Corsair gets into keyboards (MX Red)

[Atenacius]

It will be the same amount of dust but cleaning is easier since there is no housing to trap the dust in. You won't need to remove keycaps to get the dust out

[dorkvader]

Yeah, I imagine a can of compressed air will be  even more effective in this application.

[AlleyViper]

It's good to see big brands putting their hands on keyboards, because there's a chance that EU ISO layouts will appear.
The more mechanical keyboards on computer stores, the better.

[Curetia]

Yesterday I wrote this Mail to the Corsair support:

Hello,
I have a few questions about the new Vengeance™ K90 Performance MMO Mechanical Gaming Keyboard :
1. Will this keyboard be available in 105-key-ISO-german Layout? (I saw a few pictures with 105-UK-ISO Layout)
2. Will the palm rest be detachable?
3. When will this keyboard be available in german, how much should it cost in € and where can I buy one?
4. Are alle Keys (including the macro keys) with cherry-mx-reds? I realy want to buy this very nice keyboard!
Best regards,

Today I get the answer:

Hi Martin,
Thank you for your email. Below you can find the answer to your questions.
1. Yes we will have German layout
2. Yes FPS keyboard has detachable palm rest
3. They should be available around 3rd week of Oct and will be available on all Corsair partners (if customer can’t find it then we will have it available on Corsair website)
4. G keys are not cherry mx red and the F functions keys are not too.

Thank you and have a nice day!
Kristine Lagunilla
Customer Service Group

The answer to my question 2 is about the wrong keyboard my questions are all about the K90 and I think the FPS keyboard is the K60. Because of this I wrote a new mail to the support:

Hello Kristine,
all my questions are about the K90 the answer to my second question is to the K60 right? Is the palm rest of the K90 also detachable?
Thank you for the answers, but the answer to question number four is not as good as I hope. All macro-keys and all keys from F1-F12 are not Cherry-MX-Red right? I hope this is not true and only the multimedia keys above the F1-F12 row is not Cherry-MX-Red.

Best regards,

If this woman is right and the F1-F12-row and the macrokeys are non Cherry-MX-Reds (so I think they will be rubberdomes) than this is a very bad news!

[Curetia]

I dont know what the meaning of "be a bit off" is. But I think the F1-F12 Keys are Cherry-MX The small buttons above the F-row and above the numpad arent MX but this is normal.
The only thing I hope is that the G-macrokeys are also MX and not rubberdomes.

[Curetia]

http://www.engadget.com/photos/corsair-vengeance-gaming-keyboard-mice-and-headset-press-shots/#4454672
This image shows the Switches on the cursor keys and the F-row and the middleblock and you see the differences clearly so it looks like no mx-switches at the f-row, the middleblock and the macrokeys

[Atenacius]

http://www.engadget.com/photos/corsair-vengeance-gaming-keyboard-mice-and-headset-press-shots/#4454672
This image shows the Switches on the cursor keys and the F-row and the middleblock and you see the differences clearly so it looks like no mx-switches at the f-row, the middleblock and the macrokeys

Good eye. I can't believe the F-row aren't MX switches. They could at least leave the Esc key. That's really unfortunate.

[peda]

Good eye. I can't believe the F-row aren't MX switches. They could at least leave the Esc key. That's really unfortunate.

i wonder what the reasoning behind this is?

it can't be that much of a pricing decision?!?!

actually i think that the production cost might even go up when you want to have 2 different types of switches on one boards?!

[Lanx]

switches look like alps?

idk i'm not a non cherry switch guy

btw is anyone interested in the mice? made out of metal just like the rat7/9 but hopefully not sucky like madcatz... i mean madcatz the king of crap. (it is using the avago sensors so thats good)

[Atenacius]

So has anyone ordered one, yet? I'm so anxious for it to be reviewed and dissected.

[dorkvader]

Hmm, that may kill the deal for me, then.

It had so much potential, too.

[Curetia]

I would buy one if all are Cherry-MX and I also would pay up to 160€ for the corsair with full MX-switches. But with mx and rubberdomes i would buy a filco and doubleshots from groupbuy 4...

[daerid]

I would buy one if all are Cherry-MX and I also would pay up to 160€ for the corsair with full MX-switches. But with mx and rubberdomes i would buy a filco and doubleshots from groupbuy 4...

Amen... this was the first Cherry MX gaming board that I actually liked. Sad to see they skimped out on the switches. Although it does explain how they were able to keep the price point so low.

