Let’s Play Xbox and PC with the Same Corsair Peripherals (and Lapboard)!

It's no secret that you can play on the Xbox using a keyboard and mouse. However, I have never heard of any of my friends doing it, I never see it on my social media, and honestly, I'm starting to think I'm the only one who even bothered. That being said, I also play my Xbox games on PC (via Games Pass) mostly with the controller. However, with many FPS games now dominating the landscape, and many of those being available on both PC and Xbox, it seems like the perfect time to dive into this. Even more so, since there's a bunch of games on Xbox Games Pass that support Cross Play! I can plug my controller into my PC and play Halo MCC against other controller wielding gamers regardless of whether they're on PC or console, which is fantastic. Of course, the same is true of keyboard and mouse, and that's what I'll be putting to the test today. Xbox and PC with Corsair My good friends at Corsair were happy to get in on the action for this, and rightly so, as they've got some of the best peripherals on the market and are one of the best-known brands in PC gaming. Furthermore, they also have hardware that we know is well supported on Xbox. Finally, they've also got a range of products that are well suited to gaming on PC, but also playing games from the couch, thanks to their Gaming Lapboard! Don't feel tied to the exact setup I've used, Corsair make a massive range of mice, keyboards and headsets you could pick from to suit your own taste and requirements. I'm sure other brands have some stuff that'll work just fine too, but at least Corsair's Lapboard is compatible with their keyboards, so it makes sense to stick with them for my testing at the moment. Corsair Peripherals - A Quick Look I've got the Corsair K63 Wireless Mechanical Gaming Keyboard. It's a feature-packed keyboard, packing Cherry MX switches, and a TKL design that's going to look great on your desktop. However, we know it fit snug in the Corsair Gaming Lapboard too, which is a special keyboard dock with a mouse pad on the right, and thick padding on the underside so you can rest it on your legs while sitting on the couch! I've also got the rather fantastic Corsair M65 RGB Elite, which is a wired mouse, so I will have to be a little closer to the Xbox or use an extension cable. You can use a wireless mouse too, obviously, I just have liking for this mouse, so that's what I went with! Corsair also sent out a pretty killer headset too, the HS75 XB Wireless, which comes with support for both Xbox and PC using the same dongle, so that's easy to set up. Plus, it supports the Dolby Atmos codec is you have that, which will again work on both systems. So, I have a great keyboard, mouse and headset, as well as the lapboard to keep me connected; let's get to it! Corsair Gaming Lapboard Desktop Caliber Experience: Bring full PC gaming control to your living room with the K63 Wireless Mechanical Gaming Keyboard (sold separately) and a full-sized mouse padUltimate Portability: Lightweight and perfectly sized to travel easily between roomsMemory Foam Cushion: Provides support while keeping the lapboard perfectly positioned on your lapBuilt-In Wrist Rest: No-slip surface keeps you stable and comfortable during long gaming sessionsTool-Free Convenience: K63 Wireless Mechanical Gaming Keyboard effortlessly snaps in and out of the lapboard Corsair K63 Wireless Mechanical Keyboard Ultra-fast Wireless and Wired Modes: Connect using ultra-fast 1ms 2.4GHz gaming-optimized wireless technology, low latency Bluetooth wireless, or USB wired100% Cherry MX Mechanical Key switches: Gold contact Cherry MX Red mechanical gaming key switches deliver the ultimate performance and competitive advantage.Lighting Control and Large Font Keycaps: Experience customizable dynamic and vibrant per-key blue backlighting. Keyboard Battery Type : Up to 10 meterStrong Wireless Encryption: 128-bit AES encryption mode helps protect your keystrokes from wireless eavesdropping to keep your personal data safe.Long-Lasting Battery: Up to 15 hours of rechargeable battery-powered wireless, or connect via USB wired for uninterrupted gameplay. Keyboard Battery Life: Up to 25 hours at low brightness or 75 hours with backlighting offQwerty English Check out my full review of the Corsair K63 Wireless here. Corsair M65 RGB Elite 18,000 DPI high-accuracy sensorAnodized aluminium frameAdvanced weight tuning systemSurface calibration tuning utilityOn-board storageOptimized sniper button positioningEight programmable buttonsiCUE two-zone dynamic RGB LightingHigh-capacity Omron switches rated for 50 million clicks Check out my full review of the Corsair M65 RGB Elite here. Corsair HS75 XB Wireless Gaming Headset Officially Licensed for Xbox: Instantly connect directly to an Xbox Series X or Xbox One console without a wireless adapter, using Xbox Wireless for low-latency and high-quality gameplay for Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs.Immersive Dolby Atmos®: Places the sounds of the game all around you with three-dimensional precision, so you can react faster and more accurately.Superb