In today’s world, choosing the right gear could mean the difference between glorious victory and bitter defeat. We’ve seen an unprecedented number of mechanical gaming keyboards being pumped out left and right this year. Nowadays, gaming brands are just as competitive as your favorite eSports teams when it comes to providing the best gaming gear at affordable price points.
In our humble opinion, the best gaming keyboards need to have all the sweet RGB lighting modes, macro capabilities, solid build quality, clean design, and last but not the least: durable mechanical switches that provide that tactile feel we all know and love. You’ve probably already spent a lot of money investing in that beast of a GPU and processor, and we don’t want you to skimp out on peripherals, so we’ve gathered a list of keyboards with the best performance and features for the lowest prices.
Our criteria for this category is simple and straightforward: “What are some of the best keyboards you can get without breaking the bank? What products are pro-consumer in the sense that they provide uncompromising quality and performance despite its competitive price?”
Best Gaming Keyboards Reviews [year]
Tecware Phantom RGB – Php 2,100
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The Tecware Phantom RGB is the most affordable keyboard on this list of nominees, but that doesn’t mean it has the least amount of features. The fact that this product is priced at Php 2,100 makes it all the more compelling.
The Tecware Phantom RGB features Outemu mechanical switches, which many consider to be one of the closest Cherry MX clones. The keyboard is also capable of 16.8 million colors with 18 different lighting modes, software control, and an aluminum bezel-less body, and fully modular switches, meaning you can replace the mechanical switches if you so choose. The package also comes with a keycap puller, a switch puller, and spare mechanical switches. Talk about great value.
Asus Cerberus Mech RGB – Php 4,000
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While this product is certainly not the flashiest keyboard from ASUS, they’ve really ramped up their Cerberus line of peripherals with this latest offering. To us, this not being overly flashy is actually a good thing as we tend to gravitate towards more minimalist products. This one is one of the most affordable keyboards you can find coming from a top-tier brand like ASUS.
The Asus Cerberus Mech is a bare bones mechanical keyboard priced at Php 4,000. This is the most expensive keyboard on this list and arguably the one with the best build quality. It features 16.8 million colors with numerous lighting modes via software control, macro recording, Kailh mechanical switches, an aluminum alloy body with a matte rubber finish, and a very clean design.
RK ROYAL KLUDGE – Php 2,695
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If you’re a gamer that is keen on supporting a local tech brand of uncompromising price to performance value, then the Rakk Kimat XT.2 might be your next mechanical keyboard. The RK ROYAL KLUDGE has an incredible reputation to live up to, because the original Rakk Kimat has become the weapon of choice for many Filipino gamers nationwide since its release.
The RK ROYAL KLUDGE is priced at Php 2,695 and is packed with a lot of features you’d expect to see in a premium keyboard that costs three times as much. The keyboard boasts 16.8 million colors with 20 different lighting modes via its finetuner software, aluminum and steel finish, macro recording, Gateron mechanical switches (Blue or Brown), edge RGB lighting, side printed laser carved keycaps, and a built-in cable routing system.
Gamdias Hermes E2 TKL – Php 2,040
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For the low price of just Php 2,040, the Gamdias Hermes E2 TKL mechanical gaming keyboard is another great budget option that stands out from the crowd of affordable mechanical keyboards. The small, simple, and elegant keyboard with an aluminum body has 7-color per-key backlighting, multimedia keys, full N-key rollover, and WASD arrow key swap.
The keyboard boasts Gamdias certified mechanical switches in red, blue, brown, or black. The product is literally plug and play and you’ll be ready to game in no time at all as soon as you take it out of the box. The build quality and premium input feel are definitely things you’d expect on a keyboard with a much higher price tag, but the Gamdias Hermes E2 TKL delivers this at a very low price.
Redragon KALA K557 RGB – Php 2,150
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The Redragon KALA K557 RGB mechanical gaming keyboard is a very basic product that focuses on the essential things the gaming enthusiast desires. While not having extra embellishments and premium features, what the KALA does, it does very well. The Kala boasts Outemu mechanical switches, which feel and sound very similar to Cherry MX mechanical switches. While some would argue that Outemu is very different from the industry standard, we feel that they are quite comparable in terms of quality.
Aesthetics is not the KALA’s strongest suit, but its build quality and tactile feel are top-notch. The aluminum keyboard also has proprietary software that allows you to control macro recording and RGB lighting modes. If you’re looking for your first ever mechanical keyboard, a bare-bones keyboard such as the Redragon KALA k557 RGB might be the one for you.