Corsair K95 Platinum RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard (Cherry
Corsair K95 Platinum RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard (Cherry MX Brown Switches, Per Key Multicolour RGB Backlighting, Dual-Sided Soft Touch Wrist Rest, UK Layout) – Black
6 programmable contoured G-keys for in-game macro ” data-position=”triggerHorizontal” /> Dedicated multimedia and volume controls ” data-position=”triggerHorizontal” /> Aircraft-grade anodised brushed aluminium frame ” data-position=”triggerHorizontal” />
| Weight: | 1.32 kg |
| Dimensions: | 46.5 x 17.1 x 3.6 cm; 1.32 Kilograms |
| Brand: | Corsair |
| Model: | CH-9127012-UK |
| Colour: | Cherry MX Brown Switches: Tactile & Non-Clicky |
| Batteries Included: | No |
| Manufacture: | Corsair |
| Dimensions: | 46.5 x 17.1 x 3.6 cm; 1.32 Kilograms |
Aboslutely love this keyboard.
Came to this from a G613 which had started double typing after 18 months and nothing I did solved it. Ended up buying a Black Shark gaming board in the meantime, which was really good as well but this is next level compared to them both IMO. Both the G613 and Black Shark were really, really noisy when typing but the K95 is damped just enough to not be annoying but still feel really nice and positive.
Really happy with this, hope I get a few years from it at least as I’d expect it to last longer than my G613, it certainly feels better made.
Great quality mechanical keyboard. Comfortable to use with the included wristrest and the media controls and macro keys are of a similar standard to the rest of the keyboard (I had a Logitech G815 before this and while that is a lovely keyboard too, the media and supplementary control keys are rubber and feel far less premium than the rest of board).
This keyboard is fairly large though and does take up a fair amount of room on your desk. There is an enormous amount of customisablility available through the icue software – it can be quite hard to navigate through. The RGB is bright and rich looks very nice. I upgraded my keycaps to pudding caps (as I didn’t really like the font on the K95) and they look amazing.
This is one of the keyboards that you can attach the Corsair iCue Nexus module to, which adds some really nice functionaility at your fingertips.
This is a great keyboard if you are fairly heavily invested in the icue software and have a number of other corsair peripherals. It is rather expensive though – unless you can get it at a really bargain price, there are probably other mechanical keyboards that are better value for money.
Compared to a previous Logitech G15 keyboard that had spongy, vague keys this Corsair K95 is far better. At first the keys seemed a bit light but over time I appreciated the consistency of key button travel which helped my touch typing speed. The construction is very sturdy and has a good wrist rest. The USB port is a nice addition. One downside is the lousy Corsair iCue software that sometimes does not load my custom RGB lighting profile. But overall this is a very nice keyboard and worth 120.
There is so much you can reprogram on this keyboard. It has handy “G” keys on the left side which can be re-bounded to do anything you need them to do. The G keys on the left side might take a while to get used to though and you will more than likely be clicking them if you haven’t had a similar keyboard to this.
The iCue support for this keyboard is really good and the colours look nice. There are a lot of customisation combinations you can put on the keyboard.
The keys are very easily pressed so you could misclick some keys without realising if you try and type too quickly.
I would recommend this keyboard as it is the best keyboard I have had.
I bought this to replace a slightly failing G413 Keyboard. It’s solid and the keys were good to type on. Interestingly I found that the programmable keys to the left of the keyboard actually got in the way of my typing (especially using Shift key or Ctrl). In the end it was annoying me so I sent it back for the k70 Pro which is the same just without the programmable keys on the side. The volume key was nice and useful and the design was good too. Is it worth the money? I’m on the fence – i think if you need all the extra buttons etc then definitely go for it or the K100 which can be had for a bit more . The iCUE software was excellent, and you can change the colours, effects etc which was cool – again slightly overkill for me (casual gamer) but would suit someone who likes their RGB stuff.
I like this keyboard, I’ve only had it for a few hours so maybe things will change. The only gripe is that I have to reset my mind as I keep pressing the G6 key instead of control. Also, im pretty sure they keys are slightly smaller than standard. I have on older G95, and its almost the same size and it doesn’t have the G keys. These smaller keys are making me make a lot of typos…. Other than that, it feels good, i like the keys themselves, the rgb is nice, not sure the volume control has much value, but that will be situation dependant. I headphones all the time and they have a control built in. I might come back to this review in a month and update it, hopefully my brain will be doing fewer typo. One thing i have noticed though is that theres an odd “spring” noise occasionally when typing. Maybe I’m hitting the keys too hard as I’ve been using a cheap 3 kb in the interim between my previous 95 and this one
Well made. Loads of options using the icue software. There is just something about Corsair products that demonstrate a need to give good quality and usability. The only small not pick is the keyboard font type.but I’m sure I’ll get used to it in time. I’d have preferred a more standard looking keyboard type font. But this hands down beats my old rokkat keyboard on every level. Buy with confidence.
I was in two minds about buying this keyboard because of some of the bad reviews — and I know I’ve had problems with the key caps of my old K70 coming loose too — but this Corsair K95 keyboard (which is a huge bargain at the moment, btw, if you go for the Cherry MX Brown option, which parallels the MX Blues in catering more for the typist — which I am — than the gamer) is working perfectly, and it’s pure pleasure to type on. Swapping out my old K70 for this baby was a dream — you just plug it in (after unplugging the K70) and all the K70 lighting and functionality profiles switch instantly to K95 without you having to do anything — the iCUE software takes care of it all. For the price, this is the best mechanical keyboard on the market, imo — if you can afford it, go for it. Hell, the lower spec K70 is more expensive at the moment — what have you got to lose?
I replaced a Vulcan 120 keyboard with this and it’s much better. Overall, it’s comfortable and feels like it’ll last for years. The keys are solid and give a satisfying clunk clunk sound and feel when typing, without being too heavyweight. I’d rather it didn’t have the gaming keys on the left, which I never use, but it’s a minor complaint. It’s probably one of the best keyboards I’ve ever used.
This is the best k-board that I have ever used, it’s so fast, no clicketing of the keys, makes me think of a wrestling mat, “you just hit the rubber!”. On my last k-board a Corsair K-68, the keys are blue (tactile and clicky) I moved to the Brown keys as I was fed-up with the clicky sound and slow responce. This k-board gives me everything that I wont from it, fast response, no double clicking, no thinking has that been registered or not? you are talking in millisecond’s. I think that the newer K95 XT is a down grade, as the unit has “blue Kerry switches like my old K-68”. If you can I would go for the cheaper K95 non XT, as this is non clicky and will save you money. I do think that this is a very nice KB.
I purchased this keyboard for the RGB’s of course but also the programmable G keys, they work perfectly, I use them for hotkeys when trading the NYSE ( New York Stock Exchange ) I have the hotkeys programmed to purchase / sell shares, amazingly fast executions since when programming them you can decide on how fast or slow the key performs.
I’ve had this for well over a year now and the design is still beautiful, build quality is perfect and the craftsman anion really stands out.
I was in the market for a new mechanical keyboard after owning a Roccat MK Ryos for several years (MX Black).
Corsair was my go-to brand to look for a new one and in particular one of the few that sported extra programmable keys that were one of my requirements (very useful in games and while working).
Luckily this keyboard offered the option of MX Brown Cherry switches which are a good compromise for gaming and working and I enjoy every single keypress during the day.
