I remember using the CORSAIR STRAFE keyboard back in 2015. It had just red backlighting and cost $110. I soon swapped it out in favor of the STRAFE RGB that came out the following year for $150. The STRAFE MK.2 came out in 2018 for the same price and it was still the "budget" gaming keyboard from CORSAIR which still had most of the features of the more expensive, aluminium frame K70 series of keyboards. The STRAFE is no longer a thing and CORSAIR have decided to use K70 to describe a lot of different keyboards now, be it TKL or full-size or even going with a plastic case as with the newly launched K70 CORE. Knowing how the plastic case keyboards were priced years before everything got way more expensive should then provide some context on the $100 K70 CORE launching in late 2023. Surely there are many compromises made to hit that price?

Kinda. CORSAIR is using first-party switches rather than going with the undoubtedly more expensive Cherry MX offerings. It's also consolidated SKUs by offering only one switch that's based off the extremely popular Cherry MX Red medium force linear switch but still manages to do something the vast majority of smaller brands can't—it makes the K70 CORE available in something other than just US ANSI. So this alone is a strong reason for a lot of people to consider the K70 CORE over many other keyboards that may cost less and even offer features including hot-swappable switches and/or wireless connectivity. I'll also mention that it's somewhat refreshing to cover a full size keyboard in black, and I already know there will be many here who want nothing else. While I am listing the pros of the keyboard, I will mention happily that iCUE has gone on a long overdue diet and the end result is a more efficient software program which still provides extensive customization but consumes far fewer system resources. I also liked the control dial and the ability to use the rotary knob for more than just volume control quite easily.

On the other hand, I don't like that those who want something other than US ANSI still have to compromise. I have a UK ISO review unit here and noted immediately that it had thin ABS keycaps with laser etched legends compared to the stock photos that used thick doubleshot injected ABS keycaps. I also don't know if the three other colorways will be made available in other languages/layouts either. Those who prefer the US ANSI layout get a better deal for the money thus and yet there is much harder competition from other brands to where I still think it's hard to justify the K70 CORE for everyone. At the same time, I tested the keyboard without knowing the price deliberately and was somewhat pleasantly surprised to see a CORSAIR keyboard at the $100 price again. There will be fans of the brand who would see this as their first foray into mechanical keyboards perhaps. I still think it's those in Europe and elsewhere that are more likely to see the feature set and language support before potential customers strongly consider the K70 CORE, and so I'd only urge CORSAIR to spread the love more outside the USA.