[Curetia]

Hi Martin,
Yes palm rest for K90 is also detachable.  Yes F1-F12 are not Cherry Red keys because they are hardly use. Thanks

Kristine Lagunilla
Customer Service Group

It is only a part answer but it is a bad answer

[Atenacius]

Sounds like the Esc key is still an MX switch which is good news. I may still consider getting it. Maybe a mod could be in order

[dorkvader]

If I could solder cherry switches in place of the funcion keys, I would buy it, and do so.

As it stands now, I'll wait for someone here to do a proper review.

[monked]

If I could solder cherry switches in place of the funcion keys, I would buy it, and do so.

 
could be hard because of the plate mounting and ugly if you dont do it right because of the missing "top case"
if only the Fkeys are no cherry it should be okay but we'll see...

[dorkvader]

Let's send a large amount of mail to Corsair, telling them how to do it right on the upcoming tenkeyless version that they need to make.

Is it just me, or do I make less mistakes on my mechanical keyboards? Pity some manufacturers make more mistakes on theirs

[jackdan]

Yesterday I wrote this Mail to the Corsair support:


Today I get the answer:


The answer to my question 2 is about the wrong keyboard my questions are all about the K90 and I think the FPS keyboard is the K60. Because of this I wrote a new mail to the support:



If this woman is right and the F1-F12-row and the macrokeys are non Cherry-MX-Reds (so I think they will be rubberdomes) than this is a very bad news!

Not a Buy-it-now for me if not everything is RED.  :-(

[BigWopHH]

Why?  This one has more info.  Why do you think BigWopper pulled the pics?  Did he used to get pissed easily? He's a bit before my time.  I only remember arguing with him about some crazyass number Keyboard Rating system he was working on.

Sorry guys, been away from the site for a few days.  I pulled the pics because I inadvertantly broke embargo (I didn't even know one was in place) and Corsair asked me to pull them.  That's all. No getting pissed here...

[Lamaboi]

Well somebody asked on their Facebook page and they confirmed it...

The top row keys, ESC thru Pause/Break, and the Insert thru Page Down keys are dome-switch keys. The same for the G keys on the K90.

http://www.facebook.com/Corsair/posts/197821146953522

[itlnstln]

Well somebody asked on their Facebook page and they confirmed it...



http://www.facebook.com/Corsair/posts/197821146953522

Well, that's ****ing stupid.  It sounds like a whole lot of extra engineering for no apparent gain.

[Deadly55]

Well I don't think I'll be getting a corsair board ..  Numpad is rubber dome as well?

Yes I'm on a phone.

[hcry4]

This is what happens when you let case designer engineers design a keyboard.  They think they can snap together ANYthing.

Hope that's not a Lego reference.

Anyway, I agree that it's a bad idea to not have all cherry mx switches though.

[gmorf33]

lol.  such the little instigator.

[Atenacius]

No MX switch for the Esc key? That's insane. I rather give up the numpad switches for the function row keys. I never touch those for gaming.

[Chobopants]

Eek, was just going to post about how excited I was that reds would gain more mainstream acceptance when I read about the domes. Bad corsair.

[nrd]

Seriously, what were they thinking? Who designs a keyboard with two completely different kind of switches? And who wants to use (let alone buy) a mechanical keyboard with some rubberdomes thrown onto? Escape and the F-keys aren't even that uncommon to use during gaming...

Meh. It looked promisinig, but that's just rubbish.

[Parak]

Seriously, what were they thinking? Who designs a keyboard with two completely different kind of switches?

It's actually been done before as I have one of them at work (keyboard with different kind of switches). Domes and blacks, on a POS... with an additional twist. I'll post pics elsewhere sometime.

[Lanx]

kinesis has rubber crap domes on their f1-f12 section.

[AlleyViper]

Oh well, using slightly cheaper black switches on the F row would be a much better compromise. At least they could be modded.

[highspeed]

Eek, was just going to post about how excited I was that reds would gain more mainstream acceptance when I read about the domes. Bad corsair.

ye man it so stupid, not only that, i guess they did it cause it would be cheaper?? But their keyboards are not any cheaper lol !!!

[Lanx]

corsair, by name will not be cheap, even their budget line is higher than the rest of the pack.

