N-Key Rollover or NKRO is a feature that is usually only seen on high-end keyboards, but do you know what it is? It is related to anti-ghosting technology, but it is a function that goes a little further. We help you buy your gaming keyboard by explaining the concept.
Sometimes we get overwhelmed by so much terminology when we just want a good gaming keyboard. In this case, we are going to address what the N-Key Rollover is and why it can be a decisive feature when buying a mechanical gaming keyboard. It can be presented as a technology for all the keys, as for a few (5, 6, 8, etc.), which one interests us the most?
What is the N-Key Rollover
It is a technology that recognizes each key individually when we press several at the same time, making sure that each key is executed and there is no ghosting. In a normal keyboard, we find electrical connections that can be crossed from the base to the USB or PS / 2 port.
When we press several keys, registering one or more instead of all of them, it is called ghosting, and to solve it there is anti-ghosting, which is a technology related to the N-Key Rollover. Although the N-Key is present in high-end keyboards, we can see cheaper options that offer a partial N-Key:
- With 5 keys.
- 8 keys.
- Etc.
This means that we will have N-Key Rollover only on certain keys, the problem persisting in the rest. When the manufacturer specifies that the keyboard has N-Key Rollover in general, it is understood that it is present on all keys, which is ideal. Thus, we could press certain keys and they will be recorded at the same time, something common in eSports.
As a bonus, USB 2.0 connections only supported 6 keystrokes, but this is something that has been removed with newer versions (USB 3.0 onwards).
Types of N-Key Rollover
Before, we have slightly commented that we can find different types of N-Key Rollover when we go to buy a keyboard. Beforehand, the “ N ” in N-Key usually refers to the minimum number of keys that will be registered when we press them at the same time. For example, 2-Key, 4-Key, or 6-Key.
The cheapest mechanical gaming keyboards will come with fewer " N " keys because it is a technology that makes the product more expensive as it provides more individually recordable keys.
On the other hand, it must be emphasized that these keys are never included:
- CTRL.
- ALT.
- Windows key.
- Shift.
In addition, it must be said that not all keyboards that come with, for example, "4-Key Rollover", will offer the same keys with this technology. Normally, that "4-Key" refers to the WASD keys, but we must look in the technical sheet if it refers to others in particular.
Differences between N-Key Rollover and anti-ghosting
With N-Key explained, we understand that certain people confuse the concepts of N-Key Rollover and anti-ghosting. The differences are clear:
- The anti-ghosting refers to the ability to recognize the keyboard 3 or more pressures of keys simultaneously.
- The N-Key Rollover assumes that the pressure of each key is recognized individually, giving the same number of keys that we press at the same time. This assumes that each key will be individually registered by the operating system.
While one refers to the possibility for the keyboard to recognize the pressure of several keys at the same time, the N-Key Rollover refers to the individual recognition of each key. For this reason, it is said that they are 2 technologies that are closely related and that it is important that they work together on the keyboard.
We will rarely see a keyboard with N-Key Rollover, but without anti-ghosting.
Practical utilities of this technology
Many will ask you, why do I want this technology on my keyboard? In the gaming world, it is highly appreciated when using certain in-game skills at the same time. A typical example occurs in shooters, which is to crouch and reload at the same time. With a normal keyboard, we can crouch and walk (CTRL + W), but we will not be able to reload while crouching forward (CTRL + W + R).
Obviously, these details are valued in the eSports world where professional gamers interact a lot with the keyboard and mouse. At the end of the day, it is to be able to perform several actions within the game thanks to pressing several keys simultaneously.
Curiosities about N-Key
You might see a mechanical keyboard advertised with N-Key Rollover, but it comes with a PS / 2 port. This is because previously this technology could only be offered with the PS / 2, so we saw a USB to PS / 2 adapter in the keyboard box.
Thanks to the advances in USB, we can see the N-Key works perfectly in this interface, but we always recommend that tests be passed to verify that it works effectively.
Mention that we may have problems with this function and another operating system other than Windows. Also, problems caused by the motherboard BIOS itself, which was not compatible with N-Key Rollover, have been recorded. However, these problems no longer persist in modern systems.
Programs to test the N-Key of a keyboard
There are several programs that aim to detect whether the N-Key of a keyboard works or not, as well as to see which keys are registered individually. In the end, everything is very simple to use, so we simply show you, 2 possible candidates:
- Aqua Key Test.
- Random.xem Web Test.
We hope this information has been helpful to you. If you have any questions, comment below and we will answer you shortly.
Does your keyboard have N-Key? Do you consider that this function is important?
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