The materials and in the particular the brushed aluminium feels very premium.
The configuration software it comes with (iCUE) can be a bit of a pain, but you can find several guides and videos online that can explain its functionalities.
I am still on the fence if I am going to use the alternative keycaps it comes with for MOBA / FPS games, it luckily includes also a keycap remover to help you with the task.
The keyboard action took a few weeks to get used to compared to my old cheap keyboard. I was mis-typing everything at first. However like it now.
Beware of the Corsair customisation software. The user interface is weird and takes a lot of fathoming out. I still haven’t sussed it properly and have given up trying to achieve a couple of things I wanted to do. I’m an IT professional and I struggled so I’ve no idea how most people would get on with it.
I’m not a gamer but I spend many hours a day on a keyboard. I mainly keep the 1 profile active (coloured zones as per my photo). I enter my email address on web sites loads of times per day so I created a macro for the G button to type that for me, which really is useful.
This was my first jump into the mechcanical Keyboards. I was never a major fan of them. To me I never had any problems with a normal keyboard. I did look into the switches and was like ok I see the different ones and watched videos with them. Now one I can defo say why would you want yout keyboard to sound like a type writer. These switches I have sound fine to me not loud nor quiet there is nosie but I got heavy paws. lol. The brightness of the colours to be look great even on the liltle lock, profile and brightness switch. The volume control… Ok I was like am not really going to use it but now. Heck yeah. easy to turn my sound down along with the media controls nice when you need to stop the music or video before making a work call from home. The macros I have actually started to use which have been good. Just learning the software it uses more. But yeah looking for your first mech keyboard I would go with this.
This is a truly beautiful keyboard. It is very good quality and sturdy. Corsairs terrible Icue spoils it. I bought this after my Razer keyboard died after many years of hard use, Razer software is so easy, Corsairs is a nightmare to get used to.
If you are after a good quality keyboard and not bothered about horrible software this is for you.
Bought the UK version because the US int sold in my country doesn’t come with Cherry MX Blue switches. Only MX brown or Speed are an option. For me, those 5 or so different keys aren’t a big issue. For people who want MX Blue but are used to US Int I suggest taking a look at this one anyways. It does seem to be a bit more expensive here. After the 45 pound sale it costed me 175 euro (fine, 3 euro something being currency converting cost). The MX Speed is 165 without sale in my country, and the MX Brown is 175. That means in total, you’ll pay like 40 pounds more (considering the currency fee) without sale than Dutch people, so I would suggest checking amazon.de or other EU stores first.
Anyways. I got my keyboard today and so far I can’t complain. The software is the same as the Linux version beside Windows having a nice looking interface and the Linux version using whatever your default windows are looking like. I think Corsair is the only company who makes Linux software for all their hardware. The software has many options, way more than the Razer software I needed to use for my old Blackwidow had. To me, it’s also always been easy to use, and has all options you could probably need and more. However, the UI seems more build with IT’ers/people who use a lot of complex software in mind than for the average Joe, al be it less extreme than some professional software. I think if anything, people are getting lost between the options is more likely the issue most face than the software not being able to do what they need it to or being gimmicky.
Some things to note (especially based on previous reviews): backlight is only halfway on in terms of brightness when plug it in first time. In the software you can easily set it to max. Also, note that when you set macros and you just select a button to be pressed, some games won’t register because it’s pressed too quickly the game thinks it’s a mistaken signal/button press and ignores it (because no human can press a button that quickly). Just record your macros instead and it’ll work perfect. This is more a thing in the engine of the game than the software not doing what it should.
Only downside is that it takes some time after Windows boots to start the software, and until then you don’t get the functionality of it. It runs pretty much instantly on Linux tho.
As far as build quality, I have almost no complains, but there is a small thing. The profile switching key tends to get stuck down when I press it. Although the box says 100% Cherry MX Blue, the profile keys as well as the media keys are, like others mentioned, dome keys, not mechanical. For me, pressing the dome keys isn’t an issue but they are more heavy than the mechanical ones indeed. Also, since the profiles can be set to turn on when the program you want to use them with is active (and off when focusing on another program), and deactivates to default when the program isn’t active, the profile buttons aren’t something I’ll press a lot anyways.
Otherwise, the keyboard is made from sturdy aluminium, and a bit more diagonal than average, which is something I personally really like. However, without the wrist bar (and while having the clips on the back out) it made my wrist hurt before I finished this review (CTS coming back up if I use my keyboard badly for too long, but this is rather quickly), so would suggest using the wrist support if you use it at full height.
As far as the spacebar goes, I work at an electronics store and there, almost all brands except Razer use these stabilisers nowadays instead of using those metal bars connected to the outsides of the spacebar. This also includes brands like Logitech. Personally I haven’t had an issue with the spacebar falling of no matter where I press (I tested the whole spacebar because of reviews but I can’t get it to get loose by pressing on it), but if you do have issues with it, note that it’s not a Corsair thing and you might want pay special attention on any brand’s keyboard to see what they use.
Pros:
-Extensive software that works on both Windows and Linux
-Good build quality
-Cherry MX Blue on the K95, unlike the general US intl version sold in the rest of the EU and America (even according to corsair itself it “doesn’t exist”).
-Imho the best keyboard on the market in terms of quality, functionality, and usability combined in one item.
Cons:
-Not really 100% mechanical like advertised, but the only buttons that aren’t you probably won’t use much.
-Price in the UK without sale seems more than rest of the world.
-Easy to get CTS and other “to much behind your PC” related health issues from this keyboard compared to others. Not an issue if you watch how you hold it, but easy to hold it badly.
-Software takes long to boot on Windows.
I’m getting used to the colour scheme. and whirly colours and patterns. but I like it and I like how the button in the menu takes you to YouTube and shows you how it works. I used to buy cheap mouses and keyboards. but I thought I deserve something pretty. if you’re reading this review you think you deserve something nice once in a while too. and you’re probably right you deserve it. I didn’t want to buy it one at a time. I like buying the mouse and the keyboard then the mouse pad. so I saved up and got them all at the same time. it cost a pretty Penny but I think it’s worth it.
Im not one for colour back light keyboards but tend to set it to one colour that I like. well that was until division2 and my keyboard lit up with all white and yellowish colour from the division making it more atmospheric.
I was looking for a good mechanical keyboard that didn’t Click I know some people like it but I didn’t .
Having a cherry Red is good having it with a shorter stroke is something else just wish I was a better typist lol
but it is fast responsive and you only need to touch the key for it to work no hard press , not “did I press that “.
it may lead to un wanted letters sometimes lol but I love it and have no regrets.
1) I like the fact of having dedicated macro keys, as it means I don’t have to hold a modifier key when trying to remember which key is which (which meant the SteelSeries Apex Pro was out of the equation)
2) I prefer proper, full size/travel mechanical keyboards rather than the thought of low profile (which also took the Logitech G915 out of the picture)
3) I like to have dedicated media keys (and not the ones that you have to hold another key to use – so again, the SteelSeries Apex Pro was out of the image)
and; 4) The majority of my other peripherals are Corsair.
