Corsair K57 RGB Wireless Keyboard Review

Manufacturer: CORSAIR

UK Price: £89.99

US Price: $99.99

The full review is contained in the video, above, so I urge you to take a look at that. This companion piece offers my brief thoughts in written format.

Many people now are wanting to have tidier, wire-free gaming setups without losing any visual appeal or performance in the process. 

To that end, today, I have my hands on a Corsair K57 RGB Wireless Gaming Keyboard for review. This keyboard features Corsair's very own Slipstream Wireless Technology and is fitted with Capellix LEDs to help the K57 not only look good, but last longer during use.  I've personally never owned a wireless, non-mechanical keyboard, especially one for gaming. So, I was very interested to see how this performs in comparison to my wired, mechanical daily driver. 

Specifications:

• Colour: Black
• Material: Plastic
• RGB Back-lighting: Fully Customisable, Per-Key RGB Featuring Capellix LEDs
• iCUE Support: Yes
• Connectivity: Wireless, Wired
• Wireless Connectivity: Sub-1ms 2.4GHz SLIPSTREAM, Bluetooth 4.0 or Higher
• Wired Connectivity: USB 2.0 or 3.0 Type-A
• Key Switches: Rubber Dome
• Multimedia Controls: Dedicated (Mute, Volume Up/Down, Stop, Previous, Play/Pause, Next)
• Macro Keys: Six On-board Macros
• Other On-board Controls Include: Macro Record, Brightness and Windows Lock Key
• Battery: Rechargeable Lithium-Ion
• Battery Life: Up to 175 Hours with Back-lighting Off OR Up to 35 Hours with Back-lighting On
• Wrist Rest: Full Length, Detachable
• Cable: 1.8m Tangle-free Rubber, Detachable
• Dimensions: 480mm(L) x 166mm(W) x 34.6mm(H) / 18.9"(L) x 6.5"(W) x 1.4"(H)
• Weight: 0.95kg

Box Contents:

• K57 RGB Wireless Gaming Keyboard - Wireless Receiver Inside
• Detachable Wrist Rest
• 1.8m Cable
• Warranty and Quick Start Guides

Using the Corsair K57 as a gaming keyboard didn't come very easily to me. It's pretty big sat on the lap, measuring 48cm wide. The rubber-dome keys made it difficult for me to move fluidly in-game and generally required too much effort to actuate them, compared to mechanical boards. It all felt clunky, and after a while, I found my fingers feeling a little bit strained. However, using the K57 as a multimedia keyboard and controlling YouTube videos, movies and music was brilliant. The connectivity options of the keyboard are top-notch, in my opinion, considering it can be connected to three different devices at once, making it easier to switch to and from each device when you need to by a few key presses. 

After using the Corsair K57 Wireless Keyboard with gaming, multimedia and just general day-to-day tasks, here are my thoughts. 

The Good: 

• Good wireless range, means more freedom of movement and no restriction by wires. The line-of-sight range is at least 30 feet.
• Setups look cleaner and wire-free. 
• Great battery life, even with RGB lighting effects active.
• Dedicated on-board controls and six macro keys, great for controlling movies and music. Brilliant for home theatre use, for example.
• Customisable RGB LED either on-board for presets or per-key customisation via iCUE software.

The Not So Good:

• Rather large for lap use.
• Wrist rest included is hard, rough-textured and uncomfortable.
• Manual didn't specify keyboard needing firmware update, making it difficult to pair at first.
• Membrane rubber-dome keys. Too much effort required to actuate, not comfortable when gaming. 

Overall, the K57 keyboard provides users with great battery life, freedom and multiple choice in terms of connectivity options. Whilst the K57 does lack in some trivial areas, it makes up for it in the more crucial ones in terms of what you would want most out of a wireless gaming keyboard. It's just unfortunate that as a full-fledged mechanical switch user who games very often, these rubber-dome keys aren't going to woo me into wanting to use them more. Good for multimedia, then, and merely average for gaming.