Corsair Vengeance K60/M60 and K90/M90 Input Devices
Corsair Vengeance K60 Keyboard
The Corsair Vengeance K60 keyboard boasts Cherry MX Red mechanical switches. The key action is swift and requires very little pressure (45g, to be precise), allowing a quick-fingered gamer to double- and triple-tap with incredible speed. It’s just 2mm to key actuation, and 4mm to travel all the way to the bottom.
Not all the keys have the Cherry MX Red switches, though; the F1 through F12 keys, as well as Esc, PrtScn, Scroll Lock, Pause/Break, Insert, Home, Page Up, Page Down, Delete, and End all have silicon dome keyswitches. It’s not a huge deal, but there are undoubtedly some for whom the lack of an all-mechanical switch keyboard will be a negative.
To handle ghosting, Corsair built the K60 with a key matrix design that uses individual switches and dedicated diodes per switch, and the keyboard also has 20-key rollover capabilities, which should help improve performance for clumsy newbs and ham-fisted veterans alike.
Though the K60 isn’t packed with extra features, there are a few nice touches on board. There’s a small bank of multimedia keys--stop, play/pause, previous, next, and mute--that is highlighted by a weighted metal volume roller with a diamond-shape grip design. Corsair saw fit to also include a Windows lock button to disable the Windows key and keep gameplay from accidentally being interrupted.
The keyboard cable includes two USB ends--one to connect the keyboard to a PC and one as a USB (2.0/1.1) pass-through, allowing you to plug in a mouse or other USB device to the back of the keyboard if needed.
The brushed aluminum body of the K60 is beautiful and practically begs to be touched, but its defining feature is strength, not looks. The thing is solid; it doesn’t bend one iota at a frustrated keystroke pound and due to its sturdy rubber feet, it never slides a millimeter, almost as if it were part of the desk on which it rests. The keys themselves are laser-etched so as to endure over time and with frequent use.
If you’re used to a grime-collecting membrane keyboard that’s difficult to clean, the K60 will be a breath of fresh air. The body is essentially a solid slab of metal onto which the keys have been placed. There’s nothing to catch crud, so a few well-placed puffs of compressed air should keep things tidy. (That is, as long as you don’t Cheeto and game simultaneously. If you do, god help you and your forever unclean mess of a keyboard.)
Unlike the other devices in this review, the K60 requires no software or drivers, so you can just plug it in and start shooting. You may, however, want to take a moment to swap out a few keys for something better.
Corsair included a set of 10 substitute keys for the K60, so you can pop out the WASD quartet of keys and numbers 1-6 and replace them. The extra keys have red caps with a softer textured grip than the stock keys. They’re also angled slightly to fit the left hand a little better. The keys reside in a plastic case that doubles as a palm rest, which is itself covered in comfortable soft rubber. Corsair included a small key removal tool, which also stows away neatly inside the palm rest, to make swapping the keys a simple affair.
Frankly, we initially thought the extra keys might just be a gimmick, but once we put them on the board and spent some time gaming with them, we found them to be a feature we really liked.
For as nice as the substitute keys were for gaming, they’re awful for typing. The slight angles wreak havoc on your accuracy when typing out anything longer than a Tweet. Further, the substitute number keys don’t include the Shift symbols, so if you’ve forgotten that the "@" symbol is on the 2 key, you’re in trouble. The palm rest has the same problem--we enjoyed using it while gaming, but otherwise it was just in the way. (No matter--it snaps on and off the keyboard easily enough.)
The keys are simple enough to remove, so putting the stock keys back on before you type a long article or a raging missive isn’t a huge deal. However, if you use your keyboard frequently for both typing and gaming, you’ll likely find yourself either always leaving the stock keys in place or grabbing a standard cheap keyboard to plug in when you’re typing something substantial.
That said, it’s not much of a knock against Corsair; the keys and palm rest are optional, so if you’re not interested in using them, you can just leave them be.