I was previously using the Corsair K65, which is a tenkeyless keyboard, and it is refreshing to have a numpad again (you have no idea how useful a numpad actually is until you live without one for some time!). The RGB effects around the entire keyboard are uniform and the light is distributed perfectly evenly, and the LightEdge along the top is a stunning addition, and you can customize 16 individual zones (19 including the RGB Corsair logo), and the iCue software comes with a plethora of choices for lighting options. My personal favourite is using lighting link to use ‘Spiral Rainbow’ along all of my Corsair products, because the light seamlessly transitions along all of them.
The macro keys are nice. The only issue is trying to think up a macro combo that doesn’t involve a key that is already in use for something in a game (e.g. mapping G1 to be ‘Ctrl + Alt + F12’ and then using it to mute your mic in Discord while playing a game on Steam might cause a screenshot to be taken – but the easy way around that is to change the screenshot hotkey, or just disable screenshots).
EDIT: I discovered that if you can actually manually insert a keystroke manually, which includes F13 through to F24, which you can use in both Discord and OBS (which is my main use for the macro keys). If you use the Elgato Stream Deck software, you can also bind handy hotkeys for Twitch streaming such as; stream markers, change chat speed/mode, create clip, and even bind sounds to a key as a soundboard. The only issue I have with the Stream Deck software, is that the majority of the time on first boot, the software doesn’t detect that iCue was also loaded at boot, meaning that I have to exit out of the Stream Deck software and relaunch it – which can be frustrating if you forget to do this and start streaming and wonder why your keys aren’t doing anything. Apart from this issue, there is a massive amount of things you can do with these G keys, which is really nice, as you’re effectively getting a Stream Deck Mini included in this keyboard (which is worth 80-90, granted you don’t get a display of what each key does on the actual keys, but you get a floating action bar which you can place anywhere to remind you what each key does).
My previous keyboard was using Cherry MX Red switches, and this keyboard is using Cherry MX Speed. They are both linear switches, which is my switch of choice, and I will admit that although the Speeds actuate at only 0.8mm lower than the 2mm on Reds, they certainly feel nicer overall to use. Not sure if it’s maybe just because my last keyboard was used for 6 months (and was also bought refurbished), but the K95 keys just feel more stable, and a slight bit more spongey, like it takes a bit more force to bottom them out, so you won’t hit a key by accident (again, not sure if there is some reasoning behind this like the K65 being a refurb and used for a while!). But overall even the likes of the enter key and spacebar feel like they have a lot less wobble to them and are a lot more pleasant to use as a whole.
Although this may seem like a pricey purchase, to me it is definitely an investment worth making. Infact, the only con I could think of personally is the fact that the USB passthrough is only USB 2.0, but that isn’t even a con for me as I don’t use the passthrough anyways. You’re much better off buying this model over the K95 XT that was released in January because the only difference is the wrist rest (which I imagine will become available on Corsair’s accessory section on their website at somepoint) – and the PBT double shot keycaps (which you can buy for around 35-40 anyways, meaning that buying this keyboard at 139.99 and the keycaps even at 40 [and you can even buy them later down the line once you start having issues with the default keycaps], you would have spent 189.99 – which is a 10.01 saving on the XT model. But 139.99 initially and then eventually switching the keycaps out is definitely the way I would go about it rather than being 200 out of pocket on a keyboard).
Absolutely rock solid keyboard, would recommend to anyone!
This is my first ever mechanical keyboard, I bought the Platinum Brown switches, because I game occasionally but I also type a lot, I am writing my own book and blog. I know the Blue switches are best for typing but they are simply too loud and not good for gaming. The reds were an option but from reviews I read they aren’t as good for typing.
I have, since receiving the item today, written two blogs and this keyboard is miles beyound my membrane keyboard. The wrist rest is comfortable, and after some adjusting my typos are much less and I find it a lot more comfortable than any other keyboard I have ever used in 10 years.
The ICUE software is easy to use, I have already set macros, I do not really care much for RGB, but I like the default settings fine, there are options for brightness and I find the first level not too distracting. My previous keyboard also had RGB, but just one setting, on and off and it was obnoxious.
The volume control is very smooth and the media buttoins are convienient. I was hesistant at first of spending 169 on a keyboard, but I looked at other options and paying a bit more I didn’t mind as it’s meant to last a long time and I’m at my computer most of the day and the purchase is definitely worth it and I would recommend paying more than other options for this one. I’ve never tried other switches, but I do think this Brown switch one is perfect for me.
This keyboard is great, it’s got nice clicky key’s that are loud enough that if I take it to work it will annoy people in the office 🙂 yes I can be that childish at times like others in the office, you have to have fun at work!
It’s great for gaming with quick activation from button presses and no ghosting, the macro key’s work great for games where you can use them and it’s permitted, I don’t use them for games where they don’t permit them.
There are only 2 issues I have with it, 1 is that it’s slightly smaller and a the layout is slightly different from my previous HyperX so I need to retrain my muscle memory for the new button layout. The 2nd issue is when plugging it in to my work laptop the keys on initial boot login come up with random letters and symbols, so I need to use the laptops built in keyboard which doesn’t really bother me that much, but once in windows it’s great for typing on all day.
Keep reading below if you want to know why I HAD to buy a new keyboard, since my previous HyperX keyboard was still working great and I had no issues with it.
I have had multiple Mechanical Keyboards, started with the Corsair K90 back in the day and it was a great keyboard and eventually I decided I wanted a change.
I bought a Coolermaster Mechanical Keyboard, and passed the K90 to my dad 🙁
That was a mistake, it lasted with my dad for 3 months then it died when it met his coffee, so I replaced my Coolermaster keyboard with a HyperX one and passed my dad my Coolermaster one.
That Coolermaster keyboard lasted 12 months before it met his coffee 🙁 my dad is now known to me as “Bill Keyboard killer, killer of all keyboard’s” (yes that is a Jez reference)
Due to him killing the Coolermaster keyboard, I decided to buy him a HyperX keyboard thinking that will be fine it should last a while, nope it lasted 9 months and then “hello coffee have you met my shiny keyboard, Oh xxxx Damien, I have done it again”
I shouted and used some language that I cannot use on here, and said I will buy myself a new keyboard and you can have my HyperX but this is the last time.
If he kills my previous HyperX, then he is going to back to a cheap 5 Membrane keyboard as they are cheaper to replace 🙁
It’s a really nice keyboard – high quality, great switches, and my kids love the lighting – but be aware that with the custom keys set to the left of the regular keyboard it may throw your finger positioning off if you usually tough-type without looking at the keyboard. I must ‘anchor’ my hand position from the left of a keyboard and usually I type blind with no problem, but on this keyboard I am off by one key to the left on every stroke – 100% of the time. It’s freaking me out! Maybe I would get used to it if this was the only keyboard I used, but I swap between Mac and PC keyboards multiple times per dayin work, and this one on my home PC is just too different from all the others.
I think even an infinite amount of time is insufficient to train yourself enough to lower the rate of false positives you’re gonna hit with the MX Speed switches. I’ve gotten better over time, but still, with this low actuation distance you just cannot probe with your fingers or do any kind of correction and that’s a gigantic loss for me since I use almost 40 keys with my left hand for a game; not worth the extra speed in my case. For gaming it’s okay, for typing the effect is amplified several times (prepare for the thousands of keys you did not intend to hit). Membrane switches have an initial resistance. Now these MX speed ones (and other mechanical ones as well I suppose) have ZERO initial resistance. Be prepared for that.
