If you’re using a desktop PC, you need a keyboard of some kind. And if you’re using a laptop or a tablet, you might want one just as a matter of comfort. If that’s the case, you should definitely check out PCWorld’s roundups of the best wireless keyboards, gaming keyboards, and mechanical keyboards.
But how do we determine which are the best? If you want to know the nuts and bolts of what goes into our exhaustive keyboard reviews, then read on.
How we get keyboards to review
Generally, we get keyboard review units directly from the manufacturers, which send them to the reviewer in their retail packaging. That allows us to experience the product in the same way that a potential buyer does. So from the moment we open the box, we’re evaluating the keyboard as if we were a regular consumer…albeit one with a decade or more of experience in professional evaluation.
Michael Crider/Foundry
Michael Crider/Foundry
<div class="scrim" style="background-color: #fff" aria-hidden="true"></div>
</div></figure><p class="imageCredit">Michael Crider/Foundry</p></div>Of course, we occasionally buy keyboards just for ourselves. After all, we’re geeks too. But if we choose to review the keyboard, we write with the same level of professional detachment. So you can be sure that we’re coming at each review (and the resultant roundups) from a place of neutrality.
What we test in keyboards
Once the retail packaging is cracked open, we examine the presentation of both the keyboard itself and any additional parts included therein. A wrist rest is a big plus for any keyboard (and a tangible additional value that gets considered in the review), but they’ll typically come with a cable of some sort, which gets bonus points for being detachable even if the keyboard is wireless. And naturally, wireless keyboards get a dongle, unless they’re relying solely on Bluetooth.
Michael Crider/Foundry
<div class="lightbox-image-container foundry-lightbox"><div class="extendedBlock-wrapper block-coreImage undefined"><figure class="wp-block-image size-large enlarged-image"><img decoding="async" data-wp-bind--src="selectors.core.image.enlargedImgSrc" data-wp-style--object-fit="selectors.core.image.lightboxObjectFit" src="" alt="Keychron Q3 Max hero" class="wp-image-2232333" width="1200" height="676" loading="lazy" /></figure><p class="imageCredit">Michael Crider/Foundry</p></div> </div></figure><p class="imageCredit">Michael Crider/Foundry</p></div>Mechanical keyboards tend to include a bit more in the package, especially if they’re leaning into a “custom” angle. These include a keycap tool (which is basically just two wire loops for pulling caps up vertically without damaging them), often combined with a switch puller if they have hot-swap switch sockets. Some mechanical boards will include alternate keycaps for different styles, or even spare switches in case some break.
When it comes to evaluating the keyboard itself, well, the thing to do is just use it. We typically use a keyboard for one to two weeks as our primary board with a desktop or laptop. And as professional writers, that means typing tens of thousands of words in a variety of formats. We’ll evaluate how it feels to type, if it has any particularly bad points, and how the keyboard layout compares to similar designs.
Michael Crider/Foundry
<div class="lightbox-image-container foundry-lightbox"><div class="extendedBlock-wrapper block-coreImage undefined"><figure class="wp-block-image size-large enlarged-image"><img decoding="async" data-wp-bind--src="selectors.core.image.enlargedImgSrc" data-wp-style--object-fit="selectors.core.image.lightboxObjectFit" src="" alt="G.Skill KM250 from the side " class="wp-image-1801785" width="1200" height="676" loading="lazy" /></figure><p class="imageCredit">Michael Crider/Foundry</p></div> </div></figure><p class="imageCredit">Michael Crider/Foundry</p></div>Smaller, more compact keyboards can be more difficult to adapt to, with more functions moved into a secondary layer and some keys (like the right Shift key) squashed to make room. Some of these choices can affect how comfortable it is to use them in both the short and the long term.
We’ll also play some PC games on all the keyboards that we test, with much more time devoted to it if the model is a specific “gaming” keyboard. How the keyboard performs for typing and/or gaming will be the primary factor in determining its review score, along with its price in comparison to similar designs.
Autentifică-te pentru a adăuga comentarii
Alte posturi din acest grup
AI is driving new capabilities across creative apps, productivity too
Intel said Thursday that the company’s next big CPU bet, Panther Lake
Despite rumors of a major redesign for Apple’s TV streaming platform,
The top price of new video games is suddenly a hot topic, with many p
If you’re old enough to remember the original, brick-like Game Boy, y
Most often than not these days, laptops don’t come with enough ports
Home security cameras are easy to install, easy to use, and incredibl
