My first look at the Corsair K70 RGB...
review by
sideways8lv
So I just took delivery of my Corsair K70 RGB Mechanical Keyboard with Cherry MX Red switches yesterday and have had a little play around with it. Enough time perhaps to post my initial thoughts and opinion.
Upon opening the packaging, I found the keyboard to be well wrapped in plastic and supported fully with cardboard all around, more than you'd find for your average keyboard and rightly so for $169.99.
This is not a wireless keyboard but it does sport a heavy, thick braided cable which looks great and will help you to get over yet another cable being visible on the desk many of us try so hard to keep clear and organized. The cable ends with not one but two USB plugs. Could this be for pass-through? Hmm... nope. Just two plugs to power the keyboard it seems. A minor disappointment and one less USB port to play with but nevermind, nothing a hub can't fix if ever I find myself lacking, which let's face it, probably won't happen anytime soon with modern motherboards.
Included is a quick-start guide and warranty information, underneath everything is the smooth yet slightly grippy wrist rest which spans the width of the keyboard and attaches easily. Very easily in fact. I thought I was going to have to apply the kind of pressure where you can never be sure if you're gonna snap those little plastic ends off the hinges, but nope, a satisfying click and it slides into place effortlessly.
I have to admit that this is the first mechanical keyboard I have used in quite some time. Since back whenever they were common place with personal computers. Back when they called them 'personal computers'. Because of this, when I typed on the K70 for the first time, I was unsurprisingly overwhelmed with how great the keys feel to type on. I can only describe it as a soft, smooth, yet gentle grating sound with a decent *clack* when pressed down fully. Of course much noisier than it's non-mechanical counterparts, something my wife pointed out by sarcastically asking me if the noise would ever annoy me. In wife speak that means they are annoying her. But that is a small sacrifice for the tactile feedback one gives you.
When typing quickly I noticed when my fingers slide from one key to another, it caused a squeak sound. It isn't the key mechanism but the sound of friction between my fingertips and the grippy coating applied to the keys. Almost like running your finger down a really clean plate. I'm half hoping it will wear off over time, being new it needs some time to wear I guess. Also if I focus on not being so lazy with my fingers and lift them higher between keystrokes, it doesn't happen. I think I am too used to typing on the keyboard that comes with the Lenovo ideacenters, similar to those belonging to a laptop. Don't fret though, this is definitely not a deal breaker and something barely even noticeable.
When the keyboard lit up for the first time I was impressed by how pretty everything looked. All the keys lit up red and the WASD and arrow keys were lit white, graduating to red softly and then back to white on a never-ending loop. One thing I didn't understand however and I still don't is why the numbers along the top are faded yet the symbols above them are bright like all the other keys. In fact on closer inspection the top symbols on all of the keys are bright while the bottom are faded. It is obviously programmed this way and I'm positive I can alter it in the software, I just don't know why this is the case. I'm sure someone who knows better will enlighten me.
I was eager to see the light demo as previously seen in the preview videos. After a few minutes of browsing the manual, which didn't come in the box but had to be downloaded from Corsair's website (although they did direct me to it in the quick start guide so not a total fail) I was disappointed to find that the demo light show did not exist. Really!?!
I quickly installed the keyboard software (also downloaded from Corsair's website, which in hindsight is rather convenient as some people don't use CD/DVD's anymore) and fired it up, excited to see what seizure inducing light show I could create.
A quick firmware upgrade notification popped up and installed promptly without issue, (thank you Corsair) and the program, 'Corsair Gaming Software', detected the K70 keyboard and displayed a nice looking GUI of the keyboard and a color palette. You should note that this software only functions when it can detect the keyboard which sucks if you want to design profiles while at work to try later.
I'm not going to delve too deeply into the software or this review could end up being a lot longer than I intended, which it already has at this point but I feel it is important to mention a few things such as having options built in if you buy a compatible Corsair mouse, like the upcoming M65 RGB.
While the manual is detailed and pretty clear for the most part, and maybe I haven't spent anywhere near enough time playing around with the settings, I feel the software could be a lot more intuitive. Again, it could just be me being new to programmable, mechanical keyboards but I think it's going to be a fairly steep learning curve in the very beginning and then fairly simple once you have sat back, read the manual thoroughly and tried each programmable action out to see what it does.
I do recommend downloading other owner's profiles as this can help with the learning process if you're slow like me, by enabling you to reverse engineer their creations. Hopefully by the time my gaming rig is built, I'll have programmed the K70 to dim all but the relevant keys for gaming with a single key command and have macros set to open my browser and load several bookmarks with a couple button presses. A man can dream!
For now I'll settle for my all red keys turning immediately orange for a second when pressed, which looks cool and wasn't difficult to program.
One member shared his wonder about the appeal of RGB keyboards and how much they cost. I can honestly say that while the cost of the K70 RGB at $169.99 is steep, you get a lot of keyboard for the money. Not only that but think about how much we spend on other components to make every part of our rigs color coordinated. No longer are you forced to buy a Razer keyboard because the green back-lighting matches your Hulk inspired build, or having to install custom LED's because no-one does pink. You can choose any color in the rainbow, or even a combination of many colors, or even a freakin' rainbow if you think rainbows are cool.
I know I do...
That's why I have a button that just shoots rainbows across my keyboard!
Corsair K70 RGB? Yes please. I love mine. Buy one!
Pros | Cons |
---|
Sleek sexy looks. Solidly built and nice weight. RGB backlighting. | No USB pass-through. Software is awkward to use at first. |
Ratings