New Corsair Gaming Keyboards

[sharknice]

Im with sharknice. My old microsoft digital media pro keyboard had a bunch of media keys, along with keys that would activate whatever is in your taskbar. It was much more convenient & alot quicker than having to hover over it with mouse and click... Im still looking for a keyboard with all these keys this keyboard had but mechanical & backlit....If anyone knows of one plz link!!!!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823109061

You can get the same affect using the Corsair K95 or Logitech G910 using the macro keys.

 

[Pivo504]

Well I tried the corsair they had at bestbuy out and the keys didnt feel that great either...Also the K95 is over 150 and seems to have bad reviews....The g910 keys felt bad as well...

 

[_PixelNinja]

Are you serious? Have you ever had dedicated media keys on a keyboard before? It is much, much more convenient.

There are tons of games that use the Function keys and if you listen to music while you play a game non-dedicated media keys can easily mess you up.
This is also true while programming or just browsing the internet.

Mute and volume controls are especially convenient.

My point is that it's cheaper for manufacturers to program the media keys on the Fn layer rather than put money towards R&D in creating a design that integrates extra keys.

Otherwise, to answer you questions — and this is my subjective view on this — yes I have used dedicated media keys and they are superfluous. Again; one has to design the keyboard with bigger dimensions in order to integrate the extra keys. It makes no sense to me. I want my keyboard to be as slimline as possible in regards to it's respective format (full size, TKL, compact).

Also, there is no way layered media keys can mess up when playing games since the Fn layer is independent from the neutral layer. Speaking of which, you could always remap the media Fn layer to the navigation cluster via AutoHotkey (or similar) if you want them elsewhere.

 

[DragonQ]

You can get the same affect using the Corsair K95 or Logitech G910 using the macro keys.

Which are conveniently the most expensive ones.

My point is that it's cheaper for manufacturers to program the media keys on the Fn layer rather than put money towards R&D in creating a design that integrates extra keys.

Otherwise, to answer you questions — and this is my subjective view on this — yes I have used dedicated media keys and they are superfluous. Again; one has to design the keyboard with bigger dimensions in order to integrate the extra keys. It makes no sense to me. I want my keyboard to be as slimline as possible in regards to it's respective format (full size, TKL, compact).

Also, there is no way layered media keys can mess up when playing games since the Fn layer is independent from the neutral layer. Speaking of which, you could always remap the media Fn layer to the navigation cluster via AutoHotkey (or similar) if you want them elsewhere.

This line of argument is nonsense. What you're saying is that you don't like/want media keys so why should manufacturers include them on their keyboards. Some people do like/want media keys. Some people prefer slimmer ones without them. There is a lack of the former until you get into the stupidly expensive bracket, whereas the latter can be found across a broad price range. I wouldn't mind spending a little more for a few extra keys (which can easily be included without making the form factor bigger, by the way) but to have to go to £140+ is ludicrous.

This is not the case with non-mechanical keyboards, where those with and without media keys are widely available.

 

[_PixelNinja]

This line of argument is nonsense. What you're saying is that you don't like/want media keys so why should manufacturers include them on their keyboards. Some people do like/want media keys. Some people prefer slimmer ones without them. There is a lack of the former until you get into the stupidly expensive bracket, whereas the latter can be found across a broad price range. I wouldn't mind spending a little more for a few extra keys (which can easily be included without making the form factor bigger, by the way) but to have to go to £140+ is ludicrous.

This is not the case with non-mechanical keyboards, where those with and without media keys are widely available.

No. I said it makes sense that manufacturers would omit them in order up their margins on their products (mechanical keyboards in general are expensive to produce) and that on a side note — since the question was being asked to me — I do not personally find dedicated media keys useful nor appealing. Not that they should be absent on every keyboard.

 

[DragonQ]

As I said, if there is a market for mechanical keyboards with media keys then people will buy them. They'd likely be slightly more expensive than those without but not by much. I can't imagine there not being a market for them considering how ubiquitous media keys are in standard keyboards.

 

[Gmok Bonecrusha]

I've had my k65 keyboard a few days now...It's not bad. I have never had a kb with dedicated media keys, and I must say they come in handy. I actually find myself using em!

The caps just don't seem as tight as lets say the Ducky or Max Nighthawk though. Lots of wiggle to them.The wrist IMO has has too much slope, giving little to no support.

I give this an 8/10 as far as mechanicals go. a few of those points are for the crazy RGB uses and software.