The 6 macro keys on the left are suboptimal. It takes a surprisingly long time to get used to the fact that escape is not in the top left now, but that is not a fault in itself. I’d hoped I can use the macro keys as additional keys for gaming, for this to work they would have needed to be easily reached. That isn’t the case for these 6 keys, other than the center 2. Also considering the fact that your pinky must often be on shift or control, it’s really not easy to just flap it past the “Cliff of Modifiers”. I would like to see 3 keys instead of the 6, with a slightly larger radial keys (RADIAL?? HERESY!). Or what about a customizable, attachable panel, huh? It would also be nice if you could set up things in the iCUE software in a way so that modifiers can be applied to macro keys. This way you could do 3 physical keys but still get 9 or macros or whatever actions.
There is also this metallic, resonating-like sound to each and every keystroke. It’s pretty ridiculous because it is clearly audible even if you just quickly release a key. It annoyed me a lot at the beginning, and… it STILL DOES.
iCUE has bugs and plenty of design flaws, there is this baggage of intricacies when it comes to on-memory profiles, it made me ignore them altogether. But, it’s not bad.
It’s been a long time since the days when IBM mechanical keyboards were the norm and a similar length of time since I last used one in anger. Well i finally got bored of my 15+ year old Logitech Internet Explorer keyboard. Nothing really wrong with it, except for it’s cream colour, but my recent new build PC deserved a better built black keyboard.
As my son swears by his Corsair keyboard, I checked their current range out and decided that the K95 RGB Pro was the one that checked all of my boxes, apart from the price, which was a tough pill to swallow. However, having looked around at the competition it became almost a no-brainer. I justified the price on the longevity of my previous keyboard. This will be a 15+ year investment.
Now that I have it in my possesion, i have no regrets as this is as near to perfect as a keyboard gets. The build quality is absolutely exceptional with its brushed aluminium chassis, its metal volume roller and its very neat dual surface wrist rest. The keys have a lovely positive feel, not as clanky as thje old IBM keyboards, but not whisper quiet either. I chose the MX Brown key option which seemed to be the best for normal usage as I’m not a gamer. In this configuration, the keyboard is accurate and not prone to mis-typing.
RGB is Marmite to some, but even if you are like me and wonder what the point of it is, it does really work well with this keyboard. If you have other Corsair products in your PC, then you will already be familiar with the iCUE software, however, it really does come into it’s own with this keyboard in ways that you might not, at first, imagine.
For example, in no time at all, I have set up a three-zone profile which includes static red LED zone for the multi-media keys, a CPU temperature based colour zone for the six macro keys and a spiral wave zoone for all of the other keys, with a white key-press feature. This looks gorgeous but is also intuitive and easy to use in a darkened environment.
The keyboard has three built-in hardware profiles, which can be individually configured with just one effect. These are persistant and are stored within the keyboard. User profiles can be built with many effects layered together, as in the example above, but these require iCUE to be running in the background, so are only in effect when booted up.
On my Gigabyte Z390 Master mobo, the keyboard works in the BIOS without the need for any special keystrokes.
Corsair have done a brilliant job with this keyboard and it is difficult to really find fault with it. I might question the use of USB-2, rather than USB-3, for the pass-through port. So no good for charging my USB-C phone, however, instead I have my charging wireless mouse mat plugged into it! The wrist rest is rubber rather than gel, but it seems soft enough to me.
140 seems a huge amount to shell out for a keyboard, especially if your old one cost just 15, however, this Rolls-Royce product might just last you a lifetime! If you can justify the price of modern graphics cards and wireless mice, then why not this exceptional keyboard?
I was a bit unsure whether to pay this much for a keyboard, but decided to go for it while on sale during the black Friday sale and have to say I made the right choice.
This is the first time I have bought a mechanical keyboard and there is no way I could now go back to a membrane keyboard. As well as being great for gaming it also really nice to type doing word and excel documents and programming. The cherry mx brown keys feel fantastic to type on, but not too loud where they distract other people in the house or keep them awake while I game at night. Also while this is a subjective thing, I quite like the font of the letters on the keyboard, but I seem in the minority with that view.
The multimedia keys on the board are fantastic. The scroller is nice and smooth and makes it easy to adjust the volume and the mute button next to it turn off the sound. Also the play and skip buttons too. I find this very useful when doing work on word or excel and can use these buttons to skip and adjust the volume on YouTube videos, but not having to open up the YouTube window.
However this product loses a star for me with it’s wrist rest. I think considering it’s a 185 keyboard at full price, it’s poor quality and for that price you should get a top quality one. It’s quite hard and not the most comfortable I’ve ever used. However despite that I’d still recommend this keyboard if you can get it on sale, maybe not so much at full price.
This is a beautiful keyboard that is a pleasure to use. I actually enjoy typing with it, and for gaming it is responsive and comfortable.
The build quality is excellent, with gun metal grey brushed aluminum, and very little (if anything) by way of crevices or plastic parts that induce fears of future breakages. It is easy to clean, as you can pop-off the keys, and you don’t feel that they are going to break when you remove and replace them.
It integrated well with the MSI RGB control software, so I have a nice coordinated look across the system unit and peripherals.
I have not tried the macro functions yet, and I would have liked to have two USB ports instead of one for its inbuilt hub, but that is a very minor quibble.
Pros:
* Solid keyboard build
* Not too noisy (speed switches)
* Lighting is bright and even
* Flexible lighting options
* Special keys for macros
* Wrist rest is good quality and bonus is reversible.
* Windows key disabler (on board)
* Brightness adjuster (on board)
* Profile switcher (on board)
* Media keys and nice volume wheel.
Cons:
* Space bar isn’t stable – tends to unseat if pressed on the side due to not using cherry stabilisers
* When typing slightest touch on an adjacent key will result in a typo
* Very easy to touch the caps lock when going for the shift key
* Macro keys not great for gaming frankly if they are needed for quick actions – finding them without looking at the keyboard for instance.
* 3 Tiny lights on the top of the board indicate caps lock on etc. These are much to small to even notice especially when you’ve accidentally touched the key.
* ICUE software is a bit finicky to use.
* Profile switcher (on board) does not cycle through all profiles – especially if you have some in folders.
* Poor instructions with no mention of “Bios mode” anywhere * (major gripe – see more below)
Overall for what I paid for this keyboard I’m pleased with it though when typing it’s very annoying that any inaccuracy will involve a typo or switching the caps lock on which I’m hoping will get better with time as i’m not used to the spacing yet compared to my previous Logitech keyboard K800.
As an aid I appreciated leaving the old Logitech software on as when tapping the caps lock a pop up will warn me.
One thing really worth mentioning about the Undocumented “BIOS MODE”. This keyboard will do abolutely nothing outside windows in the bootup process so you will not be able to go to Bios or hit F8 to invoke safe mode etc.
I guess as there is a processor in the keyboard this is reliant heavily on drivers and sofware. However, there is a solution to this problem which is not found in the manual or on the Corsair site. I had to search for it in forums and Corsair confirm that they don’t document this feature or warn of the problems.
BIOS MODE is achieved by holding F1+Windows Lock for a few seconds. There will be a flash on the keyboard to indicate this has taken. Once you are in Windows you will have to repeat this as the functionality in Windows will be affected. I find it hard that Corsair didn’t think this was worth mentioning anywhere on their site especially as the only available documentation is a “quick start guide” only.
Note: As Bios mode several seconds to implement you will likely miss your bios attempt first time around and may even get to the Windows startup – a pain frankly.
