Corsair K70 RGB Pro review: Ping ping ping ping ping

Price When Reviewed

$170

Best Prices Today

$160

$169.99

Free

Mechanical keyboards are extra well-liked than any given superhero film, particularly once you limit your search to the gaming keyboard subset. So to ensure that a high-end, costly board to get a suggestion, it must nail just about each side of its design and efficiency. The Corsair Okay70 RGB Pro doesn’t do this. It’s merely good. And in a market this crowded, that’s sufficient to place it behind the leaders of the pack. 

While the keyboard has a strong construct and goes for real Cherry switches which can be particularly tuned for gaming, just a few lapses in execution imply there are higher selections accessible. Keyboard purists will probably be immediately repelled by the fixed “ping” I skilled within the evaluate unit, and others will probably be unimpressed by the shortage of premium extras. In quick, it’s simply not well worth the $170 asking worth. 

Hardware

The full-size model of the Corsair Okay70 RGB Pro is available in a completely huge field, and also you quickly see why. It’s a giant, beefy keyboard, with a big space above the perform row devoted to LED standing lights, a full steel scroll wheel, and additional buttons that management mute, brightness, profile, and locking mechanism. The keyboard additionally comes with a beneficiant magnetic palm relaxation that I discovered each comfortable and durable, and a premium 6-foot USB-C-to-A braided cable. 

Corsair didn’t low-cost out on the supplies, not less than in the obvious components of the design. The board makes use of a trendy brushed steel deck, which is one strong piece going over the varied angles, in addition to premium PBT plastic keycaps. They’re double-shot, so not solely will they show the RGB lighting evenly and brightly, they’ll by no means put on down irrespective of what number of hours of sweaty gameplay you topic them to. That’s a particular plus: some competing manufacturers make you pay for the PBT upgrade. The structure is commonplace, so you may simply swap in your individual caps when you care to. 

Michael Crider/IDG

Underneath the caps are real Cherry switches straight from Germany (by the use of China), game-friendly linear MX Reds on my evaluate unit. MX “Speed” switches with lighter springs and sooner activation can be found, in addition to MX Brown and Blue for tactile and clicky typers and “silent” Reds when you want your keyboard to be rather less noisy. I recognize the choices…however on a board this costly, a modular design that enables hotswapping switches is becoming much more common. Its absence is felt right here.

On high of all that you simply get devoted media controls above the 10-key zone, dual-stage keyboard ft for 3 separate typing angles, and a devoted change for “tournament mode” (which disables customized profiles and macros). The Okay70 isn’t Corsair’s most bombastic gamer keyboard, but it surely’s most likely the largest and priciest one that the majority customers would think about stretching their price range to accommodate.

Typing 

Typing with the Okay70 RGB Pro was, frankly, annoying as hell. The PBT keycaps, steel keyboard plate, and hole plastic physique created a definite “ping” noise with each single keystroke. And I imply each single one. While I’m no stranger to noisy keyboards — I’ve constructed some with Kailh BOX Navy switches! — this ringing echo with each faucet threatened to drive me up the wall. 

Michael Crider/IDG

If you continuously work with music or headphones on, this isn’t actually a problem. But I believe most customers would discover this extremely aggravating, particularly in the event that they go for the “silent” change possibility. A bit of Googling reveals that it isn’t an remoted difficulty and is usually skilled with Corsair board designs that characteristic steel plates, so I’m not ready to chock this up as a lemon evaluate unit. Stabilizers are additionally a little bit free and have some rattle to them, however that’s fairly typical of gaming boards. 

Michael Crider/IDG

Beyond the terrible noise, utilizing the keyboard for work was serviceable if not excellent as soon as I put some noise-canceling headphones on. The keycaps are a specific excessive notice, with a barely grainy texture that made adjusting from my traditional board extraordinarily straightforward. The adjustable ft and barely rubbery wrist relaxation are fairly comfortable. The quantity wheel is useful, but it surely has a clean motion that doesn’t notch, so it feels free and a bit unsatisfying mixed with the Windows digital quantity controls.

Gaming 

Using the Okay70 to sport was a greater expertise than typing, if solely as a result of my focus was taken away from that terrible pinging noise. I discover that keyboards are typically interchangeable when it comes to efficiency for PC gaming, since your structure is normally decided in-game. But for individuals who want it, the Okay70 can simply deal with customized keystroke assignments within the busy however purposeful iCue software program. The traditional macros and per-program profiles are current. 

Michael Crider/IDG

There are some considerate additions right here. Almost all gaming keyboards have a sport lock perform that disables the Windows key, however in iCue this mode can even disable Alt-Tab, Shift-Tab, and when you’re notably prone to historic memes, Alt-F4. There’s a 1000Hz/1Ms polling fee, sooner than simply about any human can detect, and even an possibility to regulate for “switch debounce time” to maintain from an unintended hardware-triggered double-tap. 

Michael Crider/IDG

Lighting choices are intensive, with greater than a dozen preset animations, customized programming, and syncing with different iCue-enabled units and even Google Home or Alexa routines. If you’d prefer to roll your individual lighting that’s additionally an possibility. There are three completely different LEDs beneath the area bar, which add completely nothing to performance however are appreciated for the sake of aesthetics. While this enormous board lacks a number of the extra flashy extras like side-mounted lights, the intense LEDs will suffice when you like your desktop to appear like a tiny thumping rave.

On high of the usual key structure, the Okay70 provides you devoted profile, lighting, and sport lock buttons on the highest left, and cease, again, play, and ahead media controls on the highest proper below the quantity wheel, and a devoted mute button. None of those are mechanical, however they don’t actually have to be. 

Michael Crider/IDG

Again, the devoted scroll wheel feels free and unsatisfying. I actually want it was each notched and pressable, which might negate the necessity for muscle reminiscence for each quantity and mute features. One final neat little contact: There are devoted grooves within the backside plastic portion of the case for semi-permanent cable routing. It’s a pleasant addition when you’re not prepared to leap to wi-fi simply but.

Value 

The Okay70 RGB Pro prices $170. And that’s a determine I actually can’t recover from. A $100 board with as many options as this one has could possibly be forgiven for merely okay extras and extremely annoying ping sound. For as a lot as Corsair desires for this one, I can’t suggest it.

Michael Crider/IDG

That form of cash may get you a premium design with a full metal case and hot-swap switches, if not fairly so many gamer selections. Razer’s broadly comparable BlackWidow V3 is $30 cheaper, although you lose that in order for you PBT keycaps. HyperX gives all the identical controls at about half the value on the Alloy Elite 2, with an much more deluxe mannequin on the similar worth. And at this worth there are a number of deluxe wi-fi choices. 

The Okay70 is okay, and when you can ignore the terrible noise of the switches and physique, even good. But on this market, that’s simply not ok.