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You are here: Home / Archives for Cherry MX

Gaming: Corsair K70 LUX Keyboard Review

08/26/2017 By Hakan Can

Corsair K70 LUX keyboard review

Unless you’ve been living in a cave the past 15-20 years, you’ve almost certainly heard the name Corsair. If you’re a hardcore gamer, then you’ve surely heard of one of the gaming sector’s biggest brands. Heck, you’re probably using one of their accessories right now. Not too long ago, we received our first Corsair product–the K70 LUX mechanical keyboard, and have been learning every detail of it ever since. How does the K70 LUX stack up against the higher-end gaming keyboard competition? Is this keyboard a worthy addition to your gaming rig? Without further delay, let’s take a close and detailed look in this Corsair K70 LUX keyboard review.

Corsair K70 LUX keyboard review

Key Features of this K70 LUX Keyboard

  • Red LED illuminated backlighting
  • Seven lighting effects
  • Cherry MX Blue, Brown, Red, & Rapidfire switches
  • 100% anti-ghosting support
  • 104-Key rollover
  • Media controls
  • USB 2.0 pass-through
  • Aircraft-grade aluminum front plate
Read:   Gaming: HyperX Alloy Elite Keyboard Review

Corsair K70 LUX Keyboard Review

K70 LUX Design and Features

Whether it’s Gamdias, HyperX, Patriot, etc.,numerous hardware brands are creating gaming keyboards in the style of Corsair. As the phrase goes, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”

[envira-gallery id=”9122″]

The K70 LUX is a mechanical gaming keyboard with a 50 million push button life cycle thanks to its use of Cherry MX switches. There are eight versions of the K70 LUX. Half come with RGB LED backlighting, three with Red, and one with Blue. This Red LED backlit Cherry MX Red switch version has seven lighting effects, four brightness levels, five polling settings via hidden switch, six media controls, and a USB 2.0 pass-through. More on these features under CUE.

This keyboard is a bit smaller in length than its newer rivals, the closest being the HyperX Alloy Elite by a ¼”. Without the rubberized full-length wrist rest, the K70’s dimensions are 17.2″ x 6.5″ x 1.5″ and weighs in at 2.97 lbs. In fact, if I were to close my eyes, I would have a bit of difficulty telling the difference between the two. Like I stated, imitation and flattery.

The finish on the keyboard is quite attractive and appears to be fingerprint resistant. Keys are top-mounted over a dark brushed aluminum face plate. Beware, the aluminum edges are sharp, so don’t go knocking the keyboard off your desk. It could strike your foot and cause some pain.

[envira-gallery id=”9126″]

The underside is plastic with four rubber foot pads and four retractable legs. The location of the braided cable is slightly left of center. While we like it off-center, another inch to the left would have been preferred.

On the back end of the braided cord, there are two USB plugs to connect to your gaming desktop. If you’re connecting via USB 2.0, use both connectors. If you’re connecting via USB 3.0, use the connector with the keyboard icon.

Package contents include the keyboard (w/textured space bar), palm rest, ten textured platinum key caps for FPS and MOBA play, one key cap puller, quick installation guide and warranty policy.

The K70 LUX has all these features for a hair under $120. This price is give-or-take within $10 of other higher-end mechanical gaming keyboards with Cherry MX switches. What it doesn’t have are pre-configured lighting zones for different genres of games like with the Tt esports MEKA PRO, or a place to stash the key puller.

[envira-gallery id=”9128″]

There were some issues with the media controls, and I’ve yet to get four of the buttons to work accordingly. Using Amazon Music and Nero MediaHome, I was unable to get the Stop, Rewind, Play/Pause, and Fast Forward buttons to work. The Mute button and Volume wheel worked without a hitch. We’ll continue to play around with the media controls and update this post accordingly.

Read:   Gaming: Gamdias HERMES P1 RGB Keyboard Review

Specifications

• Key Switch:
• Switch Lifecycle:
• Dimensions:
• Weight:
• Processor:
• Polling Rate:
• Programmable Keys:
• Multimedia Keys:
• Graphical User Interface:

• Cherry MX Red mechanical switches
• 50 Million
• 17.2″ x 6.5″ x 1.5″ w/o the wrist rest
• 2.97 lbs w/o the wrist rest
• 32-bit ARM
• 1000 Hz
• Yes, 104
• Yes, 6
• Yes, CUE software

Read:   Gaming: Tt esports MEKA PRO Keyboard Review

CUE — Corsair Utility Engine

As previously mentioned, the K70 LUX keyboard comes with the Corsair Utility Engine software support. Also known as CUE, this software support (Version 2.16.87) configures the Red LED lighting, macros, buttons, acceleration, and DPI, just to name a handful.

From the main page, seen in the first two images, you can update the keyboard’s firmware as well as CUE’s software version. Without having to go any further, you can adjust the Brightness, the Current Layout, and Change LED Color. You really can’t change alter the LED color as this K70 LUX keyboard is backlit red only.

[envira-gallery id=”9097″]

Taking it further, click on the K70 LUX image immediately to the left of the Global Setting gear icon, and get started with making adjustments. Over the next three images are the Actions, Lighting Effects, and Performance screens.

