▷ Types of mechanical keyboards: full, tkl, 75% and 60%?

In this article we give a review of the main keyboard formats, and we summarize its most outstanding characteristics. At the beginning the PC keyboards were all complete, or in other words, they came with 104 or 105 keys depending on the layout. These are the typical keyboards with the numerical block on the right, all the system keys and all the F keys.

As mechanical keyboards have exploded in popularity, manufacturers have created new designs with far fewer keys. With this have emerged tenkeyless keyboards with 87 keys or 75%, 60% formats that are much more compact.

The main formats of mechanical keyboards are full, TKL, 75% and 60%. Next we will see the most important characteristics of each of them, as well as all the advantages they provide.

We recommend reading our article on The best keyboards for PC (Mechanical, membrane and wireless)

Index of contents

Full size (100%)

Corsair Strafe RGB - Gaming Mechanical Keyboard (Cherry MX Brown, Multicolor RGB backlight, Spanish QWERTY), Black

• QWERTY Espaol

Buy on Amazon

First we talk about full-size keyboards. These have 104, 105, or even 108 keys, depending on whether they are ANSI (US), ISO (EU), or JIS (Japan) layouts. In general, the alphanumeric characters, the navigation group, and the numeric keypad are horizontally separated, with the F keys at the top. This keyboard comes with a built-in numeric keypad, usually on the right side, which is great if you enter numbers frequently or need the maximum number of keys at your disposal. Its main disadvantage is that they are very large and take up a lot of space on the desktop, leaving less room for other peripherals such as the mouse. These keyboards are the most abundant on the market, and almost all membrane models are of this type.

• Large number of keys for flight simulators Ideal for accountants Very abundant and of all prices

Tenkeyless

Tenkeyless or TKL is the most common compact keyboard layout available from many mainstream manufacturers like Filco, Corsair, Razer, etc. This layout is just a full-size layout without the numeric keypad, resulting in 87 or 88 keys with approximately 80% of the width of a full-size keyboard. Hence the alternative names for TKL are 87% or 80%. TKL keyboards are a popular choice because they are easy to use, you don't need to learn a new design, you just have to accept the loss of the numeric keypad.

Razer BlackWidow Chroma V2, Gaming Keyboard, USB / Wired, Black RGB, Spanish QWERTY

• Razer Mechanical Switches (Linear & Silent) Razer Mechanical Switches offer high-level performance and reliable durability to guarantee you a gaming advantage. very long games; Ultimate gaming comfort Includes individually programmable backlit keys and 16.8 million color options

133.23 EUR Buy on Amazon

In exchange for giving up the numeric keypad, you get several benefits: The keyboard takes up less space on your desk, allowing you to take a more ergonomic posture and give the mouse more room. The reduction in size also means a reduction in weight, making it easier to transport the mechanical keyboard. Finally, having fewer switches also means that the keyboard should be slightly cheaper to manufacture, although the industry standard is not to charge less for a TKL design.

• They don't need adaptation They save a lot of space Ideal to play

75%

DREVO 72 Calibur Key RGB Wireless Bluetooth Backlit Mechanical Keyboard 4.0- FR Design White Brown Switch

• arm your desk with drevo: drevo constantly search for the best solution to satisfy the requirements of each user. wire and dual wireless - use: usb cable connection; or a stable wireless bluetooth connection of up to 10 meters and 20 hours with 4 bluetooth. 0. Support simultaneously connect up to 3 devices and easy to switch between them. Features that can be ignored - No: 72 customizable keys with lights that can be customized with backlight of each key; true tenkeyless nkro that avoids the ghost key effect; quality abs keys with a special coating - high; RGB LED Mechanical Backlit Keyboard Lighting: 7 different light effects include Reactive Mode, Wave Mode, Expansion Mode, Aurora Mode, Breathing Mode, Snake Marquee and Advanced Reactive Mode (no conflict with customizable lights) Varied mechanical switches: mechanical switches with resistance up to 50 million views, ten times higher than membrane keypads. Red / black / blue / brown switches to choose from, and enjoy every hit they keep like the first time.

Buy on Amazon

75% is the common name for keyboards that have a compact design, about 70 to 75% the width of a full-size keyboard, but that keep the F-key row at the top. 75% keyboards are popular because they only shrink or remove a few keys compared to a TKL. Most of the space savings are made by reducing the gap between different keyboard areas and placing keys like Insert, Delete and Home in a single column on the right side of the keyboard. However, these changes mean that finding replacement keys is sometimes difficult.

• Keep the keys FL Free up a lot of space on the desktop Very attractive designs

60%

Tutoy 61 Key Ansi Design OEM Profile Pbt Thick Keys for 60% Mechanical Keyboard

• Item: OEM Keys Main Color: Black and White Assembly: 61 This joint key is OEM profile, higher than cherry profile. The key is made of durable PBT material, the thickness is about 1.5mm.

29.49 EUR Buy on Amazon

60% is perhaps the most common design after full size and TKL. In addition to leaving the numeric keypad, The 60% Keypads also lacks a row of F keys at the top and the navigation group on the right, which means that only the alphanumeric zone is obtained. These removed functions can be accessed through a function key (Fn), usually near the lower right side of the keyboard.

In general, the F keys can be accessed by pressing the corresponding number key (for example, Fn + 1 = F1), the arrow keys are accessible through WASD (Fn + W = Up), and the navigation keys are distributed on the right side of the keyboard (Fn + P = PrtSc), but a large variation is possible between different manufacturers and models. 60% keyboards are a little more difficult to learn, but they provide excellent space and weight savings compared to full-size and TKL keyboards. That makes them super portable and they just look great.

• Extremely compact All functions can be accessed Very portable

This ends our article on the main mechanical keyboard formats available on the market, remember that you can leave a comment if you have something to add.