The Corsair K63 Wireless Mechanical Keyboard Review: PC Gaming Untethered
by E. Fylladitakis on September 16, 2019 10:30 AM ESTMechanical keyboards have come to practically dominate the current gaming peripherals market. With hundreds of manufacturers offering myriads of products, almost every user can easily find at least one product that suits their wants and needs. Despite that, there is still a sub-segment of this market that is greatly unexploited – wireless keyboards. There are many trade-offs that impact the feasibility of wireless mechanical keyboards, especially backlit ones. None of those concerns stopped Corsair from releasing the K63, a wireless version of the venerable tenkeyless K65.
Corsair is one of the largest players in today’s gaming peripherals market. The company has held several exclusive deals with Cherry, the most reputable manufacturer of mechanical key switches, allowing them to slightly outpace their competition. Today we are taking a look at their first wireless mechanical keyboard, the K63. Derived from the company's popular K65 keyboard, the K63 is intended to be a natural extension of the family, producing a mechanical keyboard that be used in environments where a wired keyboard isn't practical.
Overall, the K63 is not just a wireless keyboard, but is in fact a tri-mode keyboard: it can operate via Bluetooth, over 2.4GHz using an included USB wireless adapter, or it can be plugged in directly to a USB port. A wired fallback option is pretty typical for wireless peripherals, however supporting multiple wireless methods is a bit less orthodox. In the case of Corsair's wireless peripherals, the company has made a habit of supporting both Bluetooth and their own 2.4GHz link as a lower-latency option, and that is once again exactly what they have done for the K63.
Finally, along with the K63 keyboard itself, Corsair also supplied us with their Ironclaw wireless gaming mouse. As a keyboard on its own isn't terribly useful without a mouse, Corsair makes both, and they have provided both for us to be able to evaluate the practicability of a fully wireless gaming desktop.
Packaging and Bundle
We received the K63 in a sturdy cardboard box that is covered by a thinner, glossy exterior packaging. The packaging is dark with yellow accents and focused on a picture of the keyboard itself, which has been Corsair’s aesthetic trademark for years.
Inside the box we found the typical quick-start guide and warranty leaflets, a detachable micro USB cable, the 2.4GHz USB adapter, and one micro USB-B to USB-A adapter. There is no keycap puller or extra textured keycaps supplied with this model.
Despite the portability-focused design, Corsair does supply a full wrist rest alongside with the K63. It mimics the excellent wrist rest that we first saw on the K95 RGB Platinum, but it is smaller and the contact surface is not removable. It is soft to the touch and comfortable, yet the friction is great enough to keep a palm from slipping.
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piiman - Saturday, September 28, 2019 - link
Name one keyboard that is mechanical and polls faster than 1000mhz? Good luckI personally use a Logitech mouse not because it as less Latency but because of the free spin wheel (can't live without it.) but the latency is the same.
Dug - Monday, September 16, 2019 - link
Yay. Another super thick keyboard that causes strain on your wrists unless you use a thick wrist rest. And cherry switches really aren't the be all. Prefer two other brands besides these, as do many people after blind test.Maybe they can try for something slimmer next time.
Eliadbu - Monday, September 16, 2019 - link
I would love to see g915 but in small form factor like my g pro tenkeyless.Dug - Monday, September 16, 2019 - link
Yes!!piiman - Saturday, September 28, 2019 - link
Put it in the optional tray and its flatColin1497 - Monday, September 16, 2019 - link
I would definitely prefer to see a comparison than a stand alone review. How does it stack up against other offerings in this area?piiman - Saturday, September 28, 2019 - link
What other wireless mechanical keyboard? There aren't manyPeachNCream - Monday, September 16, 2019 - link
It's an interesting concept. What about input latency? I'm guessing that there was nothing noteworthy about it when compared to wired solutions or it would have been mentioned, but I have heard in the past that people were reluctant to pick up wireless hardware out of concern that the lack of a physical connection would somehow slow down response time in twitchy shooter style games. It's also a bit odd that battery life is so short even without the backlights turned on. Is that possibly something with the choice in keyboard controller and/or added complexity or are Cherry's switches somehow more energy hungry than cheap wireless keyboards with membrane switches?piiman - Saturday, September 28, 2019 - link
it polls @ 1000mhz you will NEVER know the difference if no one told you. But it will make a great excuse for your crappy play. :)dan82 - Monday, September 16, 2019 - link
Am I the only one who is annoyed by new devices not embracing USB Type C at this point? microUSB is extremely outdated.