The Best Keyboards For CS:GO 2023: An Ultimate Guide

Gaming devices are a very important component that helps the player to reach their full potential. The keyboard is one of them. At the moment, the market provides us with a huge selection of keyboards, and many people are wondering how to choose the right one. In this article, we will tell you about the types of keyboards and their functionality and make a tier list of the best CS:GO keyboards.

Why Do You Need a Good Keyboards for CS:GO?

To become the best CS player is not always enough just to play well. When playing two rivals equal in skill, the score goes to milliseconds, and in most cases, the winner will be the one who has better devices, including a keyboard.

It will be very embarrassing if an important key stops working for you at the crucial moment of the match. You will have to rebind the game function to another key, sacrificing comfort and putting yourself in a deliberately disadvantageous position.

Of course, if you have a spare keyboard, you can quickly replace a damaged one. Perhaps you have already seen this at large CS:GO tournaments, where a pro player’s device broke down, and they made a kind of “pit stop” for him, and he continued to play. But generally, that kind of situation at the pro level is extremely rare because players carefully approach the selection of their keyboards and other devices.

What Keyboards Do CS:GO Players Use?

The choice of a keyboard for playing CS:GO is quite an individual thing. As for the pro players, many of them choose certain devices based on sponsorship contracts. Here is a list of the top three HLTV players and the keyboards they use:

• Oleksandr “⁠s1mple⁠” Kostyliev – Logitech G715 Wireless Mechanical Gaming Keyboard – White Mist

• Mathieu “⁠ZywOo⁠” Herbaut – Wooting 60 HE

• Dmitry “⁠sh1ro⁠” Sokolov – Logitech G915 TKL White

As you may have noticed, every player on the list uses a mechanical keyboard. However, using a mechanical one is not necessarily a must (although it generally performs better for gaming). As we said above, choosing a keyboard is purely subjective. To help you select, let’s compare them.

Membrane vs Mechanical Keyboard

The principle of operation of the membrane keyboard is as simple as possible. At the very bottom, there is a substrate with contacts, and on top, there is a cone-shaped membrane. When you press the key, it causes pressure on the membrane and closes the contact. Thus, the membrane keyboard registers your click.

The main disadvantages of this type of keyboard:

• You must press the keys for 100% registration of pressing.
• Over time, the membrane stretches, which can later lead to partial or complete inoperability of the key.
• Can’t customize keys.

Advantages of a membrane keyboard:

• Moisture and water-resistant.
• More compact in height and makes less noise.

The mechanical keyboard, in its principle of operation, is fundamentally different from the membrane. At the very top are removable keycaps, and there are switches. A switch is a mechanism that is responsible for registering your clicks. The switch consists of a body, a stem with a slider, contacts, and a spring.

If the switch breaks down, you can replace it without problems, and the whole mechanism is much more reliable than the membrane.

The main advantages of a mechanical keyboard:

• The safety margin of switches.
• The ability to independently replace failed switches.
• Ability to customize keys.
• Ability to set up a separate backlight for each key.

Minuses:

• Whiter noisy than membrane.

The choice is yours, but as practice shows, mechanical keyboards are more suitable for gaming. As for the players in CS:GO, they all, with rare exceptions, use mechanical ones, and there is a simple explanation for this.

Why Pro Players are Using Mechanical Keyboards for CS:GO

The keys on a mechanical keyboard work even when pressed halfway. That provides speed and accuracy, which is literally vital in such a dynamic game as CS. It’s not only about the response delay but also about the human factor – the reaction.

The second main reason why mechanical and not membrane is that you won’t miss clicking. If you can carry out pressure on the membrane with the weight of a finger, then on the mechanical one, you need to apply a little effort. Thus, according to statistics, miss clicks on a mechanical keyboard rarely occur, and in most cases, it is the fault of the player, not the device.

The keyboard should simplify the gameplay, not complicate it. That is why the pros play on the best devices.

List of The 8 Best CS:GO Keyboards

Our team has prepared for you a list of the best keyboards at the moment. We should also say that this is not a tier list, and here the devices are not ranked from best to worst. We will tell you a few words about these devices, their features, and which pro players use them.

SteelSeries Apex 3

Full-size membrane keyboard in the design of the Apex line. The case is made of high-quality plastic, and the durability is just as impressive as for a membrane keyboard with 20 million keystrokes. The white substrate under the buttons is made to increase the brightness of the backlight.

The appearance is quite attractive, neat with smooth lines in which there is nothing superfluous. If you might not like the palm rest, but it’s removable, that’s not a problem either.

As for the players, we have not found any information that this keyboard model has been used so far. Players have switched to new models of the Apex line and, apparently, we can say that it is quite popular.

Almost all of the current Faze Clan roster, except for Twistzz, use this line of keyboard. This keyboard costs $55. If you don’t like mechanical keyboards then you need to try SteelSeries Apex 3.

Asus ROG Strix Flare

The mechanical keyboard is made of high-quality plastic and has a rather interesting design. Switches type MX Brown, and there are also versions with Silent Red, Blue, and Speed Silver. In the kit, you will receive a palm rest as well as a transparent acrylic plate on which you can put your logo or inscription.

For those who don’t like gray plastic, there is RGB backlighting, and not only the keys are illuminated, but also the area around them and on the sides of the keyboard. This backlight system can synchronize with other products from Asus and may change depending on what is happening on the screen.

