Compact keyboards are the fastest-growing segment of the mechanical keyboard space, a reversal of the traditional wisdom that gamers want full-size boards with tons of macro keys, media controls and other exciting doodads. Instead, these 60 percent, 65 percent, 75 percent and TKL boards focus on a clean aesthetic that’s super-portable and takes up minimal desk space, while still providing all of the keys you’ll need for 99 percent of modern games. In this round-up, we’ll share our recommendations for the very best compact keyboards on the market based on our extensive testing.
Indie keyboard makers have been making 65 percent, 60 percent and even smaller sizes for the enthusiast crowd for years, but now the bigger brands are starting to get involved – the Razers, Corsairs and Logitechs of the world. If you wanted to see what the fuss is about with these smaller boards without losing creature comforts like synchronised RGB lighting and well-developed software packages, this is a great time to jump aboard the mini keyboard bandwagon. Of course, smaller vendors have their advantages too, and we’ll try to cover both ends of the spectrum – while still focusing on boards that are readily available.
Oh, and the by the way – if you’re interested in seeing our picks for full-size keyboards too, do check out our round-ups of the best gaming keyboards and best mechanical keyboards, both of which have some unique options worth knowing about!
Watch this recent analysis from Digital Foundry: ‘Marvel’s Avengers: Xbox Series X|S vs PS5 – Image Quality, Performance Analysis + More’.
Best 60 percent keyboard: Corsair K65 Mini
The confusingly-titled Corsair K65 Mini is our favourite 60 percent size keyboard. It nails the 60 percent aesthetic, with clean lines and large legends inscribed in the PBT keycaps that let in a lot of (RGB) light; there’s even a replacement space bar if you don’t like the geometric motifs on the default option.
I’m a fan of the way that Corsair have opted for side-printed legends for secondary functions, which eliminates the messy-looking keys you’ll see on many 60 percent boards while still making it easy to find the functions you’re looking for. Another nice touch is the choice of exactly where these secondary functions are; a virtual mouse is available on WASD while the arrow keys are sensibly clustered around J. Lighting controls, media and volume controls are also present and accounted for.
Corsair’s iCUE software is heavy but powerful, allowing you to rebind keys, program macros and even set up intricate lighting patterns to provide just the right look. Of course, all of that is worthless without a good typing experience, and the Cherry MX Red or Speed Silver switches do feel nice to use – although a bit noisy, with an audible ‘ping’ as each key rebounds. The K65 Mini is also one of a few keyboards to support an 8000Hz update rate, which marginally decreases input lag according to impartial tests from the likes of Battle(non)sense.
All things considered, there’s a lot to like here: all of the standard features of a top-flight gaming keyboard from a major manufacturer, tucked into a compact design with powerful features.
Best cheap 60 percent keyboard: Royal Kludge RK61
The RK61’s selling point is simple: a quality compact mechanical keyboard at half of the price of the big brands. It costs just £45 at the time of writing, yet feels great to type on with clicky, tactile or linear Gateron switches, and nails the clean 60 percent aesthetic. It also can be used wired or wireless, with Bluetooth support, making it a great choice to throw in your bag for some sneaky typing on the go.
The entry-level model sports a simple single-colour backlight, with multiple effects, but the version I’m testing has full per-key RGB. There’s no software here to synchronise the lighting with other peripherals – such is the sacrifice you make by going for a smaller brand – but controls on the keyboard itself allow you to adjust the lighting easily enough. There are also no options for adjusting the angle of the board. I use my keyboards flat as this is meant to be ergonomically superior, but if you require more tilt than the ~5° provided by the keycaps and board itself you may need to look elsewhere.
Like other 60 percent keyboards, the RK61 uses a Function key (here in the lower right corner) to allow functions which don’t have dedicated keys to be used. For example, you can press Fn + Enter to rebind keys in the lower right to work as the arrow keys for text editing, or press Fn and a number key to get the corresponding F key. This works well enough, but without dedicated software support you must rely on utilities like ClearKeys or Autohotkey to set up macros if you need them.
The RK61 proves that you really don’t have to spend a lot to get a great compact keyboard. While some may prefer a more full-featured board with advanced software, the RK61 nails the essentials – key feel, connectivity, build quality and looks – at a very attractive price.
Best 65 percent keyboard: Asus ROG Falchion
The ASUS ROG Falchion is one of the most expensive boards on this list, but it looks, feels and acts the part with some unique features we haven’t seen anywhere else.
