The Corsair Gaming Keyboards and Mice Range: An Experiential Test

Conclusion & Closing Thoughts

After a thorough review of the K70 RGB at the time of its release and a quick review of their most important keyboards and mice today, a better overall assessment can be made for Corsair's new Gaming division.

The keyboards undoubtedly are what made Corsair's peripherals known worldwide in such a short time. It has not been long since the release of the Vengeance K60 and K90. Although these were rather simple keyboards at the time, lacking any groundbreaking features, without lighting and even with rubber dome keys onboard, the design and quality helped Corsair to push into the peripherals market. Upgrade after upgrade, Corsair added lighting and made them fully programmable. Today's versions, the K65 RGB, K70 RGB and K95 RGB are all cutting-edge products, with per-key RGB lighting and programmability, exceptional quality and excellent software. All three keyboards come with Cherry MX switches. Brown, Blue or Red is the option for the K70 RGB and K95 RGB, while the K65 RGB is only available with Red.

Just because their core design is similar and they share the same software, it does not mean that these three keyboards are the same. In fact, it may not be an exaggeration to say that the K95 RGB is the only "complete product" of the three and that the other two keyboards are just cropped versions of it. Of course, neither the K70 RGB nor the K65 RGB is a bad keyboard. However, as we pointed out in both our detailed review a few months back and in this article, the K70 RGB is missing just a few keys that are essential on such an advanced design. Even without any extra keys for macros, the K70 RGB would be perfect if there were at least a couple of keys for profile/mode cycling. Profiles can be tied to a game but then it is not possible to switch modes without sacrificing at least one key. This problem is greater in the case of the K65 RGB, where there are even fewer keys to sacrifice.

In games, especially any online game where chatting/messaging is a must, the ability to roll back and forth between a standard keyboard layout and a reprogrammed board with gaming commands is essential. Thus, the presence of the macro keys and keys dedicated for the switching of modes/profiles and macro recording makes the K95 RGB far more suitable for gaming. With the ability to choose between Red, Blue or Brown switches and the presence of numerous macro-dedicated keys, the K95 RGB is a great choice for gamers but an even better choice for professionals. Actually, professionals tend to desire the presence of numerous macro keys more than gamers do. For example, programmers use them to insert commonly used code and architects to initiate complex CAD commands. The only major problem of the K95 RGB is the price tag. With a street price of $190 including shipping, the K95 RGB is one of the most expensive consumer keyboards available. It is not hard to imagine that enthusiasts would see the high price of such a keyboard as an investment but the K95 RGB is definitely not a keyboard that will appeal to the average person.

Still, the K70 RGB will be a very satisfactory choice for the average gamer and possibly professionals who do not rely on the use of macros. In most cases, even those who use multiple modes/profiles and want to switch between them will be satisfied by sacrificing keys that they do not use. The most common approach is to sacrifice the multimedia keys and have the back/forward keys to go through modes, the play key to cycle between profiles and the stop key to revert the keyboard back to its original layout. However, with a street price of $170 including shipping, it is very hard not to recommend the spending of $20 more to get the K95 RGB instead.

The K65 RGB has a smaller target group in mind - those that do want/need a very advanced keyboard but they do not have much desk space for it. It may be a little challenging to use many advanced functions simultaneously with the K65 RGB but everything is possible. It could very well be programmed to function as a normal keyboard and automatically switch to a particular gaming profile once a game has been started. Then, multiple modes can be programmed and cycled through using whichever keys are useless for in-game functions. It may be a little inconvenient with a small keyboard such as this but it definitely is possible. However, as it does not come with Brown or Blue switches, it probably is not the most effective choice for writing books. Typing long texts with Red switches is not very effective. Even though the switches are soft, most people still find them very tiring compared to the Brown version. Another issue with the K65 RGB is that it has been released as part of a cooperation agreement with Best Buy and they exclusively retail it within the States. Even though a single store monopolizes this keyboard, the price is reasonable, at $130 including shipping. SCAN has it available in the UK as well, although the retail price of 120 GBP is very steep.

Moving on to the mice, everything becomes even simpler. The M65 RGB is just an upgraded version of the older M65, a very popular product. It was initially purposed to complement Corsair's gaming mechanical keyboards, as the first mechanical keyboards Corsair produced (i.e. the Vengeance K60) were leaning towards FPS gamers as well. Today, even though the M65 RGB is an "FPS-specific" design that already is a few years old, Corsair's upgrades make it a very formidable product. The M65 RGB is very well designed and made, with great quality components and with a good laser sensor. The weight felt just about right for a good gaming mouse and can be slightly adjusted if the user wants to. It also is fully programmable and its profiles can be tied to particular games, allowing easy adjustment to any kind of game. The presence of a thumb key will not prevent anybody from playing a RTS or RPG game. On the contrary, the ability to repurpose allows the opportunity of having an extra command/function of actual usefulness in any type of game. With a price of $65 including shipping, the M65 RGB is neither a steal nor overpriced but it will meet heavy opposition, mainly from Logitech's renowned G502 Proteus Core. Only MMO gamers might find it lacking, as they often require at least four to six programmable keys on the left side of the mouse.

The newest product of Corsair Gaming, the Sabre, is easier to class. The ergonomic, simple design of the mouse hints the desire of the company to pull away from products that focus on specific groups of gamers. It is a lightweight, fully programmable mouse, designed to be appealing to a broad range of users. It is cheaper than the M65 RGB as well, retailing for $50 including shipping (laser version). The optical version should be similarly priced as well but no major seller appears to have it in stock at the time of this review. It is not a better product than the M65 RGB or capable of competing with high-end products of other manufacturers, but Corsair aims the Sabre at the middle range of the market, where the bulk of gamers exists, depending on people who generally are willing to pay something extra for a good gaming mouse but do not want to reach too deep within their pockets for it.

The CUE software is the universal and perhaps the most important feature of all Corsair Gaming peripherals. It is a well-written software with myriads of options, satisfying the new user and the seasoned expert alike. Lighting customizability for any of these devices is practically boundless, to the point that most people would argue about it being uselessly advanced. That is not far from the truth, as it would probably serve no purpose for a long or overly flashy lighting effect to start once a key has been pressed while gaming. Naturally, the vast majority of the people would be looking (and should be focusing) on the screen, not the keyboard or the mouse. Then again, others argue that it does not hurt for the capability to be there. This way, the devices can be adjusted to the specific needs of even the most unconventional user. Corsair also launched the "RGBShare" service, an online lighting profile browsing and sharing feature for Corsair RGB devices, where users can browse, view and download lighting effects, as well as share their own.

Each of these five Corsair Gaming products (three keyboards, two mice) is designed with a specific target group in mind and all generally are more than capable to compete in today's ferocious market. However, it goes without question that these are simply not enough to cover the whole market. Now that Corsair has its own gaming division, it is highly unlikely that they will rest on just five products. It is also very unlikely that they started a completely new division with the release of virtually just one brand new product, the Sabre. With a company as aggressive as Corsair, it is not difficult to foretell the release of new gaming-related products in the near future. Whether these products will be new budget-friendly products, upgrades of older designs or new high-end gaming equipment, such as advanced wireless mice, only time will tell.