Corsair K70

[Hyde]

Saw this today:

http://www.corsair.com/en/k70/?utm_source=Corsair&utm_medium=Website&utm_content=K70&utm_campaign=FrontPage

and

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.552916148081811.1073741830.179235105449919&type=1

While I wasn't a fan of the K60 and K90 because of not fully mechanical also I heard about sticking issue.  That and I want backlight but I don't want the macro key on K90.

But seems like Corsair decided to fix all the issues now and come out with this that's between K60 and K90 (soon K65 and K95).  Seems to be a pretty promising keyboard and even come with 2 colours themes.

Though we still don't know the OEM for Corsair but otherwise this is looking good so far 

[davkol]

Those keycaps on 1–6 and WASD look pretty weird.

[Hyde]

lol at least it's optional though.  They give you an extra set of "gaming" keycaps.

[tp4tissue]

I just hope this 20kro thing isn't some mega BS like last time with the keyrepeat.

[zoolzoo]

Looks pretty good. I hate the contoured WASD cluster though, that would really annoy me.

[daerid]

Seems pretty solid.

[Hyde]

Looks pretty good. I hate the contoured WASD cluster though, that would really annoy me.

lol yeah I hate that too but at least it still come with default keycaps.  Also I like the fact that it's MX Red and Blue LED.

Mmmmmmmm might have to wait till it comes out and see, and I think this one will completely kills K65 and K95 in terms of sale 

[wetto]

I know this is an old thread, but I've come here to post interesting stuff and pictures 

So, here's my unit:



I'll probably make a review soon, but these are the interesting pictures, including disassembly 











































- Soldering on the PCB seems pretty good (don't be scared with the cleaning residue, it's completely normal and OK).

- The PCB itself looks nice (though having the USB controller soldered into it isn't really a good idea).

- Keycaps are complete crap (what'd you expect from a backlit keyboard?), but manage to be even worse than other backlit keyboards. They just feel unconfortable when you touch then, there's just way too much friction.

- The Cherry stabilizers don't feel all that nice (out of all my keyboards, the only keyboard which has Cherry stabilizers and those manage to be decent, is the Tt Meka G-Unit).

- The wrist rest connectors are fragile and will break easily (and it's the same with every keyboard I have ever seen, excluding Steelseries 7G and Gamdias HERMES GKB2010).

- The wrist rest isn't all that confortable, it'd be better if it were longer.

- The keyboard itself costs just way too much. It's no way in hell better than a cheaper CM Storm Trigger or a good non-backlit keyboard (ex: FILCO).

- Extra keycaps look nice, but they're a bother when you're actually typing and I just didn't see what makes them better for gaming than the others... Quality isn't all that great.

- The cable is pretty thick and a bit hard to move around your table, but at least not as much as the Tt Meka G1.

- Almost no rubber underneath it and its height adjustment feet aren't well made.

[dorkvader]

I assume the top connector is for the scrollwheel and associated buttons, but what is the side connector for? was anything plugged into it? With 22 connectors, you could probably export an entire keyboard matrix over that.

Excellent pictures, bytheway. The first one is my favorite, and I especially love takeaparts.

Edit: oh, looks like they power the LED's with that. interesting.

[C5Allroad]

Hmm it seems that they changed the "structure" of the space bar on the K70 compared to the K90. Seems to be stronger. Not bad...

[wetto]

Hmm it seems that they changed the "structure" of the space bar on the K70 compared to the K90. Seems to be stronger. Not bad...

There are several changes from the K90 towards the K70, especially a new controller that doesn't just dies randomly, besides the lack of all those useless macro keys 

---------------------------------------------------

Anyways, for sure the OEM of these new Corsair keyboards is pretty much the same as CM Quick Fire TK and Logitech G710. Even the crappy keycaps are the same and both of them also have those codes on the internal side of the keycap, which other OEMs simply don't 

They do a pretty good job when it comes to soldering (but not always), the soldering even looks better than on some Costar keyboards, but the keycaps are just atrocious...

