Looking for silent keyboard for gaming - mechanical or membrane? Any recs?

[nikki99]

or the last few years I've been gaming on a Das Keyboard (not sure exactly which model tbh) and this thing is seriously loud. I'm constantly waking my girlfriend up who's in the same room and even my roommates hear it with my door closed.

So, I need a keyboard that is as quiet as I can possibly make it but I'm also hesitant to buy a totally unresponsive piece of garbage that will just break in a few months. I know mechanical keyboards are much better for gaming in general but also louder for the most part. Are membrane keyboards total ****e for gaming? Any recommendations or help is appreciated!

TL;DR - need a quiet keyboard that I'll use to game, open to mechanical or membrane suggestions. Also not looking to drop $150 on a keyboard, but have pretty flexible price range.

[killyou]

The only thing about being a good keyboard for gaming is NKRO and quick activation of the switch. If a keyboard is comfortable for you and registers all keys being pressed then there you go, that's your gaming keyboard. If it comes to recommendations your only option is finding a board with Cheery MX Silent Red.

[Venaros]

Get a keyboard with silent switches.

[1391401]

There's degrees of quiet.  If you have a Das Keyboard with MX Blue switches that will be very loud as they are designed to emit an audible click.  Any other non-clicky switch will not do that.  Then people take it further and silence those switches but you may not have to go that far.  Any board with an MX Brown switch will feel similar without the click (it has a tactile bump) or MX Black for no tactility.  There are other switches too (Red, Clear, as well as non-cherry switches, etc.) to choose from to further customize your experience.  As killyou mentioned it's all preference so it's really up to you as to what feels right.  Sometimes you can visit Best Buy and try out switches (if they sell those kinds of boards) and you can buy switch testers to further refine your decision.

[Riverman]

If you're gaming with your girlfriend in the room, I'd think that most any un-silenced MX switch would be out of the question.  If you like linear switches, the silenced MX switches are very quiet for an MX switch.  Personally, I thought the silent reds were too light, but I type on mine all day, and don't play games with it.  The silent blacks worked much better for my use.  Both silent switches I've had were in Cherry G80-3000 keyboards.  The G80 is big, and a little cheap feeling, but the keycaps are nicer than anything you'll find on a gamer board, and you can find used or open box ones for less than $100 on eBay fairly frequently.  Those switches always seem to command a premium in the few higher-end keyboards that offer them as options, like Filco, Ducky, or Varmilo.

[Polymer]

Leopold 750r pd with silent mx.

One of the best stock keycaps you can get..and combined with the switch they are pretty quiet yet feel really nice....

[shadowku]

Leopold 750r pd with silent mx.

One of the best stock keycaps you can get..and combined with the switch they are pretty quiet yet feel really nice....

This is probably the best recommendations for OP. It's a well built keyboard at a relatively low price, and it's still a well endorsed keyboard on this forum. A Filco Majestouch with silent switches would be pretty comparable but they're more expensive than the FC750R.


However.. even with stock silent MX switches, it'll still produce enough sound to wake an average person if you're gaming. Especially if you start pressing really hard.
With any keyboard, to get really silent, you need to mod it.
For silent switches, you need to lube the switches and the stabs. This will require opening up the keyboard and each individual switch which voids warranty.
For Topre, you need to open it up and add silencing rings (Silent-X) and maybe lube if you're up for it (not as necessary). This will require opening up the keyboard and popping out the sliders which voids warranty.

[sashko098]

Get a cherry mx silent and lube it
It is the quitest keyboard ever...
Just look typing test

[mlev6]

go mechanical or electro-capacitative. Avoid membrane - there are good ones but they are either very expensive or old - all the new keyboards with membranes are generally trash.
for mechanical I agree the silent reds are a good choice. (have not tried mx speed silver for comparison yet though).

the electro capacitative switches are even smoother and are on a wooting keyboard or a varmilo rose ec (these can be more expensive though).

my fingers don't mind heavier keys though and I like lubed halo trues for what people consider normally the domain of red switches though lol.

[Venaros]

for mechanical I agree the silent reds are a good choice. (have not tried mx speed silver for comparison yet though).

Silvers are pretty loud in comparison to silent reds. They feel pretty much the same except for the silvers having a shorter travel and without the mushy bottom out.