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
After reading the previous pages of this review, you should already know that the Corsair Gaming K70 RGB is one of the most advanced keyboards ever made. It has practically endless customizability options, from macros and key remapping to timers and complex lighting effects. The user can set practically any key to perform almost any input action, no matter how complex it may be. If Corsair introduces the ability to record absolute mouse positions when programming macros, which we hope to see in future versions of the CUE software, then the Corsair Gaming K70 RGB should be able to perform every input action conceivable.
As for the lighting options, the programming capabilities are insane and we can imagine that some users will spend hours creating very complex visual effects. Thankfully, the ability to import profiles, actions, and lighting effects means you can simply visit Corsair's forum and download files that other users have created and potentially save yourself a lot of time and effort.
The only real problem with the Corsair Gaming K70 RGB is that it uses a completely standard layout; there aren't any extra keys to use for special functions. Of course, you can reprogram every single key but you will have to sacrifice at least one key if you want to introduce the manual switching of modes and/or profiles. You simply cannot keep every single key mapped to its original purpose and add advanced functions, unless you maintain a default profile and set the other profiles to initiate automatically once an application has been launched.
In terms of quality, the Corsair Gaming K70 RGB leaves us no room for complaints. The aluminum chassis has outstanding mechanical strength and makes the body of the keyboard extremely robust. Cherry MX switches are known to be of the highest quality and our texture analyzer verified that, as all typical keys required an actuation force between 45cN and 48cN. As with all such keyboards, the larger keys (especially the Space Bar) require less force to actuate, due to their size and weight. And with a 50 million keystrokes rating, these switches will most likely outlast the lifespan of the user, let alone the keyboard. Inside the keyboard, the assembly quality and the soldering job are immaculate, without a single weak spot to be found.
Corsair also seems quite proud of their new Corsair Utility Engine software and they have every reason to be. It is by far the most advanced keyboard tuning software that we have seen to this date. The programming options and capabilities are enormous and, should Corsair add just a few more options such as the recording of absolute mouse positions and on-the-fly macro recordings, it has the potential to become the best software for an advanced keyboard. As it is still an early version, we are hopeful that Corsair will add these options in the future, after addressing the already known bugs and quirks that testers have found of course.
To give you some idea of what's possible, the picture below depicts the gaming mode I have programmed for an online action-RPG. Keys 1-7, CTRL, Tab and Space control basic game functions, F1 to F4 initiate macros, and the six keys to the right of the main keyboard have been reprogrammed to execute quick text inputs of common battle chat messages. Space has also been remapped to L-Shift, as I personally find the combination of CTRL, Tab, and L-Shift uncomfortable. Programming the entire mode, including the macros, took me less than 10 minutes and dramatically increased my in-game performance and gaming comfort, as I no longer needed to juggle between hitting Shift and Tab with my pinky finger while keeping the rest of my fingers on the numeric buttons.
The Corsair Gaming K70 RGB has only one real enemy: its own price tag. Actually, the competition from other companies is minimal, with very few products (such as the still unavailable $170 Razer Chroma, which "ships in 3-4 weeks") capable of coming anywhere near the Corsair Gaming K70 RGB in most respects. The major competition that the Corsair Gaming K70 RGB faces comes from Corsair themselves.
With an MSRP price of $170, the Corsair Gaming K70 RGB is far more expensive than its predecessor, the Vengeance K70, which retails for $112 at the time of this review. The capabilities of the RGB version are on a completely new level of course, but the Vengeance K70 remains a perfectly good product for users that simply want a high quality mechanical keyboard and do not care about advanced programming and lighting features.
For those that do want a very advanced keyboard, the Corsair Gaming K70 RGB has another major adversary; the Corsair Gaming K95 RGB has an MSRP price of $190, just $20 higher. For just $20 more, you get a bunch of extra keys that can be programmed to switch profiles/modes, launch applications, execute macros, and pretty much do anything that your heart desires. Unless desktop space is a problem, we believe that the current pricing makes the Corsair Gaming K95 RGB is a far more sensible choice. But ultimately, the choice is yours: the K70 RGB is available now while you'll have to wait a bit longer for the K95 RGB.
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lehtv - Monday, September 22, 2014 - link
So they sent Dustin over to Corsair, and in return, Corsair sent Fylladitakis to AT? Makes sense.Sabresiberian - Monday, September 22, 2014 - link
I don't have a problem with it. I find his writing to be quite thorough and logical. Certainly in the grand scheme of today's internet writers it stands well above the average.You might also consider that English might not be his first language (though judging by name is far from accurate, especially in the modern world), or that he comes from a country where English varies slightly from American--English. Regardless, minor grammar or editing mistakes don't mean the writing is "poor" overall. I get that many people talk like a politician running for office these days - in other words, grossly exaggerate or use inflammatory language - but that is no excuse for calling a person's writing "poor" when it isn't.
