Corsair Keyboards?

Maybe its a minority opinion but let me reiterate a few things here that I think Corsair could do to really stand out. What I see suggested would just get them to be "Equal to" when they could be above and beyond. We already have plenty of options for mechanical with single color backlighting . We have a handful of options for mechanical with macro keys and single color backlighting, USB2.0 passthrough or hub, audio etc... We have a lot with crappy ergonomics. So thus I offer

Mechanical switches for EVERY key - if you're going to put them in and make it a feature, use Cherry switches for every key, even the macros and F keys etc...
Deck/design ANODIZED Aluminum if you want a brushed finish or whatnot go the extra mile and make the deck cool anodized aluminum to protect the user and provide a premium look.
Keycaps etc.. NOT painted. There are multiple ways to ensure they don't wear off. I highly suggest offering multicolored keycaps for purchase and some by default with the high end kit, such as WASD etc....

Backlighting - Logitech G510 and G19 offer multi/any color backlighting using the RGB 0-255 system pretty much (in software). Do the same thing and put the highest quality LED backlighting around but this time with HARDWARE control too. For instance, 3 little wheels on the left side of the keyboard that basically control RGB channels from 0-255. Also, allow user-definable zone control using both built-in key commands and software. Putting 5 little buttons on the side near the lighting control will make 5 zone lighting, user defined and a "clear" or "all" button. For instance, if I hit the ALL button and then set the wheels to 255-255-255 then all backlighting will be white. Then, I can click Zone 1, press WASD and then use the wheels to make them red. Press Zone 2 and press CTRL ALT and Enter and they'll be blue etc... allowing the user unlimited option for customizing not just the color of the whole board, but of each key!

Layout - I think your K90, Logitech G19 and G510 are probably the right design in terms of setup for a full sized keyboard. Tenkeyless designs are also viable, but for the time being I'll be suggesting full sized. The aforementioned have the right sort of Media keys (barrel volume) and Macro key banks, with plenty of room for other options. Having hardware M1, M2, M3, MR etc... keys are useful, same as the hardware backlight dim/off/on key etc...

USB3.0 Ports/Hub - Where others are using USB2 ports still, the keyboard I propose here (especially with the display) will require power anyway, so put in USB3.0 powered ports instead. 2-4 should be helpful, if arranged in such a way they're a "pass through" hub.

Audio - Since you're already including a USB3 hub, people can easily plug in USB headsets if they have them. If you want to use a 3.5mm jack audio system, basically include a high quality USB sound card like some of the Logi-G Series do. Plugging in the 3.5mm phones/mic port means a new USB audio device. Its simple and works well for Logi G110 and 510 setups if I recall.

Display - Probably the most controversial I ask is the inclusion of a Logitech G-series like display. This is probably one of the features that adds the most to my keyboard out of any and the reason that I've stuck with Logitech boards instead of going mechanical. A mechanical board with a color, widescreen miniLCD that is GamePanel/Logitech compliant for games and apps that support it, and with an open source SDK or manner of interacting with it, with all the aforementioned features would truly be something that nobody else has - Logitech, Razer, Deck, or others.

Comfort and Ergonomic design - Would it be possible to include an ergonomically designed, gel/bead/foam filled wrist wrest? So few gaming or general use keyboards think about this stuff and special ergonomic setups are typically expensive and lack gaming-style features. Also if it may be possible, consider either a more ergonomic key layout or perhaps allowing the board to "break apart" in the middle to be mounted to the sides of chairs. There are many boards that have a "break" zone for the numpad and there are special ergonomic boards that break in the center, so its available tech at least.

Finally, Razer's Star Wars: The Old Republic keyboard and their new laptop are both equipped by what appears to be a multitouch trackpad that's also an LCD display, and "Optimus" style LCDs on keycaps. Yet to launch, I don't know how feasible this is going to be but the inclusion of any of these things would certainly make a Corsair board leaps and bounds ahead of others, assuming the aforementioned features are also included. However, I grant that these may not be possible or price-feasible at the moment but perhaps could be set aside for a future project.

If you want to make something to take the market by storm, "one up" the competition where ever possible instead of just replicating something with a similar set of tradeoffs to ever other "gaming" peripheral company.
 
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Just gimme a tenkeyless and we are good. Or make it like this Sidewinder X6, a little magnetic attachment that goes on either side. Such a good idea, when I need the numpad I just attach it to either side, when I don't I take it off and store it.

Tenkeyless is one of the most important parts of a gaming keyboard to be honest since the numpad is extremely useless in FPS. (Maybe for the MMO keyboard, not sure, but makes no sense in the K60 which is made for FPS)
 
I'd really be for the multicolored backlighting as well. With a Mamba 2012 and its multicolored backlighting, I'd need a keyboard that I could be able to match the colors up with.