The Actions setting is where you record your macros, and build an Actions Library. Click the Macro drop down menu to proceed with the following: Text, Remap Key, Media, Launch Application, Time, Disable, and Profile Switching.

Under Lighting Effects is where you select one of seven styles, and customize the type of Red you want via the color wheel or Basic/Custom settings. Effects available as of this date are Static Color, Visor, Rain, Pulse, Wave, and Type Lighting Key and TL Ripple. Within each of the seven effects, you’re able to adjust one of more of the following: opacity, speed, direction, or duration. Before I forget, the richness and brightness of the Reds are spectacular. I firmly believe you’re going to like these lighting features a lot.

Under Performance is where you select “If Win Lock is on:” options. There are four choices available, and you can pick any-and-all. You can adjust the Brightness indicator color here too.

[envira-gallery id=”9098″]

To the right of the Global Setting gear icon is the Advanced button. Click that, and make additional adjustments to Lighting Effects like Static, Gradient, Ripple, Solid, and Wave. This is shown in the fourth and final image. And don’t be surprised when the Red LED lighting disappears until you create said adjustments.

Profile names can be whatever you want them to be within Actions, Lighting Effects, and Performance screens.

Read:   Gaming: Sennheiser GSX 1200 PRO Amplifier Review

Final Thoughts

Pros:
• Sturdy build, great wrist rest
• Switchable FPS/MOBA keys
• Complete customization
• Seven lighting effects

Cons:
• No place to store the key puller
• No pre-configured lighting zones
• Sharp edges
• So many other K70 (LUX) choices to choose from

If you couldn’t tell by now, we truly enjoyed testing this keyboard. For the record, we feel it’s in a dead heat to slightly up on the recently introduced HyperX Alloy Elite for our favorite mechanical gaming keyboard of 2017. And the K70 LUX wasn’t even introduced this year. We’ve performed more than a handful of gaming keyboard reviews this year, and to date, nothing else compares to these two. Whether you like the solid (red or blue) color or the RGB for backlighting, you need to put the Corsair K70 LUX on your radar and wish list.

The K70 LUX mechanical gaming keyboard has a list price of just under $120. It’s available for purchase on Amazon and the Corsair website. Pay attention to both websites as we’ve seen it for $20 less on occasion, see Amazon link below.

All-in-all, this gaming keyboard (and software) earned a 4.6 out of 5-star rating. There are scores of gaming boards available (not just from Corsair) with a variety of features, so compare away until you find what’s right for you.

[envira-gallery id=”9119″]

What do you think of this Corsair K70 LUX keyboard review? Do you agree or disagree with our verdict? Let us know in the comment section below or via social media. We’re eager to hear your thoughts.

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Don’t hesitate to head over to the Corsair homepage to see their current line-up of products. The Corsair K70 LUX gaming keyboard comes with a 2-year warranty.

All photographs are the copyrighted property of Corsair or Beantown LLC © 2017.

FTC Disclosure: Corsair provided Beantown LLC with one (1) K70 LUX Backlit Red LED Mechanical Gaming Keyboard sample for review purposes. This writer’s opinion is 100% his own and not a paid product ambassador.

Read:   Lexar JumpDrive C25i Review for iPhone or iPad

Filed Under: Gaming Hardware Tagged With: Cherry MX, Corsair, gaming keyboard, K70 LUX, mechanical keyboard 10/17/2017

Gaming: Tt esports MEKA PRO Keyboard Review

08/12/2017 By Hakan Can

Tt esports MEKA PRO keyboard review

If you’re a fan of gaming, then there’s an excellent chance you’re familiar with Thermaltake and its accessories brand Tt esports. We’ve used hardware from Thermaltake for nearly a decade, but have shied away from Tt esports until recently. A few months ago, Tt esports introduced a new mechanical gaming keyboard with Cherry MX switches. We’ve spent the better part of the past month with the MEKA PRO mechanical gaming keyboard customizing and learning every detail of it. Is this keyboard a worthy addition to your gaming rig? Without further delay, let’s take a closer look in this Tt esports MEKA PRO keyboard review.

Tt esports MEKA PRO keyboard review

Key Features of the MEKA PRO Keyboard

  • Red LED illuminated backlighting
  • Four pre-configured lighting zones
  • Cherry MX Blue (Brown and Red) switches
  • Anti-ghosting support
  • On-the-fly record macro key settings
  • Six key / N-key rollover
Read:   Gaming: HyperX Alloy FPS Keyboard Review

Per the press release, “The MEKA PRO Cherry MX Mechanical Gaming Keyboard comes in a simplistic durable design packed full of features and functions for the most avid gaming enthusiasts. This includes the use of the latest and highly responsive Cherry MX Blue Switches with a 50 million click lifespan, individual per key red backlight illumination with 7 stunning lighting effects, 4 pre-configured game mode lighting zones, 100% anti-ghosting support, and on-the-fly macro recording for ultimate customization of your gameplay settings.”