Sound Quality: High-quality, custom-tuned 50mm neodymium audio drivers deliver superb sound quality with the range to hear everything you need on the battlefield.Noise-Cancelling Unidirectional Microphone: A fully detachable microphone reduces ambient noise for excellent voice clarity.Crafted for Comfort: Adjustable ear cups fitted with plush leatherette ear pads and viscoelastic memory foam provide exceptional comfort for hours of gameplay.Lightweight Durable Construction: Constructed with sturdy aluminium yokes to take the hits and deliver outstanding gaming audio for years.On-Ear Game and Chat Mix Control: Easily switch focus from hearing the action to hearing your teammates, and vice versa.Wireless Freedom: Play with up to 30 feet of wireless range and up to 20 hours of rechargeable battery life, easily charging with a USB-C cable. Check out my full review of the Corsair HS75 XB Wireless here. Xbox Games with Keyboard and (or) Mouse Support As you can see, the list is quite extensive, but it's not exhaustive either. You'll find a regularly updated list Xbox KBM, which is really handy if you're looking for something new to play on your console with keyboard and mouse, albeit, some games may only have mouse support. Furthermore, quite a few of these titles are on both PC and Xbox, and some even have Xbox Play Anywhere features, such as Halo MCC, Gears of War 5, and Sea of Thieves, which means your save games and profiles carry across regardless of what you play on, Xbox, Windows PC, Cloud etc. That certainly adds to the appeal, if you've one PC and one Xbox in the house, it means you can chop and change as you see fit. Plus, it's more excuses to get extra bang for my buck from my keyboard and mouse, oh yeah! Ark: Survival EvolvedAssassin's Creed ValhallaAtlas (Game Preview)Bomber CrewBridge Constructor: The Walking DeadBright MemoryCall of Duty: Black Ops Cold WarCall of Duty: Modern WarfareCall of Duty: WarzoneCall of the Sea (Limited)Cities: SkylinesDayZDeep Rock GalacticDestroy All Humans!Dirt 5DOOM 64Five Nights At Freddy's 1-4FortniteGears 5Gears TacticsGroundedHalo: The Master Chief CollectionHeavy Metal MachinesHorror Of The DeepHouse FlipperHyperdotHypnospace OutlawImmortals Fenyx RisingMaid of Sker (Limited)Metro ExodusMinecraftMonster SanctuaryMoonlighter (Limited)NeoverseOutriders (Limited)PaladinsPhantasy Star Online 2Planet Coaster: Console EditionRobloxRogue Company (Limited)Sea of ThievesShotgun FarmersSlime RancherSmiteSniper Elite V2 RemasteredSpellbreak (Limited)State of Decay 2Strange BrigadeSurviving MarsSurviving The Aftermath (Game Preview)The MediumThe Sims 4They Are BillionsTokyo Warfare TurboUntitled Goose GameUnto The EndWar ThunderWarframeWargroove Double TroubleWarhammer Vermintide 2World of TanksX-Morph DefenseYes Your GraceZombie Army 4: Dead War The Setup OK, so let's start at the PC because ya know, it's easier, and quite frankly, the kids are watching The Simpsons on the TV right now. Actually, that's sort of my point though. The PC is free, so I can take these peripherals and game right here, while our daily family routine dictates this is the best place to do so. However, when I want to kick back on the couch, put my feet up, and play, not only on the big screen but also through the Dolby Atmos speakers, then I'll go do that. However, for now, I'll leave them to their episode of The Simpsons (Marge vs. the Monorail, if you were wondering). Overall though, it means if the kids are on the PC or TV, I can go play elsewhere, etc. First things first, I'm so used to reviewing peripherals one at a time, so it's really pretty awesome to see a bunch of them together at once, and from the same brand. They're not all from the same Corsair range or even released in the same year, but there's still a good overall Corsair style vibe here, and that does appeal to me. The keyboard is an obvious choice for this. Firstly, it's TKL, which I really like, as it gives me much more desktop space for empty coffee cups and to move the mouse around. It's also much more compact and lightweight, making it easy to pick up from my desk and lug to the couch. Furthermore, it's completely wireless, and that means I'm not going to be fishing around under my desk looking for the cable. That'll also have a big advantage when hooking it up to the Xbox too. As you can see, I'm using it wired at my desk, which means it's charging and always ready to go when I want to go wireless on the Xbox. I also have the detachable wrist rest on my desk but keep in mind that the Lapboard has its own built-in. I did choose a wired mouse, and I do suggest if you're going to be sitting further away from your Xbox that you get a wireless one, it just makes more sense. However, I personally chose this mouse, as I quite like it, and I'm really just trying to see how all this will work more than anything. Plus, I love the shape of this mouse, I wanted to play a lot of Halo and figured this setup would work well, especially the sniper button. Regardless, It's less complicated than my own daily mouse, the Corsair Scimitar RGB Elite. The headset is just a winner all around too; it's one of the