Best Gaming Keyboard(s)?

apcs13

Honorable
Oct 2, 2013
960
0
11,360
Hi everyone,

During the winter season, I built my first gaming PC, and although it had a lot of issues, I've gotten them all worked out within the past few months and have really enjoyed using my PC. However, being my first desktop in almost 10 years and my first ever dedicated gaming PC plus being on a budget, I didn't exactly have a crazy mouse or keyboard to use, so I am currently using a Logitech Performance MX Mouse, which is great for productivity and will suffice for now for gaming. However, my keyboard needs an update, as it is the same one that came with my 2005 Dell desktop. To make matters worse, one of the stands fell off recently, so it has to lay flat on my desk, which is very uncomfortable to use. Finally, it is a wireless keyboard, which some people are against using even today, but this uses the same wireless technology as electronics in 2005, and while it still functions fine, it's not exactly as reactive as I would like it to be.

So, now that I have come into a bit of extra money besides for necessities, I figured I might as well bring my keyboard up to date by almost a decade. Problem is, I really have no idea which keyboards are the best. I have done some research into the topic, but I am no keyboard expert and can't tell the difference between a bunch of "good" ones.

So, I come here to ask for help. What gaming keyboard(s) do you think are the best? Here are some criteria:

Cost: I would rather spend more now for a quality board than a little now for a mediocre one that will break. I will spend what I need to get a good board, but I am not a picky person and don't need ultra tournament-grade equipment or whatever, so I guess I would limit it to around $100. If there is a really really good board for not too much beyond that, then I would consider that as well.

Features: Honestly I just need to to respond fast for gaming and feel good to do work on as well, but the main priority is gaming and I would imagine that if it does that well it should work fine for productivity too. Backlighting would also be nice, but is not really required for me to buy a keyboard. I would like a dedicated number pad. I don't want a really noisy keyboard, but I realize that mechanical ones tend to make a lot of noise and my current one isn't quiet anyways, and I would much rather have great performance and noise than lackluster performance and silence.

I think I would also like this keyboard to be wired instead of wireless.

Thanks so much for the help!
 
Solution
Mechanical is the way to go, I´m searching for a good keyboard also and found that the cm storm quickfire pro is an excellent deal and fit all of your criteria.
http://www.amazon.com/CM-Storm-QuickFire-Pro-Mechanical/dp/B007VDOOBU

The standard blackwidow is a popular choice within your budget but it has green switches the stealth editions has brown and still in your budget.
http://www.amazon.com/Razer-BlackWidow-Expert-Mechanical-Keyboard/dp/B00IG3GP84/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1405981116&sr=1-2&keywords=razer+blackwidow

pit_1209

Distinguished
Mechanical is the way to go, I´m searching for a good keyboard also and found that the cm storm quickfire pro is an excellent deal and fit all of your criteria.
http://www.amazon.com/CM-Storm-QuickFire-Pro-Mechanical/dp/B007VDOOBU

The standard blackwidow is a popular choice within your budget but it has green switches the stealth editions has brown and still in your budget.
http://www.amazon.com/Razer-BlackWidow-Expert-Mechanical-Keyboard/dp/B00IG3GP84/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1405981116&sr=1-2&keywords=razer+blackwidow
 
Solution

6R1M01R3

Distinguished
There you have many options:

Keyboard: Thermaltake eSPORTS Meka Wired Gaming Keyboard ($59.99 @ Mechanical Keyboards)
Keyboard: Logitech Y-UY95 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($51.98 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm Quick Fire TK Wired Gaming Keyboard ($97.88 @ Mechanical Keyboards)
Keyboard: Razer DeathStalker Wired Gaming Keyboard ($68.99 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: Logitech G510s Wired Gaming Keyboard ($82.60 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: Corsair Raptor K50 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: Corsair Vengeance K65 Compact Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Wired Gaming Keyboard ($89.00 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: Razer DeathStalker Essential Wired Gaming Keyboard ($44.99 @ Amazon)
 

numanator

Honorable
In case you didn't check out that link, this is the table of Cherry MX switches so you can pick the one you like:

[pre]

Linear: No physical feedback Tactile: Quiet bump feedback Clicky: Loud bump feedback
Medium(45/50g) Red Brown Blue
Slightly Stiff(55-60g) Black Clear N/A
Very Stiff(80g) Dark Grey Light Grey Green and White
[/pre]

Edited for formatting