Check out more of the year's best tech in our PC Gamer Hardware Awards 2024 coverage.
Mystery has been in the air throughout the PC Gamer offices. Amid a sea of hardware hits, the bizarre case of the disappearing keycaps has put a bit of a dampener on the festive season. For you see, when mechanical keyboards stop a-clacking for a keycap upgrade, all too often members of the team turn around to discover that their just removed, loose keycaps have vanished.
The team were able to rule out typical end of year forgetfulness and messy desks absorbing detritus pretty quickly, because the first thing they did was ask if I knew anything about the disappearing keycaps. Through stuffed hamster cheeks, I mumbled something to the effect of, "Not a clue, sorry."
I still protest my innocence; I don't have a keycap problem, loose keycaps have a me problem. Besides all of that, when I looked at my to-do list of assigned work, how was I expected to interpret 'best keyb noms'? Regardless, I've been tasked with touring you through a tasty selection of keyboards—from an enforced distance. Rest assured, no keyboards were harmed during the writing of this award nomination list (and I wasn't happy about it).
My colleagues are giving me a horrified look that I can only assume means, 'stop confessing your keyboard crimes and get on with it.' So, without thinking too much more about how delicious Cherry switches sound, here are the three nominees for best gaming keyboard.
Keychron Q3 Max
This incredibly stylish keyboard is definitely one for the touch typers, as the legends are located on the side of the keycaps, rather than the top. If you're at all like me, and you're a speedy-ish typist but definitely not someone who ever figured out touch typing all the way, such an elegant design choice could present a real conundrum; either this keeb will be the motivating factor you need to finally hammer home the lessons of Disney Learning: Adventures in Typing with Timon & Pumbaa, or it will cause some catastrophic typos.
As for the all important keys themselves, they're a pretty delectable rounded shape, with hot swappable switches. So while the sample that Reece reviewed came with dreamy Gateron Jupiter Red switches, you can easily swap them out for your switch of choice. Go on, hot swap those bad boys out—I'll look after the keycaps.
Read our full Keychron Q3 Max review.
Kinesis Gaming Freestyle Edge RGB
One fun thing about mechanical keyboards is that a good, solid CLACK makes everything you type carry a vague sense of import. However, it's a novelty that wears off all too quickly when an achy back crowds out the sense of fun. Enter this split-keyboard from Kinesis.
Two keyboard halves placed apart offers a shot at better posture. Your wrists may well thank you for it too as Kinesis offers a separately sold 'lift kit' that allows you to give both halves an adjustable 'tenting' effect in order to avoid holding your wrist at an unnatural angle for long periods.
That additional $30 for the full ergonomic experience aside, an array of delicious Cherry MX key sets to choose from make this a tasty morcel that's tricky to pass up. Typing on this mechanical keyboard has that all important CLACK, but the split design coupled with the onboard RGB lighting also feels slightly sci-fi without causing wrist pain.
SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen 3
For anyone with a laser-focussed keyboard obsession, this is the keeb for thee. SteelSeries offers heaps of options that no one bar the true keyboard sickos are likely to want, let alone actually use.
For instance, I don't know about you but I'm often hitting 'i' when I mean to hit 'o,' and vice versa. The optional 'protection mode' makes it harder for surrounding keys to register when you really only meant to hit one in particular. It's smart flourishes like this that really make this keeb shine—though the RGB lights and wee OLED screen help too.
The real showstopper though are the OmniPoint 3.0 Hall Effect switches. Naturally, you can tinker with key sensitivity, but this calibre of responsiveness bodes extremely well for long-term use. While this keyboard's specialised features may not appeal to many outside of the enthusiasts, it's a robust build with a price tag to match that may prove worth the investment.
And those are our three tasty, tasty nominees. My colleagues are shaking a handful of keycaps at me like a bag of treats, so I assume that means all has been forgiven. Before I go though, there's just one last thing to say: Stay tuned, because the winner of the PC Gamer Hardware Award for the best gaming keyboard will be crowned on New Year's Eve.
