Review: Corsair K70 RGB

image source: Pexels

If you’re heavily into electronic gaming, you have probably considered how technology can improve your playing experience and playing performance. This is true whether you play for your own pleasure, or in competition.

A considerable amount of time likely went into selecting or building the computer components that will give you the most enjoyment or a competitive edge in gaming – best gaming PC, fastest motherboard, highest resolution display, and the most powerful graphics card your budget permits.

One major factor in your gaming action is how you interact with your computer – your mouse, touchpad, and keyboard. Having the right gaming keyboard on your computer can be the differentiating factor between winning and losing. There are multiple reasons for evaluating and selecting the keyboard that gives you that critical advantage.

What is a Gaming Keyboard?

image source: Pexels

So you play a lot of electronic games, or you’re new to the experience, and still use the keyboard that came with your computer. What’s the difference between a traditional keyboard and those designed for gaming?

Gaming keyboards are designed ergonomically to provide comfort when participating in long gaming sessions. Most have mechanical keys, and programmable function keys that can be customized to perform functions needed for your games.

You may enhance your gaming sessions by playing your favorite music in the background. Gaming keyboards often include media keys that allow you to quickly start, stop, restart, or fast-forward your media without moving away from your mouse or other keyboard functions, improving your game performance.

Why You Need a Gaming Keyboard (yes – you do)

A high-quality, full-featured gaming keyboard can enhance your gaming experience in several ways:

Speed – speed is an obvious element in gaming performance. Most keyboards designed for gaming are equipped with mechanical keys, which will help you key more quickly and accurately over membrane-based keyboards. Mechanical keys also allow you to type with less pressure. This allows you to move more quickly, and prevents fatigue from setting in, especially when playing for extended periods. Generally, mechanical keys are more durable than membrane versions, and provide a more responsive feel.

There are many times when a few milliseconds make all the difference in responding or moving characters in your game. Mechanical keys give you that edge.

Comfort – let’s face it – there are times when you sit at your computer playing games for long stretches of time, whether independently or playing with a group. You need a keyboard that has an efficient layout for quick movement, full-sized keys, and an ergonomic shape that avoids stiffness or pain in your wrists and hands.

Macros – many of your favorite games have key combinations that you use repeatedly during play. Good gaming keyboards have macro keys that you can customize to duplicate the functions you use in your games. Some even provide multiple macro profiles, so you can set up the macros that will help eliminate the tedious key functions differently for different games.

Macros may just provide the strategic advantage you’re looking for in your gaming, or at least make playing easier and more enjoyable.

Custom control pads – many gaming keyboards include separate control pads offset on one side of the keyboard, that can be tailored to control your game characters or do other functions in the game. Better and faster control is another leg up in your gaming results.

Lighting – you’ve probably had many times when your gaming sessions take place in less than full lighting. It’s fun to play high-definition games in low light conditions, or at least turn the lights down a bit. Backlighting on your keyboard makes this even more enjoyable, since you have easy visibility of your keys. Gaming keyboards not only have backlighting, but they usually include multiple colors, that you can customize to your particular taste.

Besides making your gaming in low light easier, multi-color backlighting just looks extremely cool.

With all the advantages a quality gaming keyboard has to offer, your next step is to find the unit that’s right for you. This may not be quite as important as your processor or graphics card, but it may still give you the edge you need to win or play at a higher level of performance.

Corsair K70 RGB Gaming Keyboard

image source: Pexels

Corsair makes a variety of high-quality keyboards loaded with features that will make you wonder how you ever played without one. This review of the Corsair K70 RGB gaming keyboard will fill you in on why it should be a top contender as your keyboard of choice.

The Corsair K70 RGB is a mechanical keyboard, offering you high-speed keying and long life of the keys themselves. The keys are Cherry MX switches, known in the industry as high-quality, durable switches that give you maximum speed, great responsive feel, and can even minimize typos. Actual versions of the Cherry MX switches vary between models of the K70 RGB, and you have several options to suit your typing style:

• Cherry MX Speed – for a fast yet smooth touch
• Cherry MX Red – Linear, smooth response
• Cherry MX Blue – Tactile click
• Cherry MX Brown – sensitive to a lighter touch
• Cherry MX Silent – quiet and smooth, if you don’t prefer an audible response

With any Cherry MX switch, you get a long-lasting keyboard switch that promises long life, a great feel, response, and the sound you prefer as you type.

Take charge over your gaming competition through the K70’s virtually unlimited capabilities for customization. Corsair K70 RGB gaming keyboards provide you with 8MB internal storage for retaining up to three personalized profiles, to keep your performance at peak levels with the key functions that are best for your playing.

Program the K70 keyboard using the included Corsair Utility Engine (iCUE) software to control the use of macros and lighting synchronization that increases your gaming pleasure and excitement. iCUE enables you to control lighting across multiple Corsair peripherals including coolers, fans, and more. Several lighting effects are selectable:

• Spiral Rainbow
• Rainbow Wave
• Color Pulse
• Color Shift
• Color Wave
• Type Lighting (Ripple)
• Type Lighting (per key)
• Visor
• Rain

Corsair K70 RGB gaming keyboards are built for durability with a solid aircraft-grade aluminum body for long life. This is just one reason the manufacturer offers a limited 2-year warranty.

