HP Pavilion Gaming Laptop: It can be challenging to choose a gaming keyboard that best meets your needs, but we’ll keep it straightforward. The latency (how responsive a keyboard is), switch types (how a keypress feels and sounds), and general comfort and feel are the most crucial aspects to take into account. Following that, you may choose whether you want any extra features, such as media controls, RGB illumination, or software customization choices, to help you make your board feel exactly perfect for you. Our recommendations slant more toward mechanical keyboards because they often have reduced latency, more functionality, and higher build quality, which is why most gamers search for them.
Following are our suggestions for the best mechanical and non-mechanical keyboards for gaming, based on our testing of more than 200 keyboards. Check out our picks for the greatest keyboards or the best mechanical keyboards if you’re searching for a keyboard that isn’t just for gaming. Alternately, if you need a gaming keyboard but are on a tight budget, take a look at our picks for the best budget gaming keyboards.
Optimal Gaming Keyboard
The SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL (2023) is the top gaming keyboard we’ve tested. This keyboard distinguishes for having an adjustable pre-travel distance feature. Depending on how deeply you press the key, you may alter the sensitivity of your keypresses or even assign two inputs. You can independently adjust each key within a wide range to best fit your demands, whether you want an almost quick actuation point for competitive gaming or a longer pre-travel distance for regular typing.
For additional assistance, this keyboard also has a removable wrist rest, which is uncommon for keyboards of such size.
Speaking of size, the SteelSeries Apex Pro Mini is a smaller version of this keyboard that will allow you more room for sweeping mouse motions if you’re interested in it. Or choose the full-size SteelSeries Apex Pro if you’d rather have a version that has a Numpad. Additionally, most Apex Pro boards have wireless versions available if you prefer wireless keyboards so that there aren’t any cords cluttering up your desk.
Most Effective Upper Mid-Range Gaming Keyboard
The Logitech G715, priced in the upper mid-range, is what we advise. It’s a fun keyboard with a plush wrist rest in the shape of a cloud, soft color accents, and a pleasant “underflow” from the frosted RGB lighting strip surrounding the piece. While the SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL (2023), our top pick, allows you to adjust the sensitivity of each keypress, this board’s extremely low latency and overall gaming performance are just as outstanding. It also works excellently straight out of the box and needs little programming or fine-tuning to feel perfect.
Even when playing competitively, it provides a responsive in-game experience with no discernible lag, whether you use it wired with the supplied USB-A to USB-C adapter or wirelessly with its USB receiver. You can choose the switch feeling you like by ordering this device with your choice of Logitech’s own GX switches in the standard options of linear Red, tactile Brown, or click Blue Blue.
Most Effective Mid-Range Gaming Keyboard
We advise the Corsair K70 RGB TKL, which is priced in the mid-range. The K70 RGB TKL offers superb build quality in addition to its outstanding gaming performance. It includes a strong plastic chassis, robust PBT keycaps, and ergonomic kickstands that fold sideways to prevent collapsing if your board is unintentionally bumped. Performance-wise, this keyboard polls your computer at a maximum polling rate of 8000Hz, which is far more frequent than typical gaming keyboards. Due to this feature with the light-to-press Cherry MX switches, the keyboard has a near-millisecond latency and offers a very quick and smooth gaming experience. You can purchase this keyboard with either Cherry MX Red or Cherry MX Speed switches.
Both switch types are quite light and smooth, but the Speed switches operate much more quickly due to their somewhat shorter pre-travel.
This keyboard is a part of the larger Corsair K70 family, which also includes HP Pavilion Gaming Laptop keyboards with somewhat different features and different sizes. Although we suggest the TKL size here because it provides the greatest side room for mouse movements, you may choose a larger board like the Corsair K70 RGB MK.2, which is somewhat more expensive but also comes with a wrist rest.
Most Affordable Gaming Keyboard
The Razer Huntsman Mini is a more affordable option if the pricier options on our list are a little out of your pricing range. This board makes advantage of Razer’s linear or clicky optical switches. These switches feel like regular mechanical switches, but they actually register keystrokes with a laser beam. These switches’ lightweight and responsiveness make for a really satisfying experience. This keyboard, like other Razer alternatives, includes all the customizability options available with Razer’s Synapse 3 software, such as macro programming, RGB backlighting effects for each key, and onboard storage for user profiles.
our keyboard has fantastic build quality and feels incredibly durable, even when compared to the more expensive ones on our list. Its gaming-friendly tiny size, which takes up very little space on your desk, gives your setup a minimalist aesthetic, and provides enough of area for sweeping mouse motions, is one of its main selling factors. Unfortunately, like most of the other options here, this board has a rather high profile. For the most comfortable gaming experience, you could think about purchasing a wrist rest separately because it doesn’t come with one.
Most Affordable Gaming Keyboard
If you want a less expensive choice, go no further than the HP Pavilion Gaming Laptop SteelSeries Apex 3 TKL. While most of the options on this list employ more mechanical switches, this keyboard uses rubber dome switches, giving you plenty of room on your desk for sweeping mouse motions. Compared to other mechanical switches, these switches are quite quiet and relatively easy to press. Additionally, this switch type is more resilient to minor spills and debris. However, they are less receptive due to a lengthier pre-travel.
For high-stakes competitive play, we do not suggest this keyboard because of its higher latency than more expensive ones, but it is more than adequate for casual gaming across all genres. A volume wheel, dedicated media buttons, and the option to assign macros to any key are some additional features that are uncommon at this pricing point. It features RGB illumination, but there are only eight programmable zones because the keys aren’t individually lighted. The SteelSeries Apex 3 is a full-size version of this keyboard if you want a more conventional design. With the exception of size, it is nearly identical, but it has a wrist rest and is often just slightly more expensive.