[C5Allroad]

I like the look of it, but I won't be buying anytime soon. The key caps to me are really slippery. But it's nice to see Corsair finally revamp their keyboards and please so many more people.

[wetto]

I felt like I was still missing some pictures...








That's a Tt Meka G-Unit it was compared to. Yes, it's dusty because it's an abandoned keyboard which I hate 

[C5Allroad]

Nice pictures!

[wetto]

My bad, although the keycaps for the Logitech G710+ are from the same vendor (the code under it indicates so), its keycaps are NOT as bad as Corsair K70, at least when it comes to how they "feel".

The plastic on both isn't good, as well as the painting, but at least Logitech G710+'s keycaps don't FEEL like crap when you touch them.

LEFT = G710+
Right = Corsair K70




Top = G710+
Bottom = Corsair K70



Anyways, the G710+ feels far nicer and even looks better than the K70...

[C5Allroad]

I like the font better on Corsairs keyboards.

[wetto]

I like the font better on Corsairs keyboards.

Yes, the font is far more lucid, it's easier to understand than these "flashy gamer fonts" you see in every gaming keyboard. Also, it looks good even when it isn't backlit, while the G710+ needs to be backlit for you to understand anything.

[C5Allroad]

I like plain fonts the blackwidow is one of those that are flashy.

[pandaemic]

I've had my K70 since July and I really like the "lifted" look for the aluminum body. My biggest complaint is the keys like you stated before, they feel odd compared to other keys, I switched out most of them on mine except for the entire bottom row "space bar, etc" because of the sizing difference. And also as stated before, the wrist rest is completely useless...

Biggest upside in my opinion is that it's really easy to keep clean

[CorsairJames]

Great review! This is the stuff that I like to read since it's both comprehensive and has constructive criticism. Since I saw it being mentioned, the font we used on our keyboards is Century Gothic in case people want to replicate the font for third party key caps.

I'm surprised to hear about the wrist rest as it was one of the items people liked about the K90 and missing on the K60.

As for the key cap criticism, is it strictly just the material you all dislike, or is it more in regards to everything (shape, size, etc.)?

[C5Allroad]

I love my K90 only mech board I've ever used so I can't say much. I like it, but it does get this wired sludge on it over time. I do clean my hands before using my computer. I like the shaped compared to razer, then again they aren't too hard to surpass.

[wetto]

Great review! This is the stuff that I like to read since it's both comprehensive and has constructive criticism. Since I saw it being mentioned, the font we used on our keyboards is Century Gothic in case people want to replicate the font for third party key caps.

I'm surprised to hear about the wrist rest as it was one of the items people liked about the K90 and missing on the K60.

As for the key cap criticism, is it strictly just the material you all dislike, or is it more in regards to everything (shape, size, etc.)?

Material (plastic used) and also the surface (probably has to do with the painting used). It just doesn't feels smooth or nice, my fingers just rub on it and it feels awful.

And anyways, when I say that these keycaps from whatever OEM Corsair, Logitech and CM (on their Quick Fire TK) are using are bad, I'm also talking about this on the left:



In case you guys are wondering, in order: Logitech G710+ (Unknown OEM, maybe Solid Year),  Tt Meka G-Unit (i-Rocks), Das Keyboard Model S Professional (Costar), Corsair K70 (Unknown OEM, maybe Solid Year) and CM Storm Trigger (Costar).

And yup, broken keycap... Broke while trying to remove it 

[C5Allroad]

Hmm. When I get my shine I'll look under the keys.

[Linkbane]

Personally, I'd say that I really like the keycaps because of their font and how they're raised, it's more comfortable when I type. However, I agree that the surface could be modified to be more grippy. The extra keycaps are actually quite nice; if you sold sets of those, I'd be interested.

[Hyde]

Sweet !!!  Good to know we also have a Corsair Rep on geekhack now.  I find it's nice that companies are listening to the communities now.