best ones Corsair makes right now. Again, just an excellent plug and play headset with a great sound, and it supports Dolby Atmos, which I have on my Xbox and PC. I know it has solid battery life, so a whole day of watching movies, playing games, and flicking between systems will not be an issue for it. Finally, a nice bonus is that it also looks great and has excellent build quality. Performance I think we can all guess that the PC performance was pretty awesome because it just was. A Cherry MX keyboard, with a kick-ass optical mouse and one of Corsair's best headsets. Top marks all around, really, and no surprise, since I've already reviewed these products on their own and given them some awards, hurray! However, I've never tried them all together, which changes the overall experience (positively) by quite a lot. It's my first time playing Halo with keyboard and mouse, and it's a very different experience! I've got thousands of hours on the Xbox with the Halo franchise, so I'm very comfortable with the controller and this game. However, it's funny how drastically different you play. I found myself taking different lines through levels with the keyboard and mouse and jumping at different intervals. Very interesting indeed. I guess you get used to the advantages and disadvantages of each input method subconsciously. That being said, the game is set up well to work with the keyboard and mouse. I mean, it's not like Halo has never been on PC before, so one would hope it works well. Even driving didn't take me long to adjust to. Plus, the wrist rest was welcome on the keyboard. As you can see, I'm already wearing bands on my wrists, as my hands are killing me this week; gotta ease up on those gaming hours, that's for sure. I was right, too, the Sniper button is a real game-changer for Halo, and most other FPS games to be fair. Especially given I play a lot of Swat mode on Halo Reach; you certainly don't get this advantage with a controller! The headset is just fantastic too, with some really impressive surround sound processing and a really nice bass response. I've mostly been using it for Movies if I'm honest, which we'll get to in another feature, but when it comes to gaming, it's by far one of my favourite headsets on the market today. Very powerful, comfortable, with solid battery life, and most importantly, it pairs with the Xbox controller wireless USB dongle I already have on my PC, and it pairs natively with the Xbox just like you would pair a controller, making it ideal for this setup. The Lapboard, much to my own amusement, works really well on my desk too. It's like a big novelty wrist rest. It looks silly, I know, but at least dropping the keyboard in the mouse is pretty easy. Of course, the mouse is more of a hassle to move, as that's wired, but again, that was my choice, and I'm happy with it (for now). Hook up the keyboards USB dongle to the Xbox, and that's about it really; it just worked straight away. I've never connected a keyboard to the Xbox before, so I was glad to see there's absolutely zero additional set up required. I love that I can just drop the keyboard into the Lapboard and it's good to go. Or, alternatively, quickly remove it too. There are some clips at the back too, so it doesn't fall out. Push, click, done. The headset is easy enough to setup, just hold the power button until the LED flashes, then hit the pairing button on your Xbox. Beep-boop, that's it, you're rocking. Lapboard, keyboard, mouse, headset, Halo. - GO! My better half snapped a few pictures of my playing, not that I noticed at the time, or I'd have sucked in the Covid-belly. I don't know why, but I half expected the game to feel different on the Xbox using the keyboard and mouse vs using it on the PC. Of course, it didn't, but it's still a very different experience regardless. For one, I'm sat further away, despite actually sitting on the large footrest here, but the cable was long enough to sit back on the couch with my legs out. The TV screen is much bigger than my PC monitor, and I can use the HDR on my TV. Furthermore, I can use the Dolby Atmos of my home cinema speakers (5.1.2 configuration) or Dolby Atmos Headphones feature on the HS75 headset. It's just a more dynamic and scaled up experience, really. It's great having so many options and configurations though. I get all the precision control of the keyboard and mouse, with all the comfort of my living room and the big TV, couch, etc. Of course, with Cross Play, I can continue the exact same game of Halo on this system that I can on my PC, and honestly, that feels like the future to me. Especially with the Series X, the game plays in 4K60 on both systems, so it's not like I'm slumming it on the console version here. The mouse mat is very slippy, which admittedly is great for gaming, as the mouse is very easy to move around. However, wired or wireless, make sure you've somewhere to put your mouse when you want to let go. The Lapboard isn't always going to be a flat surface, and it'll just slide around as you shuffle in your seat. It's not a big problem though. It's a huge surface too, I never found myself short on