Keyboards are an important part of our each day computing. Different strategies of getting work completed with out one definitely exist, however a majority of us love our bizarre, clackity boards full of inputs. These deeply private units can have distinctive designs to swimsuit particular tastes, and as we use them increasingly more, we start to grasp what we need to see in them.
Some want compact keyboards that present naked requirements; others like tons of keys to assign helpful macros. There’s additionally a distinct segment that enjoys noisy mechanical keyboards with every key having deeper journey. I’ve been testing all kinds of laptops for years, significantly these designed for gaming. And since I began, I’ve gathered particular biases for crucial qualities of a laptop computer keyboard.
Most laptop computer keyboards do a good job at assembly a majority of these standards, however I all the time discover one or two flaws. That modified final week once I examined the Lenovo Legion 5 Professional , probably the greatest gaming laptops I’ve ever examined that options the right keyboard. It achieved all the things it wanted to and I walked away with zero complaints. Better of all, you may get it now for $1,449 on Lenovo’s web site . Learn on to seek out out what makes this Lenovo gaming rig so darn good.
The Lenovo Legion 5 Professional’s excellent keyboard
My expectations for a gaming keyboard are a bit totally different from a productiveness keyboard. You’ll typically see mainstream laptops with bigger keyboards, whereas gaming laptops have smaller ones with much more keys for various inputs. We’re going to concentrate on some of the vital options for a gaming laptop computer and the way the Legion 5 Professional knocks each single considered one of them out of the park.
(Picture credit score: Laptop computer Magazine, Momo Tabari)
Keyboards you’d buy individually for desktop use, like my massive mechanical keyboard , typically function a set of 4 standard-sized arrow keys with their very own little nook. After they’re wanted, particularly whereas enhancing paperwork or enjoying a sport which may require these keys, it’s vital that they’re simple to click on. The Legion 5 Professional accomplishes this on a laptop computer by decreasing the arrow keys a bit beneath the remainder of the keyboard, giving it its personal identifiable consolation zone. Alongside this, they’re often sized.
As a lot as I like the Lenovo Yoga 9i to dying (it’s simply my favourite non-gaming laptop computer ever), its keyboard is flawed. Whereas writing and attempting to maneuver areas in a doc, I might unintentionally click on different keys as a result of the up and down arrow keys are half-sized. The Razer Blade 14 additionally has this challenge.
(Picture credit score: Laptop computer Magazine, Momo Tabari)
I’ve additionally examined laptops that shrink sure keys like Shift, Enter or Delete — and it’s all the time a mistake. The Origin EON16-S makes this actual sacrifice, decreasing the correct Shift to half its dimension with a purpose to match arrow keys. The Legion 5 Professional doesn’t have to danger something for the sake of its arrow keys; they’re positioned in their very own little nook. Which means that my beloved proper Shift, Enter and Backspace are as massive as I like.
Full quantity pads are a necessity for gaming laptops for me as a result of I play World of Warcraft and having further inputs was very important. When you think about how macros can improve your expertise, alongside the variety of actions and menus current within the sport, it’s a critically helpful addition. Some video games will also be unnecessarily difficult, and slightly than struggling to determine which key to rebind, you possibly can simply assign it to one of many quantity pad keys.
(Picture credit score: Laptop computer Magazine, Momo Tabari)
The Legion 5 Professional feels nice past all of this. I didn’t have to search for its 1.5mm of key journey to know that leaping key to key supplied a shocking depth that might rival a mechanical keyboard. I took the 10FastFingers.com typing take a look at, and on my first try, hit 118 phrases per minute at 99.5% accuracy. I’ve by no means felt so instantly snug utilizing a keyboard.
Backside line
The Lenovo Legion 5 Professional has my favourite laptop computer keyboard ever. With massive Shift keys, 1.5mm of key journey, a full quantity pad, and ample house for its arrow keys, it destroys each critique I typically have with laptop computer keyboards. It even finds house for Print Display, Insert and Delete past simply attaching them to the operate keys.
I fell onerous for the Legion 5 Professional as quickly as I used it, and I couldn’t consider its near-perfect efficiency whereas testing it. In the event you share the same love for the aforementioned options in a gaming keyboard, we extremely suggest this thoughts blowing gaming laptop computer from Lenovo.
