There have been moments in the past wherein keyboards in the ~$200 price range have typically been in one of two categories, with a focus either on high-end build quality and specialized stock keycaps/case or software-driven features that accompany RGB lighting. It is now 2020, and having one of the two simply will not do anymore when you have fantastic keyboards offering most of both at half the price. Indeed, looking back at the older CORSAIR K95 Platinum from 2017, it would be nearly DOA if it were to release today, even with the big fan base the company has. A lot has been retained here, as usually is the case with any keyboard employing a standard form factor, and yet the new K95 RGB Platinum XT has more to offer than just a longer name.

Hardware profile playback, very good backlighting effects, dedicated media controls, and iCUE support all go a long way towards making the keyboard such an attractive package to a wide spectrum of users. These features, as with the dedicated macro keys, a dedicated profile switching button, and the light bar up top, are retained from the older K95. But my biggest complaint with that keyboard has been resolved with the adoption of CORSAIR's excellent loop-less PBT doubleshot injected keycaps as a stock option out of the box. This ensures that you will have a product that does not show signs of wear and tear, especially with finger oils on the keycaps, anytime soon and makes for a keyboard you can justify as a legitimate long-term I/O peripheral. This is further expanded upon with Windows, MacOS, and even XBOX support, with iCUE now also supporting recent MacOS builds in addition to Windows for increased customization.

The other changes here include an increase to five hardware profiles saved on board the device instead of the previous three, and a different wrist rest that actually lets go of the reversible top surface for a fixed leatherette one. While the latter move is contentious, and one I would rather not have seen, the biggest change in my opinion is CORSAIR leveraging their acquisition of Elgato Gaming to add Stream Deck support for the macro key column, with additional replacement keycaps to help out for a mix and match as need be. Indeed, this is right in line with the company recognizing that gaming and streaming are more hand-in-hand now than ever before, with this combined market being extremely popular among content creators to whom a $200 keyboard that aids in a prosumer application is now a potential business expense too. It also makes for the K95 RGB Platinum XT being an actual gaming keyboard in more ways than one, and is fairly innovative. For those who do not see the need for Stream Deck support, this is a harder buy, but there is so much on offer here that I am happy to recommend it.