At the expense of pro scenes, not a single pro player uses such a keyboard from Asus now. That does not mean the keyboard is bad, but apparently, there are better options. The price of this product starts from $41, depending on the type of switch. However, this keyboard is perfect for streamers or people who want to stand out and have their style.

Razer Huntsman V2 / V2 TKL

From our entire list, this is probably the most sophisticated and most technologically advanced keyboard. The design of the keyboard is “Skeleton”, which means that all the switches under the keycaps are visible.

Keyсaps are made of PBT plastic, double shot technology, which makes it impossible to damage the character engraving. This instance does not have any additional buttons like disabling the Windows key, but this is not necessary. In this keyboard, you can configure up to four functions on one key!

Switches are optical and made by Razer. Using the software, the switch laser can be adjusted to different pressure heights from 1.5 to 3.6 mm. That is, if the speed of pressing is important to you, set the minimum value. You can also set another function for the same key just to a different pressing threshold.

This keyboard has a huge number of users among pro players. The entire NiP roster, as well as HooXi, Twistzz, shox, and many other players, use this device. The price of this monster is from $189 to $199. This is one of the best variants for gamers, but it’s not the only one.

Corsair K100 RGB

Optical-mechanical gaming keyboard, the same as the previous one in the list but with less functionality. It comes with two different types of Cherry MX Speed and OPX Optical switches. It also comes with a soft palm holder.

A distinctive feature of this product is an incredibly beautiful adjustable RGB backlight, which is also made on the back of the device and illuminates the desktop in the dark. On the left side of the keyboard, there are special buttons for binds that you can configure using the software. The sound from pressing is quite loud, but many like it.

Not the most popular device in the pro scene, but there are a few players that like this device nonetheless. Almost the whole BiG team, as well as Calyx, XANTARES, and CRUC1AL, play on the K line from Corsair. The price of the device is $249.99 on the official site. Whether it’s worth the money is up to you.

Now, we move on to one of the most popular keyboard brands on the pro scene of CS:GO.

Logitech G915 TKL

Wireless mechanical low-profile keyboard with a fairly significant battery capacity. Compact with a minimalist design, it is made with reinforced steel and brushed aluminum on the top. Glorious type switches are low profile.

At the slightest pressure (50g), the switches push all the way, which is an important component for gamers. Keycaps’ material is ABS double-shot plastic. The backlight is bright enough but does not dazzle the eyes. You can set standard RGB lighting effects or make your own in the software. Incredibly quiet in use.

Among all pro players in CS:GO, 65.81% play on Logitech devices. The entire Na’Vi team plays on the G715 (the previous version of the keyboard). As for the Logitech G915 TKL, players such as Spinx, Grim, Brehze, supra, and many others use it.

The price of this keyboard varies from $199 to $229, depending on the type of pattern. If, for some reason, you do not like this device, then we advise you to consider the following two options.

Cooler Master CK552

Full-size wired mechanical keyboard. There is also a TKL version. It looks neat without additional buttons on the sides and unnecessary functions. The case of the keyboard is made of brushed metal and the bottom is matte plastic.

Keycaps’ material is ABS plastic, with Geteron-type switches under. RGB backlighting is done interestingly with an extensive selection of modes and customizable software. The game behaves as standard, like any mechanic, with full control of the character.

Among the players in the CS, we found this keyboard only in one, and it was in the Turkish player woxic , who is currently a free agent. The price of the keyboard is $119. Not very popular but worth your attention, as the next keyboard on our list.

MSI Vigor GK40

Rounding out our list is MSI’s Vigor GK40 full-size gaming membrane keyboard. The case is quite large with an aggressive and angular design. Although it is a membrane one, it has something similar to switches, but by the principle of operation, it is still a standard membrane.

The keyboard has RGB backlighting with eight types of effects and three brightness levels.

Since almost no one uses a membrane keyboard on the professional stage, this one is no exception. But as an option, in case you don’t like mechanical keyboards, it’s pretty good at $30. The choice is yours.

Factors to Consider When Choosing a Keyboards for CS:GO

As we said earlier, the selection of a keyboard is a purely individual thing. It should depend on the tasks that your device should perform. For CS:GO, it is incredibly important that the keyboard responds quickly to pressing and is reliable enough. With interchangeable switches and keycaps.

That is why the best choice for gamers would be a mechanical or optical-mechanical keyboard. Optical-mechanical will be more expensive, but its settings are much wider than other types offer.

When choosing a particular keyboard, first of all, you need to set your budget and needs. It’s useless to buy an expensive keyboard, for example, if you have outdated hardware. It is better to buy something that will improve your gameplay the most, for example, change your 60hz monitor to 144hz.

Without a doubt, the keyboard is an important component of the gaming peripherals, but far from the most important.

To Wrap Up!

Mechanical keyboards dominate the gaming industry. Although the difference between mechanical and membrane keyboards is not so big, pro players use mechanical keyboards. Their functionality is wider, and they are more convenient in the game.

You can replace all failed keys independently. Choosing what to play for you, the main thing is that you feel comfortable. If you liked this article, we advise you to visit our blog . Here you will be the first to know about news from the world of CS and find a lot of useful information.