Top 5 Gaming Keyboards of 2021!

what's up guys i'm random frank p and it's that time of year already today we're gonna be checking out the top five gaming keyboards from 2021 showing off some of the best and top sellers that came out this year now with black friday and cyber monday coming up literally next week hopefully you guys can catch some of these on sale all the keyboards still be listed for you in the description down below so you could check them out but also this could serve for a great you know wishlist idea and things to add for your wishlist this upcoming holiday season so it's a top five video but there's really nine keyboards today we've got some honorable mentions and you'll see in a minute so let's kick it off now coming in at number five for me is the asus falchion wireless 65 keyboard and i reviewed this back in march and has some really cool features that you don't really see from gaming companies on a pre-built like this which is why i was so impressed with it i really feel like this flew way under everyone's radar first up on the left side is this touch bar it can be used for volume control media playback programmer in the software it'll be other touch macros because it has five inputs just on this touch sensitive strip above that then on the top side is this light bar this is your battery level indicator it'll do things like pulse let you know when it gets to a certain battery percentage you can also just have it synced to the rgb lighting you can configure what the light bar does in their software but a pretty cool addition and speaking of which another great thing they included is this dust cover and tray this polycarbonate tray and cover can be used to protect the top of the keyboard when you're not using it to sort of you know shield it from dust but also it can be used as like a secondary case you just put your keyboard in it it'll diffuse rgb lighting on the side and look pretty cool there's even a cutout on the left side so you can still access that touch bar as well as on the back there's a cutout for the power button and the usbc charging port again this isn't like a world shattering thing it's just a nice bonus from asus that i think looks really nice with the brushed metal finish inside is also this grippy rubber so it won't scratch the board when you're using it we do have pbt keycaps with rgb shining through lettering in front printed legends for your f row and you can see things like you know media playback controls rgb macros all printed here on the front of the caps now inside the fashion is cherry red switches they do also sell these in cherry blue and brown and recently they released this with their own line of asus rog nx switches in their blue red and brown equivalent they also lubed their stabilizers which is always a nice effort from a company now we'll do a sound test with these cherry red switches and we'll do a sound test for every keyboard coming up in this list you can hear how it sounds so this comes in at 130 and again for me it's all about the effort i love what asus did with thinking outside the box literally giving us innovative features you don't usually see and the fact that it's 65 so you can still have arrow keys and it's wireless all just left a really great impression on me when i first picked it up and reviewed it next up at number four is the razer black widow v3 mini hyper speed keyboard but this is their special phantom edition the difference here versus the regular v3 mini hyper speed is we have their phantom keycaps which is razer's sort of stealthy take at pudding keycaps but here i dig it's a darker diffused material when the lights are off with the clear legends it's nice and stealthy and it's not until the leds are on that it actually does shine through so you can choose to go that matte stealthy look or have the full chroma shell really taking a look at it definitely has that razor aesthetic it matches their other black widow products but now they're being wireless that'll obviously give your desktop a nice clean look with less cables now like i said with the 65 layout you get the extra keys on the right above the arrow keys and it's also labeled as m1 through m4 here so in synapse you can assign these to be secondary functions and act as macros and this extended 65 layout is definitely one of my favorites for that reason especially since i just have no use for a numpad now in terms of switches they do sell this in their razer green which is the popular clicky switch but they also have it in the new silent linear option with the razer yellow switch which is what i have in my regular v3 mini unit so you can choose between clicky greens and linear yellows for this sound test i'll do a mini typing test on both keyboard to get an idea for how each switch sounds so not bad overall pretty typical for my green clicky switch but the yellows nice and damp and they feel very very smooth but yes the space bar and the stabilizers definitely rattly could use some work but unfortunately that's sort of common with these gaming pre-builts now the main reason i have this at number four in my list and not better is because the price tag at 180 bucks is definitely a lot sort of too much for a pre-built gaming keyboard all that said though it's still a pretty good buy it's got 200 hours of battery life the wireless connectivity is great with the razer hyper speed it also has a bluetooth connection if you want to use that you can also just use it wired if you want two different switches to pick from loving the phantom keycaps and i think it does enough to warrant a spot on the best of the year list again this phantom edition is the way to go next at number three may shock some people you probably didn't see this one coming this is the l80 cosmic traveler from iquinix and let me tell you they've