Lighting and Performance

The CORSAIR K70 CORE supports N-key rollover USB out of the box, which tested successfully using Aqua's test. Seen above are all the functions with dedicated keys on the base layer. There are 105 mechanical keys in total here on this UK ISO version with the R. Win key replaced by an Fn key and a dedicated Menu key surprising me pleasantly. The larger form factor means you have all the keys you are thinking of and more—especially once you consider the extra keys and the dial at the top. Key mapping also helps test different typing layouts—think Dvorak and Colemak—as needed.


To explain why the Fn key is so important, here is a look at the Fn layer. This is accessible by simply holding the Fn key and we see CORSAIR has implemented an easy way to switch through the (up to) five hardware profiles as well as the control dial modes you have opted to go for on the previous page. The LEDs on the dial also change color to indicate the active mode as does the keyboard itself in the default lighting effect for the different profiles. There is also media playback configured here should you want to use the media button on the top right corner for something else. Between the Fn layer and the control dial, there is a good amount of onboard functionality with the software drivers only really needed for the initial set up. So in case you still think iCUE is a bane on the keyboard market, this is good news in that you can uninstall it thereafter.


The K70 CORE comes in a few different color options so the eventual lighting will look different if you have the white version compared to this black version, for example. Then there is also the part where the US ANSI keyboards have thicker keycaps with doubleshot injected legends compared to the laser-etched thinner keycaps elsewhere. Between all these variables and the seemingly endless lighting effects to choose from and customize, it's not trivial to describe how exactly this keyboard will look lit up. All I can do is show you how this exact keyboard looks in a few different lighting effects and confirm there's not much light bleed on this all-black version as well as that the color fidelity is fairly good given the RGB LEDs were able to put out a decent white.

There's not much else to say here since the CORSAIR K70 CORE is a fairly standard keyboard when it comes to the actual typing and user experience outside of the Fn layer and control dial which are nice additions. I would have liked multiple switch options since you are stuck with one on a keyboard without hot-swappable switches although I will say the CORSAIR MLX Red is one of the better first-party switches from keyboard brands. It is clearly based off the Cherry MX RGB Red down to the use of a red colored cross-point stem in a clear housing and is a medium force switch with a rated actuation force of 45 gf at 1.9 mm and a total travel of 4.0 mm. I asked CORSAIR for a force-travel curve and will share it if it comes before the review is finished. I did find out that the bottom housing is made of nylon, the top housing is polycarbonate, and the stem is POM to go with a stainless steel spring—not bad at all! It also feels lightly lubed and fairly smooth without much wobble. The space bar key felt like it needed more uniform lubing since one side felt slightly scratchy compared to the other.


As always, the sound of a keyboard is based on more than just the switch type. So when comparing sound clips, consider the keyboard as a whole. In this case, I have provided above an example sound clip of me typing on the CORSAIR K70 CORE keyboard sample at ~105 WPM as it comes out of the box with the CORSAIR MLX Red switches. For context, you can find sound clips from other keyboards here, including those with linear switches. I did bottom out here and it helps test the effectiveness of the two foam sheets which do a decent job in dampening the keystrokes and mitigating the higher frequency pings off the aluminium plate. This is one of the better sounding CORSAIR keyboards to type on!