A gaming keypad is like a mini keyboard and was designed to enhance your gaming experience. It is more ergonomically friendly for gamers as it uses the usual “W,A,S,D” keys for movements alongside many other buttons.
Here are some of the best gaming keypad that we’ve curated from across the web.
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1. Razer Orbweaver Chroma
You can’t write an article on the best gaming keypad without a mention of the Orbweaver as it’s clearly one of the top out there. It not only has the flashiest design, but it’s also very convenient for gaming purposes.
Here are some of its features.
Tournament-grade precision
Razer is a well known gaming brand and they do have to live up to their standards.
This gaming keypad was made with the award winning mechanical switches that will improve your performance due to its speed and responsiveness.
Many programmable keys to choose from
You won’t run out of programmable keys on this Orbweaver as there are at least 20 mechanical keys that can be programmed for skills, hotkeys and macros.
You can also program the 8-way directional thumbpad for movements or as modifiers to improve your gaming experience.
Awesome customization feature
The Razer Chroma has an ergonomic design, which means your hand, thumb and palm has rest modules to allow you to customize the best gaming experience with your keypad.
With the most comfortable design, you can reduce fatigue while playing.
Customizable lighting on the Razer Chroma
As Razer is known for their lighting, this Orbweaver keypad is no exception. It has about 16.8 million color options on its programmable keys, and you can customize it with the Razer Synapse.
There are of course preloaded lighting effects to choose from but you can of course customize your own palette of colors. It’s all up to your personal preference.
Without a doubt, the Razer Orbweaver Chroma is one of the best gaming keypads in the market right now.
2. Acepha T9 Pro Gaming Keypad
Next on the list is a product by Acepha, which isn’t as well known as Razer but they do have great reviews too.
Here are some of its features and specifications.
Anti-ghosted keys and 16 keys rollover
It comes with 29 anti-ghosted keys that has a mechanical feel to it and swift responding keys. It also comes with 16 keys rollover to ensure that your command is accurate and fast.
Adjustable LED backlight
This Acepha keypad also has 7 LED lights to choose from. Sure, it’s not as good as the Razer but it’s probably a cheaper option. It comes in backlit colors like blue, yellow, green and red.
It may not exactly help your gaming performance but it does make the experience more exciting.
Designed for comfort
It is ergonomically designed for your hand and fingers, which allows you to prolong your gaming per day.
You can probably go on for hours without feeling much fatigue.
Compatible
It is compatible with many different Windows software so you should not face hiccups when installing it.
Very durable
It is built to be ultra durable as well, which means it can last for a long time. This gaming keypad should be able to withstand all kinds of yanks that may occur while you’re playing.
The USB connectors are also gold plated which means it can probably last a longer time.
The Acepha keypad may not be that well known but it’s a cheaper alternative to the Orbweaver.
3. aLLreLi T9 Plus Mechanical Keypad
This aLLreLi keypad is also a mechanical one and does have some impressive lighting on it.
Here are some of its features.
Fully mechanical
It uses mechanical keys and switches to make the gaming process more comfortable. It also has 10 colors for its backlit function.
Programmable keys
It has 29 programmable keys for you to customize as you like and improve your gameplay by a mile.
Ergonomic layout
It is designed for an ergonomic experience where you won’t feel that tired after a few hours of gaming. Its layout is comfortable for your palm to rest, for gaming and also for a great user experience.
Durable
Like other keypads, this aLLreLi is also said to be durable, by using an aluminium bottom cover with a golden USB port and a braided cable with magnetic ring.
4. Razer Tartarus V2
This Razer Tartarus V2 introduces new features to its line of gaming keypads. Here are some of the features specified.
Mecha-membrane
Tartarus V2 now uses a membrane rubber dome for each key, which gives it a cushioned touch to whoever’s using it.
It’s still using a mechanical switch which is awesome for gaming. The keys are also situated at mid-height which allows you to respond instantaneously.
32 programmable keys
The Tartarus V2 also comes with 32 different programmable keys which is an amazing feat for keypads.
You can program the keys for skills, macros and hotkeys. It also has an 8-way directional thumbpad for movement and command purposes.
