It’s a good day to kick your ho-hum plastic plank to the curb and upgrade to a feature-packed gaming keyboard. Right now, a pair of fully loaded, finger-friendly keyboards from Razer and HyperX are available at excellent prices.
Let’s start with the more affordable option. Walmart is currently selling the Razer Cynosa RGB keyboard for $35Remove non-product link. It’s $44 at Amazon right now, and the sticker price is $60.
This is a membrane keyboard, which means it doesn’t have the mechanical switches that are so popular with gamers and full-time typists. It does, however, pack some serious gamer bling, including Chroma RGB per-key backlighting controllable via Razer Synapse. The switches are ultra-low profile and the keyboard is spill-proof. Even without mechanical switches, Razer’s Cynosa should be a solid upgrade from whatever generic Logitech or Microsoft tapper you’re using now.
But anyone who wants to step into the world of mechanical keyboards can take a look at the HyperX Alloy Elite for $80 at Amazon. We thought this was a good effort from HyperX, but for its $170 original price tag, we didn’t love the massive size of its physical footprint and 1GB control software. At today’s price—the all-time low, and well below the usual $140—it’s well worth a look, however, because this thing is loaded.
The HyperX Alloy Elite rocks Cherry MX Red mechanical switches—our favorite. The buttons stand out from an exposed metal backplate for a premium feel. HyperX filled out the package with brilliant, fully customizable RGB LED backlighting, a volume roller, media keys, an integrated wrist rest, and USB passthrough.
[Today’s deals: Razer Cynosa Chroma for $35 at WalmartRemove non-product link, and the HyperX Elite RGB for $80 at Amazon.]