My "perfect" keyboard would be a wireless tenkeyless mechanical KB with multicolor backlighting. Simple clean layout, minimum or no "BS" (media/macro, etc) keys, put the cost into high quality construction and not in gimmicks. I understand there would be a significant hit in battery life for backlit wireless KB but I'm thinking that you could use the KB as wired most of the time, but have the option to disconnect the cable and go wireless (perhaps even BT wireless so there is no dongle/receiver stuff to deal with), for those times when you want to use it on the couch if your comp is hooked up to your TV. BT would also be convenient so you could use it with a laptop or other computers as well. For typical or gaming use, you're plugged in via USB or PS/2 for fast response and unlimited usage life. Battery charges while it's plugged in.

Make an equivalent model in fullsize to give people the option to choose tenkeyless or fullsize depending on their needs/preference.

You wouldn't need weeks and weeks of battery life in that scenario anyways- but having the option to detatch every now and then would be sweet.
 
I really like the look of the K90, but the rubber domes for the macro keys is a deal-breaker for me. If I'm going to spend the cash, I want a mechanical keyboard, not a mechanical keyboard*.
 
Ruahrc said:
I'd really be for the multicolored backlighting as well. With a Mamba 2012 and its multicolored backlighting, I'd need a keyboard that I could be able to match the colors up with.

My "perfect" keyboard would be a wireless tenkeyless mechanical KB with multicolor backlighting. Simple clean layout, minimum or no "BS" (media/macro, etc) keys, put the cost into high quality construction and not in gimmicks. I understand there would be a significant hit in battery life for backlit wireless KB but I'm thinking that you could use the KB as wired most of the time, but have the option to disconnect the cable and go wireless (perhaps even BT wireless so there is no dongle/receiver stuff to deal with), for those times when you want to use it on the couch if your comp is hooked up to your TV. BT would also be convenient so you could use it with a laptop or other computers as well. For typical or gaming use, you're plugged in via USB or PS/2 for fast response and unlimited usage life. Battery charges while it's plugged in.

Make an equivalent model in fullsize to give people the option to choose tenkeyless or fullsize depending on their needs/preference.

You wouldn't need weeks and weeks of battery life in that scenario anyways- but having the option to detatch every now and then would be sweet.
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Yes, this. Very much this (not tenkeyless, but still). I'd use it in the exact way I use my G700. Put the cord on my desktop, dongle on my laptop and plug it in every morning before I go to bed. (Or cord in a plug to usb converter, dongle in the desktop on the other side of the room)

Sucks about the rubber domes though. I've been looking for a backlit mechanical KB for a while now as I tend to do my best work in darkness; It sounds like it's either this, or a BlackWidow, which I'm not a huge fan of (for some reason, it feels mushy to me, like I'm typing on a regular rubber dome, and at that point, I might as well get an actual rubber dome).
 
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OpStar said:
Why don't they just admit they used rubber dome keys to save money?
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Because that isn't true. You can get full mechanical keyboards for $99 from other sources. Price was not the factor here I can bet. Maybe if you count the aluminum build but I don't think it's going to save them that much when they're already buying bulk Cherry MX Red switches.
 
Actually they made some bogus excuse that the cherry keyswitches were crappy for macro and functions keys and that you didn't need them because people rarely used them. AKA they BSing and tried to save money by using rubber dome switches. Even in their marketing via Amazon and their website they don't even list that their keyboards also include a mix of silicon dome switches. Of course they can't go outright and say they used cost cutting measures when they are trying to brand it as a high quality keyboard.

"Cherry® MX Red key switches are the best of the best — they provide the sensitivity and low operating force that professional gamers love. Reaction times are ulra-fast and responsive for quicker double and triple taps. The action is predictable and linear unlike lesser gaming keyboards that have a tactile bump or the annoying click of a typist’s keyboard."

This shows that they prefer Cherry Red Switches

"It features Cherry MX Red mechanical key switches which are of the best of the best key switches and coveted by gamers."


From amazon on k90
 
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"key switches which are of the best of the best key switches"

Great marketing there!
 
So does anyone actually HAVE one of these, and can tell the rest of us how awesome (or not) they are?

And does the K60 have the same problems with the rubber dome switches?
 
According to Newegg the mice and keyboards are pushed back to Nov. 28th. That SUCKS!!!!! I which companies would stop announcing crap 2 to 3 months out and then
keep pushing it back. I love Corsair don't get me wrong, but too many companies pull this. Announce it 2 weeks before and then ship it. End of story.
 
Ok, this is out of hand, and I see no online publications calling them on this.

As of today, it has been pushed back yet again. Now it says release date is 12/09, last week it was 12/06, week before that it was 12/05, some time before that(not sure now when), it was 11/28.....Corsair.....WTF?

