Capsule Review: Corsair's Vengeance K60 and K90 Keyboards
by Dustin Sklavos on February 18, 2012 9:22 PM EST- Posted in
- Keyboard
- Peripherals
- Corsair
- Cherry MX
- Input Devices
Conclusion: Strong Out of the Gate
I'll come right out and say that I've been looking for a new keyboard to replace my aging and decrepit Microsoft Reclusa for a long time, and for me, the Corsair Vengeance K90 is it. The backlighting, the wrist rest, the mechanical switches, the recessed configurable keys, the USB 2.0 port built into the top using a passthrough...the K90 is definitely an excellent piece of kit, and it feels like it was designed by people who used other gaming keyboards and felt like those products just weren't cutting the mustard. With all that in mind, I think there are still some reservations.
I have concerns about the paint and treatment used for the keycaps on the K90 being able to hold up over time, and I feel like the software definitely does need a little bit more work and fine tuning. The USB passthrough is appreciated, but with a dedicated connection wouldn't it have been just as easy to offer more than one USB port on the keyboard itself? Right now I'm using the single port for the Vengeance mice I'm testing, but it would be nice to have a second port: one for the mouse, and one for flash drive and other USB peripherals.
The price difference between the K90 and K60 is also a little too small; in my opinion the K90 is just more preferable to the K60 and absolutely worth the extra $20 for the substantially improved functionality, comfort, and aesthetics. If anything the K60 just seems to exist to make the K90 look like a better deal, which is impressive when you're talking about keyboards that cost north of $100.
With all that in mind, it's pretty clear that despite these nitpicks Corsair has once again entered a brand new market with some very strong products. For first attempts, the Vengeance K60 and K90 both get an awful lot right, and the typing and user experiences on both of these keyboards are definitely a step above what you'll get from a garden variety membrane keyboard.
It's up to you to decide if they're worth the investment; I think the $109 and $129 price tags are both a little too steep and the keyboards would both be more compelling at $89 and $119 respectively, if not $79 and $109. If you're willing to shell out for one, the K90 is pretty much directly superior to its less expensive sibling and worth the extra $20. But really, I wouldn't fault anyone for buying either one despite the prices: these are excellent keyboards and, in my opinion, a cut above any gaming keyboards anyone else is producing.
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Metaluna - Sunday, February 19, 2012 - link
Huh? CPU and GPU advancements over the past 5+ years have so vastly outpaced the needs of "the majority of general computers users" that ergonomics is *all that's left* in many usage scenarios these days. Unless you think the majority the hundreds of millions of PC users are playing high-end games.Heck, I'm an electrical engineer, and pretty much all I use my work laptop for these days is MS Office, text editing, and VNC. Most real work is done by submitting jobs to a compute server farm where a load balancing engine selects an available machine to run on based on memory and CPU requirements.
Dustin Sklavos - Sunday, February 19, 2012 - link
I disagree with you emphatically, and the amount of response this review and the Rosewill RK-9000 review have gotten is proof these things are important to many users.Omega215D - Sunday, February 19, 2012 - link
Maybe it's time to start kicking trolls and banning them. Probably the type of people to poo poo PSU articles as well.Beenthere - Monday, February 20, 2012 - link
Let's not assume that someone who doesn't find keyboards too exciting is a troll.I doubt 99% of PC users would ever consider paying $100 for a keyboard. By Dustin's own comments the prices are excessive on these two keyboards.
nickersonm - Sunday, February 19, 2012 - link
We spend most of our time on computers using input and output devices (KB, mouse, monitor). Thus, if the internals of the PC are relatively adequate, which does it make more sense to spend money on: good quality for something you'll be using for literally thousands of hours (or tens of thousands), or a 20% upgrade to the speed of your processor which you'll only notice under heavy load? A realistic cost-benefit analysis will generally point towards spending money on parts you interact with most.Azethoth - Monday, February 20, 2012 - link
Yeah its "just" a keyboard. Guess what the most frequent computer use injury is? That's right, repetitive stress. Maybe you want to reconsider the money you are "saving" by buying a $15 keyboard or mouse in that light?Here is a link:
http://www.lni.wa.gov/Safety/Research/OccHealth/Re...
The bottom line is after 7 years you have lost $52,326 compared to someone who just broke their arm. Those cherry switches look real cheap suddenly right?
Conficio - Monday, February 20, 2012 - link
@modsciLook at it this way. Many computers have squeezed all quality out of the product in order to advertise a low price.
Look at laptops with crappy screens that especially when used on your lap wash out if you are not looking at them straight on. But then you can't as the hinge doesn't even permit to open appropriately for environments like an airplane or a train commute.
The same is true for keyboards. People that use the computer many hours of the day, typing more than a few URL's and then browsing and clicking, do realize that they do not need to update their computer every three years any more. Because for writing documents, much of programming and a lot of games the older machine is just fine. However, some quality upgrades can make a huge difference, keyboards, monitors, SSDs come to mind.
And last give the authors here some credit, they write about what they are interested in. And by the nature of their job (being an author), they type a lot. So they have a personal and natural interest in the subject matter. And believe me that is a good thing, that is what makes Anandtech so much better over many other review sites, where being first out or lacing things with "cool" words and "excitement" is the main theme. Here you get thorough reviews. And feel free to skip an article if you are not interested.
Kegetys - Sunday, February 19, 2012 - link
I got myself a K90 some time ago and the first one was bricked by the firmware updater (others seem to have had similar fate). It said the update succeeded but still the keyboard stopped working completely. Experience with Corsair support after this was pretty bad, I wouldn't want to deal with them again. They ask you to not return the keyboard in the install sheet and use their support instead, which is pretty strange considering their support and RMA procedure... After returning the keyboard to the retailer and getting a new one, I do like the feel of it for both typing and gaming so I am quite happy with it as that is the most important thing. I find the wrist rest to be too small though, and the macro keys as they are implemented now are almost useless. The software is just bad to use, buggy, lacks features and feels very much like some kind of pre-alpha version.If I were to choose now I would probably get the K60 instead and some separate wrist rest for it, though the software will hopefully be improved in the future.
Beenthere - Sunday, February 19, 2012 - link
As with Corsair SSDs they probably rushed these keyboards to market without proper validation of the software. If that's the case expect lots of headaches and RMAs if you use the updates. All marketing and no engineering it appears?Beenthere - Sunday, February 19, 2012 - link
It's interesting that only one mechanical Cherry keyboard has a decent rating by (1) user on NewEgg. While Cherry switches may be liked by some not too many people seem to like Cherry keyboards on NE except for a couple Cherry membrane boards that got good reviews.http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Sub...