Key Facts: Mechanical Keyboards
This page is Keyboard Lab's maintained fact reference — the specification and marketing-decode facts our guides are built on, restated in plain prose. Figures are typical ranges and are labeled as approximate where appropriate; we report specs, never comfort or health outcomes.
Switch feel is a preference, not a speed advantage
Linear (smooth), tactile (mid-press bump), and clicky (bump plus click sound) describe how a keypress feels, not how fast you type. In typing-speed tests across all three on the same board, words-per-minute barely moves; what changes is comfort and typo rate over a long session, which is personal. See Linear vs Tactile vs Clicky.
Actuation force and distance
Most common switches actuate at roughly 45–62 grams (Cherry MX Red/Brown ~45g, Blue ~50g, heavier tactiles ~55–67g) over an actuation distance of about 1.2–2.0mm, with ~4mm total travel on full-height switches. Lighter switches (~35–45g) are easier to press but easier to mistype on; heavier ones resist accidental presses. There is no universally best weight. See Actuation Force Explained.
PBT vs ABS keycaps
PBT keycaps resist the greasy "shine" that develops on high-use keys and hold their matte texture for years; ABS is softer and polishes to a gloss on the spacebar and home row within months to a year of daily use, and tends to sound slightly higher-pitched. "Doubleshot" vs "dye-sublimated" describes how legends are made (so they don't wear off), separate from the material question. See PBT vs ABS Keycaps.
Hot-swap: 3-pin vs 5-pin
A hot-swap PCB lets you replace switches by hand with no soldering. 3-pin (plate-mount) switches fit any hot-swap board; 5-pin (PCB-mount) switches have two extra plastic legs and need a 5-pin socket — though you can clip the legs to fit a 3-pin board. A 5-pin socket accepts both, so it is the more flexible choice. See Hot-Swap Explained.
NKRO vs 6KRO
NKRO (N-Key Rollover) registers every simultaneous keypress; 6KRO registers up to six keys plus modifiers. Normal typing rarely exceeds 6KRO, so NKRO mainly matters for gaming and fast chords. Some boards default to 6KRO over Bluetooth and full NKRO only when wired or on 2.4GHz. See NKRO vs 6KRO.
Polling rate granularity
Polling rate is how often the board reports to the PC: 125Hz = every 8ms, 500Hz = 2ms, 1000Hz = 1ms, and marketing 8000Hz = 0.125ms. Going 125Hz → 1000Hz cuts worst-case input delay from ~8ms to ~1ms — real but imperceptible for typing and only marginal for competitive gaming; above 1000Hz the human benefit is effectively nil. See Polling Rate Explained.
Wireless latency
A 2.4GHz dongle connection is effectively as fast as wired (about 1ms class) and fine for most gaming; Bluetooth adds more latency and can microstutter, noticeable only in fast games, never in typing. For desk work, battery life and multi-device switching matter more than the millisecond difference. See Wireless Latency Truth.
Typical wireless battery ranges
Battery life is dominated by the backlight: office boards like the Logitech MX Mechanical claim up to ~15 days with backlight on versus ~10 months with it off, and RGB enthusiast boards with large (~3750–4000mAh) batteries can run a couple of hundred hours backlight-off but a small fraction of that with RGB blazing. Treat all battery figures as best-case manufacturer claims.
Layout sizes
Full-size (100%) keeps the numpad; TKL (80%) drops it; 75% keeps the function row and arrows compactly; 65% drops the function row but keeps arrows; 60% drops both and uses a Fn layer. Most desk workers and developers land on 75% or TKL. See Layout Size Guide.
QMK and VIA
QMK is open-source firmware that runs on the keyboard; VIA is a graphical app that remaps keys, builds layers, and records macros live, storing the config on the board so it works on any computer without extra software. Many budget boards advertise "programmable" but mean brand-specific Windows-only software, not QMK/VIA. See QMK & VIA Explained.
"Gaming switch" marketing
"Gaming switch" usually just means a light linear switch — a feel preference, not a performance category. The one genuine performance feature is adjustable-actuation optical or Hall-effect switches with rapid-trigger, which shorten reset time for competitive FPS and do nothing for typing speed. See Do Gaming Switches Matter?.
How these facts are maintained
These facts are drawn from manufacturer specifications, published switch/keycap engineering, and public enthusiast measurement, reviewed against our guides and updated on the date shown above when the market changes. We do not publish prices or star ratings, every pick names an honest drawback, and we report specifications — never comfort or health claims. Our full methodology is at How We Evaluate Mechanical Keyboards.