As a lot as I liked the Asus ROG Claymore after I examined it on the finish of final yr, there’s nonetheless a really massive a part of me that balks on the thought of spending £150 on a mechanical keyboard. After years of being completely proud of admittedly horrible plastic membrane concoctions, it’s laborious to let go.
The Corsair Ok70 Lux RGB isn’t any inexpensive at roughly £145 or $170, however at the very least this one doesn’t cost you an additional £50 for a quantity pad, making it higher worth total for these seeking to make the leap.
Available with a number of various kinds of Cherry MX switches, the Ok70 Lux RGB comes within the clacky clacky pink selection that’s higher for gaming, an excellent clackier blue mannequin that’s higher suited to typing, a quieter, extra balanced brown sort that’s one thing of a midway home between the 2, plus a quick, esportsy Speed model and the totally not Silent sort I’ve obtained on check right here at present.
To Corsair’s credit score, the Silent MX switches on my explicit check pattern are definitely much less grating on the ears than the Claymore’s pink Cherry MX switches, however they’re nonetheless not so quiet that you simply’ll escape having one thing lobbed at your head in case you use them inside a ten foot radius of one other human being. In the tip, the ‘silent’ model of the Ok70 Lux RGB is simply as delinquent as your typical mechanical keyboard, and is thus finest confined to a bed room or attic far past the realms of human listening to.
Even when utilized in isolation, although, I wasn’t truly that keen on the Silent switches, at the very least for on a regular basis typing. While they nonetheless felt extra exact than the squishy membrane keyboards I’ve used prior to now, they didn’t really feel practically as clean-cut as the standard pink switches on the Claymore. You would possibly even say they have been a tad… spongy.
I admit that’s an odd criticism to degree at a mechanical keyboard, whose particular person springs and switches are about as far-off from the only, bubble-wrap fashion sheet of contact domes you’ll discover inside an extraordinary membrane keyboard, however at no level did I ever really feel actually at house with it. I usually adapt fairly quick to no matter piece of typing plastic is in entrance of me, however on this case I used to be nonetheless making errors and hitting keys incorrectly even after a number of days use, and each second I spent with the Ok70 Lux simply made me want I used to be again utilizing the Claymore once more.
Admittedly, that hankering for Asus’ compact miracle board virtually disappeared after I tried the Ok70 Lux RGB with just a few video games, and I’d be hard-pushed to say which one I most well-liked when zipping spherical Doom’s UAC amenities or blasting by means of hordes of Nazis in Wolfenstein II. Indeed, any inherent squishiness within the Ok70 Lux’s Silent keys by no means turned an issue in busy fight zones, and I truly did come to understand their muted clackety clack clacks after I had the sport’s soundtrack taking part in by means of a standard pair of audio system as a substitute of a headset.
Of course, with out testing all the opposite varieties of switches obtainable for the Ok70 Lux RGB, it’s laborious to say whether or not any of these could be a greater match for each typing and gaming. This makes it doubly troublesome in relation to pitting it in opposition to Asus’ pink swap Claymore, however at the very least Corsair’s effort comes with lots of extras to assist sweeten the deal.
For starters, there’s a USB port on the rear of the board for a mouse, USB headset or wi-fi headset adaptor – one thing the Claymore is decidedly missing in its bid to maintain its footprint as small as doable – and there’s even a slider that allows you to alter the keyboard’s polling price (how usually your PC asks for knowledge) proper subsequent to it. This goes from 1ms (1000Hz) all the way in which as much as 8ms (125Hz).
Polling price choices are usually confined to mice (which even then make naff all distinction except you’ve obtained quicker reflexes than a ninja-trained housefly), however right here Corsair says it’s meant to assist reduce down on keystroke latency. Again, except you commonly touch-type at 100mph, it’s unlikely to make a lot of an affect in your typing accuracy.
Perceived knowledge means that it could (and that’s an enormous, uncertain ‘may’) enhance its compatibility with barely older methods – very similar to the BIOS mode tacked on to the tip of the slider that turns the keyboard into a daily 104-key board and disables its suite of media keys, RGB lightshow choices and the Windows lock key – however why you’d purchase this keyboard for (and even personal) such a system within the first place is anybody’s guess. Still, at the very least there’s some built-in flexibility for the handful of folks that fulfill this very particular use case.
Infinitely extra helpful are the 2 batches of alternative key caps (WASD and QWERDF) with gray, textured grips and people aforementioned media keys. You additionally get a devoted quantity curler and an RGB brightness button that will increase the velocity of no matter lighting impact you’ve at the moment obtained enabled in Corsair’s Utility Engine (Cue) software program. And whereas we’re with regards to Cue, it’s also possible to use this to report your individual macros and determine what button combos are disabled when Win Lock is turned on.
The Ok70 Lux can also be arguably one of many least ‘gamey’ wanting keyboards round. Rainbow RGBs apart, its plain, brushed aluminium body is pleasingly freed from any gaudy sci-fi designs or try-hard ‘gamer’ branding, and the soft-touch removable wrist relaxation can also be exceedingly cozy. Without it, typing turned much more of a chore, because the 4 fold-out toes on the Ok70 Lux’s underside both made the bottom really feel prefer it was teetering on stilts after they have been all prolonged, or far too low on the bottom when the underside pair weren’t in use. Only when the wrist relaxation was hooked up did the keyboard really feel the correct peak.
In the tip, although, I’d most likely nonetheless decide the Asus ROG Claymore over the silent Ok70 Lux RGB. The Claymore’s each extra comfy and simpler for me to make use of regardless or whether or not I’m gaming or not, and I like how small it’s regardless of the actual fact it prices you any probability of a USB port.
That’s to not say it is best to rule out Corsair’s board fully, nevertheless. It’s nonetheless completely good for taking part in video games and in case you’re not fussed in regards to the RGB results or having your lighting schemes sync throughout different suitable Corsair goodies you would possibly personal, it can save you your self one other large chunk of change by choosing one of many common Ok70 Lux fashions that solely have a fundamental stable pink or blue LED backlight. These are at the moment going for simply over £100/$100 and are virtually similar to their RGB counterparts in each means save for his or her multi-coloured mild choices. That’s a way more palatable value than the sans-number pad Claymore, and you continue to get the identical nice construct high quality, additional key caps, wrist relaxation and USB port.