I suggest you make such remarks very specific, about the exact phrase or word that bothers you. You might also consider sending him a polite PM instead of posting in a public thread.
JarredWalton - Monday, September 22, 2014 - link
FWIW (and this is for the OP and thread in general, not to Sabresiberian) I do an editing pass on all of E.Fyll's work as you're correct: he's not a native English speaker. Sadly, I've been known to miss a typo or two, or even introduce my own errors -- our CMS does have a spell-checker, but I did the editing pass on a different PC early this morning and didn't realize the spell-checking wasn't turned on. Even then, the CMS doesn't catch potential grammar issues, and copying into Word and back becomes rather tedious. I just made a second pass looking for spelling errors and found several that I had missed, but I'm sure there are a few others.Personally, I view our reviews (and most computer hardware reviews) as being more useful from an informational standpoint than literary works that need to have perfect grammar in order to convey their intended message. We try to catch errors, but in the world of the Internet and with sometimes short review periods it's inevitable that we'll miss some things. Hopefully most of you can still enjoy the technical content, even if we sometimes mangle the English language. :-)
bebimbap - Monday, September 22, 2014 - link
Overall I enjoyed the review and agree with your conclusion. I don't care about he "advanced key options" and the extra 60% cost compared to the vengeance series is too much.I find your writing good, as I am able to read it without becoming confused or rattled.
I believe what people are complaining about is the smoothness of the style. On the last page, the first paragraph begins in 2nd person as "you" are the target audience. But later in that same paragraph the audience is switched to 3rd person "the user". 2nd paragraph is written in 3rd person, and the 3rd paragraph is written in 2nd person again. The 6th paragraph is written in 1st person, and so forth. For some people a single skip on a CD track makes the entire CD unusable, but not myself, as long as it keeps flowing. This style does not bother me. I read for information, and you have gotten your point across on every front. Writing is first and foremost the exchange of information, and you have accomplished that.
If you take Dr Ian's writing style as an example he usually keeps most of his paragraphs in 3rd person, and is written more like a lecture or a scientific paper at times which I enjoy reading.
Dustin's writing has a lot of passion and is more colloquial and less traditional, and writes in mostly 1st person. He writes with rhetorical questions which engage the reader which I also enjoy reading.
In the end every author writes differently and they should. I do not want the same person writing every review.
E.Fyll - Monday, September 22, 2014 - link
I do see your point and appreciate your feedback. Actually, I am to blame for this. You could say that it is the price I pay for "not being myself". My usual writing style is in third person: it also is very formal, short and abrupt. I have been (rightfully) accused of having a bland, cold writing style. I do realize that a strict, formal and direct text is not exactly suitable for this line of work, so I try to "liven it up" a little by either trying to write as if I am lecturing or by narrating my own ideas and experiences - hence the inconsistency. The switching is not ideal but, for example, it is difficult to narrate your own experience in third person without suggesting that it is not your own experience but "a universal truth". Clarity is always my top priority, I do not want to leave room for misconceptions, so it will always take precedence over uniformity when necessary.I suppose that it might work best if I stick with the third person writing for the majority of the text and switch to first person in paragraphs that describe my own views and experiences.
Dustin Sklavos - Monday, September 22, 2014 - link
Write in whatever voice you're most comfortable with and then slowly develop from there. My early stuff here was really stilted because I'm *not* comfortable writing academically. Once I realized I could use my preferred style, it got much easier.Academic and formal is almost more appropriate for AT than my writing style ever was. Ignore the local yokels and just write how you want to write.
nathanddrews - Monday, September 22, 2014 - link
On the contrary, I thought it was an excellent article. I'd be all over this keyboard if it came with MX Black keys.YazX_ - Monday, September 22, 2014 - link
i have no problem with the writer, he did a great job here and in other articles, if you have a problem then its your own problem and i would suggest you move on or go else where.typos are common when writing any article, so stop crying like babies and get to the core of the article not the writer.
DigitalFreak - Monday, September 22, 2014 - link
If you want to see some bad review writing, try reading video card reviews at HardOCP. Almost painful.Dustin Sklavos - Monday, September 22, 2014 - link
While I'd almost take that as a compliment, I remember getting comments just like this one when I started at AT. I had one person say I needed to be fired.Your feedback isn't constructive, it's not helpful in any meaningful way, the only purpose it serves is to be hurtful while you hide behind the internet. E.'s writing is fine, it's just more academic in style than mine was. Different is not worse or better, it's different. But E.'s methodology (at least with cases and cooling) is more sound than mine was, E. can do extremely detailed PSU reviews, and he happens to be picking up peripherals.
As for the typo you guys are griping about, I was corrected roughly once an article. It happens.
E. has my complete confidence, support, endorsement, whatever you want to call it. I *like* my successor. If it had been up to me I *still* would've chosen him.