Corsair Gaming K70 RGB Mechanical Keyboard Review
by E. Fylladitakis on September 22, 2014 9:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Keyboard
- Peripherals
- Corsair
- mechanical
- RGB Backlighting
Introduction
It has been twenty years since Corsair's first retail products hit the shelves and the company has undoubtedly come a very long way since then. What started as a small memory manufacturer is now a major global supplier of advanced computer components and peripherals. Today is the dawn of a new era for Corsair, as the company announced the establishment of their own gaming brand. The new division has been christened "Corsair Gaming", and with the name comes a new department and logo. The focus will be on the development of high performance gaming peripherals.
Alongside the announcement of their new department, Corsair is also releasing several new products, with the much-anticipated RGB keyboards being among them. The company dropped the "Vengeance" series name and the new keyboards are just called by the brand name and model. That means we're now looking at the Corsair Gaming K70 RGB (and not the keyboard formerly known as Vengeance K70 RGB or some variation on that theme).
This keyboard has probably had more hype between its announcement and release date than any other keyboard in the history of humankind. Ever since the first demos of the keyboard found their way into pictures and videos back in January, there have been myriad rumors about the capabilities of the keyboard and the new Corsair Utility Engine (CUE) software. Some people even suggested that this is "just a Vengeance K70 with RGB LEDs", which could not be further from the truth. The truth is that the new Corsair Gaming K70 RGB introduces many new functions and far greater customizability than any previous Corsair mechanical keyboard.
Today we finally have a chance to go hands-on with the shipping hardware. Join us as we examine the keyboard, its capabilities, and the new CUE software.
Packaging & Bundle
We received the Corsair Gaming K70 RGB in a well-designed, attractive cardboard box, capable of providing more than enough protection during shipping. Inside the box is a minimalist bundle of just a few leaflets and a full size wrist rest. The wrist rest has a corona-treated surface that gives it a soft, comfortable rubber-like feeling. Corsair apparently ditched the extra set of contoured, textured "gaming" keycaps that we saw supplied with the Vengeance K70 and the Vengeance K60. As we mentioned in several previous articles, very few (if any) gamers would actually swap keycaps before gaming so Corsair understandably realized that this was little more than an unnecessary extra cost.
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poohbear - Monday, September 22, 2014 - link
Whats up with that logo??? Why not just use the normal Corsair logo which represents corsair? Corsair is a premium brandname now, they most certainly dont need to come up with a gimmicky logo like that to reinvent themselves.RiDE - Monday, September 22, 2014 - link
They just launched the Corsair Gaming division today. Not a fan of the new logo either.Bobs_Your_Uncle - Tuesday, September 23, 2014 - link
But Duuude! The logo is this really ominous & imposing Alien Skull that's been formed in outline by transposing (something kinda like) 2 of those wicked awesome Klingon 2-handed sword/axe/hacksaw hand-to-hand combat things!Either that or it's a silhouette of the Lorax being hung upside down for some reason (probably by a really ominous & imposing Alien!)
LancerVI - Wednesday, September 24, 2014 - link
The logo looks like a 'tramp stamp'It's really bad! I'm normally easy to please, but good lord. It's terrible!
piiman - Saturday, September 27, 2014 - link
Can you imagine what the losing designs must have looked like?zyxtomatic - Monday, September 22, 2014 - link
For anyone bothered by the "click" sound when the key cap bottoms out, there are companies who make tiny rubber o-rings that you can insert between the key cap and the switch. These o-rings absorb the click sound. Note that those o-rings do *not* silence the internal clicking sound from the intentionally clicky switches, such as the Cherry MX Blue. The rings only remove the click from the key caps bottoming out.Impulses - Monday, September 22, 2014 - link
Also, when typing regularly you shouldn't NEED to bottom out every keystroke, that's kinda the point of having the actuation and clicky halfway down the travel. It's actually BAD from an ergo/stress standpoint to bottom out constantly.During gaming it's another story since keys are held down so often, you invariably need to bottom out.
oleguy682 - Tuesday, September 23, 2014 - link
And this is why I waver between the Red and Brown switches. The former don't have that bump at the actuation point, so it's hard to retrain yourself to type lightly. At the same time, I actually do tend to game more often that type these days, so having that bump while playing might get annoying. Right now I have a K70 w/ Red that I picked up on sale at Best Buy some time ago. I like it for gaming... typing not so much. Maybe I need to pick up a basic Blue switch keyboard to swap in and out when I'm going to do something more function, like writing or learning how to code.Impulses - Monday, September 22, 2014 - link
Ehh, I kinda like the logo. I'll grant you it does look a little tramp stamp-ish and smacks of a tired tribal tattoo style, but it still looks cool. Doesn't look as classy as their standard logo on a product that's otherwise pretty classy looking, but that do market it as a gaming keyboard so... I bet their market research behind that logo would be interesting to read.Anyway, I'm still happy with my OG K90... Got it for a steal during a combined sale/rebate (like <$90 shortly after launch, years ago, I think MSRP was much higher then). I've been getting the itch to try a TKL, but if I don't end up loving it I'll probably end up at the K95 RGB eventually.
Antronman - Monday, September 22, 2014 - link
The price hike from the standard K70 just isn't justifiable for me...