space. Plus, with my mouse choice, I was able to use a higher DPI for fast turns, but lean on the sniper button to slow things down for shooting; a huge advantage in competitive FPS games! While there are loads of games that support keyboard and mouse, I'm a little disheartened that Microsoft doesn't offer it as a filter or sorting option, despite quite a large number of titles offering the feature. Instead, you'll have to refer to the list of games I provided a few pages back, then go find that game. It's hardly the end of the world, but it's a QOL feature I'd like to see added in the future. I was happy with the testing I had done, which is to say, spent my afternoon playing a lot of Halo and calling it work. I turned my back to go make a cuppa tea. Interestingly, the lapboard is too big to actually go over her legs, as it just becomes a see-saw. However, improvise and adapt is clearly something my daughter does well. She normally plays with the controller, but she took to the keyboard and mouse in a flash. Clearly, I underestimated the true potential of the Lapboard and console gaming with keyboard and mouse, but kids these days are clearly lightyears ahead of us now; I'm impressed and proud. How Much Does it Cost? In total, you'll be spending around £350 for this setup, but it's likely you wouldn't need all of this. You likely have a mouse that would work well enough already. Plus, you could keep your current PC mouse and perhaps get a wireless one just for the Xbox. A Corsair Harpoon Wireless with Slipstream tech is just £39.99 and would do a fantastic job. You likely already have a suitable headset, or you may not want one at all, and use desktop speakers and your TV/surround sound! Again, it's building what works best for you. However, you will need a K63 keyboard for the lapboard. At £70, this is a pretty fantastic keyboard in its own right, and worthy of being on your desktop and/or Lapboard! Corsair K63 Wireless Mechanical Gaming Keyboard - £70.47Corsair M65 ELITE RGB Optical FPS Gaming Mouse - £51.99Corsair HS75 XB WIRELESS Gaming Headset - £168.96Corsair K63 Wireless Gaming Lapboard - £59.99 Oh and don't mix up the LAPBOARD with the much older Corsair LAPDOG. Similar products, but the LAPDOG was the bulky wired version from 5 or 6 years ago. Overview In some weird way, I fully expected gaming on my Xbox Series X to feel like some big revelation, almost like I was cheating in some regard. However, while this would likely have been the case ten years ago, it was just like playing on my PC these days. The Xbox and PC landscapes have become heavily merged in recent years, and it's only after this test that I really appreciate just how much work has been done. Playing Halo on my PC, I get 4K resolution, 60 FPS, keyboard and mouse and controller support, and extensive customisation options for the controls. However, on Xbox Series X, I get 4K resolution, 60 FPS, keyboard and mouse and controller support, and extensive customisation options for the controls; that's right, the exact same experience. I tried Gears 5, Sea of Thieves, and while I did intend to try Minecraft, my daughter put that through its paces instead, and it really was just business as usual. Plug it in and play, no issues whatsoever. I expected to have to tinker with some settings, tell the game what I wanted to use, something, but no, it just worked. Some games, like Halo, require you to lock in your controller type at the start of multiplayer, which does make sense, as it'll match you up with people using the same input devices. You don't want to go into a match with a controller against a group of keyboard/mouse users, you'll be whooped in no time. However, for single-player stuff, I didn't see any game have an issue with me flipping between a controller, the mouse, the keyboard, and back. To be honest, Microsoft gets a big thumbs up for their handling of input devices overall. I'll admit, this isn't a setup I see a lot of people using, but there's clearly a market for it. Most of the popular games seem to support keyboard and mouse on Xbox these days. Plus, most PC games come with controller support too, especially those on Games Pass. So accessibility is improving and allowing people to play how they want to play. Corsair is one of the few brands that are really ready to tackle the market. I think a few other brands do a couch keyboard systems, but I think Corsair has the only one where the keyboard actually docks in the unit (correct me if I'm wrong). It's due to be updated, but they've got a page (here) that details loads of their mice, keyboards and headsets that have been tested on the Xbox One, and I'm sure that list will have grown considerably. While the Lapboard may not be for everyone, it's a really fun thing to have. Perhaps stick a cupholder on the side for maximum entertainment. If you want to game in your living room, using keyboard and mouse, and enjoying all the advantages that can bring, there's very little stopping you! Now, I wonder if I can pair it all with my phone and use them on xCloud... but that's for another day!

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