Corsair Raptor K40 Gaming Keyboard Review

Final Thoughts

Price

The Corsair K40 can be picked up pretty cheap if you shop around, at time of writing the keyboard is just £52.99 from Dabs.co.uk and while not incredibly cheap, it does represent a competitive price tag given the amount of features that Corsair have crammed into it. Unfortunately for Corsair their main competition for this keyboard is the Corsair K50, which is pretty much the same keyboard, but with a lot more macro keys and a wrist rest and that can be picked up for about £2-3 more, it’s really down to your own needs if you really need those extra macro keys or not, as the K50 is quite a wide keyboard.

Overview

I really like the Corsair K40, as I said before I’ve actually started using the keyboard full-time on my main rig. I like the quiet keys and the typing action is light so not to cause strain from the thousands of words per day I have to type, not to mention the endless gaming and social media mooching that I do each day. It’s not a perfect keyboard and there are a few minor draw backs to it, but fortunately nothing serious. The key caps feel slightly cheap, or at least their smooth texture is a little off somehow. They look great and their build quality is fine, but the finish feels a little strange to the touch compared to most any other keyboard I’ve used. The other issue comes with the media keys, they’re great if you’re using Windows Media Player, useless for Winamp and while I know a work around to have them work with other media players, I would have liked to have seen this functionality to be adjustable in the K40 software.

Overall design is really nice on the K40 and while Corsair have clearly made an effort to rip off the style points of their own high-end keyboards, there is no harm in trying to style the keyboard on something that already looks great. The keyboard layout makes it easy to use, the macro keys are in a nice position, the multimedia keys are nicely designed and the back-lighting effects are superb. It’s certainly aesthetically pleasing and should look great in any environment, be that office use or as part of a gaming setup, but of course style is a very subjective thing.

The price is very competitive given the keyboards specifications, but I can’t shake off the fact that the K50 is barely £2 more from some retailers. This is because the older product has now been discounted, but with more macro keys and a nice quality wrist rest, the K50 may prove better value for money for some. If you’re short on desk space to place the bigger K50, or simply don’t need those extra macro keys and the wrist rest, then the K40 is every bit as good in terms of core performance and you may as well save the extra change in your wallet.

Pros

• Clean design styled on more expensive mechanical keyboards
• Customisable LED lighting
• Multimedia keys
• Macro keys
• Easy to use software
• On-board memory makes it tournament ready
• Price 

Cons

• Key caps have a cheap feel to them
• No wrist rest like the K50
• Price is currently very close to the K50

eTeknix says: “The K40 is a solid investment for those looking for a mid range keyboard, it packs plenty of features that make it ideal for both work and gaming, but without the over the top price tag that often plagues many gaming friendly keyboards.”

Thank you Corsair for providing us with this sample.