical part, the key switches need maintenance if you want your keyboard to last long. Apart from cleaning, you need to lubricate the switches and maybe even use modifiers like films to optimize the typing experience as per your preference.

If you're unable to understand any of the terms that we've used below, there's an excellent guide you can refer to.

How does a mechanical keyboard work?

To understand how a mechanical keyboard works, let’s first understand the mechanical keyboard switch. Each key on a mechanical keyboard includes its own switch. At the top is the keycap, which isn’t necessarily a part of the mechanical switch, but it's where your fingers press the switch and is partially responsible for the sound generated when the key bottoms out.

The keycap is attached to a stem that comes in different designs and determines the actuation and travel distance of the switch. It sits inside a two-piece housing that keeps it aligned. The upper part of the housing keeps the stem centered on the switch and keeps it from popping out because of the included spring.

Speaking of which, the spring is responsible for how much pressure is required to actuate or register the key press. It also pushes the stem back to its original place after a key press. The metal contact points or contact leaves are where the actual electrical current flows, and the key press is registered. Finally, the lower housing connects with the upper housing on the top and keeps everything together. It also features pins at the bottom to connect to the circuit board, better known as PCB, in the keyboard.

See Also

Custom Mechanical Keyboards I: Barebones, Switches, KeycapsSwap It Like It's Hot: How to Change Mechanical Keyboard Switches

When you press a key, the stem pushes the spring down, thereby allowing the two metal contacts to connect and register your keypress to the keyboard’s circuitry and thus to your computer. By adding variations to the different parts of the switch, manufacturers can offer a different feel, sound, and actuation force. Hence, you'll find a variety of key switches on the market, but all variants can be broadly classified into three types — linear, tactile, and clicky.

Key switches

As mentioned earlier, you'll find three types of mechanical key switches on the market, linear, tactile, or clicky, which differ based on a couple of factors. Linear switches are usually smooth and offer a consistent actuation without any tactile feedback. The actuation of a keypress happens when it bottoms out, and since there are no bumps in between, linear switches glide down rather easily.

Tactile switches are very similar in terms of construction as linear but include a slight bump halfway through the key’s downward travel. This bump signifies the actuation point, which means that a keypress is registered as soon as you cross the bump. You don't have to bottom out each switch, enabling a faster typing experience.

Clicky switches are almost the same as tactile switches. They include a bump in the mechanism for a tactile feel when you're typing. In addition, they offer auditory feedback on key presses. Clicky switches are generally much louder than the other two types, making them a bit annoying for some users.

Some of the key characteristics of a mechanical switch include:

Actuation point, which refers to the specific point when the key switch registers the keypress. Different switches can have different actuation points, measured in millimeters.

Actuation force is the amount of force required to successfully register a keystroke. It's measured in grams. A higher actuation force will require you to press down much harder to register a keystroke and vice versa.

Key travel is the total distance the key travels before bottoming out, i.e. pressed completely. The standard travel distance is 4mm, but there are a few mechanical switches that offer a lesser travel distance.

Traditionally, linear switches are said to be good for gaming, while typists prefer clicky and tactile switches. Of course, there are no rules here, and it all depends on how comfortable you are with a certain key switch.

Based on these three types, we have several switches available from a variety of manufacturers. Alps and Cherry are legacy brands that continue to offer some of the best mechanical keyboard switches. Gateron, Outemu, and Kailh are also some of the more popular names when it comes to mechanical key switches.

The past few years have seen a steep rise in the popularity of Cherry MX-based mechanical keyboards, primarily offered in red (linear), brown (tactile), and blue (clicky) switches. Color coding is the best way to determine the characteristics of each switch. While it's mostly universal, certain manufacturers have their own color coding that can confuse first-time buyers. Here are some of the popular ones:

• Cherry MX
  • Cherry MX Blue: Clicky, 50gram actuation
  • Cherry MX Brown: Tactile, 45gram actuation
  • Cherry MX Red: Linear, 45gram actuation
  • Cherry MX Black: Linear, 60gram actuation
• Gateron
  • Gateron Blue: Clicky, 55gram actuation
  • Gateron Brown: Tactile, 45gram actuation
  • Gateron Red: Linear, 45gram actuation
  • Gateron Black: Linear, 50gram actuation
• Kailh
  • Kailh Silver: Linear,40gram actuation
  • Kailh Copper: Tactile, 50gram actuation
  • Kailh Bronze: Clicky, 60gram actuation
  • Kailh Gold: Clicky, 60gram actuation
  • Kailh Box Black: Linear 60gram actuation
  • Kailh Box Brown: Tactile 50gram actuation
  • Kailh Box Red: Linear 45gram actuation
  • Kailh Box White: Clicky 45gram actuation
• Logitech Romer-G
  • Romer-G Tactile, 45gram actuation
  • Romer-G Linear, 45gram actuation
  • GX Blue: Clicky, 50gram actuation
• Razer
  • Razer Green: Clicky, 50gram actuation
  • Razer Orange: Tactile, 45gram actuation
  • Razer Yellow: Linear, 45gram actuation
  • Razer Opto-Mechanical: Clicky, 45gram actuation
• HyperX
  • HyperX Red: Linear, 45gram actuation
  • HyperX Aqua: Tactile, 45gram actuation

These are just some of the most common mechanical key switches. There are a lot more switches available for you to explore from brands like Outemu, ZealPC, MOD, etc.

