PC Gamer Hardware Awards: The best gaming keyboard of 2024

Keychron Q3 Max
This incredibly stylish keyboard is definitely one for the touch typers, as the legends are located on the side of the keycaps, rather than the top. If you're at all like me, and you're a speedy-ish typist but definitely not someone who ever figured out touch typing all the way, such an elegant design choice could present a real conundrum; either this keeb will be the motivating factor you need to finally hammer home the lessons of Disney Learning: Adventures in Typing with Timon & Pumbaa, or it will cause some catastrophic typos.

As for the all important keys themselves, they're a pretty delectable rounded shape, with hot swappable switches. So while the sample that Reece reviewed came with dreamy Gateron Jupiter Red switches, you can easily swap them out for your switch of choice. Go on, hot swap those bad boys out—I'll look after the keycaps.

Read our full Keychron Q3 Max review.

Kinesis Gaming Freestyle Edge RGB
One fun thing about mechanical keyboards is that a good, solid CLACK makes everything you type carry a vague sense of import. However, it's a novelty that wears off all too quickly when an achy back crowds out the sense of fun. Enter this split-keyboard from Kinesis.

Two keyboard halves placed apart offers a shot at better posture. Your wrists may well thank you for it too as Kinesis offers a separately sold 'lift kit' that allows you to give both halves an adjustable 'tenting' effect in order to avoid holding your wrist at an unnatural angle for long periods.

That additional $30 for the full ergonomic experience aside, an array of delicious Cherry MX key sets to choose from make this a tasty morcel that's tricky to pass up. Typing on this mechanical keyboard has that all important CLACK, but the split design coupled with the onboard RGB lighting also feels slightly sci-fi without causing wrist pain.

Read our full Kinesis Gaming Freestyle Edge RGB review.

SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen 3
For anyone with a laser-focussed keyboard obsession, this is the keeb for thee. SteelSeries offers heaps of options that no one bar the true keyboard sickos are likely to want, let alone actually use.

For instance, I don't know about you but I'm often hitting 'i' when I mean to hit 'o,' and vice versa. The optional 'protection mode' makes it harder for surrounding keys to register when you really only meant to hit one in particular. It's smart flourishes like this that really make this keeb shine—though the RGB lights and wee OLED screen help too.

The real showstopper though are the OmniPoint 3.0 Hall Effect switches. Naturally, you can tinker with key sensitivity, but this calibre of responsiveness bodes extremely well for long-term use. While this keyboard's specialised features may not appeal to many outside of the enthusiasts, it's a robust build with a price tag to match that may prove worth the investment.

Read our full SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen 3 review.