To wit, there’s a touch-sensitive strip on the left side of the board that you can stroke to adjust the volume, activate macros or other functions. The keyboard also comes in two pieces, with a plastic chassis sitting inside a removable metal-lined case, so you can opt for durability and key feel of the fully-assembled unit or a lighter, more portable keyboard. The Falchion can also be used wired, via USB-, or wireless via a low latency 2.4GHz connection.
When you combine this deep feature list with what is in all other respects an excellent keyboard – strong build quality, good key feel from its Cherry MX Red switches, clear legends in its double-shot PBT keycaps, bright RGB backlighting and easy reprogramming – you get one of the most impressive keyboards we’ve ever tested.
Best value 65 percent keyboard: Fnatic Streak65
The Fnatic Streak 65 is a unique offering, thanks to its silent, linear and low profile switches, allowing extremely rapid key presses and making double-taps easier. The layout includes dedicated arrow keys and four programmable keys, making it a good choice for writers and programmers. We talk a lot about the little touches that turn a good keyboard into a great one, and there are plenty here: pre-lubed stabilisers, an offset USB-C port so the cable remains away from your mouse and the perfectly-selected legends on each keycap. I particularly liked the inclusion of a ‘competition mode’, which sets to the lighting to dim orange and locks the Windows key. The software side of things remains a little underdeveloped, but despite this the Streak 65 represents phenomenal value.
Best 75 percent keyboard: Keychron K2
If you want a compact keyboard that still packs in pretty much all the keys of a standard tenkeyless, the Keychron K2 is well worth a look. This Kickstarter champion is easy to make your own too, with a choice of three switches, multiple case materials from plastic to aluminium, and white or RGB backlighting. In the box, you’ll find Mac and Windows keycaps, a rare extra, and the board supports both Bluetooth and USB-C connectivity. Given the extremely reasonable (sub £90) price of this board, you really can’t ask for much more.
Best TKL keyboard: Corsair K70 TKL Champion Series
Tenkeyless is by far the most competitive category, simply because we’ve seen so many keyboards in this form factor over the years, and there are plenty of boards we could have selected here. We’re going to stick with three – one best overall, one best value and one wireless – starting with the Corsair K70 TKL Champion Series.
This board is one of the best mainstream offerings we’ve tested, as its slightly taller design allows for some extra dedicated keys and a volume wheel, rarities in this form factor. The keyboard itself is well constructed, with an aluminium deck and floating PBT keycaps in Corsair’s traditional style, and even a dedicated “tournament mode” switch that sets soft red backlighting and resets the keyboard to its default settings (eg no macros).
As we mentioned earlier, iCUE remains one of the most powerful software packages for controlling lighting and rebinding keys, and you can change the polling rate up to 8,000Hz to gain a small input lag advantage. You can also synchronise your lighting amongst multiple internal components and peripherals, and with Corsair’s breadth in the industry you may well already be invested in the company’s ecosystem.
The biggest criticism we can level at the K70 TKL Champion Series is its premium price, as you could get another TKL board from Roccat, Razer or even Corsair at a lower price and still get a great keyboard with RGB synchronisation – but there’s enough new here that we feel comfortable recommending the K70 TKL as our top tenkeyless pick.
Best value TKL keyboard: Xtrfy K4 TKL
The best value tenkeyless keyboard we’ve tested so far is the Xtrfy K4 TKL. Its plate-mounted Kailh Red switches are great for FPS and other fast-paced games, and there are plenty of little touches here to make the keyboard stand out: foam padding to deaden noise, pre-lubed stabilisers, thick ABS keycaps and clear key legends.
You’re lacking advanced software and the dedicated media keys of Corsair’s K70 TKL, but not everyone will use those functions – and the essentials here are strong. What’s more, the RGB backlighting can be controlled entirely on the board itself, via the function layer, and there are at least media, volume and Windows controls accessible using the Function layer.
The K4 TKL looks great, particularly in the one-of-a-kind ‘Retro’ colourway we tested; black and white boards are also available.
Best wireless TKL keyboard: Logitech G915 TKL
If you like the flexibility and cleaner look of a wireless keyboard, the G915 TKL is the best tenkeyless keyboard we’ve tested. The aluminium body looks and feels high quality, while the low profile keys and switches make for a laptop-like experience, with just enough key travel to remain satisfyingly mechanical. (There are three switch options too: clicky, tactile and linear.)
There are extra non-mechanical keys at the top of the board for switching between 2.4GHz wireless and Bluetooth, changing the backlight and activating game mode; there’s also a wide volume roller and dedicated media keys which are rare inclusions for a compact keeb.
