NKRO, is it really important?

[pineapplopolis]

What is the practical use of NKRO vs 6KRO. Does anyone actually use >6 keys at once or notice any difference? Most gamers have one hand on a mouse or other pointing device leaving only five fingers free to type. Are their people out there that type that fast?

Someone please enlighten me!

[sixty]

Not really - there are some silly games that may need more than 6 keys (rhythm games and the like), but in the end 6 keys should be suitable for pretty much everyone.

[keyboardlover]

I started using NKRO via Ps/2 today instead of 6kro. Pretty much for the lulz.

[NewGuy]

I'm not sure I see a need for true NRKO, but at a very minimum, I can see needing 4KRO for gaming and I'm sure that five or maybe even six would be necessary.

Unless you are playing a game with two hands and no mouse I don't see how you would need more than 6KRO.

[Crazy9000]

I have a few world records in THPS3 and there's one or two rare cases where I'll need 7 keys at once. In the later games they have a walk function and spine transfer, so it's fairly common to have to hit 7.

Like mentioned above, this is with both hands on the keyboard.

[Mrinterface]

6KRO ( including 4 modifier keys ) is more than enough for any game. I never ever experienced a problem with a game where I had only 6KRO( and I have played a lot in my past ).

[Culinia]

I started using NKRO via Ps/2 today instead of 6kro. Pretty much for the lulz.

Lol, I take it that you weren't that impressed then?

I just have the keyboard on PS/2 so it frees up another USB port (that I don't need lol).

[strike015]

yea nkro are not really used except for when playing a rhythm game, i just use my ps/2 cause it's handy when i am ocing my computer and the usb port some times become unstable

[pat]

For fps games I need to press quite a few keys near wasd, old logitech it doesnt register. So end up getting nkro just to make sure it works

[NewGuy]

With WASD, you will never use more than two keys at once (either moving one direction or diagonally) you may be holding shift + ctrl to walk slowly and crouch then tap space to jump or a number to switch weapon. I can't think of a situation where you would use more than that at once in a game that uses both the keyboard and mouse, so 6KRO should be plenty.

[Daniel Beaver]

Some games (I recall Mafia 2 and Descent II) gave me problems with key combos on 2KRO boards, and so I prefer 6KRO or NKRO boards simply to avoid the hassle. For most games (eg, Starcraft 2) this is a non-issue.

But the real reason is that I can say hur hur my keyboard is better than yours, i can press every key at once!.

[db_Iodine]

I started using NKRO via Ps/2 today instead of 6kro. Pretty much for the lulz.

I stopped using NKRO via PS/2 a few months ago for the same reason. These days I'm mostly using 6kro via USB and NKRO via USB.

[Peter]

This would be a crappy board if it didn't have NKRO ..

[Crazy9000]

6KRO ( including 4 modifier keys ) is more than enough for any game. I never ever experienced a problem with a game where I had only 6KRO( and I have played a lot in my past ).

I would mostly agree, but that would only be if you integrated the modifiers into your controls. That would give you up to 10, which is enough for all fingers.

However if the modifiers don't fit well into your chosen controls, there will be some cases were someone needs more occasionally.

[BababooeyHTJ]

The only board where I have run into issues with 2KRO is the Microsoft X6 never mind 6KRO.

[ripster]

Only people who need absolute NKRO post at OCN.

What idiots.
http://www.overclock.net/6009418-post2.html

[webwit]

I've never needed it, but I'm not a gamer.

[EZjiji]

I can't even think of a rhythm game that takes more than 4 keys at once.

[ripster]

I kept pushing the Stepmania and the 02Jam Malaysian guys on that. 7 keys is possible (but unlikely).

I watch them for the Swedish music. I happen to know that Swedish Pop is very popular in the EU, like Electronica. However in America we HATE ELECTRONICA!

We BUY AMERICAN

[sixty]

Real pros play both players at once. There you go. Need 8 keys!

[ripster]

Somebody at OCN said that in GTA and some flight sims you CAN need over 6 keys pressed down at one time.

People at OCN are so stupid sometimes. Everybody you knows you use a joystick, steering wheel combo, game controller, or a console for THAT!

