If you're running up against a $100 budget, we'd heavily recommend keeping a close eye on deals here, or pushing past that cut-off slightly for far better value for money. Nevertheless, you just don't see this level of performance and features on many keyboards in this price range. While you're still getting doubleshot legends, which will improve durability, two weeks of testing quickly left oily shine on regularly tapped keys, which made the texture-less caps feel even less sturdy underhand. We were disappointed to find that this model ships with cheaper ABS keycaps. Unfortunately, the HyperX Alloy Elite 2 isn't without its sacrifices. There are plenty of keyboards vying at this popular mid-range price point, but very few offer this particular experience. Not only do those switches offer up a more precise actuation, though, but we also found them incredibly comfortable for both typing and longer play sessions. Everything feels slick and precise, even in more chaotic Fall Guys and Rocket League testing. There's far less travel time here, compared to the likes of Cherry MX and Gateron, which means we were able to feel the speed of a more twitch-sensitive switch without any accidental keypresses. We were particularly impressed with the red linear switches tucked away under those pudding-style keycaps. It's difficult to find a deck that combines all of these specs into a price point that doesn't stray too far into the $100 bracket, and certainly not with the build quality on offer here. That's because of the suite of onboard functions (dedicated media keys, USB passthrough, and bright RGB lighting) and the slick design of HyperX's proprietary red switches. The HyperX Alloy Elite 2 sits in a Goldilocks zone of high end features and reasonable pricing, making it the best gaming keyboard for the majority of users. Once there, it certainly looks the part RGB lighting adds a pop of color to its sleek black shell. Macro settings which allow you to program each key add further value, while a smaller footprint means you won't have trouble fitting it on your desk. While this isn't constant, it is certainly noticeable. We did encounter a few squeaky keys in our test unit, and this has long been an issue in our experience with Razer Cynosa keyboards. Considering the Cynosa V2's low cost, that's an impressive feat. The smooth plastic keycaps were satisfying to type with, too. Our fingers were flying across them in use, but they never felt cheap - they're much lighter switches than those found in cheaper membrane keyboards, like the Roccat Magma featured elsewhere on this list, so we'd recommend if you're looking for twitch reflex actions without the price tag of a more expensive mechanical option. More specifically, the speed and resistance of each key is spot on. If you've never owned a gaming keyboard before, this is the perfect place to start. In other words, it's perfect in a busy household or at work where you don't want to cause too much noise. That's because its keys are pressing down on a rubbery sheet, meaning you don't get that distracting typewriter 'clack'. Although it's not the best gaming keyboard on paper, it still puts in a very respectable performance at an affordable price.Īs a 'membrane' device, this version of the Cynosa is much quieter than the competition - a design feature that we particularly appreciated compared to the louder mechanical decks we're used to seeing. In contrast to the Hunstman V2 Analog's hefty MSRP, however, the Razer Cynosa V2 is a budget-minded godsend. Gaming keyboards are an essential purchase if you play on PC, but they can easily break the bank. Read more: Razer Huntsman V2 Analog review Because this is also one of the nicest keyboards we've ever gotten our hands on, it's a real contender if your budget can stretch that far. None of this is 'necessary', yet it feels borderline essential once you've gotten used to it.
#BEST PROGRAMMABLE MOUSE AND KEYBOARD GAMING SOFTWARE#
We got around this issue by remapping more commands, but it's worth noting you'll need to spend a lot of time in the Synapse software to really make the most of this feature set. Certain games, or even sections within games, will become convinced that you're using a controller as soon as you hit those variable WASD keys, leaving certain functions mapped to triggers that don't exist. Of course, those analog keys will only come in clutch if you're playing a game that supports them. Edging around asteroids and making subtle flight path changes felt incredible compared to the clunkier, sweeping motions we were used to. Of course, we don't think this substitute will match the ease of the best joysticks in something like Elite: Dangerous, but in our testing it was certainly a much smoother experience with the Huntsman V2 Analog in tow. The Razer Huntsman V2 Analog does something we've never experienced before, and it stands out in any lineup of the best gaming keyboards as a result.