I'm dying to throw cash at this K90 keyboard for my wife...but I fear their feces will not be together enough to sell these for the holidays, at least not in time to ship to people.

As mentioned above, I love Corsair, but I see some troubling signs they are overstepping their expertise in a desperate bid to grow the brand. The partnership with CoolIT for the H series coolers was enough to make me scratch my head....and so far the delays with this only compound the worries.
 
Henchman24 said:
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I'm dying to throw cash at this K90 keyboard for my wife...but I fear their feces will not be together enough to sell these for the holidays, at least not in time to ship to people.
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Nice one :).

I'm hoping the delay is because they went back and made all the keys mechanical. That's the hope anyway, but I doubt it.
 
Would you guys relax? The keyboards will be released when they will. Corsair is not some big famous public company, so there's no reason for publications to call them out on a product having a delayed launch.
 
Yea, I mean it's a keyboard. Is your life that sad and pathetic to be so concerned about a keyboard? Get a part time job or help blind kids, anything resembling something.
 
So I just bought an M60 from the egg. I passed on the K60 for the only fact the keyboard wasn't backlit and I like cheery blues, so the Razer options fit me more right now.

I think trying to package a keyboard in the box that will suit such varied and opinionated tastes is futile. Rather, spend your efforts on a solid 'base' board and purchasable customization like keycap sets with different fonts and colors, WASD/ESDF in different colors, full wrist rests, partial wrist rests, cable lengths etc. The only things you probably couldn't engineer to be changeable is anodizing and backlight colors.

Also, it would be sweet if the base board was macroless and 10-keyless, with add-able 10-key/macro modules, similar to the way the Sidewinder x6 has a modular 10key.

Redbeard said:
I was just talking to our Gaming Peripherals PM this morning about this - he and I were comparing notes (he spent the weekend reading forums as well) and we realized that just about every permutation of options was asked for by somebody at some point or another.

Silver Anodized
Black Anodized
Red Anodized
Blue Anodized
Don't Anodize anything - aluminum is expensive - make it out of plastic
Cherry Red, Blue, Clear, Brown, Black, White, Mauve, Perriwinkle, and Cornflower were requested
10-keyless
Macro-less
Macro but no 10-key
10-Key but no Macro
Full-length wrist-rest on all keyboards
No wrist-rest on any keyboards
Left palm rest on MMO keyboard
Paint all keycaps white with black letters
Paint all keycaps black with red letters
No painted keycaps - double shot molded
Metal keycaps
White, Blue, Red, Green, Amber, and Pink (?) backlighting

the list of demands was endless.

Now it's a matter of wading through your requests as we look at the roadmap so we can better determine just how many of you guys are interested in which features. We've done it pretty well on cases, PSUs, and coolers over the past few years, so we'll do it well here, too. No product is perfect for everybody - we've just got to figure out how to hit 90% of the features that 90% of the users want and occasionally hit that 100% number on both sides.
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Unfortunately Razer's quality leaves a lot to be desired. I can't stand the way their keys feel. I love Cherry MX Blues but theres just don't feel right for some reason. Many have said it's the key caps that are the problem. But my Das Keyboard Professional feels WORLDS better than my Razer did.
 
I switched from the Logitech G-series to the Blackwidow. I needed a keyboard with backlit keys, macros, Cherry Blues, and it fit the bill. I can live with it till Corsair releases a K65 or something with backlit keys. :)
 
Kind of upset that the K60 doesn't have backlit keys... I'll still be getting it, but backlit keys are a necessary component for any gaming keyboard.

Well, I'm actually between the K60 and the G19. K60 is much cheaper and has some more functional features that are really attractive, but the G19 is much better looking than the K60 and has 16M color backlit keys for any color you want... Which is awesome.

I was going to get the Razer Mamba 2012 and the G19, but now I'm leaning towards the K60 and M60 because I love Corsair and I know I'll love their keyboard/mouse, and it will be real functional to me. But the Mamba and G19 just... are epic looking and would totally add to the swag of my workstation.
 
Ohmycaptain said:
Kind of upset that the K60 doesn't have backlit keys... I'll still be getting it, but backlit keys are a necessary component for any gaming keyboard.

Well, I'm actually between the K60 and the G19. K60 is much cheaper and has some more functional features that are really attractive, but the G19 is much better looking than the K60 and has 16M color backlit keys for any color you want... Which is awesome.

