Every know there’s huge amount of best keyboard under 150, some are expensive and some are cheap. Cheap doesn’t mean bad things because you can get good one for cheap price. But if you go to online store like amazon, newegg or mwave you’ll find so many budget mechanical keyboards. So how do we choose the best one? I’ll give some tips here.
Budget mechanical best keyboard under 150 can be hard to shop for because they’re everywhere, the prices vary greatly and you never know what quality you’re getting. So what makes them different? What should I look for when buying? We’ll cover that in this article.
Mechanical or membrane keyboard
First thing you need to know is about mechanical keyboard vs membrane one. Mechanical is better than membrane, there’s no doubt about that. Mechanical keyboards are more durable and high quality, most of them come with programmable keys and multiple LED backlight colors. I think if you’re not gamer, it’s good to choose membrane one because mechanical keyboards are using Cherry MX switches or Gateron switches which you can’t change the color of LED on them.
Membrane keyboards are cheaper and lighter than mechanical, you’ll find some of them under $30. They don’t require too much power because there’s only one LED color available to light up your keyboard which is blue or white.
Build quality and design
Do not buy cheap thing because it might fall off after using few months. All the keyboard has to be made from sturdy material and none of them should bend or flex when you press on it. Keycaps should also feel solid, they shouldn’t wobble around.
The design for me is not very important except if it’s unreadable, unergonomic or weird looking will make using it uncomfortable and super annoying. So I recommend you to take a look at the keyboard first before buy it.
Switch type and LED backlight
All mechanical keyboards come with different types of switches built-in, usually people choose Cherry MX switch because they are the best quality one. And if you want to prioritize typing experience or gaming experience, pick Hi-Pro Cherry MX switches. They are easier to press and will give you more travel distance between the keycaps.
If you want programmable keys, check if it comes with detachable USB cable because mini-USB port might easily broke. Or pick mechanical keyboards with smart backlight function so you don’t have to open up your keyboard every time you need change color of it.
Backlight
This feature is important for gamers or guys who type in the dark, but for some people doesn’t really need it. Backlight is good when you want to show off something on your desk but if you don’t want bright LED light on your desk when typing or playing game in the night is not good.
Most of the best keyboard under 150 don’t have backlight because they use cheaper LED but some of them do and it makes them little bit more expensive. There’s few difference between single color and multicolor (RGB) LEDs, multicolors are usually brighter and wider than single colors.
Mechanical switch type
There’s different types of switches built-in almost every mechanical keyboards like Cherry MX, Gateron, Kailh and more. All the switches are made in China anyway but picking expensive switch doesn’t mean it will be better than cheap ones. Personally I think Cherry MX red switch is best for typing and Gateron brown switch is best for gaming.
Gaming vs non-gaming keyboard
A lot of the cheap keyboards don’t have programmable keys and macros, so I recommend you to check it out when buying one. People who play games know that 10 keyless keyboard is not good for gaming unless you’re a really great gamer with amazing accuracy in your hands.
If you want small sized keyboard for traveling with laptop is good but in my opinion, if you want full sized keyboard with backlight is the best for gaming in the night.
N-Key Rollover (NKRO)
Most of them come with N-key rollover function which means it will recognize all key presses at once even you press down 100+ keys at same time. Not only gaming keyboard needs n-key rollover because it’s good for people who type a lot and also doing Photoshop or other design work.
If you buy expensive keyboard with programmable key, macro and N-key rollover function is not bad idea since they usually come with USB port which means you can easily connect another device like mouse to it.
Polling rate and response time
This feature is important for gamers who do FPS games, the polling rate means how quickly keyboard will report what you press and response time means how fast keypresses appear on your screen. The higher polling rate and response time better because it gives you advantage over others in the game. But this feature is only important for gamers.
Pro tips for buying a budget mechanical keyboard
If you want better typing experience, buy keyboard with Cherry MX red switch. They are linear switches so they have smooth travel distance between the keycaps.
Check if it has backlight function because some of them doesn’t have LED lights and some of them come with single color LEDs. Multicolors LEDs usually look brighter and wider than single colors.
If you want all the features like programmable keys, macros, N-key rollover and more, go with expensive keyboard made by popular brands like Razer and Corsair.
- Cheap and simple typing keyboards usually come with membrane switches.
- Mechanical switches are expensive to make so don’t expect cheap keyboard has best switches money can buy, they’re made from China anyway.
- Before buying a new keyboard, try using it at friends place or local store that sells them. Don’t forget to check how it feels and check if your hand gets used to it.
- All the mechanical keyboards come with TKL versions (Tenkeyless) and full sized ones which means they don’t have number pad on the right side, if you’re a gamer and use number pad a lot then I recommend you to buy keyboard with number pad.
- If some of your friends play games, try borrowing his keyboard to see if it’s good enough for you. Just don’t forget to return it because he might get mad at you for not returning his goods.
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