Most mechanical keyboards have these switches soldered onto the PCB. However, there are a few manufacturers that offer mechanical keyboards with the option of hot-swapping the switches. You should definitely check out Glorious GMMK if you're interested in hot-swappable keyboards.

Having the flexibility to choose the type of key switch is also one reason why people opt for mechanical keyboards. If you plan to swap out the key switches on your keyboard, especially if you have them soldered, there are risks involved in this process. It's advised you take utmost care before trying to remove the switches by yourself.

Size and Layout

Now let’s come to the form factor and layout options. Mechanical keyboards are available in traditional full size with a dedicated number pad having a total of 104 to 108 keys. Some manufacturers also offer additional media keys, volume knobs, or dials at the top.

If you don’t care about a dedicated number pad, you can go smaller with a Tenkeyless (TKL) keyboard, which is essentially an 80% keyboard with around 88 keys in total. The TKL form factor is also available in a 75% size, which basically has the keys cramped together.

Then there are 65% and 60% keyboards that only have about 61 keys. This form factor removes anything to the right of the Enter key, along with the function row on top. You can access extra functions by holding down the function key (labeled Fn) and pressing other keys.

It all comes down to the size of your desk and your personal preferences. Small keyboards do look neat and take up less space, but they can take some time to get used to.

In addition to the form factors mentioned above, keyboards also come in three universally accepted layouts — ANSI, ISO, and JIS. Layouts are primarily based on the region, where ANSI is for America, ISO is for Europe, and JIS is for Japan. These layouts differ based on the placement of a few keys.

ANSI and ISO are mostly similar, with the Enter and Shift keys having different shapes and sizes. However, JIS mirrors the ISO layout for the Enter and right Shift key, but it has a different bottom row layout.

Keycaps

Keycaps are the plastic piece that goes on top of the mechanical key switch. They're easy to remove and replace, and you can get them in various sizes, shapes, colors, and materials. Keycaps also differ based on the printed letters, better known as legends. They come in a variety of fonts, which can either be translucent or opaque. Keycap sets are available either as base kits, covering most conventional board layouts, or extension kits that include only a small set of keycaps.

Before choosing the right set of keycaps, make sure you confirm the layout and form factor as mentioned above. Additionally, check if your keyboard has a standardized layout. For instance, Corsair has certain keyboards that offer a slightly different bottom row layout where the size of the keycaps differ, thereby not allowing you to use third-party keycaps.

Another important factor to consider while choosing keycaps is the profile. Usually, a keyset has either a sculpted or a uniform profile. With the former, the keys in each row have a different shape and height. Essentially, sculpted keycaps can’t be used on the rows they’re not designed for. A keyset with a uniform profile is pretty simple where each row of keys is the same shape and height, allowing you to place the keycaps on any row as required. Keycaps can also differ in height.

Keycaps are basically just a piece of sculpted plastic. They're usually made of either ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene), which is the most common one, or PBT (polybutylene terephthalate), which is gaining a lot of popularity. ABS keycaps are available in a wider color range, offer better and sharper letter printing, and are straighter and more consistent. PBT, on the other hand, offers a rougher texture and doesn't wear out that easily. PBT keycaps also come with a deeper sound profile and are recommended for non-conventional artisanal designs.

Other factors to consider

Whether you're a gamer or an avid typist, there are some additional things you need to know about mechanical keyboards. Depending on your use case, you can opt for a wireless or wired mechanical keyboard. Certain manufacturers offer keyboards that have a detachable cable, which is convenient for portability.

As with wireless mice, wireless mechanical keyboards either use Bluetooth or a 2.4GHz wireless connectivity method via a USB-based receiver. While both are equally good, the latter offers much lower latency. These often come with different names depending on the manufacturers and are the preferred choice for gamers.

Speaking of which, modern gaming mechanical keyboards now offer super-fast polling rates going up to 8,000Hz, reducing the latency down to a ludicrous 0.25ms. This means these keyboards offer the fastest response time, which is crucial when it comes to gaming.

Let’s come to keyboard backlighting. You can get mechanical keyboards with simple single-colored backlighting, which should solve the purpose of lighting up the keyboard when you're working at night. Additionally, there's the entire topic of RGB backlighting. It has strong opinions on both sides of the fence. While some absolutely hate it, others can't live without it.

Cheaper mechanical keyboards offer zone-based RGB lighting allowing users to light up certain areas of the keyboard with a certain color. Per-key RGB lighting, on the other hand, lets you create some crazy effects. Certain premium mechanical keyboards also offer additional RGB LED bars along with support of up to 16.8 million colors, giving you the freedom to experiment with all sorts of hues and color combinations.

If you're looking for a new mechanical keyboard, make sure you check out our list of the best mechanical keyboards to buy. We also have a quick guide on how to clean and maintain your mechanical keyboard.