Corsair K100 RGB Review

The Corsair K100 RGB gaming keyboard excels with supreme performance, customizable controls, stunning RGB lighting, and advanced technology for lightning-fast responsiveness. Although, limited on-the-fly macro capabilities may be a drawback for some users.

Performance Comparison

Lighting Customization

The lighting customization on the Corsair K100 RGB gaming keyboard is an absolute standout, offering an exceptional level of personalization that caters to every gamer's taste.

The level of customization is truly impressive, allowing users to tweak various lighting selections. Whether selecting random colors or having the lighting effects alternate between two colors, the options are vast. Furthermore, users can adjust the speed, direction, and starting/stopping points of different lighting effects.

One of the highlights is the per-key customization, enabling gamers to individually light-up keys to match their preferences. The Corsair K100 offers a generous selection of 10 presets, including captivating options like watercolor, color pulse, color shift, and color wave. The diverse color options offer a unique palette of visual effects for an elevated aesthetic experience.

The keyboard predominantly illuminates the letters, accompanied by a subtle underglow and perimeter lighting along the sides and back, adding a touch of elegance to any gaming setup.

The Corsair's lighting customization sets a new standard in gaming keyboards, empowering users to create their own personalized gaming environment.

Performance

The Corsair K100 RGB gaming keyboard truly shines when it comes to performance, delivering exceptional results in two crucial areas.

First, the N-Key-rollover and anti-ghosting features proved to be outstanding during our tests. With the ability to handle over 40 keys pressed simultaneously, the K100 ensures flawless and precise input for even the most complex gaming maneuvers, giving players a competitive edge.

The keyboard's latency performance was equally impressive. Thanks to the exclusive Corsair OPX optical-mechanical keyswitches, it offers hyper-fast input speeds with just a 1.0mm actuation distance and smooth linear travel. Partnered with the renowned CHERRY MX keyswitches, the K100 delivers reliable key registration and consistent responsiveness, ensuring top-tier gaming performance.

Ease of Programming and Macros

The Corsair K100 RGB excels in ease of programming and macros, offering users macro customization that is intuitive and comprehensive.

Our testers were highly impressed by the user-friendly interface, finding the Corsair K100 easy to navigate and harnessing its powerful programming capabilities. With dedicated programmable buttons, gamers can customize their macros to their specific needs. The macro recording process is seamless and flexible, allowing the inclusion of various event types like delays, keyboard events, mouse clicks, scroll wheel, and mouse movement.

The iCUE wheel enables on-the-fly macro creation, granting gamers the ability to record macros in the midst of gameplay without any disruption. The process is intuitive, empowering users to gain a competitive advantage with swift and personalized macros.

Additionally, the six extra macro buttons provide ample opportunities for users to program special commands or complex macros tailored to different games and tasks. The list view macro layout ensures organized and convenient access to all programmed macros.

Corsair's thoughtful design extends to the individual event edit feature, offering precise fine-tuning of macros for optimal performance. The pop-out macro window further streamlines the editing experience, displaying a comprehensive view of events for advanced customization. The inclusion of automatic mouse clicking adds an extra layer of convenience for tasks requiring swift and repetitive actions.

Convenience

When it comes to convenience, the Corsair K100 RGB gaming keyboard stands out in various aspects, achieving impressive scores in each submetric.

The availability of switch types is a crucial factor for gamers seeking the perfect tactile experience. The K100 offers two excellent options: the mechanical Corsair OPX and Cherry MX Speed switches, both being linear switches. This variety allows users to choose their preferred switch type for a more personalized gaming feel.

The keyboard comes with extra keycaps, specifically designed for movement (W, A, S, D), as well as F, Q, E, R, and an additional W and D, all in a textured grey. This thoughtful inclusion allows gamers to customize and replace commonly used keys for a more comfortable and functional gaming experience.

The dedicated media controls add a layer of convenience for seamless control during gameplay and media consumption. Located on the left side above the number pad, the K100 boasts stop, pause/play, forward and back track buttons, as well as a mute option and a volume roller. The roller is impressively smooth with minimal resistance, providing precise volume adjustments, while the buttons offer a satisfying firmness when pressed.

The presence of USB passthrough is another valuable convenience feature, and the K100 does not disappoint with its shared cable setup. This passthrough is located near the center, allowing users to easily connect devices without reaching behind the PC.

Palm Rest

In terms of convenience, the Corsair K100 RGB gaming keyboard excels across multiple aspects, earning high scores in each submetric.

One notable advantage is its magnetic attachment, providing a secure connection to the keyboard. However, we found the palm rest to be too short. Our testers felt their wrists hanging from the edge, unable to fully rest their palms. While the rest is adjustable, the default positioning did not work well for certain individuals, leading to discomfort and a feeling of cramped hands during extended usage. Additionally, the level of padding in the palm rest raised concerns for some users. When adjusted to a comfortable position, the excess padding added pressure to their wrists, resulting in fatigue.

The positioning of the palm rest also had an impact on typing and gaming performance. Testers noted that accessing keys in the ZXC area or even reaching for the left Ctrl key became challenging due to the palm rest's dimensions. This issue was exacerbated when the palm rest was not attached, as it tended to move around during intense gaming or typing, requiring constant readjustment. Even experimenting with various angles did not alleviate the issue for some users. Comparatively, the palm rest's length was slightly shorter than other models, which may affect comfort for those accustomed to a larger rest.

Should You Buy the Corsair K100 RGB?

Although the Corsair K100 RGB gaming keyboard has an imposing price tag; it makes up for this by providing users with supreme performance, customizable controls, stunning RGB lighting, and advanced technology for lightning-fast responsiveness.

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