Product on Review: K55 RGB PRO XT Gaming Keyboard
Manufacturer: CORSAIR
MSRP: £74.99 inc. V.A.T., $64.99 excl. Tax, €79.99 inc. V.A.T., AUD 99.99 inc. Tax.


In recent years developments in gaming keyboards have rightly focussed on one aspect: the humble key switch. Premium designs with high quality mechanical switches largely captured the gaming landscape as an aspirational upgrade, but have remained tantalisingly out of reach on some budgets. ‘Memchanical’ switches - a hybrid of mechanical and membrane style switches - stole some of the limelight in the more affordable end of the market. Pure membrane layer with rubber dome designs meanwhile have largely fallen out of favour, but that isn’t preventing major manufacturers from investing resources into feature-rich updates.

Within that ecosystem CORSAIR are launching the K55 RGB PRO XT, an update that incorporates some of the lessons learned from the K57 Wireless for their K5x lineup of keyboards with rubber domed membrane switches. In particular, per-key RGB backlighting and more robust anti-ghosting/key rollover functionality are significant advances over the original K55, while the hold-over features are increasingly viewed as essential by niche segments within the gaming market.



This XT variant launches alongside the K55 RGB PRO, a model that’s a little more restricted in its dynamic lighting capability but retains the same keyboard layout, switch type and advances in key rollover dynamics.

CORSAIR’s iCUE configuration software is once again the key to unlocking the full functionality of these keyboards, both through customisable lighting and advanced keybind remapping and macro construction. On-board memory is limited to pre-baked lighting and simplified macros, but with iCUE the K55 RGB PRO XT’s options are far more comprehensive. Streamers can also add in a sprinkle of Elgato Stream Deck magic for yet more utility.

The keyboards, which have an MSRP of $64.99 and $49.99 for XT and non-XT models respectively, will be making their debut amongst a host of competitive products within similar price bands. The market is dominated by hybrid switch types but without any one model or brand clearly staking a claim to leadership. Razer’s Cynosa V2 Chroma and the Steelseries Apex 3 are stand-out rivals, but trade-offs exist that could put the new K55 models ahead. Similarly, the looming presence of the K60 RGB PRO with CHERRY VIOLA mechanical switches cannot be ignored.

About the CORSAIR K55 RGB PRO XT