There’s no excuse anymore; gaming laptops need to step up their game if they want to land in my shopping cart. The best gaming laptops offer excellent gaming performance and displays, but I’m adding one more thing to my must-have list: a mechanical keyboard.
I recently reviewed the Alienware 16 Area-51, and it reinforced the idea that no gaming laptop should be without a mechanical keyboard, especially a premium one. They’re objectively better than membrane keyboards — just ask my fingers.
This needs to be the next big transition for gaming laptops, just like when phones ditched physical keyboards for touchscreens. And let me tell you why we might not be so far away from that future.
The mechanical keyboard revolution
I won’t stop screaming about mechanical keyboards until it is in every gaming laptop...
The Alienware 16 Area-51’s CherryMX mechanical keyboard made it oh-so-satisfying to dash across the field in Marvel Rivals as Magik and swoop up a jabroni in my combo. Each keystroke sounded clicky and felt punchy.
I won’t stop screaming about mechanical keyboards until they are in every gaming laptop, and we can critique them for the types of switches they use rather than just complimenting their existence. I hope that future isn’t far away. After all, we’ve already seen mechanical keyboards in varying budget categories.
I was shocked when I saw a mechanical keyboard in the Dell G16 (7620), which at the time cost $949. The existence of that one gaming laptop is all the reason I need to criticize every premium gaming laptop that doesn’t offer a mechanical keyboard. And the Area-51 isn’t the first Alienware with a mechanical keyboard. Last year’s Alienware x16 R2 had one too.
Unfortunately, the Dell G16 is somewhat bulky at 1.01 inches thick. The Area-51 is similar, measuring 0.85~1.12 inches. So you might be thinking that the thickness of a gaming laptop certainly makes an impact on whether a mechanical keyboard is possible. But that’s not exactly the case. As I just mentioned, the Alienware x16 R2 also featured a mechanical keyboard, and it measured 0.7 inches thick.
So, in theory, no gaming laptop should be excused, including a monster like the MSI Raider 18 HX AI that comes in at 0.94~1.26 inches. Sure, its keyboard is bouncy, but it’s no mechanical keyboard. It’s weird because last year’s MSI Titan HX featured a mechanical keyboard, although that laptop was a chunky 1.3 inches thick.
You don’t want to be stuck with a dollar-store keyboard on a $ 4,000+ gaming laptop.
Now, the Razer Blade 16 might be too thin to support a mechanical keyboard at 0.59~0.69 inches. But like a Bond villain or Batman, I’ll accept nothing less than the best from my wonderful little toys, especially if I’m paying several thousand dollars.
I can’t say what the exact cost is for adding a mechanical keyboard to a gaming laptop, but when configuring the Dell G16 and even the Alienware Area-51, the former adds $100, while the latter costs only an additional $50. That’s a massive bonus for a low price and well worth the bump unless you’re opting for one of the best gaming keyboards.
If you’re not grabbing a peripheral and you plan on emptying your wallet for a gaming laptop, make sure you get one with a mechanical keyboard. The issue isn’t just that a mechanical is better than a membrane; it’s that there are some really terrible membrane keyboards out there. You don’t want to be stuck with a dollar-store keyboard on a $ 4,000+ gaming laptop.
Sure, opting for a peripheral is always the better option, but unless you’re getting a desktop replacement, it defeats the whole purpose of portability in your gaming laptop. Do you really want to lug around a keyboard on top of a gaming laptop and a gaming mouse?
As I said, the Alienware 16 Area-51 has now reinforced what is best for a gaming laptop. After experiencing at least three other gaming laptops with a mechanical keyboard, I am putting my proverbial foot down. You won’t see a gaming laptop in my shopping cart unless it’s rocking a mechanical keyboard… and a gorgeous OLED display (but that’s a rant for another day).
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