I was going to get the Razer Mamba 2012 and the G19, but now I'm leaning towards the K60 and M60 because I love Corsair and I know I'll love their keyboard/mouse, and it will be real functional to me. But the Mamba and G19 just... are epic looking and would totally add to the swag of my workstation.
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I disagree. I've had back lit and non-back lit keyboards. I don't need the lighting. I like it because I think it looks cool, but I'm still using a Das Keyboard Professional because it feels better while typing on it than any other keyboard I've tried. So far all the reviews on every back lit keyboard are really hit and miss. If Deck ever makes a Cherry MX Blue unit I'll be all over it. I've got one with Cherry MX Blacks back when that was damned near the only new mechanical keyboard you could get these days.
 
I'd love if Corsair released rubberized keycaps in the red for every key, not just the WASD setup.

and be illuminated
 
any idea when this thing will be available?
It seems like you can order it directly from them... but not amazon and newegg is "out of stock"
 
If you mean the k60 I actually saw it in stock 2 days ago on ncix. So I guess that one is out. Have yet to catch the 90s anywhere.
 
PhantmShado said:
If you mean the k60 I actually saw it in stock 2 days ago on ncix. So I guess that one is out. Have yet to catch the 90s anywhere.
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Wow maybe they did sell that fast, either way I'm opting to wait until it's full mechanical and backlit
 
I'm not sure if Frys had made a mistake but they had a few out on the shelves and i picked up a K60 yesterday. Not even the Corsair website says anything about the keyboards being available yet. I didn't see any mice out, just one headset and about 5 keyboards.

My first impressions:
The board is not fully mechanical. The top row from escape, F1 - Pause break, and the insert, home, end... keys are not mechanical. This personally was not a problem for me since i rarely ever hit those keys. And never have to continuously hit those keys. All other keys are mechanical and do feel good though. And i prefer cherry red switches over the other types.

The build quality is actually really good. The board feels really sturdy and does not flex. I use the ten keys on the right so i prefer having them there. I don't really use the media keys above other than the volume wheel. Good they're not an obstruction.

I personally like the look of these keyboards. One of of the main reasons I decided to give it a try. The profile is actually not too bulky which i like. Takes up less space on my desk. and still has the ten key number pad.

no real cons yet other than the board not being full mechanical. Corsair should have known they'd get some backlash from the gaming community for that. But if those keys are hardly pressed when gaming/typing i think its a con that can be easily overlooked.
 
Newegg now has the K60 in stock, and the K90 is scheduled for 12/21. Just ordered a K60 :)
 
Wow that's a lot of keys that aren't mechanical. A little over 1/5 the board is rubber dome. It probably depends on the type of game you play, IIRC SC2 players use the F-keys a lot. I personally use the insert/home/end block a lot in both gaming and regular usage too.
 
Never used a mechanical keyboard for gaming, so thats not really the main reason im buying it. Im just sick of nose diving into the ground in BF3 trying to fly the helos, or walking into walls because im pressing too many damn keys and they are ghosting on my Saitek Eclipse II.
 
obliv said:
Never used a mechanical keyboard for gaming, so thats not really the main reason im buying it. Im just sick of nose diving into the ground in BF3 trying to fly the helos, or walking into walls because im pressing too many damn keys and they are ghosting on my Saitek Eclipse II.
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I had a keyboard that did this. It's fucking infuriating when you die because your keyboard is to stupid to figure out how key presses work.
 
Just ordered the K60 keyboard, M60 mouse and Vengeance 1500 headset to replace my Razer Tarantula, Lachesis and Barracuda headset for my home gaming pc. The Razer stuff will work great for my office gaming rig. I am excited for these to arrive!
 
obliv said:
Never used a mechanical keyboard for gaming, so thats not really the main reason im buying it. Im just sick of nose diving into the ground in BF3 trying to fly the helos, or walking into walls because im pressing too many damn keys and they are ghosting on my Saitek Eclipse II.
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Nice, if Corsair can introduce more people to mechanical keyboards I'm all for it.
But as always people will want to try something different and they will switch over to a few of the more established brands on the market.
 
WorldExclusive said:
Nice, if Corsair can introduce more people to mechanical keyboards I'm all for it.
But as always people will want to try something different and they will switch over to a few of the more established brands on the market.
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I know there are alot of options for mechanical keyboards on the market. It just seemed that Corsair has been kicking ass lately with product releases, Headsets, Cases, PSU + memory of course. I have owned probably 10 + corsair products and everyone of them have impressed. Guess you can call me a fanboy :)
 
obliv said:
I know there are alot of options for mechanical keyboards on the market. It just seemed that Corsair has been kicking ass lately with product releases, Headsets, Cases, PSU + memory of course. I have owned probably 10 + corsair products and everyone of them have impressed. Guess you can call me a fanboy :)
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lol probably, but I'll stick to Corsair's internal PC components.
 
The K90 looks pretty good to replace my G15v1 (finally). I look forward to my first mechanical keyboard, I hope some more feedback regarding the K90 makes it into this thread :D
 
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