- Aircraft-grade Anodized Brushed Aluminum Frame for Superior Durability
- Advanced Lighting Control and Large Font Keycaps Deliver Dynamic, Vibrant Backlighting
- CUE Support Enables Advanced Macro and Lighting Programming for Virtually Unlimited Game Customization
- 100% Cherry MX Brown key Switches with Tactile Feedback and an Audible Click
- 100% Anti-ghosting with Full Key Rollover on USB
- Detachable Soft-touch Wrist Rest and Dedicated Multimedia Controls
- USB Pass-through Port for Easy Connections
- Textured and Contoured FPS / MOBA Keycap Sets
Great keyboard, terrible software
09/05/2016
This review is from: Corsair Gaming K70 LUX RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Cherry MX Brown (CH-9101012-NA)
Pros:
I’ve been a long time user of the Corsair K70 RGB (cherry red), now I get to try the K70 GRB LUX (cherry brown)
*SAME PROS* as its predecessor:
Great keyboard- sturdy feel – brush steel has sleek look
Removable keys make it easy to clean
Cherry MX switches are of good quality
RGB LEDs allow you to basically customize any fathomable design of color on the keyboard - just search some videos for ideas
Maybe the best RGB LED keyboard on the market
*DIFFERENT PROS* than its predecessor:
Also, this LUX keyboard is somehow cheaper than its predecessor (K70 RGB) which is somehow listed at $250. I paid $170 for it 2 years ago.
The LUX keyboard has a USB pass-through, unlike its predecessor, the K70 RGB
This doesn’t have the ‘Corsair Gaming’ logo that a some hardcore fans disliked
This LUX keyboard is supposed to fix the 16.7 million color flickering debacle with the K70 RGB hardware (the K70 RGB could only do 512 colors, which, in my opinion, is enough)
Textured space bar
Comes with grey key caps for WASD, FDERQW (yes I got 2 different grey W’s) and easy-key-removal tool
Cons:
Small complaint- would have liked to see some innovation around the palm rest. It’s decent. It’s the exact same as the K70 RGB. But, the palm rest could be bigger, in my opinion and a softer, rubberier plastic would have been a nice touch.
Corsair, I hope you are reading this. Get your software situation sorted out.
I am reviewing the LUX keyboard, which is *hardware*, but the big attraction of keyboards like this are the RGB LEDs and the ways you can make them dance with *software*. You might as well get a non-RGB keyboard if you aren’t going to use the RGB software. I haven’t used the Razer Chroma software or any other RGB LED mechanical keyboard’s software, but as a software developer, and long-time user of a K70 RGB keyboard, I can’t complain enough about the Corsair software, Corsair Utility Engine, or CUE. It’s so bad that I’ve tried writing my own software from the ground up. Other developers have too- just search Github, et al. We have small victories, being able to light the keyboard in the ways we want, and then realize programming the lighting algorithms from scratch is about the same level of difficultly as using CUE, but at least custom software would allow us to make the keyboard react to in-game events.
The software for these keyboards leaves A LOT to be desired. When I got the K70 RGB 2 years ago, the software was absolutely terrible. It was very hard for the average user just to make something simple happen with it, and the defaults profiles were underwhelming. Some brave souls who had spent I'm sure *hours* working with CUE had posted good profiles on the forums. At the time, Corsair didn’t facilitate submitting and searching for profiles, so the end user spent a lot of time searching for and testing each and every user submitted profile. Corsair, your software already simulates a profile on screen. I suggest you put that on a web interface so people can preview user-submitted profiles. This 'no preview image available' on most of the top 5 profiles on your leader board website shows that putting the onus on the developer is not effective. It should be simple to implement a simulator on the website as the software does. Not much has changed in the 2 years I've owned a K70 RGB. The new (as of Sept 2016) beta driver is starting to make things better.
I upgraded my desktop to Windows 10 v1607 and the Corsair Utility Engine stopped working. I open it from the start menu, I can see the process running from Task Manager, but no window appears and no icon appears in the tray. I’ve tried opening it multiple times and multiple re-installs. So, I am currently *forced* to use the beta driver. Yes, it is beta, so it can be expected to have flaws. I will point out the ones I have found so Corsair can fix them. The beta driver cannot currently update itself. ‘Check for updates’ always results in a very clear ‘experienced an error’ message.
Again, the beta is taking steps in the right direction. The defaults are much more elaborate than the non-beta driver. The defaults still be better. Somehow, the *easiest* profile ‘Static Color’ I cannot get to work. I made the ‘Color Shift’ profile shift between the same color to achieve a static color. The Rainbow Swirl and Rainbow Wave highlight a flaw that the Menu key and Left Arrow key stand out among their neighbors (they are green when the neighbors are red). The Playback Visualizer (keyboard changes with music) only works when I send audio through the Corsair Void headset. I wanted to get a Corsair mouse so CUE would be able to control my mouse, keyboard, and headset. But, applying a Windows update, or switching the 1-4 mode on the back of the keyboard can make the keyboard start repeating keys, randomly blinking on/off and not responding to input. If I had been using a Corsair mouse, I believe CUE would have forced me to use a different mouse and keyboard to get my computer back to a usable state.
For years, these premium, expensive keyboards have been awaiting a decent software interface and online community.
Overall Review:
I’ve been a long time user of the Corsair K70 RGB (cherry red), now I get to try the K70 GRB LUX (cherry brown)
Although I get to try reds and browns, don’t take my advice on what Cherry switches to get. I’m not an expert on Cherry switches. Only one out of five computers that I use has a mechanical keyboard, so I still have a bad habit of bottoming keys out. I couldn’t stand the noise generated by Cherry blues and returned the Razer Blackwidow that had Cherry blues. Searching the net should point you in the direction of the type of keys that you would most desire. The browns have more actuation force and a tactile feedback point compared to the reds. I have the o-ring mod (1 per key) on the reds, so I can’t directly compare the difference in noise generated by these keyboards, but they seem to be similar.
If you feel you don’t need the number pad or audio controls, get the K65 RGB and save yourself some desk space! Sometimes I think the K65 would have suited me better.
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