I would have preferred the brown switch version frankly but the difference in price was very significant.
I’m sure I’ll get used to the little annoyances as otherwise this is a very nice keyboard.
If this has been helpful please give it a “tick”
I have owned cherry blue keys in the past so the feel is nothing new to me, But they still feel extremely good after moving from a razer ornata, Mechanical keyboard enthusiasts may laugh at this but, I don’t think i will be upgrading for a very long time, If ever, The keyboard is built perfectly and arrived in top condition, 0 defects with it unlike a lot of other stuff i buy from other companies (Like steelseries, razer, logitech), They get a 10/10 for quality assurance from me.
The rgb is really nice and extremely customisable (although the software is not very intuitive), The “lightedge” at the top is a really nice feature, But you can definitely see the gaps between the rgb leds on it.
The rgb is not very bright at all compared to my previous razer keyboard, It would be nice if they could be a bit brighter, but i don’t really mind, it’s not like i’m staring down at my keyboard while i use it.
The first issue i had with it is the space bar (not a defect, but a design flaw imo), Its textured and quite sharp, My first impressions on it were not good, it felt like i would end up cutting my finger after a long gaming session on it, The bad thing is that you can’t even get a non textured space bar for it because it’s a weird size, I’ll probably get used to it over time but i will always prefer a non textured space bar, or at least make it optional like the other textured keys which i will get on to now.
The textured wasdqerf keys do not feel very nice to me, they pick up skin oil really easily (surprisingly) and are as sharp as the space bar, Unfortunately all the macros are like this too.
The wrist rest is not very good in my opinion, i ended up using my razer ornata’s wrist rest because i find it more comfortable, The wrist rest that came in the box clips onto the keyboard and has 2 sides to it, One is sharp (like the space bar) and the other side is soft, I preferred neither, the wrist rest also goes too low down causing your hand to go up at an angle, which is not good for long periods.
The media keys and scroll wheel are a great addition which i think should be on any keyboard, I don’t use the scroll wheel because i have an external mixer/interface which is also going into my headset’s base station, But for most users who use the windows volume control for their volume, it is extremely nice and feels great, The media keys are not mechanical and require quite a lot of force to press (maybe about 4 times as much as the blue keys), They still feel quite nice to press and requiring a lot of force helps not accidentally pressing it, Very happy with them.
I could go on, but this review is getting extremely long (probably due to how fun it is to type on this keyboard 🙂 so im just gonna end it here with the pros and cons, thanks for reading.
Pros
– Mechanical & Durable
– Good quality cherry switches
– Very good rgb customisation
– Media & volume controls
– Excellent quality assurance
– Comes with textured keys if you’re into that
– Great build quality, Made out of “aircraft grade” aluminium
Cons:
– Non standard bottom row
– Uncomfortable wrist rest (imo)
– Toxic Community
Keycaps its weakest point. They are not very good quality i expected something more matt and thoose greyone from rubber but they are like lacquered.
Multimeda keys doesnt works in some games ex Skyrim SE.
This one is big minus – but i knew it before i bought it are lights. I mean like in logitech you have lights only under caps- that here you have it everywhere what makes feeling like from cheap keyboards.
Switches MX speed are quiet – same like my old membrane keyboard what was “mech like”. Problem is only in this, that if i would like to change switches from clear to black, all are soldered.
Generally its nice keyboard but.. 112 pounds? Noo i dont see big diference betwen this and this what i had for 25 pounds. To big “logo tax”.
Having decided that I wanted to change from my old K70 keyboard with the cherry brown keys, I finally settled on the K95 Platinum with the MX Speed keys. WOW, what a difference. I am not a gamer to any great degree, but for normal use this is a wonderful keyboard in my opinion. The keys feel so much more responsive, and smoother. The ‘G’ keys feel different to the other normal keys. Using the iCue software, I have setup the G6 key to act as another ‘CTRL’ as well, so that was really the only mod I’ve made. The RGB lighting is bright as well. The only thing to get used to is that the upper case ‘symbol’ keys are on the bottom of the number keys etc. This keyboard is expensive, but very close to the K70 Mk2 price at the time of my purchase. It is a high quality, top notch keyboard, and highly recommended whether you are a gamer or not.
I previously owned the K70 Lux RGB, and had problems breaking key caps.
I believe this keyboard will have the same problem:-
On the UK keyboard, the left hand shift key is much narrower than on the US version, because it has to also accommodate a backslash key. This key is wider than a letter key but sits on a single cross shaped post (unlike the right hand shift key that sits on 3 posts).
If you play as much NetHack as I do (yeah Old Skool), you’ll have cast a lot of spells (Shift+Z). Using the left hand shift key (side of the little finger on shift and index finger on z) puts a lot of side load on the key and after 6 months the cross shaped slot in the key cap has started to split. Shortly afterwards it won’t sit in place any more. Replaced with the ALT GR key – this also broke after a while.
Yes – Corsair will replace key caps under warranty (they take weeks to arrive from S.Korea). The 1st one was the wrong size (right hand shift key), the 2nd never arrived (though they insisted it must have). They didn’t want anything to do with me after that.
So: amazing keyboard, but I’m conditioning myself to use the RHS shift and I’ve programmed a G key for casting spells.
I bought the version with the Cherry MX Speed switches. The keys feel and sound great.
The RGB features are fantastic. Working with iCue I managed to setup profiles that activate as I start each game/programs and have the lights set to only show the keys I use (WASD one colour, weapons another colour etc then turn off the ones not used). The keyboard comes with plenty of effects and profile options to choose from.
I had one issue where it would lag the PC when I increased the polling rate to 1000 Hz but in the end I had to drop the polling rate, update the keyboard firmware through iCue then I could set the rate back to 1000 Hz and not had a problem since.
It comes with some extra keys that are textured and angled (WASD, plus FDERQW for ESDF layout users) for better finger placement and control for those interested plus a key cap remover/puller.
Has a reversible wrist rest that has one smooth and one rougher texture depending on your preferences plus the rest can be removed all together quite easily.
Overall, a fantastic keyboard with plenty of uses, a great look and great feel.
I have not had a mechanical keyboard before so this is a really new thing for me and at the time of writing I am getting used to it. The build quality and feel appears to be real quality!.
So I went on advice for Cherry Brown’s as I do a bit of gaming and a bit of general work and typing. The keys are very responsive and do not need to be hit hard at all. I like that I can add different colour keys (and in fact different shape for several of the main gaming keys like W,R,D,S,A etc. Useful for instant visual ID.
The Audio keys work perfectly Great. At the moment I am finding the extra 6 programmable keys on the left a bit odd but I think thats more about me being unused to them. They will i am sure be good in the end.
The RGB lighting is a bit fancy and how much I will use it remains to be seen but the soft ware is good. I would like to see a mode where just the letters of the keys were illuminated as I would find that better.
I do not like the detachable wrist wrest at all. The angle seems to want to push my hand off the keyboard. This IMHO needs to be addressed. I will buy a gel one to replace as I would find that better
All together however this is a very good quality keyboard and I can see why its popular. It is pricy
A bit harsh maybe but it looses a star for a manufacturing defect that others have also mentioned. The volume roller hasn’t been mounted exactly square to the fascia around it. In my case the bottom left of the roller rubs against the fascia making a rough grinding noise. I had to get a spudger between the two and gently tease the roller forward about a mm.
