CORSAIR K70 CORE Full Size Mechanical Keyboard

[VSG]

CORSAIR appeals to the masses with the budget-friendly K70 CORE. It offers a more streamlined user experience that still provides excellent customization via software and hardware alike, uses nice 1st-party mechanical switches, and even has a novel control dial with more than just volume control available.

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[TheDeeGee]

You can have a QMK Keychron V6 for less, WITH hotswap and modding options. And the software is open source instead of trash ique.

Keychron V6 QMK Custom Mechanical Keyboard

The fully assembled version includes: ABS plastic housing The keyboard PCB, screw-in stabs, and the steel plate Double-shot OSA PBT keycaps (including Mac & Windows keycaps) Keychron K Pro switches The barebone version does not include the keycaps and switches.No discount codes can be used for...

www.keychron.com

 

[VSG]

You can have a QMK Keychron V6 for less, WITH hotswap and modding options. And the software is open source instead of trash ique.

Keychron V6 QMK Custom Mechanical Keyboard

The fully assembled version includes: ABS plastic housing The keyboard PCB, screw-in stabs, and the steel plate Double-shot OSA PBT keycaps (including Mac & Windows keycaps) Keychron K Pro switches The barebone version does not include the keycaps and switches.No discount codes can be used for...

www.keychron.com

1) No other layout other than US ANSI, which I've mentioned multiple times as why the K70 CORE is worth considering for others,
2) I have no experience with Keychron keyboards so I can't speak for them.
3) iCUE is much improved now if you have not tried it recently.
4) Not everyone likes to use QMK/VIA/VIAL, especially in this more budget-friendly market.

 

[TheDeeGee]

1) No other layout other than US ANSI, which I've mentioned multiple times as why the K70 CORE is worth considering for others,
2) I have no experience with Keychron keyboards so I can't speak for them.
3) iCUE is much improved now if you have not tried it recently.
4) Not everyone likes to use QMK/VIA/VIAL, especially in this more budget-friendly market.

True, for the ISO layout you need the Q6, which is a lot more expensive as it's fully aluminium and gasket mounted.

I have the Q6 myself, it's a 2,5 KG immovable object. It replaced my 10 years old Logitech G710+, which started to slowly defect here and there.

 

[sethmatrix7]

Corsair products themselves are nice but iCUE made me RUN away. Recently switched off my Corsair Dark Core RGB Pro.

 

[bug]

CORSAIR is using first-party switches rather than going with the undoubtedly more expensive Cherry MX offerings.

Considering Corsair will not come anywhere near Cherry's volumes, I don't think that's as undoubtful as you think.

Also, for $100 this doesn't seem to offer as little as a USB passthrough, let alone audio...

 

[TheLostSwede]

Also, for $100 this doesn't seem to offer as little as a USB passthrough, let alone audio...

Do people even use those any more? I mean, most gamers have wireless headphones these days and I have never used a USB passthrough port on a keyboard, so those are just features that add cost in the end.

 

[bug]

Do people even use those any more? I mean, most gamers have wireless headphones these days and I have never used a USB passthrough port on a keyboard, so those are just features that add cost in the end.

I use them all the time. The USB port on the back of your keyboard is so much easier to reach than pretty much anywhere else. My headphones are wired and before I got my USB DAC, they would go into the port on the keyboard as well. Now they go into the DAC that goes into the port on back of the keyboard.
As for the added cost, really, how much would those add on top of a keyboard that's already $100?

 

[TheLostSwede]

I use them all the time. The USB port on the back of your keyboard is so much easier to reach than pretty much anywhere else. My headphones are wired and before I got my USB DAC, they would go into the port on the keyboard as well. Now they go into the DAC that goes into the port on back of the keyboard.
As for the added cost, really, how much would those add on top of a keyboard that's already $100?

In retail, $20, even if it only costs $2-3 to add. That is taking into consideration the extra cable costs as well, not just the ports.

 

[MrDweezil]

Still using a 2013 K70 and occasionally take a look to see what's out there these days. Nice price on this one, but losing the aluminum frame and media keys is too much for me, nevermind whatever cost cutting they did to move away from Cherry's switches.

