Performance

The CORSAIR K70 RGB MK.2 Low Profile supports N-key rollover USB out of the box, which tested successfully using Aqua's test. Switch Hitter confirmed no chatter with these keys either.

When first connected with iCUE installed and running, the keyboard lights up in a spiral rainbow lighting effect, which is the default option for the software profiles. The transition animation is smooth, and the effect is a good demo to also ensure the keyboard is powered on and working properly.


I then manually set all the keys to white using the software driver to test for color fidelity since RGB LEDs have a hard time depicting white, and it was a white with a light pink hue in this case. In a separate test via one of the preset multi-color options, I tested for light bleed, and it was definitely present at the common edges because of the floating keycaps, but not to where it is distracting. Indeed, the light show from all the RGB LEDs underneath the keys makes for a bigger attention grab anyway.

Here are some more of the lighting effects demonstrated, including a rainbow wave, rain (drop), and color wave, making full use of the hardware and software alike.

For those preferring not to use the software driver a lot, the onboard functionality with hardware playback comes in very handy. There are dedicated buttons for media playback, a volume mute toggle button, volume scroll wheel, lighting on/off button, Win lock button, and profile switches which allow users to switch between the three hardware profiles saved on the device itself. So while you will need the driver to make the most of the K70 RGB MK.2 Low Profile, especially to set up the hardware profiles, there is definitely scope to then use the keyboard as is.



The key-assignment options in iCUE allow for users to also go with layouts other than QWERTY, and here, I used the source code from an older keyboard review in a layout tester (courtesy of Patrick Gillespie). The results above indicate that QWERTY is not even close to the most efficient layout for me, and very likely you as well. If you are willing, try out Colemak or Dvorak as they will result in lower finger travel and fatigue overall. As such, the driver offers a significant functional tool if you are willing to devote some time to adopting either Colemak or Dvorak. Here is the link to the full results if you are interested, including a detailed analysis on key presses and distances moved.


As we saw before, the CORSAIR K70 RGB MK.2 SE only comes with the Cherry MX Low Profile Red or Speed (Silver) RGB switches. My sample uses the latter, which is based on the Cherry MX Speed (Silver) which in turn is based on the extremely popular Cherry MX Red RGB. The low profile version of the Cherry MX Speed is modified to a pre-travel distance of 1.0 mm as opposed to the 1.2 mm for the non-low-profile version, with the total travel distance also reduced from 3.4 mm to 3.2 mm. The force characteristics are similar for these updated actuation and bottoming out points, at 45 cN and ~75 cN respectively. You can find more information on the official product page, and I will say right away that these are not necessarily the best for touch typists. Indeed, designed with fast actuation kept in mind for gaming, these switches can actuate unintentionally if you like to have your fingers over the keys. This mechanism has since been used by other switch makers, including Kailh and Gateron, for linear, tactile, and also clicky switches with a shorter actuation distance. We also see that you only lose 0.2 mm here compared to the non-low-profile MX Speed, which is why the MX Low Profile Red makes more sense than this and we likely will not see this switch used by many companies.


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 RGB MK.2 Low Profile sample at ~100 WPM as it comes out of the box. For context, you can find sound clips from other keyboards here, including those with linear switches. I did bottom out more often than not, and it is quite hard not to do so with the low profile light weight switches that have been combined with low profile keycaps.