done some really impressive stuff this year with keyboards you're gonna remember me giving you this heads up when they explode onto the scene in 2022 trust me so this cosmic traveler keyboard is a special edition of their l80 lime releases it's a compact 75 layout has an incline towards the back with the f row and given it's a themed keyboard you can see this space theme with the astronaut keycaps and stuff like that but they actually include a bunch of extra themed novelty keys inside the box which is a really nice surprising bonus usually extra sets of novelties are like 40 to 60 bucks when you're looking at like a gmk set or something but here they just give you a bunch already as alternative sets now it is all plastic and usually you don't love that when you're talking you know best of the year but they make up for it in almost every regard and first is their tuning not only are the stabilizers upgraded from the original co-star to cherry plate mount now but these are perfectly lubed to avoid any rattle they're nice and smooth and then under the space bar they also added this little pad this is how the spacebar can sort of you know bounce off of that to avoid any harsh resonance and even inside the keyboard there's now a felt dampener to absorb that more plasticky sound now cherry on top for many is we have a hot spot pcb but not only is it hot swap it's a 5 pin south facing which means you can use pretty much any switch on the market you won't have to worry about you know keycap interference with cherry profile caps so for me here in my unit i have their ttc speed silver switch and they actually have 10 different switch types you can pick from and also you can choose to get this board with or without rgb lighting save you guys a few bucks uh spoiler the rgb in here is pretty dim overall since these stock keycaps aren't shined through so you want to save the money you know go without rgb i mean hot swap keyboards are definitely becoming more popular yes but i think iclinics here did it right but it's just a super super impressive upgrade from their other previous keyboards i think they really delivered in giving us a solid pre-built that not only looks unique but sounds fantastic stock out of the box so again inside my unit are there ttc speed silver switches nice and light great for gaming with them being a faster linear switch so we'll do a sound test now of the cosmic traveler i mean that's all stock no further modifications i think it's really really good sounds good feels good they did a killer job some other additions is you have a 2.4 gigahertz wireless connection also has bluetooth built in you can use it wired with usbc so again three different points of connectivity hotspot pcb 5 pin all just really really great stuff that sounds so good stock out of the box now pricing for this is kind of weird because again you have so many different options between the 10 different switches in rgb and no rgb availability so it ranges anywhere from like 160 to 220 depending on your configuration which is pricey yes but i think all all things considered here with the amount of options in the final product this pre-built is hands down one of the best out there stock out of the box without you needing to crack into it and do any further modifications they nailed it with this special themed cosmic edition now coming in at number two is a keyboard that i've had stuck in shipping for like two weeks now i don't have it yet but i've seen some reviews i talked to some people who i trust very very much and we're gonna toss it to optimum tech for the number two spot hey what's up guys ali here and i quickly want to tell you about the new ducky one three mini this is a keyboard which i recently reviewed on my channel and honestly i'm pretty surprised with it i think this is one of the best typing experiences that you can get both out of the box and around the 120 dollar mark i think this is specifically good for the group of people who are kind of exactly that they just want a good keyboard out of the box they don't want to spend a bunch of money on something that's custom like this and they also don't want to spend a bunch of time modding their keyboard and tearing it apart ducky have done a really good job here with the 1 3 series so that modding really isn't required and at 120 dollars it's a really great value board in terms of the main upgrades over the 1 2 mini firstly there is now a thin layer of foam underneath the pcb and there's also a thicker layer between the pcb and the plate it does look super cheap and basic but this foam goes a long way in making the board sound a lot less hollow than the one two mini and the next main upgrade is of course the completely spot pcb that means that removing and swapping the switches and installing something that's a bit more premium maybe a set of lube switches for example that can so easily be done a keycap and switch remover are included in the box and swapping out the switches is super quick and easy really my only complaint with this keyboard and probably why most people will get the one three sf instead is the fact that it lacks the physical arrow keys which despite it being a very compact 60 keyboard those physical arrow keys would have been possible so yeah that is a bit of a shame the arrow keys are not really important when it comes to gaming but hey for day-to-day use and editing for example i would recommend going with the 1 3sf instead of course you can still use the arrow keys on this board and the media keys and the rgb functionality that is activated on a separate layer by holding the function key the color way that we have here is called daybreak and it's definitely pretty unique most people will probably want something a bit more neutral but for that we'll have to wait a little bit longer