Not all the keys have the Cherry MX Red switches, though; the F1 through F12 keys, as well as Esc, PrtScn, Scroll Lock, Pause/Break, Insert, Home, Page Up, Page Down, Delete, and End all have silicon dome keyswitches. It’s not a huge deal, but there are undoubtedly some for whom the lack of an all-mechanical switch keyboard will be a negative.
;)
;)
;)
To handle ghosting, Corsair built the K60 with a key matrix design that uses individual switches and dedicated diodes per switch, and the keyboard also has 20-key rollover capabilities, which should help improve performance for clumsy newbs and ham-fisted veterans alike.
Though the K60 isn’t packed with extra features, there are a few nice touches on board. There’s a small bank of multimedia keys--stop, play/pause, previous, next, and mute--that is highlighted by a weighted metal volume roller with a diamond-shape grip design. Corsair saw fit to also include a Windows lock button to disable the Windows key and keep gameplay from accidentally being interrupted.
The keyboard cable includes two USB ends--one to connect the keyboard to a PC and one as a USB (2.0/1.1) pass-through, allowing you to plug in a mouse or other USB device to the back of the keyboard if needed.
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| Keys: Tuned silicon dome keyswitches: Extra keys: Multimedia Keys: USB: Cable: Windows Lock Key: Warranty: Price: |
Cherry MX Red mechanical switches 45g actuation Force 2mm to actuation and 4mm to bottom Rated for 50 million operations Gold contacts Laser-etched F1 through F12, Esc, PrtScn, Scroll Lock, Pause/Break, Insert, Home, Page Up Page Down, Delete, and End WASD, 1-6 (Sculpted FPS Keys) Palm rest with storage for spare keys and key removal tool Stop, Previous, Play/Pause, Next, Mute, solid metal weighted volume roller USB 2.0/1.1 pass-through connector USB Connector with gold plated contacts 2m non-tangle cable Yes 2 years $109.99 |
The brushed aluminum body of the K60 is beautiful and practically begs to be touched, but its defining feature is strength, not looks. The thing is solid; it doesn’t bend one iota at a frustrated key
If you’re used to a grime-collecting membrane keyboard that’s difficult to clean, the K60 will be a breath of fresh air. The body is essentially a solid slab of metal onto which the keys have been placed. There’s nothing to catch crud, so a few well-placed puffs of compressed air should keep things tidy. (That is, as long as you don’t Cheeto and game simultaneously. If you do, god help you and your forever unclean mess of a keyboard.)
;)
;)
;)
;)
Unlike the other devices in this review, the K60 requires no software or drivers, so you can just plug it in and start shooting. You may, however, want to take a moment to swap out a few keys for something better.
Corsair included a set of 10 substitute keys for the K60, so you can pop out the WASD quartet of keys and numbers 1-6 and replace them. The extra keys have red caps with a softer textured grip than the stock keys. They’re also angled slightly to fit the left hand a little better. The keys reside in a plastic case that doubles as a palm rest, which is itself covered in comfortable soft rubber. Corsair included a small key removal tool, which also stows away neatly inside the palm rest, to make swapping the keys a simple affair.
;)
;)
For as nice as the substitute keys were for gaming, they’re awful for typing. The slight angles wreak havoc on your accuracy when typing out anything longer than a Tweet. Further, the substitute number keys don’t include the Shift symbols, so if you’ve forgotten that the "@" symbol is on the 2 key, you’re in trouble. The palm rest has the same problem--we enjoyed using it while gaming, but otherwise it was just in the way. (No matter--it snaps on and off the keyboard easily enough.)
The keys are simple enough to remove, so putting the stock keys back on before you type a long article or a raging missive isn’t a huge deal. However, if you use your keyboard frequently for both typing and gaming, you’ll likely find yourself either always leaving the stock keys in place or grabbing a standard cheap keyboard to plug in when you’re typing something substantial.
That said, it’s not much of a knock against Corsair; the keys and palm rest are optional, so if you’re not interested in using them, you can just leave them be.
