Have you ever wondered if upgrading to a mechanical keyboard could help you type faster? Many people swear by mechanical keyboards, claiming that they provide a better typing experience and improved typing speed. But is there any truth to these claims?
In this article, we’ll explore whether or not a mechanical keyboard can really make you a faster and more efficient typist. So, if you’re considering making the switch to a mechanical keyboard, keep reading to find out if it’s worth the investment!
Factors that impact typing speed:
There are many factors that can affect your typing speed. Let’s discuss some of them:
- Practice: The more you practice typing, the better you’ll become.
- Familiarity with the keyboard: If you’re used to one keyboard, switching to another can slow you down.
- Keyboard Response or Feedback: Some keyboards respond faster than others, which can help you type more quickly. Mechanical keyboards often provide tactile and audio feedback.
- Usage Comfort and Key Press pressure: A comfortable keyboard with easy-to-press keys can make typing for long periods easier.
- Rollover: If your keyboard can’t register all your key presses, it can slow you down. Mechanical keyboards often have a rollover feature to prevent missed key presses.
- Ergonomics: A keyboard that’s comfortable to use and doesn’t cause physical strain can improve typing speed. Factors like keycap shape, size, and keyboard size can affect ergonomics.
- Keyboard Size: A keyboard’s physical dimensions and key placement can affect typing speed and comfort.
Mechanical Keyboard for Faster Typing
Yes, to some extinct, it is true that mechanical keyboards let you type faster. But in order to do that you need to identify the right kind of switch. As you can see from the previous section that there are lots of other factors impacting your speed.
Unlike membrane keyboards, mechanical keyboards provide feedback that signals the user that the key is pressed. Also, in many mechanical keyboards, the user need not bottom out the switch, as the keypress is registered halfway down. Also, it is important to note here that do not expect to see an improvement in typing speed the moment you get hold of a mechanical keyboard. It will take some time for you to get used to it and see the difference. The more you practice, the more you are likely to observe an improvement in your typing speed.
Plus, with the introduction of optomechanical keyboards, the divide is even greater. Now, the switch doesn’t need to be pressed down wholly for the key to be registered as tiny lasers can identify whether a switch has been pressed to a certain extent and instantly activate the key. This helps increase typing speed and also improves one’s performance in gaming too.
Let’s discuss these factors in more detail:
- Switch Feedback: If you’re new to mechanical keyboards, go for a switch that offers clear feedback. A tactile, clicky, or a combination of both will help you improve your speed. Popular options include Brown or Blue switches by Cherry MX or Gateron. Once you get used to it, you can switch to linear or silent switches.
- Anti-Ghosting and Key Rollover: Mechanical keyboards have anti-ghosting, which means they send accurate signals even when multiple keys are pressed simultaneously. This feature helps you type faster and more accurately.
- Swappable Switches: You can easily replace the switches in a mechanical keyboard to enhance your speed. For example, you can swap out the switches for the ASDF keys to get a more tactile, linear, or clicky feel.
Investing in a mechanical keyboard can help improve your typing speed, but there are no guarantees. You still need to practice and get familiar with the keyboard. Over time, you’ll find that you can type more words per minute.
Important tips to improve typing speed:
- Buy an Ergonomic Keyboard: You should be comfortable while using a keyboard, and an ergonomic keyboard ensures that you can keep using it for longer sessions without any physical stress. Also, you should purchase a keyboard on which you can cover the maximum number of keys using your fingers with minimum wrist movement.
- Comfortable Keycaps: Always go for keycaps that are comfortable, and have a suitably wide surface to accommodate your fingers well while you are typing. We personally recommend padding keycaps as they seem to have a more grounded feel.
- Aim for accuracy: Without accuracy, a higher speed is of no use. Practice hitting keys accurately every time, and a higher speed will follow.
- Avoid Bottoming Out: If you are using a mechanical keyboard, you need to identify at what level the keypress is registered. In mechanical keyboards, it is somewhere midway you will find the actuation point.
Conclusion:
Let’s get our facts together. We discussed factors that might improve your typing speed and we mentioned some useful tips to improve your speed, but to answer the main question – does a mechanical keyboard can improve your typing speed? Yes, it can, and here’s why – You can choose any switches you like for your mechanical keyboard – Cherry MX Red, Gateron Blue, Cherry MX Green, etc. Each of these switches has an actuation force.
E.g I have a Keychron Q2 75% Mechanical Keyboard with Cherry MX Red switches for these switches, the action force is 45g and the bottom-out force – is 75g. For comparison, Cherry MX Blue has a 60g actuation force and 60g bottom-out force. This means I require less strength to push down the key for my laptop/device to recognize that I made this action, which leads to faster writing.
Those are the facts. My personal experience – I switched from a membrane keyboard to a mechanical keyboard some while ago, and I’m not sure if I improved my writing speed, I’ve never had that goal, but technically speaking it should have improved due to all the facts we discussed above. Most importantly why I made the switch is due to the fact that it’s more enjoyable to write on a mechanical keyboard, I like how easily I can press down a key and I like the sound it makes when I do to let me know the key is registered.
If I ever get bored with my switches and want them to be a bit louder – I can change them, since the keyboard is hot-swappable.
So if you want to improve your speed just by a little bit or you want to improve your gaming just by a little bit – buying a mechanical keyboard with switches that require less actuation force might help you.
Related Articles:
Best Mechanical Keyboards Under $100
Why Mechanical Keyboards are better for Gaming
Few years back I started to work from home, I needed a keyboard, I researched mechanical keyboard from A to Z. After that I needed a monitor, after that I needed a mouse, after that I needed desk, chair and other accessories. I did so much research and I figured this can't all go to waste and I started writing about what I know. Keyboards, Monitors, Mouses and other accessories. You can also at WolfofTablet where I cover a lot of stuff about iPads and Android Tablets. In the free time I like to play PS5 and iOS games.