and lastly here is a quick typing test to get an idea of what the board sounds like this one is using cherry mx clear switches which i'm honestly not a big fan of probably want to go for something like a red or a silver switch if you're going to be using this for gaming but of course you can put whatever switch you want in here since this is a hot swap keyboard so again great to see ducky really listen to community feedback over the years since they released the one two mini and give us a hot swap keyboard great sound dampening and all together the one three mini seems like a killer killer keyboard can't wait to get my hands on it once it finally gets delivered it's been stuck like i said for two weeks but shout out to optimum tech definitely check out his channel if you haven't already and he did a great review on it and it was definitely worthy of being number two today now for number one and don't tune out right after this remember like i said we have honorable mentions coming up number one is a tie we have two different keyboards but let me explain it'll make more sense and let me pick them up because they're big boys for number one the tie spot is between the gmk pro and the kikron q1 so i'll break it all down for you guys but for starters both keyboards are in the 75 form factor and they look nearly identical at first but each board has its own personality and subtle differences that make each its own worthy release and i'll first begin with you know taking a look at the gmk pro separately they sell this both in a black slate and a white ice unit which is more like silver and it's a bare bones kit they call it so it does come assembled out of the box you don't need to like build it up from the plate and pcb and all that but you do need to finish it off and buy your own choice of switches and a keycap set separately one great feature is it comes with a rotary knob on the top right hand side which is great for using it for like you know volume control zooming in and out or scrubbing a timeline it's all programmable here and we have their own lubed goat stabilizers already installed are they are pcb screw-in for extra stability if you will and we have a color matching gasket mount hotspot pcb inside for both units which does support five pin switches in the south facing orientation which means like i said before won't be any interference issues with certain key cap sets and you can use pretty much any switch you want build wise the gmk pro is a chunker it weighs 3.3 pounds out of the box from its fully cnc aluminum body and again that's you know bare bones there's no switches and caps even installed yet it does come with the stock aluminum plate inside although you can choose to buy either a brass or a polycarbonate plate as well but that's separate so the main thing here with the gmk pro is this at 169 you get a solid bare bones kit that you still need to fully build out with your own choice of switches and key caps you do have crazy rgb with some side glow as well the built-in rotary dial you can also swap out with other colors and materials again sort of color match it if you want it's got usbc other played options available if you want to customize it a pretty solid bare bones kit on the other hand is the kikron q1 similar layout in terms of design but for 169 dollars plus shipping you get a fully pre-built keyboard that does come with switches and color matching keycaps on the site you can pick from either a black navy or silver color option plus a choice of their three phantom red brown or blue switches again completely built for you already out of the box for 170 but you can choose to buy a bare bones kit for 150 if you'd like kikron also gives you a stock coiled aviator cable inside the box and since the q1 is both mac and pc compatible they include a set of eight extra keycaps for you with the appropriate os modifiers and a few extras as well and they do that because on the back side is a dedicated mac and windows sort of switcher which will automatically toggle between different preset layers for that os you can control like screen brightness and stuff on your mac if you want although don't game on a mac right so where this differs from the gmk pro is the lack of exciting rgb if you will plus there's no light bars on the sides of the keyboard in stock there is no rotary dial on the top right we just have a badge in this spot but you can also choose to like design your own badge on their site for 10 bucks you want like your logo there or something or you can just remove the badge all together and add an extra key switch here since again it's entirely hot swap 5 pin pcb although they did say that a rotary knob is right around the corner but they said that like three months ago as well the area they both differ in which is why i have them at a tie right here it's going to come down to your preference and sound profile for the gmk pro i can't stress enough how solid materials wise this is it's heavier it feels more premium i'd say but also those properties really dead in the sound of your switch and takes away the distinctive sound profile of a lot of your switches out there on the other hand the q1 is more hollow and has this nasty metallic resonance to the keyboard stock however it's much easier to mod by taking it apart you can also add like foam inside they include some for you which will absorb that hollow sound and the q1 has a proper gasket mounting method so you have this really nice natural flex to your board when typing not the board itself but the pcb it's a really nice feel so we'll do the sound test now before my final thoughts on these two keyboards and then get into the runner-ups um like i said before in this q1 i have their phantom brown switches which are stock lubed tactile switches and then in the gmk pro i have