This guide is for anyone choosing a mechanical keyboard, including a custom build, and wanting to know what to compare before looking at models. It rests on manufacturer documentation, not on hands-on testing by Gimaxo. It names no models and lists no prices, because both change quickly. For the wider picture of a gaming setup, see our gaming gear guide.

The comparison criteria

Compare a keyboard on four separate criteria: what you use it for, its layout, its switches and how you plan to maintain or modify it. A good answer on one does not settle the others, so take them one at a time.

Start with how you use it

Two uses pull in different directions. For competitive games, input response and key behavior are the questions. For long typing sessions, switch feel, sound and layout matter more. Decide which describes you before you read a spec sheet.

Some boards list features aimed at games. Read them as the manufacturer’s claims. Wooting, for example, describes Rapid Trigger on its analog keyboards as a feature that actuates a key when you press down and resets it as you release, so you can press the key again from any point on the way back up. That is how the maker describes it. Gimaxo has not tested it, and the maker’s page gives no independent results.

Layout

Corsair’s guide to keyboard sizes states that there is no single best size, and it describes the common ones as follows.

Layout	What Corsair’s guide says
Full-size	Has a numpad, a function row and arrow keys.
TKL (tenkeyless)	Drops the numpad and keeps the function row and arrow keys.
75%	Described as having 99% of the functionality of a TKL in a more compact package.
65%	Keeps arrow keys, Delete, Page Up and Page Down. The keys on the right side are less standardized and vary by model.
60%	The smallest mainstream size. It has no arrow keys or function row.

Check the exact key list in the product listing, since the same percentage can hide different layouts. If you use the numpad or function row often, a smaller size means reaching them through a layer or doing without.

Switches

Corsair’s guide to switches separates three families. Linear switches offer a smooth keystroke without tactile feedback. Tactile switches give a bump when pressed. Clicky switches give both a bump and an audible click. Each type has its own feel, sound and actuation force.

Manufacturers publish force figures, and the labels matter. Cherry’s current product pages list an actuation force, an initial force and a final force for each switch. For the MX Red, a linear switch, Cherry lists an actuation force of 45 cN and 2.0 mm of pre-travel to the actuation point. For the MX Brown, a tactile switch, its MX2A page lists an actuation force of 45 cN. For the MX Blue, tactile and clicky, it lists 50 cN and 2.2 mm of pre-travel. Cherry’s page for the MX Illuma Brown gives two separate figures: a tactile force of 55 cN and an actuation force of 45 cN.

Do not read those two as one number. The actuation force is what the switch needs to register a press. The tactile force is a separate figure Cherry gives for the tactile bump, and the pages we read do not say how it is measured. Older and third-party sources can give a single figure. Cherry’s older overview says the MX Brown needs 55 cN of actuation force, and Corsair’s chart lists 55 g for the Brown and 60 g for the Blue. Those figures differ from the current product pages. Compare force figures only when they carry the same label and come from the same source, and check the datasheet for the exact switch you want. Corsair also notes that its own keyboards can come with several switch options.

The sources above do not rank switches by sound. If noise matters in your room, read the maker’s description and any measurements it gives, and treat them as its claims.

Build and upkeep

For a custom or modifiable board, check these points on the listing rather than assuming them:

• Whether switches and keycaps are included, or sold separately.
• Whether the listing says the switches can be replaced without soldering.
• How the board connects: cable, wireless or both, and which software it needs.
• Whether the keycap and switch types you want fit the board.

Total cost depends on those answers, not on the headline price alone.

When to skip it

Skip a custom board if you do not want to choose parts or compare options, because a ready-made keyboard meets the need with fewer decisions. Skip an upgrade if you cannot identify a problem with your current keyboard. And skip any claim that a feature gives you an advantage unless the maker backs it with a method.

Sources

Named here as plain text. Pages read in November 2026.

• Corsair, “Keyboard Sizes & Layouts Explained: Which is best for you?”
• Corsair Help Center, “Keyboard Switches: An Introduction”
• Cherry, MX2A Red, MX2A Brown and MX2A Blue product pages
• Cherry, MX Illuma Brown product page and press release on the MX Illuma launch
• Cherry blog, “CHERRY MX switches at a glance”
• Wooting, “What is Wooting’s Rapid Trigger for Analog Keyboards?”