 

[Chrispy_]

It's refreshing to see Corsair focus on the lower end of the market, rather than premium end - because that's where they used to be best, when they were a growing their marketshare.

$99 is still not what I'd call a budget keyboard. You have ARGB mechanical offerings from Reddragon and Steelseries starting from $49 and $59 respectively with massive, global, next-day availability in most regions via Amazon.

Even so, I think this is a decent option at $99 for what you get, and it's been a while since I've been able to say that about a Corsair product outside of their Case and PSU divisions.

 

[Hxx]

Non detachable cable abs caps non removable switches flip updown feet as opposed to an angled base…no qmk support no usb pass through … just do this keyboard a favor and throw it with the rest of the generic cheap boards and let it die peacefully lol.

At $100 can’t really expect much but I feel like you can get a “gaming” board like a gmmk 2 or something that would cost less and have most of these features added . Once it’s novelty wears out and drops to $60-$70 then it may be a good buy for someone who wants a budget Corsair board

 

[Beer4Myself]

It's refreshing to see Corsair focus on the lower end of the market, rather than premium end - because that's where they used to be best, when they were a growing their marketshare.

$99 is still not what I'd call a budget keyboard. You have ARGB mechanical offerings from Reddragon and Steelseries starting from $49 and $59 respectively with massive, global, next-day availability in most regions via Amazon.

Even so, I think this is a decent option at $99 for what you get, and it's been a while since I've been able to say that about a Corsair product outside of their Case and PSU divisions.

Sharkoon also got some interesting keyboards in this price range ... and every keyboard is still cheaper to get than Corsairs K70 Core offering

 

[SmokingCrop]

Do people even use those any more? I mean, most gamers have wireless headphones these days and I have never used a USB passthrough port on a keyboard, so those are just features that add cost in the end.

I use it for a little USB Fingerprint scanner. just put my finger on top side of keyboard and you log in, works very well.

 

[robert3892]

How loud are the keystrokes?

 

[VSG]

How loud are the keystrokes?

What's something you can provide for context? I'd say it's not necessarily loud as the foam sheets help dampen the higher frequencies wheb the switches bottom out. You can see an example recording at the bottom of the penultimate page and compare against others here: https://soundcloud.com/vsg-3

 

[trsttte]

Good catch on the ISO keycap difference, pretty shamefull for Corsair to cheap out on the ISO version

 

[bug]

It's refreshing to see Corsair focus on the lower end of the market, rather than premium end - because that's where they used to be best, when they were a growing their marketshare.

$99 is still not what I'd call a budget keyboard. You have ARGB mechanical offerings from Reddragon and Steelseries starting from $49 and $59 respectively with massive, global, next-day availability in most regions via Amazon.

Even so, I think this is a decent option at $99 for what you get, and it's been a while since I've been able to say that about a Corsair product outside of their Case and PSU divisions.

Just be careful you shouldn't compare just the hardware. These don't fully work unless you use the accompanying software, too. It's possible a "lesser" keyboard will be a better pick if it comes with superior software.

 

[Chrispy_]

Just be careful you shouldn't compare just the hardware. These don't fully work unless you use the accompanying software, too. It's possible a "lesser" keyboard will be a better pick if it comes with superior software.

Corsair's software ecosystem and after-sales support is vastly superior to budget brands. Software for more premium offerings is often janky and buggy.

I love my Keychron, but it's more expensive and comes with no software at all, the only thing I gain is hot-swappable switches, and very few people care about that, they just buy the keyboard with the switch they want.

If you are after a linear, budget, clean-looking mechanical board with good software and warranty, $99 is a decent price regardless of brand. As I said before, it's not the cheapest thing on the market - but for the first time in a while, it's also a peripheral from Corsair that isn't overpriced.

 

[bug]

Corsair's software ecosystem and after-sales support is vastly superior to budget brands. Software for more premium offerings is often janky and buggy.

I love my Keychron, but it's more expensive and comes with no software at all, the only thing I gain is hot-swappable switches, and very few people care about that, they just buy the keyboard with the switch they want.