their lubed uh glorious holy panda switches glorious panda switches also lube tactiles you okay so bringing it back around for my wrap-up of these two and as you heard from that sound test they're pretty distinct in each of their own keyboard right so like i said before gmmk pro feels more premium out of the box you have to buy your switches you have to buy your keycaps all at extra you know cost in the end but it is a more premium feeling keyboard that deadens the overall characteristic and sound of your switches because the cnc body is just so thick and heavy and full whereas on the q1 if you want to customize it crack it open add some foam other mods you have a lot more potential because it is so hollow where you can still get that more characteristic sound out of your switches without having to completely deaden it and it still has that really nice flex and if you don't want to you know put that much effort into it what did i say 170 plus shipping and it's got switches and key caps for you so depending on what you're looking for depending on what you want to do how much more work you want to put into it you have those both options and that's why they're both number one on my list today now three honorable mentions rounding out our list of top of 2021 is going to be the fnatic streak 65 lp this is actually a new version from the 2020 model and it has some nice upgrades this year i really did want to fit this onto my top five but since it is just a re-release from last year's model i figured i'd at least still fit it into the honorable mention spot first it's now all white and looks super clean the rgb just comes to life reflecting off the aluminum plate i think it looks killer the 65 layout returns but now we have improved keycaps with them being low profile double shot pbt they added an internal layer of sound dampening foam for better acoustics and they give you a color matching white coiled usbc cable inside the box to use with it inside it uses their speed low profile switches they're 35 percent lower in profile and have just one millimeter of pre-travel again nice and light great for gaming and stabilizers are also lubed and the whole package all together for 120 i think is a fantastic price it's a great option out there looks feels and sounds really great for that price of 120. and by the way i'll do the sound test of all three runner-ups at the end of the honorable mention segment next is the hyperx origin 60. and at its core if i'm being honest it's nothing too too special but it's just another solid option out there for those who want a more compact 60 mechanical keyboard it's entirely aluminum nice build has double shot ppt keycaps with side printing for all your secondary functions since you know it's 60 it comes in just their hyperx red linear switch and includes a nice novelty space bar of this topographic pattern which as i'm sure you know i'm partial to again nothing mind-blowing here i feel like hyperx kind of played it safe with this release and it probably would have been higher up on my list or you know better ranked if this was available with their aqua switch option which i love a pretty good option out there 96 keyboard and it comes in at 100 bucks then last on the honorable mentions list is the new release of the razer huntsman tkl v2 the original tournament edition tkl was extremely popular when it came out in 2019 and this actually has five changes and upgrades from that model first are their dampened optical linear switches you can see on each side of the red stem there are these two little silicone pads embedded into the switch itself which will help out with acoustics in the sound profile second change is the actual inclusion of a dampening pad inside the keyboard to yet again help absorb any high-pitched resonance that was definitely plaguing that first model third change to go right along with that is the rubber pads that are installed on the standoffs inside which are underneath all the stabilizers too you guessed it help the sound profile fourth change is the keyboard now has an 8 000 hertz pulling rate with their new chip inside which is over the 1000 hertz that most keyboards have it'll technically be faster especially when you combine it with their optical switch but pulling rate i think is uh more important when it comes to gaming mouse not so much on keyboards and the fifth and final change is the inclusion of a padded wrist rest this new v2 comes in at 160. all right guys so that'll wrap it up for the top five gaming keyboards of 2021 even though it's more so top nine but again with black friday and cyber monday coming up hopefully you can snag some deals save some money use this to build your holiday wish list send this to your parents be like hey give me one of these keyboards and like i said before everything you saw today will be listed for you in the description down below so you can check it out if you like this video give it a big thumbs up show your support feel free to follow me on twitter at randomfrankp at last if you haven't already hit that subscribe button we have a ton of holiday content and top fives coming out right around the corner i'm random frank p hope you enjoyed have a good day

Channel: randomfrankp

Views: 1,183,245

Keywords: randomfrankp, 2021, gaming keyboard, best gaming keyboard, best gaming keyboard 2021, ASUS Falchion 65, best wireless keyboard, rgb keyboard, custom keyboard, Razer Blackwidow V3 Mini, razer phantom keyboard, iQuinix Cosmic Traveler, iquinix l80, Ducky One 3 Mini, ducky one 3 mini rgb, 65 keyboard, GMMK Pro, gmmk pro, gmmk pro build, Keychron Q1, gmmk pro keyboard, gmmk pro vs keychron q1, glorious keyboard, keychron, mechanical, Razer Huntsman V2 TK, under $100, 65%, 75%, 80%

Id: sOhcxw6UuIg

Length: 25min 52sec (1552 seconds)

Published: Fri Nov 19 2021