K70 RGB Gaming Keyboard Models

Corsair offers different models of the K70 RGB, to match your gaming preferences:

K70 LUX RGB keyboard

LUX models incorporate the K70’s mechanical switches with an incredibly durable aluminum chassis and iCUE compatibility to customize your gaming action.

LUX keyboards are available with the Cherry switches of your choice – Red, Blue, Brown, or silent

​

K70 RGB RAPIDFIRE keyboard

RAPIDFIRE models have all the features of LUX models, but incorporate Cherry MX Speed keyboard switches for lightning-fast keying to maximize your gaming performance.

With either K70 RGB keyboard, you get rugged aluminum construction, high-technology with on-the-fly macro customization, and iCUE power for dazzling backlight synchronization.

Features of Corsair K70 RGB Gaming Keyboards

Every K70 gaming keyboard provides gamers with an incredible array of features:

• Solid forged aluminum frame
• Long-life mechanical keyboard with quality Cherry switches
• Detachable soft-touch wrist rest to keep you comfortable during long gaming sessions
• Programmable and synchronized lighting effects
• Macro capability to increase your playing performance
• 100% anti-ghosting technology
• Compatibility with Corsair’s iCUE programming technology
• USB passthrough
• Integrated media controls

Amazon pricing: RAPIDFIRE model $74.99, LUX model $109.99

Reviews of the Corsair K70 RGB Gaming Keyboard

image source: Pexels

Undecided on purchasing a gaming keyboard? Listen to what pros and customers have to say.

Reviews from the pros:

Video gaming experts IGN gave the K70 RGB a thorough examination and test drive:

• “At first glance the MK2 looks exactly like the MK1, with the only noticeable difference being the glowing Corsair logo at the top-center. The previous version just had a plastic logo, so Corsair has added illumination to it. The dark, brushed aluminum body on the K70 RGB MK.2 is unchanged, and looks and feels fantastic.

The K70 RGB MK.2 is a quality follow-up to an already beloved mechanical gaming keyboard. You get nearly everything that made the original K70 superb, along with some handy new features, although none of them are truly must-have. Despite the mild makeover it’s still a fantastic keyboard with a premium design and feature set, making it one of the best mechanical keyboards on the market.”

A review from Tom’s Guide clearly names the F70 RGB “the best gaming keyboard you can buy.”

• “Aside from its high price and initially tricky software, Corsair’s latest keyboard is nearly without flaw. I have high hopes for the company’s upcoming line of wireless gear, and I’m sure the company will think of more wired improvements as time goes on, but the K70 Mk.2 is as close to a perfect gaming keyboard as I can currently imagine.

From its incredible variety of switches, to its durable design, to its helpful bells and whistles, the K70 RGB Mk.2 is beautiful to behold and a joy to use. Research what kind of key switch suits you, and expect a premium experience to match a premium price.”

What buyers say:

• “I love this keyboard and it was everything I expected it to be (and more!) The aluminum plate really gives the board a rigid and nice look. The only thing I has to say bad about the keyboard is that the wrist rest is not useful because my wrists go past it so it kind of sits under my palm. But that’s OK it looks good and i didn’t buy it JUST for the wrist rest although it was an influencing factor.”
• “Been using this keyboard for over 8 months now and it’s worked flawlessly! The Cherry MX Red keys are fantastic, the RGB is still going strong, and I haven’t had any problems whatsoever.”
• “This keyboard is exactly what you’d want out of your first mechanical keyboard. The RGB backlight is great and the keys are perfectly smooth. I didn’t expect to care about the roller controlling the sound but it is my favorite feature. I would definitely recommend this keyboard if you’re in the market for one.”
• “It’s loads better than my previous k/m setup (which was a wireless Logitech $30 k/m combo). I’ve never used a Cherry MX Red mechanical keyboard, or any mechanical keyboard for that matter, but this thing is a dream for gaming and quick typing. I initially wanted this keyboard for a few features: red backlit keys, USB passthrough and media controls. But I found that this thing is also nicer by leaps and bounds in terms of usability.”

Granted, not everyone is quite so enamored with the functionality or actual keyboard feel:

• “I had a wireless keyboard that came with my computer. The problem with that old one was that it had problems holding the charge. So i looked for a backlit keyboard that was wired via USB and thought this would be great. Well, it has large keys, and many features that would make it great for a gamer. The back lighting is terrific.But what i was expecting was that when i type, the keys would have been silent so as not to disturb anyone trying to sleep in my room. The old one was so quiet, but this one makes a loud clack with every key press.So in conclusion, this has many great features that made me give it a good score, but the noisy keys is a big distraction/let down.”

What these reviews reveal is that the options for keyboard switches are something you should consider when making your selection. Not all switch sounds and feel are for everyone. If you have the opportunity to try them out before you buy, it would increase the confidence in your purchase.

Making Your Choice

Corsair gaming keyboards dominate the gaming keyboard market due to the incredible features they offer gamers:

• Mechanical keyboards with Cherry MX switches and large fonts on keycaps
• Customizable multi-color backlighting with vibrant colors
• Solid components and housing to last a lifetime
• Programmable lighting and macros to enhance gaming sessions

Corsair also manufactures a variety of other gaming peripherals that complement the K70 RGB keyboard and make provide amazing gaming sessions – gaming mice, headsets, mouse pads, and more. Count on Corsair for quality gaming equipment and an enhanced experience in your gaming action.

GPUN Administr@tr