Everything else is fairly positive:
Its metal construction makes it heavy and the feet are grippy. It feels sturdy and doesn’t slide about on the desk.
The MX Brown keys are very nice to work against when typing and give a bit of an edge for your average gamer. A hardcore gamer would probably want the MX speed variety. The browns are quieter than other variants but still noticeably louder than my old Logitech G series. The chequer’d WASD keys feel great for FPS games and are easily changed to standard keys with the included tool.
The rubber palmiest very slippery out of the box because of the silicone protective coating, much like a car tyre. This does take sometime to wear off but grips your hand nicely when it finally does.
The RGB lighting looks great if you want your desk to look like a fruit polo, the software is very easy to use. The USB port on the back is very handy, I use it to charge my control pad.
The only downside is really going to be a personal thing but theres almost no tactile bump when you press the keys, its smooth from top to bottom so difficult to register presses when typing so if your a regular typist probably opt for cherry red or browns which will still be relatively quick but more tactile for typing. With that said i have been typing fluidly with the speed switches.
The corsair software and rgb implementation is great, best rgb ive seen to be honest, very even, relatively bright but not overly, lots of customisation.
The functionality of the keyboard is also great, just enough shortcut buttons, the volume slider feels really well made and solid and works great.
Overall, its honestly just a great product to have if you spend plenty of time on your pc and want to treat yourself. Make no mistake it is a treat at this price but you do get a high quality product.
I previously had the K70 and wanted an upgrade (although it’s hard to find something better than the K70!) and there’s the obvious differences such as the improved rear of the keyboard featuring the RGB light strip and the now RGB proper Corsair logo rather than the trash gaming logo on the K70.
The light strip is a really nice looking feature and so far i have only spotted one issue, this may just be a problem with this batch though, and this is that that there are dim sections above the volume wheel and the buttons over to the left for brightness,windows lock etc. Although very faint and unnoticeable to some, it is still quite annoying to see on such a lovely keyboard, i think this is from the spacing of the LED’s behind the perspex, the corsair logo could be further to the middle of the shiny panel too in my opinion.
The 6 macro keys on the left are a really nice addition and the textured finish is nice, i do not like the plain grey finish as it doesn’t match the style of the keyboard, if it was darker or just black like the rest i would like them more, the replacement keys which also come with the keyboard (very nice addition!) are also grey and the same problem applies. the keys are textured and also raised on certain edges which helps misclicks during gaming. The replacement keys are for the gaming buttons so WASD and also Q and E i think. The font on the keys is kind of stretched so i prefer the K70 font to this as it just looks better and less blocky. The space bar sounds quite cheap when pressed but I’ve got used to it over time, some other keys sound different such as the enter key which is odd but not exactly a deal breaker.
The hand rest is larger than the K70 and flatter which i like and is also reversible for a different softer texture.
All in all, extremely good keyboard with quick actuation and less hand tire than normal MX cherry reds, very nice lighting features.Also the key puller is a great freebie!! the keyboard was delivered to a pick up point with no packaging besides the product packaging and the delivery information sticker just slapped on the front, was expecting better from Amazon.
oh and one last thing, why cant we get indented casps lock keys on these high end gaming keyboards? i pulled them off my K70 as i kept accidentally pressing it, please fix.
It must be added that I do not use it for gaming, but for writing and it serves my purposes admirably, being quick and precise in its acceptance of typed inputs. The Cherry MX RGB Brown keys are ideal for this purpose, making it clear, on the basis of touch, that a key-press has taken, without the resounding “clack” evident in traditional keyboards.
Personally, I prefer a static lighting display rather than the ripple effects that are accessible (and which I find distracting). It is also my preference to light keys in accordance with their purpose, which makes keyboard navigation much more fluid on one that offers such a wide array of possibilities.
Although I cannot offer any claim to an understanding of the keyboard’s attributes in relation to gaming, I would imagine that it represents the best available on the basis of responsiveness and visual effectiveness.
I would therefore not hesitate in recommending it to those, such as myself, who require one of the best keyboards available for writing, especially when speed and accuracy are essential.
Reliability is a bit rubbish so far, i’ve had to send it off for RMA its only been a few months because something on the mainboard itself has broken it wasn’t the key. Its the spacebar, a few people told me they had the same issue with them. I have no idea how long the rma is going to take. The keys are fine but something below that is not I have no idea what it is and as mine is a cherry mx speed i’m extremely light handed with the keyboard due to how sensitive the keys are
Expensive but its brilliant. Software does not allow for scroll up and scroll down or scroll wheel click/middle mouse button macros.. Which is kinda a shame. Maybe with corsair mice it might but i use logitech mice.
Keys are sensitive af
palm rest/wrist rest clip on is a nice feature i am happy using it
The lighting is great and does awesome stuff, software takes a few minutes but easily understood for the most part just macros are awkward.
I can charge my phone using the usb passthrough on the keyboard… Useful af
I could have gone for the K70 keyboard, but I didn’t. I really don’t know what possessed me to fork out nearly 200 quid for this keyboard, but I think a side by side comparison with the K70 showed this one to be far more solid. But this keyboard replaces an older keyboard where I had put up with keys that were becoming harder to press and that was giving me some RSI and it annoyed me after 6 years. I therefore decided to overreact against flimsy quality with something absurdly expensive!
Solid it is. It feels like something that could survive in a battlefield and protect you from a few stray bullets if you strapped it to your chest. Is that kind of solid feel neccessary? Probably not! I also have no use for the ancillary keys off to the left – not yet anyway. They took a little getting used to, and I pressed the wrong buttons over there instead of Ctrl, Shift many times.
The multicolour backlighting is very pretty, but I haven’t found a use for it yet – other than having christmas all year round. The windows 10 program for backlighting comes with all sorts of options which appear to be aesthetic rather than functional. If I could give some feedback, it would be that I’d like specific keys to be highlighted depending on the program being used, and indeed depending on the context in which that program is being used. There’s no such functionality that I can see here. For example: When playing a flight simulator, I’d like all keys to be unlit, except for those that relate to commonly used simulator commands.
CUE software has matured and has a lot of great features. RGB and the programmable G keys use the Corsair Utility Engine (CUE) downloaded from Corsair’s website. I have experienced no issues with CUE (using version 2.21.67 at time of writing). Recording and editing macros is easy, allows for pseudo random time intervals and all the other things you would expect. It allows you to use Lighting Link setting to sync the lighting effects on multiple Corsair RGB products together, so if you want synchronised the lighting effects between your keyboard, mouse, mouse pad, headset and headset stand then you can do that…
I was a little disappointed that the 3 profiles that can be stored on the K95 can only include one lighting effect each. Not disappointed enough to drop tp 4 stars, but I would love to see more options for on the go use.
The item itself is of a very high build quality, the key presses feel great, I like the extra quality of life features such as the media buttons, quick profile change buttons and am overall very impressed with the hardware.
If I was to make criticisms, it wouldn’t be of the hardware itself, but of the software itself and the product support from Corsair.
The Corsair Utility Engine is difficult to use and in my opinion not very user friendly, especially when compared to the likes of the Razer Synapse Software.
With regards to product support, I had a situation where one of cats knocked a vase off of a shelf and it hit the keyboard, breaking one of the keyboard’s feet, I contacted customer support to see if i could purchase a replacement foot, i sent the ticket on October 1st 2017, and to date (16th January 2018) have not heard any reply, even after attempts have been made to follow up on 4 occasions.
