Product On Review: K100 RGB Optical-Mechanical Gaming Keyboard
Manufacturer: CORSAIR
MSRP (inc. V.A.T. where applicable): UK: £229.99 / EU: €249 / US: $229.99 / AUS: $399
Consumer keyboards, you’d have thought, wouldn’t change all that much from one generation to another. A few tweaks here and here, maybe a new switch variant; it’s all the same under the skin. Surely?
For the past seven years CORSAIR have responded resoundingly to that rhetoric with one word: “No”. Beginning in 2013 with the Vengeance K70 they set the standard in design and quality in the consumer space, being the first to bring new technologies to market where they could, and striving to be the best when that wasn’t possible. They have, by hook or by crook, been trend setters rather than followers, and reaped the rewards with a brand presence second to none. Today they once again shake up enthusiast and prosumer segments alike with a new flagship mechanical keyboard: the K100 RGB.
While the looks will be familiar - a brushed aluminium unibody frame is by now a hallmark of CORSAIR enthusiast-class keyboards - the underlying tech. has been ramped up to 11 with the debut of 4000Hz USB polling and OPX Optical-mechanical switches throughout, once again staking a claim to being the most advanced keyboard on the market today. Joining them are comprehensive lighting options, Elgato integrated macro keys and greater on-board iCUE support than ever before. Even the detachable wrist-rest is a plush, premium design.
Arriving on the market at an MSRP of £229.99 or regional equivalents (see above), this optical switch-equipped model is released alongside a sibling that eschews them in favour of fan-favourite Cherry MX Speed Silver variants. Both launch at the same price, firmly at the top of a by-now wide-ranging catalogue of consumer mechanical and membrane gaming keyboards.
CORSAIR on the K100 RGB
The incomparable CORSAIR K100 RGB Optical-Mechanical Gaming Keyboard combines stunning aluminum design with per-key RGB lighting and a 44-zone LightEdge. Powerful CORSAIR AXON Hyper-Processing Technology enables unparalleled capabilities such as 4,000Hz polling. CORSAIR OPX RGB optical-mechanical keyswitches, guaranteed for 150 million keypresses, offer hyper-fast 1.0mm actuation while registering keypresses up to 4x faster than standard mechanical gaming keyboards thanks to AXON, housed in durable double-shot PBT keycaps.
Harness the power of iCUE software to customize an endlessly versatile programmable control wheel, synchronized RGB lighting, and six dedicated macro keys that can execute macros or streaming commands via Elgato Stream Deck software. A magnetic detachable memory foam palm rest offers the comfort to play for hours, while 8MB of onboard storage lets you save up to 200 macro and lighting profiles.
At an MSRP of US$229.99, the K100 RGB delivers unparalleled performance and features.
Harness the power of iCUE software to customize an endlessly versatile programmable control wheel, synchronized RGB lighting, and six dedicated macro keys that can execute macros or streaming commands via Elgato Stream Deck software. A magnetic detachable memory foam palm rest offers the comfort to play for hours, while 8MB of onboard storage lets you save up to 200 macro and lighting profiles.
At an MSRP of US$229.99, the K100 RGB delivers unparalleled performance and features.
