Corsair sells this keyboard with a choice of MX Red, MX Speed and MX Silent, or to put it another way, only lighter, faster and linear switches; Clicky fans will have to get their kicks elsewhere.
Included in the box, you’ll find two sets of gaming caps, one for six keys and one for the classic WASD.
As you can see, they have a grip texture to them, and a revised shape, giving you a more optimal gaming position.
It’s not quite the keyboard equivalent of the Powerglove, but I still think they look cool.
Overall, this is one gorgeous looking keyboard, and even if you aren’t a fan of RGB, I think it looks great with the light out!
Since I already use a Corsair mouse mat and mouse, as soon as I connected the keyboard, it synced to my current colour profile. That’s right, simple red, no RGB rainbows for me. That being said, just look at how deep that red is, it looks like lava between the keys. Corsair really does it right when it comes to RGB choices.
The gaming key caps look a bit silly for when you’re sat in the office, but for a gamer, they look and feel stunning. I’d likely leave them off myself, but they obviously serve a purpose and they do it well.
What did surprise me was how high MX Red feel. I’ve gotten so used to lower profile switches. They’re exactly what you would expect, though, extremely smooth and precise. The fact they’re mounted in a perfectly rigid body keyboard means they feel very snappy and have no crosstalk or unwanted feedback throughout the whole keyboard. One thing that traditionally does clunk and rattle too much is the spacebar, but it seems Corsair has put a rubber dampener on this, so it’s virtually silent and much quieter than any other key on the keyboard. This is certainly a good thing for me, as I tend to wail on it while I’m gaming.
The RGB tech is awesome, and it’s really what we’ve come to expect from Corsair and their class-leading iCUE software. It’s one of the easiest to use, but also one of the (if not THE) most advanced and featured packed out there. However, there are a bunch of default profiles to pick from too, and you can adjust the brightness from the onboard switches or even swap profiles on the fly.
The ergonomics of the keyboard feel fantastic, and you can get a good angle with the feet deployed. However, since the keyboard already has a wedge shape to it, I found laying it flat to be the most comfortable. I do like the play/pause button on the left too, as I can quickly tap that without breaking the pace of my gameplay.
One of the major features of this keyboard is the AXON Hyper-Processing Technology. This means a staggering 8000Hz polling rate, which can cut response times from around 2ms to just 0.25ms. Can I tell the difference? Not really, but I was never that competitive to begin with. However, when it comes to world champion eSports players, I know for a fact they’ll spend a fortune to chase any time advantage. If you’re pushing for low ping times, high refresh rate displays, higher FPS in-game, and lower latency overall… this is the next battleground. Spamming attack and having any fraction of an advantage over your competitors can literally be a game-changer.
The Tournament mode is pretty slick, though, and I like that you can lock the switch. Enable this, and it’ll switch the keyboard to static colour, macros will be completely disabled, and the red LED is on at the back to show you’re competition compliant; It’s a pretty neat idea really.
Overall though, this keyboard is just premium from top to bottom, it feels luxurious to hold and type on, and really, I wouldn’t have expected anything less.
Battle your way through the snow-covered town of South Park in this all-new 3D co-op…
A Fighter for a New Generation – 32 fighters with next-gen visuals will collide in…
Load Cell Technology: The Thrustmaster T-LCM Pedal Set features advanced load cell technology, providing ultra-precise…
Dual Control System: The Thrustmaster T.Flight Hotas 4 features a high-precision flight stick and detachable…
True 6,400 DPI Optical Sensor For fast and precise swipes: Always stay in control. The…
Official Ferrari License: The Thrustmaster Ferrari 458 Spider features an official Ferrari license, providing an…