And for these reasons, whereas i believe the Hardware is worthy of 5 stars, I cannot give it 5 stars due to the difficult to use software & poor customer support from Corsair.
I ordered the speed keys which are effectively MX Reds with a very short actuation travel. Works great for gaming (depending on your flavour of game) but utterly useless for typing unless you are a very accurate touch-typist with no room for error. Jut look at these keys sideways and they will register an acutation it seems.
Not good value for the price, unless you absolutely need an on-board memory MX board with a gazillion colours. I’ll stick with my Daskeyboard thanks as it does all jobs, and can also be used for self defence.
Recently upgrading from a Typical cheap membrane gaming keyboard its obvious to think that anything else would be better.
Before I purchased this I originally bought a refurbished k70 RGB. During that time I was extremely conflicted between buying the Logitech G910 Spark but I was so impressed by the quality of the K70 RGB I immediatley sold it on and paid the full 200 for the k95, and let me say, this keyboard is incredible and you likley wont find something better for the price.
Pros:
+ Absolutley outstanding build quality but not too hefty in weight.
+ Cherry MX speed switches are a dream to type on, my hands arent large but you will find yourself constantly double pressing keys at first, but once you get used to them your fingers glide across the keyboard like a piano
+ RGB is incredible and the added lightbar over the K70 is an awesome touch, as of this purchase (Sep 2017) the Corsair CUE software seems to be working very well for me.
+Super strong and thick braided cable
+Macro keys, great for quick functions for programmers.
+Soft dual textured wrist wrest (couldn’t believe how much this helped, DO NOT buy a high end keyboard if it at least doesn’t come with a wrist wrest)
+Media controls, saves me from having to reachn over my desk to adjust my DAC.
+comes with awesome grey rubber gripped Wasd keys and keycap puller.
Cons:
These are more nitpicks than glaring technical issues.
-USB passthrough is only 2.0 Standard, it would be nice if it was at least 3.0 but 2.0 polling rates are still sufficient for avoiding mouse latency and compatability.
-My amazon purchase did not come wrapped in extra protective packaging, only the retail box, as a result via transit or storage some minor visual blemishes and marks on the keyboard were apparent. Most notable a somewhat deep chip into the corsair LED logo, it’s not visible in the dark so it isn’t too much of an issue.
Neutral:
/ The keyboard font is a bit too gamerish and bold, it would be nice if the original font stayed from previous gens. It does however help to see it in the dark
/ I have no expericence with Longevity of Corsair keyboards or Cherry MX switches, I will update this review if this keyboard ever becomes worthy of an RMA.
TLDR: An avid programmer, gamer and typing companion that will serve you for years to come, with excellent resale value.
If you really don’t want to drop the 200 then buy something like a refurb K70 RGB for half the price, it will have 90% of the existing features.
It’s hard to want anything else, really.
Packaging and Construction
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Thankfully the keyboard is well packaged, because as much as a fault amazon for sending excessive and oversized packaging at times, this was shipped just as it is! The box is typical of corsair’s gamer’s line, so black and yellow with some literature and pictures. Opening the box a inner and sturdy black box is revealed in which everything resides. The keyboard is on a top shelf in plastic wrapping which the additional accessories are underneath.Included in the box is the Keyboard itself (one would hope), a warranty guide, a manual, a set of textured keypads, a keycap puller and wrist rest with reversible textures.
The keyboard is as expected solid and well built with an aluminium backplate, similar to the corsair K95 RGB, K70 etc. There is an additional 6 Macro key’s in a gray texture, profile change switch, button to change LED brightness in steps, windows lock key and some basic media keys with a lovely volume knocker. The packaging as mentioned contains additional keycaps which are textured and finished in a gray similar for the Macro keys. The keys are for WASD and QWERDF, the typical keys used in most games. The spacebar is also textured, but finished in black only. Unfortunately much like other corsair boards, the stabilizers do a mediocre job on the spacebar and there is a fair bit of wobble on the spacebar.
The wrist rest attaches via some simple plastic clips, a step back in my opinion from the K95 RGB which used metal screws, but guess it does allow easy removal of wrist rest for this board. Said wrist rest also is magnetic and the included rubber rest area is reversible with one side having a softer dimple texture while the other side has a slightly more gripper texture. In use it stays down very well and not seen any issues with it moving.
The board comes with a fairly long braided cable which terminates in two USB ports. The reason for two is one is for the keyboard itself and the other is for the USB 2.0 passthrough port located to the left of where the cable attaches to the keyboard. A nice touch and while I would have liked to see some more, it has worked thus far with my mobile phone, Corsair mouse and Xbox One controller’s wireless receiver.
In terms of dimensions the board is a fair bit narrower the the original K95 RGB as it lacks the additional Macro keys which I suspect for most is a non-issue with the 6 proving sufficient, but it is a bit deeper on the desk when you factor in both of their wrist rests.
RGB!
*******
RGb is of course a big selling point and for that the board has plenty of options.The board itself has the typical lighting zones, but in this case you have a pretty neat RGB strip around the top edge leading into the sides and the Corsair logo itself. The top leading edge is actually made up of 19 zones so can make them all a different color!
Unlike the strafe which I have used, the backplate is still black so the colors don’t pop quite as much, but still get bright enough. A issue which has carried over however is that the LED is housed near the top of the switch. For those keys which have other functions, such as the number keys, or the / key which also has the ? key, the light does not light up the bottom function keys or even on some keys such as the CAPS LOCK key, with the work CAPS lighting up fully, but the LOCK part, not so much. It’s a minor pet peeve, but annoying nonetheless on a 200 board and think a white backplate would help reflect a bit more light to avoid this issue, maybe something that will come out on another version of the board?
There is of course the more typical functions with each key being able to get its own colour, waves, type lighting, rainbow and so on and these can be changed on a per profile basis.
Use and CUE
***************
So the board similar to the initial K95 RGB has three Macro profiles you can set up and use the profile key to cycle through them. Unlike that board, this board does it through a single button while that one had dedicated keys near the top. This board also lacks the dedicated Macro key like the initial K95 RGB did.
Use is of course fairly straightforward to get going, plug it in and voila. Now to make the most of it, you need to use the CUE 2 software. This software is a love / hate thing, with it not being friendly to new users, but the options once you learn it becoming immensely powerful and versatile. It is unfortunately somewhat padded with corsair trying to show off their other products, but once you dig in and spend some time learning the software, it is powerful, just not laid out all that well (IMO)
Once you have created profiles, you can save them to the keyboard itself which has been beefed up in terms of onboard memory.
This is why the K95 RGB and now platinum are useful for me as I work, study, play and all on the board. I can create custom Macros and have one profile dedicated to work another for play and it’s as simple as cycling through the profile key and the Macro’s change accordingly, and this is where the extra premium over the K70 Luxe etc come into play IMO.
Summery
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There is no denying this is an absolutely lovely keyboard. It does amusingly drop some features which the normal K95 RGB has in form of 18 Macro Key’s, Macro Key and 3 profile keys, but this not not a big issue for most really and the small changes such as USB passthrough make up for it.
I am still slightly disappointed by the wobbly spacebar, lighting not fully illuminating all of a key and the CUE 2 software is a pain to use at times, but powerful once you learn it so for that reason the board gets 4 stars.