Ergonomic design
This Razer keypad was designed to fit your hand comfortably, even for long hours. The palm rest is actually detachable which allows you to adjust for the right position of comfort.
Gamers usually play for hours at least, which makes this keypad a great comfortable option for prolonged gaming.
5. Delux T9 Gaming Keyboard
If the 32 programmable keys of Razer impressed you, here’s the Delux T9 with a whopping 46 keys! Do you really need that many buttons?
Here are some of its features.
46 keys
This keypad which doesn’t resemble any of those mentioned above has 46 different keys, but a big downside is that it’s not programmable.
Ergonomic design
It has a big non-slip mat for you to rest your wrist on. It has a double-space key, function keys and many other related keys for your gaming experience.
Recess type key
It has 4 different groups of special keys for gaming.
LED lights
It has 3 LED options that allow the keyboard to light up either dimly or brightly. The keys are regular sized keys, not mini keys.
The biggest downside to this product is probably that there are no programmable keys. Having said that, the already-programmed keys should fit your gaming experience as they were designed to do so.
6. Koolertron Cherry MX Programmable Gaming Keypad
Koolertron keypad has a distinct look to it, and differs from all of the keypads mentioned above.
Here are some of its features and specs.
43 programmable keys
With 43 programmable keys, you have lots of options for customization purposes. There are also 8 programmable macro based hardware on this device.
The huge number of programmable keys is perfect for many games, especially one that uses plenty of buttons.
Built in MCU
As it comes with a built-in MCU, all of the customizations are stored in the MCU.
Cherry MX black switches
The switches have a trigger travel of 1.5 mm and it comes with full anti-ghosting features to ensure accuracy and precision.
Portable mini keypad
As it’s small in size, it is suitable for saving some desktop space. You can even connect the usual keyboard together with this keypad at the same time, and it shouldn’t interfere with each other.
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7. Logitech G13
This Logitech keypad is similar-looking to the Delux T9 mentioned above, but the Logitech version looks so much better visually.
Some of the features of this gaming keypad:
25 programmable keys
This keypad has less programmable keys (25) compared to the others but 25 may actually be too many for some gamers.
These keys allows you to assign keyboard functions that are suitable to your style of play.
Customizable backlights
This G13 also comes with colorful backlighting and you are allowed to choose your own colors according to your preference.
Ergonomic design
Gaming can be a tiring feat without you consciously realizing, but with its ergonomic design, it allows you to prolong gaming without feeling fatigue.
The design naturally follows the shape of your hand and fingers.
Onboard memory
It also comes with onboard memory that lets you program up until 5 profiles, so that you can keep the personal preferences wherever you go.
8. Razer Nostromo Gaming Keypad
Another gaming keypad in the line of Razer merchandise is the Razer Nostromo. It’s an older model compared to the Tartarus.
Here are some of its features and specifications.
16 programmable keys
As it’s older, it only has 16 programmable hype-response gaming keys. Like other Razer keypads, it also has an 8-way directional thumb pad for rapid key actuation and a swift response.
You can use the thumbpad for movement or for modifiers.
New configuration software
With Razer’s configuration software, it is easy to customize all of the buttons on the device with any game command or key binding. It actually helps to improve your gaming performance.
Ergonomic layout
As usual, it has an ergonomic layout so that you won’t feel fatigued or strained so fast. It keeps you gaming for hours.
How to choose the best gaming keypad for yourself
With many keypads to choose from, how do you determine which is the best gaming keypad for you?
Most of the time, we’ll depend on reviews and that’s what I normally do. There are of course other factors to take into account.
One of them is price. A Razer gaming keypad would cost so much more than the other brands but it does look flashier and most of the time, they’re more reliable.
Having said that, if your budget is low, just get a low-priced product with the best reviews.
Another consideration is its features. For e.g. how many programmable keys it has.
If you don’t actually need to use many keys when you’re gaming, you don’t have to go after a keypad with plenty of programmable keys.
If you do use them, then you may want to check out brands like Koolertron that has 43 programmable keys. Otherwise, I would personally stick with Razer.
I doubt Steelseries sells any of these keypads at the time of writing. If they did, I would have gotten one from them.
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