[popol]

New Corsair board have rubber dome on their F sections as well? mmm... ugly plus that... not for me

[Lamaboi]

The Corsair rep. on OCN had this to say about the whole dome-switch issue:

What is the benefit to an expensive mechanical switch on a button that is rarely pressed?

What is the benefit to market the board as a mechanical then? False advertisement?
The tech-spec's on their website don't mention anything about dome switches:
http://www.corsair.com/vengeance-k60-performance-fps-mechanical-gaming-keyboard.html

[teraflame]

The Corsair rep. on OCN had this to say about the whole dome-switch issue:

What is the benefit to market the board as a mechanical then? False advertisement?
The tech-spec's on their website don't mention anything about dome switches:
http://www.corsair.com/vengeance-k60-performance-fps-mechanical-gaming-keyboard.html

lol like they're gonna pass the savings onto us

[Lanx]

why is corsair rep so clueless? i had to school him on that OCN thread.

[Chobopants]

Lawl...F keys little used. I use them a LOT, both in gaming and regular use. Silly people making things when they don't actually use them.

[magictoaster]

You're just being mean! :smile:

[magictoaster]

why is corsair rep so clueless? i had to school him on that OCN thread.

You're just being mean! :smile:

[noodles256]

gross keyboard, it is

potential, it had

[Atenacius]

By the Corsair rep's logic, they should've given Scroll Lock, Insert and Pause rubber domes. The Esc key is used by everyone

[noodles256]

beta access

[Skull_Angel]

By the Corsair rep's logic, they should've given Scroll Lock, Insert and Pause rubber domes. The Esc key is used by everyone

I think they did actually... HA!

[Phaedrus2129]

I use F4, F5, F6, F10, and F12 regularly.

I'll have to do extensive testing in STALKER (constant quicksaving with F5) and Starcraft (menu on F10) to see if the domes make things awkward.



I am worried that Corsair is setting a dangerous precedent. What next, companies using mechanical switches only for WASD and calling it mechanical?

I propose the terminology "Hybrid switch" keyboard for any keyboard with mechanical switches, where mechanical switches are not used for *all* keys present on the standard 104/5-key layout (if present on the board), plus any reprogrammable ("macro") keys the board may have.

Yes, macro keys have to be mechanical too. Cherry uses mechanical switches for those. Corsair doesn't have an excuse not to.

[WorldExclusive]

I propose the terminology "Hybrid switch" keyboard for any keyboard with mechanical switches, where mechanical switches are not used for *all* keys present on the standard 104/5-key layout (if present on the board), plus any reprogrammable ("macro") keys the board may have.

I spoke with the Corsair rep on [H] about this earlier today, and decided to come here and see what you all thought about it.
I wondered the same thing, will the WASD cluster be mechanical on dome boards? I mean, it makes sense after what Corsair just did.

Corsair Rep response:

Not trolling here - just genuinely curious. Why would F keys and G keys need to be mechanical?

Seriously - from my point of view it's just adding cost for no benefit at all.

The benefit of the mechanical keys on the regular keyboard is that they respond well to typing and double taps, especially the linear switches. Every other key you press once, don't double tap, and don't use during standard typing.

After my 2 cents:

I'll make sure your opinion is heard by the product manager.

Hopefully now they understand that a quality product, is better than a flashy product.
All the flash can be purchased separately. We do it everyday like buying keycaps, wrist rests etc.

[Lanx]

again it's just that they didn't do market research... a quick Google or even just trolling a mech board forum will show that a 20 year old Kinesis that has almost not changed form for 20 years gets 4 out of 5 stars... the number one complaint? (besides price) is the ganky rubber domes for F1-F12 keys... i mean did anyone see that video? "har har other ppl use plastic, but we use aluminum for our keyboard!" yea go highlight aluminum that costs money and to shave off a few bucks put some ganky rubber domes.

[Deverica Wolf]

Well somebody asked on their Facebook page and they confirmed it...



http://www.facebook.com/Corsair/posts/197821146953522

 
On OCN I said this was a toy. I still feel the same.

Please let me know with a PM when Filco's Red Tenkeyless comes back in stock.

[highspeed]

Anyways why would anyone buy corsair, razer, mionix, zowie and steelseries when you can buy a noppoo mini that has perfect layout, you can choose whatever switch you want, media keys, full nkro over usb, quick caps lock/controll exchange button?

[elef]

Because I need the ISO layout, and preferably separate arrow key and Ins/Del clusters.