What actually moves the needle
Switch actuation force (light switches reduce fatigue in long sessions), key travel preference (consistency matters more than depth), and keyboard angle (negative tilt reduces strain). These are comfort-and-endurance factors — worth 5–10% in sustained sessions, nothing in a 60-second sprint.
Mechanical vs membrane, honestly
Mechanical keyboards offer consistent keystrokes and durability; membrane boards offer quiet and cheap. The speed difference for a practiced typist is near zero — the comfort difference over hours is real. Buy for the hours you type, not for the frames-per-second marketing.
The layout question
Alternative layouts (Dvorak, Colemak) claim 10–20% efficiency gains from reduced finger travel — real, but the retraining cost is 4–8 weeks of reduced productivity. Most typists get better returns from ten minutes of daily practice on QWERTY than a month of layout migration. Change layouts for comfort or curiosity, not speed.