Corsair K55 Core RGB Gaming Keyboard Review

A Closer Look & Performance

This is a nice-looking keyboard, sure, it’s a budget-focused model, nothing too fancy, but it’s still a nice-looking keyboard. It’s unmistakably a Corsair keyboard too, so if you want to rep that brand for some cool factor, you can do it without spending too much money.

The casing is plastic rather than the aluminium casing we see on their more premium models, but it still follows the same design principles and has a similar shape overall. Corsair has switched to a low-key branding style too, with just a little product name on the left side, look closer, CLOSER, see it? Like I said, low-key.

The key caps have a nice UV finish to them, they look pretty great, and they feel nice to the touch.

It doesn’t look like there are a lot of features on here, it is a more affordable model, so that’s really to be expected. However, there is an Fn-Shift button allowing you to easily access features like RGB control, without the need for desktop software.

There is a nice set of media controls though, with a circle layout of buttons allowing you to play/pause, and take control of your volume levels. Sure, it’s not the premium jog-wheel from their flagship models, but it’s still nice to have these here.

The cable is hard-wired, which is a shame, but again, not all that surprising given that this is a more budget model. It’s play-and-play ready though, so no software to set up, making it very user-friendly for PC gaming noobs.

Weirdly, the bottom of the keyboard looks pretty cool, with a cool Corsair logo in the middle that looks like the back of one of their premium headset ear cups.

There are two kickstands, which are nice and wide to provide plenty of stability, and they come with some rubber strips on them to prevent the keyboard from sliding around.

I love per-key RGB lighting, but it does make a keyboard more complex to manufacture and more expensive too. This keyboard uses a 10-zone RGB configuration that’s built into the keyboard chassis, so it likes up larger chunks of the keyboard instead.

However, that still provides it with some nice transition effects, and it’s both bright and colourful too, so it seems like a good trade-off for fans of the bright colours and saving a few quid. Plus you can change the colour or simply turn the lights off directly from keyboard controls, which is nice.

When it comes to performance, it’s a membrane keyboard, so it’s a little muddy feeling due to the rubber dome membrane that makes up the “switch” part within the keyboard housing. The key caps themselves use a plunger design so they still have a good range of travel to them, and it feels like a cheaper Cherry MX Brown bumpy switch with a set of thick dampening O-rings on them.

It’s nice and responsive, but not as snappy as a cheap mechanical may feel. However, it is a very quiet keyboard to type and game on, so you can bash away at the keys late at night without waking everyone in the house up. Corsair mechanicals are notorious for having loud space bars, but that’s not the case here.

I would have liked to see it come with a wrist rest though, mostly because I’m nearly 40 and my wrists are pretty worn out, but on the plus side, the keyboard is fairly low profile so it’s pretty comfortable to use regardless.