Corsair Gaming K70 RGB Review

The Corsair Gaming K70 RGB is the first mechanical-switch keyboard to feature full RGB backlighting, making it perhaps the premium keyboard of the moment.

Pros

• Only Mechanical keyboard with RGB backlighting
• Great design and build quality
• Corsair software makes it really versatile
• Great typing experience

Cons

• Setting up the lighting can be slow and tedious
• Extras like USB hub have been removed
• It is pricey

Corsair Gaming K70 RGB Video Review

Introduction

Corsair’s last flagship keyboard, the Corsair Vengeance K70, was a barn-storming hit, and rightly so. It looked great and had a spot on collection of features. Now Corsair has updated that model – along with the K95 and K65 – and added a unique feature: full RGB backlighting.

The new lighting system has only been made possible by working in conjunction with Cherry to develop a new switch, the Cherry MX RGB. Although other keyboards will soon be using these new switches, for the time being the Corsair range is the only option if you fancy getting yourself not just a top-notch typing keyboard but one that can do fancy multi-colour animations too!

Corsair Gaming K70 RGB – Design

The keyboard really is a direct update of the K70 so retains all its pluses and minuses. The main plus – and why the K70 was so popular – is that the whole top surface is one piece of brushed aluminium, which gives it a really premium look and feel.

The K70 was available with multiple anodised colours for this aluminium but for the time being the K70 RGB is only available in black.

Joining the black aluminium are matt black plastic keys and multimedia buttons, along with a lovely knurled black aluminium volume wheel.

The underside is a more generic rough matt black plastic but you really only notice when you go poiking arouind underneath. Overall it’s a nicely crafted, great looking bit of kit.

The only question mark we do have is Corsair’s continued choice to have the key switches sit right on top of the aluminium, rather than have them slightly sunken. This leaves the keys just a little exposed, and – particularly with these switches glowing as they do – shows them off. It arguably just looks a bit too mechanical.

In case you were wondering where the Vengeance name has gone, Corsair is launching a new brand with these keyboards. Gone will be Vengeance and instead all the top gaming peripherals will fall under the ‘Gaming’ brand. Corsair says the change is to more explicitly acknowledge the focus the company now has on gaming, with it also sponsoring gaming teams and such like.

One downside of this is the rather clunky new logo that sits at the top of the keyboard. It isn’t a patch on the subtle Corsair logo of  before.

Corsair Gaming K70 RGB – Features

Aside from its fancy lights the K70 RGB is relatively low on features. It includes some basic multimedia keys – Stop, Back, Play/Pause, Forward, Mute, Volume – and there are buttons for turning off the Windows keys and for adjusting the overall backlight brightness, with four levels on offer.

The Windows lock key can be set to also turn off Alt+F4 and Alt+Tab funactionality as well, using the Corsair software. But, that’s really it for features – again, other than what you can do with the software.

There’s not even the USB socket on the back that there used to be on the original K70, though there is still the BIOS switch, which is there to aid compatibility with different types of BIOS.

What’s more, you don’t even get the replacement 1-6 and WASD keys of the original K70, nor its key removal tool. It all adds up to making the K70 RGB actually quite a basic keyboard in terms of extras, which in turn does create a slight sense of missing out – at this price you do kind of expect all the extras.

One nice touch, though is that it has feet at both the front and back so you have more angle options than most keyboards.

There’s also an included wrist rest which has a nice soft touch surface and clips on neatly to the front. We found it still wasn’t enough to raises our wrists high enough for comfort but it’s better than some token efforts.

Corsair Gaming K70 RGB – Corsair Gaming Software

Initial setup of the K70 RGB is as easy as plugging in: Windows simply does the installation automatically. However, to start playing around with all those lights and get the keyboard playing to your tune you’ll need to install the Corsair Gaming Software.

This enables you to not only setup the lighting but also to completely reconfigure what each key does.

Keys can be set to perform macros, to fill in whole chunks of text with a single key press, to perform a different keystroke or key combination, execute an application shortcut, set off a timer, replicate mouse functions and even adjust the DPI of your mouse.

The media keys can also be tuned to perform specific functions for specific software.