Know Your Type: Five Mechanical Gaming Keyboards Compared
Corsair Gaming K65 RGB Design
Three out of five keyboards in this roundup came with variants of "clicky" key switches with tactile feedback (Cherry MX Blue, Kailh Blue, and Razer Green). Corsair Gaming's K65 RGB is the only one featured here that uses Cherry MX Red switches for a typing experience with no audible clicks or tactile bumps. It's also unique in that it's only sold at Best Buy (in stores and online) at the moment.
One of three TKL keyboards being evaluated here, the K65 RGB is arguably the best looking of the bunch, and that's even without the multi-colored backlight options. We'll get to that in a moment, but first let's address the actual board. It sports a bit of a wavy design with the center portion indented from the top and bottom portion. There's no real side bezel to speak of, and the result is that the keys appear to hover over the board. It's a rather neat and futuristic effect.
We also dig the board's"aircraft-grade" brushed aluminum finish. Combined with the angled top and bottom portions, it gives the K65 RGB an elegant flair that's unique to this plank. Beyond looks, the aluminum construction allows for a lightweight plank (just 1.9 pounds) that still feels sturdy.
And then there's the backlight. As your mood changes, so too can the look of the keyboard. The K65 RGB features per-key backlighting, which means each key can be individually programmed for its own lighting effect. In this instance, you can choose between 16.8 million color options. What's the point? To give a simple example, you could configure the WSAD and arrow keys to glow white and the rest of the keyboard to glow blue (or red or green or...).
Though Corsair Gaming whittled down the length of the K65 RGB by removing the number pad, it still found room to include a few dedicated controls. From left to right you'll find an LED button, mute switch, volume buttons, and a Windows Lock button.
One of three TKL keyboards being evaluated here, the K65 RGB is arguably the best looking of the bunch, and that's even without the multi-colored backlight options. We'll get to that in a moment, but first let's address the actual board. It sports a bit of a wavy design with the center portion indented from the top and bottom portion. There's no real side bezel to speak of, and the result is that the keys appear to hover over the board. It's a rather neat and futuristic effect.
We also dig the board's"aircraft-grade" brushed aluminum finish. Combined with the angled top and bottom portions, it gives the K65 RGB an elegant flair that's unique to this plank. Beyond looks, the aluminum construction allows for a lightweight plank (just 1.9 pounds) that still feels sturdy.
And then there's the backlight. As your mood changes, so too can the look of the keyboard. The K65 RGB features per-key backlighting, which means each key can be individually programmed for its own lighting effect. In this instance, you can choose between 16.8 million color options. What's the point? To give a simple example, you could configure the WSAD and arrow keys to glow white and the rest of the keyboard to glow blue (or red or green or...).
The light effects look even more rad when viewed from an angle. Our advice is to take some time to play around with unique color combinations that may not seem like obvious winners -- we really liked a combination of greenish yellow and white LEDs.
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Corsair Gaming includes a removable rubber coated wrist rest with a dimpled top side. It feels better than cold plastic, though its value here depends on whether or not you can afford the desk space. Not everyone who shops a compact TKL keyboard will want to give up more space than usual.
Though Corsair Gaming whittled down the length of the K65 RGB by removing the number pad, it still found room to include a few dedicated controls. From left to right you'll find an LED button, mute switch, volume buttons, and a Windows Lock button.
There are no USB ports or audio jacks built into the keyboard, though the advanced lighting effects still require a USB port of its own -- that translates into a thickly braided cable with two USB connectors.
Sitting a bit stealthily next to where the braided cable comes out of the keyboard is a selectable USB report rate switch. Your options are 8ms (125Hz), 4ms (250Hz), 2ms (500Hz), 1ms (1,000Hz), and BIOS mode.
Sitting a bit stealthily next to where the braided cable comes out of the keyboard is a selectable USB report rate switch. Your options are 8ms (125Hz), 4ms (250Hz), 2ms (500Hz), 1ms (1,000Hz), and BIOS mode.
