Closer Examination

As we saw before, the K70 RGB TKL keyboard from CORSAIR comes in a plastic wrap to keep it pristine and free of dust out of the box. Removing it, we get our first good look at the keyboard, and it is on the lighter side of average as a result of the tenkeyless (TKL, no numpad) form factor and use of an aluminium frame as opposed to a stainless steel case cover and/or two-piece plastic case. We can definitely see the resemblance to the K70 full-size keyboard, with the same ID using the brushed metal frame, floating keycaps, and a beveled edge at the bottom bezel. There continue to be extra keys for the profile switch, LED brightness toggle, and Win lock to the right of the CORSAIR logo inlay in the center, as well as a volume scroll wheel alongside a mute button in the top-right corner, and media playback controls in the top-left corner. The CORSAIR sails logo is no doubt also backlit as with the rest of the keyboard, and the only visible branding in use. This and the dominant black color scheme combine to make for a clean keyboard that will fit anywhere really. Just remember to remove the protective sticker on the logo inlay!

The alphanumeric section has secondary legends alongside the primary ones, and both are at the top. This and the location of single legends in the top-center is indicative of where the backlighting will be more uniform, and the legends at the bottom may not end up as bright as those at the top. The font typeface is also a departure even compared to their doubleshot PBT keycaps on the K95 Platinum XT. These legends are smaller throughout, which may be the company accepting feedback that the previous legends were too large for many. The use of loop-less doubleshot injection also means some of the legends are different from their ABS laser etched ones, especially in the Ins-Pg Dn cluster.


Flipping the keyboard around, we see the usual certification sticker, but it is shaped like a trapezoid and biased towards the top to better align with the case design across the top. Four large rubber pads on the corners keep the keyboard from sliding around on the desk, and two feet at the top open up sideways to optionally elevate the keyboard; these feet also have rubber pads to ensure they don't scratch easily. Missing here are any of the cable-routing cutouts we saw with some other high-end CORSAIR keyboards, as well as support for a wrist rest that attaches via magnets or plastic clips. Should you want one, you will need to purchase an aftermarket standalone wrist rest.


The detachable cable is neat and adds to the portability of the keyboard, although not as much as with the K65 Mini, of course. The side facing away from the user has a cutout in the middle where the USB Type-C connector of the cable plugs in, and substantial casing on either side protects the connectors. The cable is also braided in a durable sleeve, which is black to match the rest of the keyboard. Next to the port is a switch instead of a USB pass-through port, which would have been nice but also difficult to implement with detachable cables. This switch is novel in that it activates "Tournament Mode," which deactivates macros and custom actions to prevent any cheating in gaming tournaments, changes backlighting to a static single color, and only allows profile switching to be compatible with tournament regulations. This is part of the CHAMPION SERIES in the nomenclature, with CORSAIR no doubt having a lot of ideas for the keyboard as far as esports go. There is also a latch that goes over and secures the switch when in this mode, which in turn has a hidden red LED as an indicator that tournament mode is on for referees and the audience to see.


The K70 RGB TKL uses the tried and tested OEM profile. It consists of keycaps in their usual slanted rows with concave surfaces on top, and we of course have the now-expected "standard" keycap spacing for the bottom row increasing compatibility with aftermarket keycap sets. We will no doubt see some more CORSAIR replacement keycaps since their previous black and white PBT doubleshot keycap sets are not compatible anymore. But the good news is that the stock keycaps are very good to begin with because of their thick PBT plastic composition (average wall thickness 1.44 mm) and doubleshot injected legends that will not wear out before the rest of the keyboard—PBT plastic resists signs of wear and shine from finger oils better than ABS plastic. These are compatible with backlighting, which is no doubt part of the RGB lighting feature here.


There are three Cherry MX switch options in the Cherry MX Red, Silent Red, and Speed (Silver) RGB switch. This gaming-centric keyboard thus uses three types of linear switches, and I have the MX Red version here. I have to say that the increased saturation on the MX Red stem here caught me by surprise, so much so that if this hadn't been CORSAIR, I might have suspected some bootleggery at work here. I have contacted Cherry to see if this is a deliberate move, perhaps to visually distinguish the newer MX Red switches with the 100 M keystroke lifetime from older batches. The larger keycaps use Cherry stabilizers, which helps with their removal, but at the expense of that typical mushy feeling with these stabilizers. CORSAIR has them lubed out of the factory, but not to where it makes a big difference compared to before. However, it is still appreciated, especially when paired with these PBT keycaps.


Here is a look at the keyboard with the replacement keycaps. Depending on how you map the keys and what games you play, you can go with the WASD set for FPS games or the QWERDF set for MOBA/RPG games.