Corsair K55 RGB mini review - Rubber dome keyboard

This is just a quick little review for those of you who may not like the feel of mechanical keyboards or are on a budget.

First of all this isn't a high end keyboard, I picked it up for only $40 from Newegg. I say this because this keyboard doesn't feel in anyway like a mechanical keyboard. It reminds me of the G15 I had several years ago, a quality rubber dome keyboard. This one does have much better lighting however.

Pros
Cheap
Quiet
Good typing experience - Of course this doesn't apply if you think mechanical switches are the best thing since sliced bread.
No SOFTWARE! Everything is done via the FN key and shortcuts.
Media keys
Lots of lighting options

Cons
Media keys aren't backlit
Backlight is very open so the light comes out around the keys also.
No individual key color options, 3 lighting zones

I am most definitely an outlier in this case, but I have tried three mechanical keyboards and I just don't care for the typing feel (blues, greens, romer-g). So if anyone out there feels the same way or you don't have a lot of cash to throw down on an rgb board this may be a good option for you.

I will be glad to answer any questions if anyone has any.

The problem with mechanical keyboards is that there are so many options out there and not all of them are good. It can be expensive to try and find a switch type you like, but I've never heard of anyone making a blanket statement that they preferred the feel of membrane keys to mechanical ones. I'm not a fan of many brands of keyboard or several switch options but I'd take any of them over a membrane keyboard. Membrane keyboards can provide a reasonably good typing experience when they are brand new, but that experience degrades rather quickly. It's good you found a keyboard you like. I can definitely agree you are an outlier on this subject.

I can only speak to what I've tried. Max keyboard with blues , razor with greens, g710 with browns and the g800 with Romer-g switches. I've had a mechanical keyboard of one form or another for two years now and I just never got comfortable with it. I even ordered one of the test switches from Max keyboard which lets you try 4 different switches. On the plus side there are tons of options so everyone should be able to find what they like.

Xr7 said:

I can only speak to what I've tried. Max keyboard with blues , razor with greens, g710 with browns and the g800 with Romer-g switches. I've had a mechanical keyboard of one form or another for two years now and I just never got comfortable with it. I even ordered one of the test switches from Max keyboard which lets you try 4 different switches. On the plus side there are tons of options so everyone should be able to find what they like.

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The problem is that there are multiple methods for mounting switches which changes how they feel. The quality of the key caps and the geometry of the key caps changes the feel of the keyboard dramatically. There is a difference between similar switches from other brands. For example, Gateron Browns and Blues are similar to their Cherry MX counterparts but still quite different. Unfortunately, the only real way to know if you like a mechanical keyboard is to buy one and try it out. Switch testers are fine but don't tell the whole story. The good thing is that mechanical keyboards still have some value after you try them out and you can usually sell the keyboard on the forum or something for close to what you paid for it.