[IanM]

http://www.overclock.net/6009418-post2.html

is this part of the guide, and the comments above correct?

USB keyboards with 6KRO also allow for a maximum of 4 modifier keys to be used with those 6 normal keys. These modifiers include CTRL, ALT, Shift, & Super (Windows, Command, or Meta Key.)

I was thinking it's pretty usual to have: shift + ctrl + two of WSAD + space bar (two movement modifiers, diagonal direction, and jump) + occasionally one more button to do some other action. Tough to hit that 6 key limit, especially as your 'other actions' are most likely bound to the mouse buttons, but shift and control aren't included anyway?

[Pylon]

Somebody at OCN said that in GTA and some flight sims you CAN need over 6 keys pressed down at one time.

People at OCN are so stupid sometimes. Everybody you knows you use a joystick, steering wheel combo, game controller, or a console for THAT!

Lol, I wonder if they'll ban you if they find you trash talking about them on other sites.

[sixty]

Would be way overdue then. He has been doing it since like 2009.

[ripster]

http://www.overclock.net/6009418-post2.html

is this part of the guide, and the comments above correct?

USB keyboards with 6KRO also allow for a maximum of 4 modifier keys to be used with those 6 normal keys. These modifiers include CTRL, ALT, Shift, & Super (Windows, Command, or Meta Key.)

I was thinking it's pretty usual to have: shift + ctrl + two of WSAD + space bar (two movement modifiers, diagonal direction, and jump) + occasionally one more button to do some other action. Tough to hit that 6 key limit, especially as your 'other actions' are most likely bound to the mouse buttons, but shift and control aren't included anyway?

Yep. The stuff they copy and paste from my NKRO wiki IS correct.
http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title= ... nd+Results

[IanM]

How obtuse would you have to be to create a control layout that is limited by 6KRO? I remember being huddled around an aged 'BBC Master' during breaktimes at school, playing some Gauntlet style four player dungeon hack game. Up/down/left/right/attack for each player, maybe a magic button as well? That's about the only thing I can think of that would break the limit, so maybe there are a handful of retro gamers that need more than 6KRO? but I'll wager a shiny button* that if you gather four retro gamers to share one keyboard, the result will not be pretty...



*button shininess not guaranteed

[Olehk]

I just use NKRO for the hell of having it, if your questioning that you'll need NKRO, then you most likely don't need it.

[keyboardlover]

I use NKRO cuz I'm leeter than y'all =)

[Moneyless]

I just use NKRO for the hell of having it, if your questioning that you'll need NKRO, then you most likely don't need it.

Pretty much why I use it as well.

My motherboard has a combo mouse/keyboard PS/2 port, and it's not like I'm going to use a PS/2 mouse... So why not? It's not like it's hurting anything.

[NewGuy]

Of course it slipped my mind that modifiers do not factor into 6KRO over USB, and even including them I couldn't think of anything beyond 5KRO. (and hitting 5KRO would be fairly unrealistic)

Looking at those music game videos, they never went beyond two simultaneous keys, and there are only four directions used, so I can't see how you would get above 4KRO.

…Are people misunderstanding what the word simultaneous means?

Somebody at OCN said that in GTA and some flight sims you CAN need over 6 keys pressed down at one time.

People at OCN are so stupid sometimes. Everybody you knows you use a joystick, steering wheel combo, game controller, or a console for THAT!

Hm, I just can't imagine a scenario where going over 6KRO would be required even if you avoided the modifier keys, unless you are avoiding using the mouse for looking around in those kind of games and are solely using the keyboard to play the game, including controlling your view like you're playing an FPS in the early 90s without a mouse? (anything pre-Quake 1, which standardised mouse-look) Even then, going over 6KRO would be a stretch.


The only thing I can think of is that these people have perhaps tried the "gamer optimised" layouts that some companies such as Razer do, where they are 2KRO with some combinations on the board, but 4-6KRO around the WASD cluster, and so having used one of these keyboards with an alternate layout (some people prefer ESDF over WASD—logically it does make more sense to me, even though I'm used to WASD now) and finding it to be limiting, they think they are actually going over 6KRO?