[C5Allroad]

Yup! I really love a company that listens, don't worry corsair I'll use your mice and headsets and who knows maybe a keyboard....
For now I'm waiting at my door for the fedex truck with my shine

[CorsairJames]

I'm glad our products are getting a good reception! The K70 is something that sells very well but its also nice to see what people dislike about it. Its important too that we don't rest on our laurels and see how it can be made better. If people want different keycaps, or dislike what we use now, its something we can always look into for the future.

@Wetto, what keyboard do you use as your main now?

[wetto]

I'm glad our products are getting a good reception! The K70 is something that sells very well but its also nice to see what people dislike about it. Its important too that we don't rest on our laurels and see how it can be made better. If people want different keycaps, or dislike what we use now, its something we can always look into for the future.

@Wetto, what keyboard do you use as your main now?

CM Storm Trigger at home (MX Brown, mostly due to ABNT2 layout, people over here hate ANSI layout) and Das Keyboard Model S Professional (MX Brown) at work. I'm not a big fan of Cherry MX Reds anyway.

But essentially, the keycaps are the main drawback, in my opinion on the Corsair K70. The wrist rest would have also been far nicer if it were just 2~3 inches longer, the way it is now it's just as good as having none at all.

[CorsairJames]

One of the things we have to consider when it comes to keyboard size and accessories like the wrist rest is the area it'll take up. When a wrist rest extends too far out, it becomes impractical for people who use a keyboard tray. Some of you may remember that it was a common complaint with the original G15 for example where the keyboard was so large, it had to be put on a desk since no tray would ever fit it.

On the K50 though, we did extend out the wrist rest slightly more on the left where most people rest their palm to use the WASD keys.

[wetto]

One of the things we have to consider when it comes to keyboard size and accessories like the wrist rest is the area it'll take up. When a wrist rest extends too far out, it becomes impractical for people who use a keyboard tray. Some of you may remember that it was a common complaint with the original G15 for example where the keyboard was so large, it had to be put on a desk since no tray would ever fit it.

On the K50 though, we did extend out the wrist rest slightly more on the left where most people rest their palm to use the WASD keys.

Yes, I've seen that problem many times with other keyboards that have a longer wrist rest, such as the CM Storm Trigger, but the fact is that when the wrist rest becomes too short, it just becomes useless... It's a bit hard to make everyone get happy, I understand that...

Though still, I have many keyboards with integrated wrist rest (CM Storm Trigger, Logitech G710+, Thermaltake Meka G-Unit, Thermaltake Meka G1, Corsair K70) and unfortunately all of them are just plain bad, the Trigger's being the least bad... I've seen people going over some Microsoft keyboards due to how good their integrated wrist rests are and when it comes to mechanical keyboards, there's not even a single one that has a good integated wrist rest, most, if not all, are just cheap pieces of plastic that come as a second-rate extra.

[CorsairJames]

I am in agreement that there is a lot of emphasis on a keyboard design with wrist rest being more of an accessory than a part of the design itself.

However, what would you consider a good wrist rest? Would it be padded for example, and extend 6 inches out so your entire wrist can rest on it? Would you prefer it to be cloth so its easy to clean, etc.?

[Linkbane]

I am in agreement that there is a lot of emphasis on a keyboard design with wrist rest being more of an accessory than a part of the design itself.

However, what would you consider a good wrist rest? Would it be padded for example, and extend 6 inches out so your entire wrist can rest on it? Would you prefer it to be cloth so its easy to clean, etc.?

As far as wrist wrests, I mainly play LoL and I think that a slightly raised wrist rest would be good, but it should be low enough that people don't have to reach downwards to get to the keys, but rather curling around the arm; maybe even a sort of shallow semi-cylinder that allows the arm to rest with comfortable faux leather or some other padding inside. Of course, this is just theory, but the wrist rest on the K60 is good, if a bit high.

[BakerMan1971]

Wow guys, that is a very thorough review, makes the one I did positively amateurish
I do love the K70 design, but the price does put it out of reach, you should hear what my wife said, when I told her I wanted one!!!

Someone mentioned that the bottom row of keys are not standard sizes, I would hint to Corsair that using standard sizes to enable customers to replace keysets would increase their appeal.
Keycaps are again growing in popularity, with custom / blank / coloured caps popping up all over the place.

