It’s been 10 years since the launch of the Corsair K70 which set a new standard in gaming keyboards. Now, Corsair is ready to raise the bar again by bringing a smaller version of the K70 but only in size, not in performance. So here comes the Corsair K70 RGB TKL, the keyboard for on-the-go gamers that renounces the numeric keypad (Tenkeyless) in favor of greater versatility. But will the sacrifices have been too many? Let’s discover the potential of the new Corsair K70 RGB TKL in this review.
The Corsair K70 RGB TKL keyboard review
The Corsair K70 RGB TKL is an optomechanical keyboard that takes advantage of Corsair’s OPX Opto-mechanical switches supported by Corsair’s Axon technology and 8,000Hz Hyper-Polling. All beautiful but what does it mean? Let’s find out!
Design
The Corsair K70 RGB TKL gaming keyboard maintains the style and invoice of the previous model by giving up, as anticipated, the numeric keypad. We are therefore faced with an extremely compact keyboard (36 x 16.4 x 4 cm for 0.9 kg of weight) designed to be moved easily and take up less space on the desk. As per tradition, Corsair has kept the use of materials of excellent workmanship by sporting a solid but at the same time light aluminum frame. The coloring is totally black and gives the keyboard a minimal and at the same time elegant look.
On the front of the keyboard we find the classic keys of the European Layout plus a series of extra buttons positioned on the top. Here we find a set of dedicated keys that will allow us to take advantage of some functions directly and quickly. In fact, we have the multimedia keys, a knurled wheel for adjusting the volume, managing the brightness of the keyboard, changing the profile and the inevitable Caps lock and scroll lock.
In the lower part of the keyboard we find instead two practical non-slip rubber sections and two feet that can be retracted or not to adjust the height of the keyboard, also equipped with non-slip rubber pads. All this results in an extremely solid keyboard that will stay in its position even without the presence of a large mouse and keyboard pad.
Inside the package we also find the practical USB-Type C cable to connect the keyboard to the PC, an instruction booklet and some Corsair sitckers.
Technology
The Corsair K70 RGB TKL keyboard layout we used for this review is the Italian one. The keycaps are made with the utmost precision, practical and resistant to wear and fading. The CHERRY MX SPEED switches boast an actuation distance of just 1.2mm which guarantees ultra-fast response times no matter what video game you are playing. Obviously there is no lack of backlighting with the legendary RGB LEDs completely customizable thanks to the Corsair iCUE application. From here you can choose your favorite color scheme and animation to give your keyboard a personal touch.
But when the going gets tough and you don’t want visual distractions, no problem. Corsair has thought of placing on the upper side of the keyboard, a tournament switch, a practical lever to automatically switch to the static backlight and disable the macros, avoiding any accidental activation. With your focus plus CORSAIR AXON Hyper-Processing Technology, which allows you to process inputs up to 8x faster with native 8,000Hz hyper-polling rate, no challenge will be too big.
Our test of the Corsair K70 RGB TKL
We had the opportunity to test the Corsair K70 RGB TKL for about 3 weeks during which we completely replaced it on our daily keyboard. This means that we have used the Corsair for everything from work, to gaming, to wasting time on social media.
Starting from gaming, the field for which this keyboard was designed, we can only be satisfied. Regardless of the game, genre or our questionable performance, the keyboard was always top notch. Never a moment of hesitation or latency, never a stumble or a decrease in performance. It has always proved to be fast, efficient and we can say it, beautiful.
The small size does not reduce performance at all but rather gives it a more pleasant, compact and suitable for all desks. We do not deny that during the writing phases, as in this review, the numeric keypad was missing a bit, but the absence is made up for by the always excellent performance of this Corsair K70 RGB TKL.
The Corsair K70 RGB TKL gaming keyboard review at a glance
Small yes, but with nothing to envy to the Corsair K70. Also this model manages to keep the name of the company high in terms of gaming excellence, revealing itself to be an extremely versatile tool suitable for many games and also for everyday use. The absence of the numeric keypad was not so relevant and every time we thought about it, the fantastic RGB colors we like so much thought about it to distract us.
The Corsair K70 RGB TKL is an easy-to-carry keyboard to get the best out of your games wherever you are. It is now available at a price of € 159.99.