A Hall effect keyboard looks and types like any other mechanical board. The difference is under each key: there is no electrical contact at all. That one change is behind every feature on the box.
How each one registers a press
In a mechanical switch, pressing the key pushes two small metal leaves together. When they touch, the key is on. That happens at one fixed point, usually about halfway down, and it cannot be moved.
A Hall effect switch has a magnet in the stem and a sensor on the circuit board beneath it. The sensor reads how close the magnet is, so the board knows where the key is along its whole travel, not only whether it is on or off.
| Mechanical | Hall effect | |
|---|---|---|
| Registers by | Metal contacts touching | A sensor reading a magnet |
| Actuation point | Fixed by the switch | Set in software, per key |
| Feels available | Linear, tactile, clicky | Almost all linear |
| Switches it takes | MX-style mechanical | Magnetic only |
| Keycaps | MX stem | MX stem, the same sets fit |
What that makes possible
- Adjustable actuation: Choose how far each key travels before it registers. Shallow for movement keys, deeper for keys you do not want to press by accident. The boards we stock adjust in steps of 0.02 mm or finer.
- Rapid trigger: The key resets the moment you start lifting and fires again the moment you press, wherever it is in its travel. Repeated presses get much faster.
- More than one action per key: Features such as DKS put different actions at different depths of the same press.
- Nothing to wear out: With no contacts, there is nothing to corrode or to start registering double presses with age.
What you give up
Choice of feel. Magnetic switches are almost all linear, so there is no bump and no click. A Hall effect board also only takes magnetic switches: the mechanical switches you already own will not work in it, and not every magnetic switch works in every board, so check the board's list before buying a set.
Keycaps are not affected. Magnetic switches use the same MX stem, so any MX keycap set fits.
Who should buy one
If you play fast competitive games, rapid trigger is a real, physical advantage and worth paying for. Some games and tournaments restrict related features such as SOCD handling, so check the rules for the ones you play.
If you mostly type, you will not notice much. A mechanical board gives you tactile and clicky switches, a wider choice of everything, and usually a lower price.
