Key Takeaways
- Number pads are indispensable for people who work with numbers and need fast and intuitive input.
- Number pads can be useful for gaming, as they offer additional controls and customizable bindings.
- Removing the number pad from a keyboard reduces its size, making it more portable and ergonomic.
Small keyboards are back in fashion and for a good reason. They’re minimalist, mobile, and free up valuable space for your mouse. The first part that gets cut off to create a small keyboard is the number pad, but is that really a good idea?
Why You Might Still Want a Number Pad
A number pad, also known as a numeric keypad or numpad for short, is an invaluable asset to anyone who works a lot with numbers. If you work in spreadsheets or do any form of calculations and data entry, you need a number pad. It’s so much easier and faster to type numbers, as the rectangular layout is far more intuitive than the number row.
The numbers on a number pad are in a 3 x 3 grid, with a zero in the bottom left and common symbols around the numbers. It takes the guesswork out of typing numbers. You don’t have to look down to see whether you’re pressing a six or a seven; each number is in a clearly defined direction. Even better, some number pads even have a small bump on the five—like the tactile bumps on your F and J keys—to help you find buttons without having to look down.
Another use case for the number pad is games. Games like ‘Arma’ and even ‘Grand Theft Auto’ make use of the number pad for additional controls, but you can also use the number pad for custom macros and bindings. Admittedly, taking your hand off the mouse to use it isn’t exactly intuitive, but if you’re playing with both hands on the keyboard or in split screen, you’ll appreciate the extra keys. You could even reassign your arrow keys to the number pad in racing games and use the 0 key for the handbrake.
Arguments Against Number Pads
The main argument against number pads is ergonomics. You can place a small keyboard in the middle of your desk without sacrificing mouse space, so your right hand can be in a more comfortable position for transitions between the mouse and two-handed typing.
Since we already have a number row on our keyboards, you could make the argument that number pads are redundant. Unless you work with numbers a lot, you probably rarely use the number pad.
Gamers who play first-person shooters and use low-sensitivity settings hold a special kind of hatred for number pads. Even with a large mouse pad, it’s easy to knock your mouse into the keyboard and lose out on an easy kill. If you have a metal keyboard with sharp edges, like my Corsair K70, you could even end up hurting your thumb with a quick flick.
Another argument is portability. Keyboards without number pads are significantly shorter and easier to carry around. Small keyboards are the perfect companion for travel, and removing the number pad alone can save substantial space.
A keyboard without the number pad is known as a tenkeyless design, and it can reduce the keyboard’s size by about 15–20%. I measured how much space my number pad takes, and it came out to 17% of the keyboard’s length, so removing it would make the keyboard substantially smaller. You could go even smaller by getting a 75% or 60% layout; none of these keyboard layouts have the number pad. If you need a number pad for work but want to get rid of it for gaming, you should strongly consider a detachable number pad instead. The ASUS ROG Claymore II has a detachable number pad that attaches on either side for easier access to macro keys. If you’ve already bought a keyboard without a numpad, you can find standalone numpads online with ease.
Number Pads Get Too Much Hate for No Reason
It seems like a large portion of the gaming community is strongly opposed to number pads for the reasons I mentioned above. Gamers need all the mouse space they can get, and you can see how removing a redundant set of keys would be a sacrifice worth making. I can see both sides of the argument, as my number pad gets in the way when I game, but at the same time, it’s an invaluable asset when I do calculations.
If you work with numbers a lot or need macro keys, number pads are genuinely useful. Once you get comfortable using it, you’ll see a significant increase in speed and productivity. Conversely, if you’re a frequent traveler or just never use the number pad on your current keyboard, maybe it’s time to downsize. Personally, I’ll probably stick with my number pad for a while longer and tilt my keyboard when I need more desk space for FPS games.
