[Hardware] What types of mechanical keyboards are there and how are they different?

[Draeno]

 

Currently in the market we have keyboards of different types, according to the needs we have. But it is that, in addition, we currently have different types of keyboard formats according to needs. When we talk about formats, we refer to different sizes. We will explain the different types of mechanical keyboards, which can be full format, TKL, 75% and other more compact formats. 

 

Index
What are the sizes or types of keyboards that exist?
full size or full size
Have Key Less or TKL
keyboard 75%
Format 65%
The 60% format
conclusion

 

Times have changed and the tastes and needs of users have also changed a lot. While there is an increasing trend to only use keyboards with mechanical switches, there is also a tendency to look for compact keyboards. Users increasingly want very compact keyboards that take up little space on the desktop.

What are the sizes or types of keyboards that exist?
If you are looking for a new gaming keyboard, surely you have seen that not all of them have the same design. Some appear with the denominations TKL (Ten Key Less) or that there are all the keys close together and the numerical keyboard is missing. Well, that's because there are different standardized keyboard layouts. We are going to explain these different formats and their main characteristics

full size or full size
These are the most common keyboards on the market and are usually the most demanded by users. Such keyboards include numeric keypad, function keys, arrow keys, and action keys (insert, home, end, etc). Some of these full keyboards add management keys, such as volume up/down, pause, and so on. Also, in some cases, they include additional keys that allow you to register different commands, also known as macro keys.

Within this range of products we have a huge variety of keyboards with different designs and features. The most basic ones usually have membrane switches or similar and the most focused on gaming usually use mechanical switches.

We can even find more or less compact full-size keyboards. This depends on the type of switches they use and the features each manufacturer wants to add. 

 

 

 

Have Key Less or TKL
It's basically a full-size keyboard with the number pad removed. They keep the action and direction keys, as well as the function keys. What this allows is to reduce the width of the keyboard.

This type of keyboard is quite common in the market, and you can find different variations of it. Some make them more compact and others add additional keys such as audio and lighting management keys.