If you are after a linear, budget, clean-looking mechanical board with good software and warranty, $99 is a decent price regardless of brand. As I said before, it's not the cheapest thing on the market - but for the first time in a while, it's also a peripheral from Corsair that isn't overpriced.

Agreed. I was just implying different buyers will weigh these differently.

 

[Hxx]

Corsair's software ecosystem and after-sales support is vastly superior to budget brands. Software for more premium offerings is often janky and buggy.

I love my Keychron, but it's more expensive and comes with no software at all, the only thing I gain is hot-swappable switches, and very few people care about that, they just buy the keyboard with the switch they want.

If you are after a linear, budget, clean-looking mechanical board with good software and warranty, $99 is a decent price regardless of brand. As I said before, it's not the cheapest thing on the market - but for the first time in a while, it's also a peripheral from Corsair that isn't overpriced.

I wouldn't assume people know which switch they want lol. People don't....most users anyway certainly not ones shopping for a budget board. That's the point of a hotswap. you have the option. You may ask - Why is not offered by Corsair but keychron can? well thats easy thats because there has been an ongoing dick measuring contest among these big brands as to who can make the "faster" and more gamery switch and so its not in their interest for users to go out and try diff switches. there is also a warranty issue and a reliability issue that they dont want to deal with. Companies like keychron don’t sell at Best Buy and don’t deal with the same returns as razer /corsair does.

In terms of software , users chose one over the other based of the other peripherals they have . I would take a simpler and leaner software over icue any day of the week but at the same time I don’t want to have to run multiples either. Icue is not better just larger and supporting much more than just keyboards

It is overpriced . It’s a mechanically much cheaper keyboard so the question becomes - how much $$$ do u put on having the ability to run icue ?

 

[sethmatrix7]

Corsair's software ecosystem and after-sales support is vastly superior to budget brands. Software for more premium offerings is often janky and buggy.

I love my Keychron, but it's more expensive and comes with no software at all, the only thing I gain is hot-swappable switches, and very few people care about that, they just buy the keyboard with the switch they want.

If you are after a linear, budget, clean-looking mechanical board with good software and warranty, $99 is a decent price regardless of brand. As I said before, it's not the cheapest thing on the market - but for the first time in a while, it's also a peripheral from Corsair that isn't overpriced.

Considering that Corsair "support" operates entirely over the web (for anything but desktops, laptops, and monitors) rather than having a live phone number for support- I find that to be a ridiculous statement that "after-sales support is vastly superior". Corsair would rather have you dig through their site than actually reach anyone for support- so their support is nothing to stand on.

MSI among many others has live customer support around the world.

I recently saw a job posting for Corsair customer support. Starting at $16 an hour. You get what you pay for- safe to say they don't care much.

Their software "ecosystem" is well documented on this site and others as being junkware.

 

[SteeledPick]

Corsair's software ecosystem and after-sales support is vastly superior to budget brands. Software for more premium offerings is often janky and buggy.

I love my Keychron, but it's more expensive and comes with no software at all, the only thing I gain is hot-swappable switches, and very few people care about that, they just buy the keyboard with the switch they want.

If you are after a linear, budget, clean-looking mechanical board with good software and warranty, $99 is a decent price regardless of brand. As I said before, it's not the cheapest thing on the market - but for the first time in a while, it's also a peripheral from Corsair that isn't overpriced.

Keychron has no software to install. You can program/configure/set hotkeys/change rgb from a webpage. https://usevia.app no need for software as everything is web based and using the via chip in keyboard.

 

[Chrispy_]

Keychron has no software to install. You can program/configure/set hotkeys/change rgb from a webpage. https://usevia.app no need for software as everything is web based and using the via chip in keyboard.

Yes, that's one of the reasons I chose it.

 

[Synthwave]

Keychron has no software to install. You can program/configure/set hotkeys/change rgb from a webpage. https://usevia.app no need for software as everything is web based and using the via chip in keyboard.

You can also download the VIA app.

tl;dr: The software background is vastly superior than any proprietary crap, especially that shitlol iCUE.

This Corsair board is not a good bang for buck, like, at all.