Being honest, if you’re not bothered by the more extravagant lighting zones and pass through, but still want the Macro keys, then a normal K95 RGB is an option. If you don’t need those even, but still want some of the parts this board brings to the table like passthrough and key fonts, then the K70 Lux for a fair bit cheaper is another option.
In all a lovely board with a hefty premium for small upgrades, but the quality is there and it does look smashing.
The lower travel on the speed keys is evident (i find myself wandering quite often!) and feel a bit softer, but still feel mechanical.
The keyboards foot print is impressively small, only fractionaly bigger than the K65 (one of the reasons i got a K65 was its quite compact)
Media keys are slightly raised compared to the K65 which is good, Im not so keen on the new volume roller, its still awesome but surrounded by plastic looking aluminium…. im nitpicking perfection here.
One big plus over the K65 is this has a full depth wrist wrest (double sided to). An expensive optional extra on other corsair boards. This alone almost makes this Kb a bargain.
The only genuine flaw I would lay on this is the lack of passthrough ports. Oh, and im not really getting on with the CUE software. The saving and recalling settings seems a bit un-intuitive (I dont read instructions)
But such flaws are easily forgiven for this aluminium chassis’d gem. If your willing to spend this much on a keyboard, I doubt very much youd regret i
Putting it in a one liner.. this keyboard is the one to rule them all. (apologies to the Lord of the Rings from where I stole the phrase). Now… before you think I got carried away… read on. I’m 72 years of age and have a life time of typing ( with two fingers) behind me. I date back to the time of the old IBM PC AT keyboards, build like tanks.. mechanical key switches and build to outlast even your great grandmother.
There is no doubt about it that mechanical key-switches, in my mind, are superior to the spongy membrane switches, but as with all good things.. this comes at a price. The Cherry mx switches (brown) in this keyboard are build in Germany I think. Nice to see that there are some things we still made in Europe !!
OK… the Corsair RGB platinum is primarily designed for gamers. NO DOUBT ABOUT IT. So.. in that respect is is wasted on me… apart from looking at the odd demo I do not game.. too old and lack of time. So… what is good, if not excellent about this keyboard,seen from a user (non gamer) perspective.
The first thing which strikes you is the weight. It is made from aircraft aluminum. Corsair claims it is build for a life time of typing (gaming). Since my life time is getting near the end… I won’t be able to proof ’em, wrong.
The keyboard cable, with its double USB 2.0 port header, (One USB for the keyboard and one USB header for the USB pass-thru) could double up as the anchor chain cable of the Titanic. In all my years I have never seen a cable like it, the outer-shell is braided and I estimate it is at least 8 to 9 mm thick. I sometimes listen to music when working (typing) and I find the mute and volume controls, placed on the top R/H side of the keyboard, extremely convenient and useful. The volume control is a knurled roller and works like a treat and when that super important phone call comes in.. just press the mute button right next to it.
As I do not game.. the 6 MACRO keys are of no use to me, but for you gamers out there, they must be ideal.
The wrist rest, if you use it, is reversible…. and the rest itself detaches if you do not want to use it. One side is textured and the other smooth. A nice touch, I think.
But for me, what attracted me most is the superb back lighting of this keyboard. It is PRETTY ! Believe it or not, IF you want it, you could set each individual key with its own color back-light. (warning, that would probably drive you insane !). I consider it most unlikely that anyone would ever wish to do that… but who knows, if that someone is you.. go ahead, you can actually do it.
I could go on and on about the back lighting as the amount of possibilities and variety could be mind boggling. But… and I say THANK GOD, Corsair has provided several build in standard RGB profiles, so take your pick without ANY s/w having to be loaded. DO NOTE: this keyboard STORES ITS MACROS and user setting in its own on-board RAM… so if you decide to take this family treasure with you to impress those nephews and nieces… your favorite profiles and settings can travel with you !!! Leave the S/W at home, there is no need for it.
Working at night, or at low light levels, if you never had a back-lit keyboard, you will never go back to an unlit one. It just is a dream… apart from being so pretty.
At night I allow the colors to “wash” across the keyboard and I am not ashamed to admit that even at 72 years old, I find it very pretty, trust me on this. 3 levels of brightness control, plus one OFF position are available via dedicated switch on the TOP L/H side of the keyboard, as well as a windows lock key, as well as a RGB light profile switch key.
As to durabilty… I’ll come back on that in a few weeks. I have 10 (ten) cats sharing my life and they step on the keyboard(s) more times than i have had cups of coffee. That’s why my waterproof Tecknet keyboard remains in use. See my amazon uk review on that unit if you are interested. It is nicely backlit in Blue, but lacks the endless variety of the Corsair RGB Platinum and of course the mechanical key switches…. But the Platinum is 600 % more expensive !!!
There is one thing which annoys me on this keyboard. WHY does Corsair place the semicolon and the colon BELOW each other, instead of side by side ?? Thats is done with the other special character keys as well. I.M.O a mistake, but you might not think so ?
For you die hard gamers reading this …. I would think that if you are going to spend BIG money.. this is the one to get BUT…. do read my warning about the shocking s/w. N key roll over… more macros than you can shake a stick at.. Dedicated Windows lockout key, Cherry MX REd (speed) switches… For those of you who want this keyboard for typing GET THE ONE WITH THE CHERRY MX BROWN switches. The RED (speed) switches actuate way too quickly, 1.2mm travel,… but are ideal for anyone who wishes to use it for gaming.
For anyone thinking of spending almost 200 pounds sterling… READ THE REVIEWS BEFORE you part with your hard earned cash !!!! Look on YouTube and Google this keyboard… and of course visit Corsair own website.
Corsair CUE S/W. (Corsair Utility Engine). I would call it the CUEFH.. Corsair Utility Engine From Hell !
Who wrote this should be shot. I am delighted to say that Corsair must have listened to the endless complaints they got about this program and is in the process of re-writing it. My main gripe is that this S/W is unnecessary complex, cumbersome and difficult. It should HAVE FAR MORE STANDARD PROFILES and be far simpler to use. As it stands I would give it 5 ***** for being user HOSTILE. Note…. that is my very own personal opinion, but it must have BEEN MENTIONED TO CORSAIR a great many times as they would not be re-writing it so quickly. I’ve also seen it mentioned in various reviews of this keyboard.
So.. there you have it. Apologies for the length but at almost two hundred quid this keyboard is a lot of money. Oh… yes, you guessed it.. this review was typed on the keyboard.. so here talks a real user.
Thanks for staying with me sofar . I wrote it from the heart.
Albert
PS:I’ll post a few photos later.
It also comes with additional grey “texturized” keys. 1 set has WASD, while the other one has QWERDF. Yes that means you get 2 additional Ws and 2 additional Ds, however the D from the 2nd set is in a different shape that the one from the primary set. I assume WASD is for FPS, while the other one is for MOBAs or something. I wish they had included a textured Shift and CTRL, but no biggie, I didn’t expect these textured keys to be in the box anyway. The spacebar is also textured, however it is black, like the rest of the keyboard. The only grey keys are macro keys and additional keys I mentioned before.
The keyboard comes with 3 hardware profiles than can be edited and then saved back onto keyboard’s memory, however if you wish to it with other corsair peripherals, you’ll need to use software profiles. I have synced lighting with my M65 PRO RGB mouse and it looks amazing.