The G915 TKL’s battery lasts for 40 hours between recharges, rising to around 1000 hours if the optional RGB lighting is extinguished. Of course, you can plug in the keyboard for a wired connection, not that Logitech’s industry-leading wireless requires it. Overall, a great keyboard that justifies its high price through a long feature list, excellent build quality and a great all-around typing experience.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I buy or build?
Building is great fun, helps you learn new skills and allows you to craft your perfect keyboard. However, it can also take a long time, both in terms of waiting for materials and the actual assembly, and you’ll need to be responsible for fixing any mistakes you make. If you’re interested, there are good guides on places like /r/mechanicalkeyboards and Keyboard University and Switch and Click.
A good middle ground solution can be picking up a barebones keyboard like the Glorious GMMK, where you just need to choose and install switches and keycaps. This means you end up with a keyboard that feels uniquely your own, but the hardest parts – stuff like soldering and waiting for your group buy to arrive – are largely avoided.
What do labels like 60 percent and 65 percent actually mean?
These categories correspond to the number of physical keys on the keyboard – we know that a full-size keyboard tends to have 104 or 105 keys, so a 60 percent keyboard will have a few more than 60 keys, a 65 percent keyboard a few more than 65 and so on.
Full-size: the most common layout that includes the alphanumerics and modifier keys, the function row, navigation and arrow keys and the numpad.
TKL (tenkeyless): a full-size keyboard with all clusters and the same spacing, just with the numpad removed.
75 percent: about as many keys as a TKL, but each cluster is grouped together tightly to achieve a smaller footprint.
65 percent: a keyboard with no function row, navigation keys or numpad, just alphanumerics, modifiers and arrow keys.
60 percent: a keyboard with just alphanumerics and modifiers.
40 percent: no number row, but with extra modifiers and a smaller space bar to keep things (somewhat) usable.
However, layouts here are much less standardised than on larger form factors and these are only broad labels anyway, so you may find the number of keys varies between boards, sometimes significantly.
This also means that finding replacement keycaps for smaller keyboards can be tricky – TKL is fine and 60 percent is generally doable, but less common sizes like 65 percent and 75 percent may require you to mix and match keycaps from different sets or just accept the keycaps that the board came with.
What are the downsides of 60 percent and other small keyboards?
On keyboards with fewer than the usual number of keys, some less-used functions are moved from dedicated keys to shared keys, requiring a modifier like Fn (Function) to be used for the desired keypress to be received by the computer. For example, while Home is a dedicated key on a full-size keyboard, you might need to press Fn + L to activate the same function on a 60 percent board.
60 percent keyboards in particular lack arrow keys, which can make editing text difficult – so we probably wouldn’t recommend these for programmers or students in most circumstances. 65 percent keyboards solve this particular problem, making them a lot more usable for folks like me that spend a lot of their computer time typing, but still lack a dedicated Function row (F1 to F12) and other keys you may end up using often. 75 percent in turn solves this problem, and really represents the most compact layout that doesn’t have major sacrifices. Of course, TKL keyboards have even more keys and wider spacing, which can be more comfortable.
At the end of the day, it’s all down to your individual tolerances and preferences, so don’t be afraid to experiment with different form factors until you discover the right one for you. Similarly, if you’re lucky enough to be able to afford it, you could consider eventually having two keyboards – for example, a full-size board for programming and a 60 percent for gaming – so that the downsides of one form factor aren’t something you have to live with all day.
Why are mechanical keyboards so expensive?
Most mechanical keyboards from major gaming brands end up around the £100 mark. It’s a price point that users seem willing to pay for a better typing experience, and means that manufacturers can recoup the cost of both developing advanced features and including dozens of (surprisingly expensive!) mechanical switches. Happily, you can find some keyboards for half that price, but you will need to forgo a big brand name and the features that often go with it.
Regardless of how much you spend, you should at least be making an investment rather than a temporary purchase – any mechanical keyboard treated with respect should last for decades
Why didn’t you recommend my favourite keyboard?
Good question! It may be that we haven’t tested it yet, or perhaps we just preferred a different keyboard – and to make this article at least somewhat concise, we’re trying to be selective with our picks. Of course, mechanical keyboards are largely a matter of taste, and there are dozens of attributes that might appeal to someone and put someone else off entirely. These are our particular preferences, so do read other recommendations to get a broader view!
We’ll continue to update this article with new recommendations as we test them, so why not suggest some keyboards for us to consider in the comments below? You can also reach me on Twitter @wsjudd if you’d like to talk about mechanical keyboards. See you on the next one!
Article source https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-best-60-percent-65-75-and-tkl-keyboards