Just my 2p.

[CorsairJames]

Wow guys, that is a very thorough review, makes the one I did positively amateurish
I do love the K70 design, but the price does put it out of reach, you should hear what my wife said, when I told her I wanted one!!!

Someone mentioned that the bottom row of keys are not standard sizes, I would hint to Corsair that using standard sizes to enable customers to replace keysets would increase their appeal.
Keycaps are again growing in popularity, with custom / blank / coloured caps popping up all over the place.

Just my 2p.

This has not fallen on deaf ears. 

[C5Allroad]

I love my wrist rest on my K90. I can game for hours and not have a single issue. Maybe add larger rubber feet so the keyboard doesn't slip. On my wooden desk it slips sometimes.

[davkol]

Speaking of wrist rests... Everybody (well, almost) knows they're more or less anti-ergonomic in most use-cases: pressure on ones carpal tunnel, and tendency to bend wrists horizontally are the most obvious issues... Apart from that, people usually put keyboards with hand rests too far from their body, instead of right above their lap, which makes the whole thing even worse for ones posture. Nevertheless, I still use one when just navigating in a document or something. I rest only my palms on it and refrain from moving my hand at all (except pressing keys in-place).

Therefore, I'd like to suggest a completely different approach. Make the hand rest optional (as in separate, not just detachable) and configurable. How?

• Different surfaces. Make it possible to replace the surface; offer several kinds such as leatherette (see MS Ergo 4k), rubbery stuff (MS SideWinder X6 IIRC), gel/foam covered with cloth (Rollermouse) etc.
• Feet both in the back and front. Take a look at LiteOn SK-6000, MS Ergo 4k and BTC 8110—all of these allow the user to raise the front of the keyboard, especially the BTCs approach is quite interesting. This would make it possible to find the right angle&height for everyone.

[Grendel]

Well, got my K70 (MX brown) yesterday. Almost a good keyboard. I have three major issues w/ it:

1. The keycaps. Junk. I don't get it, why making a KB with switches that last 50M-clicks but with caps that come apart w/in a year or less ? Same type of caps as used in the 710+, i.e. prone to break and to collect oils. My XArmor carries older (thicker) versions of these caps, at least they are only prone to crack (vs. falling apart) and their symbols are placed smarter (on the upper portion of the caps.) First thing I did was to install the caps from my old Deck. Lost the curvature but these work well for me.

2. LED's are driven using PWM. I do understand why (brightness control and power reduction) but for the love of god, run it at higher frequencies !!! I can see the damn lights flicker in the corner of my eye while using it. Drives me nuts and makes the light feature totally useless for me. This was the main reason why I returned the 710+ (and that one did actually flicker less !)

3. LEDs again -- the k70 is designed to bleed as much light as possible from underneath the key. Sure, gives a nice back-lit effect but with issue 2. it is seriously annoying. I really would like the opposite, I want JUST the symbols lit, not the keys from behind. I know where the key is when I can see the symbol...

And finally a lesser issue (but still annoying to me) -- the LED color. Please, give me red LEDs ! They are the most easy on the eyes in low light environments (where I happen to do most of my computing. And no, I don't want MX red switches, I do want brown )

Ah well, back it goes and the search continues.

[C5Allroad]

Well I would go to Cm storm quickfireTK or ducky shine 3 or even the Nighthawk X8 too  .

[Photoelectric]

2. LED's are driven using PWM. I do understand why (brightness control and power reduction) but for the love of god, run it at higher frequencies !!! I can see the damn lights flicker in the corner of my eye while using it. Drives me nuts and makes the light feature totally useless for me. This was the main reason why I returned the 710+ (and that one did actually flicker less !)

That's definitely annoying, and I've experienced it with a Ducky Shine II as well.  What helped was switching to a different USB port.  Try it and see if it makes any visible difference for you.

[Grendel]

Thanks guys. Different port = no change unfortunately. The Ducky Shine 3 is what I came up w/ too. Probably going for it.

[C5Allroad]

Nice! I don't see any flickering on mine.