Tt esports MEKA PRO Keyboard Review

Tt esports MEKA PRO keyboard review

First Impressions

  • Clean, well-packaged box, big keyboard.
  • Keyboard has a modern look and nice feel. It’s not as big as initially thought, surprisingly slim for the box size. It functioned well with a laptop pictured (see the bottom of this post.)
  • While the keyboard cord is a good length of 1.8 meters, we would have preferred it a bit longer making it easier to reach more desktops. Also, we would have preferred a braided cable
  • The deep red lighting is a nice touch. It illuminates nicely, especially in a dark setting.
  • Initial tapping of the keys are smooth and quick, but the Cherry MX Blue switches are loud.  

Specifications

Tt esports MEKA PRO keyboard review

Tt esports MEKA PRO keyboard review

Read:   Gamdias HERMES RGB Keyboard Review

MEKA PRO Design and Features

If you’re familiar with Tt esports keyboards, then you’ll notice how closely the MEKA PRO resembles the Poseidon Z Illuminated and RGB models. The key difference is internal–the switch. This new design incorporates Cherry MX Blue, Brown, or Red switches.

As you can see from the bulleted Key Features list, the MEKA PRO offers plenty in the way of gaming features. These are all pretty much standard among ~$100 gaming keyboards. One feature not included in many gaming keyboards are pre-configured lighting zones. The MEKA PRO has four of them: FPS, MMO, MOBA, and RTS. The matte black finish across the board looks great.

[envira-gallery id=”8910″]

On the underside, there are five rubber foot pads and two retractable legs. Whether you use the legs or not, the keyboard will grip a flat surface well.

Package contents include the keyboard, eight red key caps, one key cap puller, quick installation guide and warranty policy.

Performance Testing – Everyday Use

As an everyday, standard keyboard, the keys are a bit annoying to type with. They sound too much like a typewriter. It’s almost obnoxiously loud and would wake my family if they slept next door. It’s one of those things you have to get used to when using Kailh or Cherry MX Blue mechanical switches.

Typing up documents wasn’t too bad. The draw back here is that words are typed up too quickly. It’s an awkward feeling as words are rapidly misspelled. This was due to the rapidness of keys. It requires you to change their style a bit.

Then some keys appear to be a little slower than others. I often found myself mistyping things which typically doesn’t happen with non-Blue switch boards. However, it might be from lack of experience rather than work.

Tt esports MEKA PRO keyboard review

Another item was that the Backspace button was super soft, almost too much in comparison to the rest of the keys. At first, I thought there might be a manufacturer defect, or it was somehow damaged. It just felt abnormally soft compared to most other keys. The same experience was observed with the Enter and Shift keys. These three keys threw me off whenever pressed. It might be intentional on the part of Tt esports; nonetheless, I was thrown off.

Another thing to note about the Backspace key is that I noticed it sticking. It held for a certain length of time and caused the delete area to go past what was intended. I tried to delete a sentence and ended up erasing a bit more. I found that the standard keys have a bite, a precision to them when pressed down. Overall, I found the MEKA PRO somewhat disappointing for use as a regular keyboard.

Read:   Gaming: Gamdias HERMES 7 Color Keyboard Review

Performance Testing – Gameplay

Gameplay consisted of the following games and times:

• Rainbow Six: Siege – 2 Hours
• RimWorld – 3 Hours

• Mount & Blade: Warband – 50 Minutes
• Total War: Shogun 2 – 2 Hours

With Rainbox Six, I found the MEKA PRO had some difficulty pressing some of the video game “hot keys.” For example, to pull up the Ubisoft screen, one had to press Shift-F2. This was rather difficult to accomplish and took a lot of time, one which players usually don’t have.

Also, I don’t like the Enter Key. Some games like this one require quick hits to the Enter button, and it felt unresponsive. I noticed that the mechanical keys tend to make my fingers and wrists a lot more tired as the game went on. With long-term games such as Siege, it requires a lot of holding down buttons and rapid pressing which can be rather tiring.

Overall, it’s just okay for shooter games that keep you under tension or require quick dodges. I found my fingers tiring quickly, beginning to lose a lot of their mobility as the rounds went on, and often when crouching, my pinky would start to tire of holding down all the buttons.

[envira-gallery id=”8911″]

With Rimworld, the MEKA PRO was much kinder. The quickness of the keys made things much easier to move around the map. It was still tiring, but not nearly as much as the previous game. I found this game worked perfectly with a mechanical keyboard. After 3 hours of play time, I liked using these Cherry MX Blue mechanical switches a lot more.

However, the distance between keys was bothering, and the relative softness of the larger keys was a bit off putting, Again, this could be personal bias/preference.

On Mount & Blade, I couldn’t stand the super hard keys. It’s a problem with the F1-F9 keys. They require the top fingers to reach, and considering that the game involves using F1-F9 a lot, it makes it very hard to arrive at these keys without feeling like one is uncomfortably stretching their hands.

Finally, on Total War, there was no noticeable change. A good game play could have been achieved just as easily with a non-gaming keyboard.

Read:   Gaming: Gamdias HERMES E1 Keyboard Combo Review

Pros:

  • Relatively Compact. It fit well with two laptops and a bunch of other stuff on my desk.
  • It has excellent ambient lighting in the background, works perfectly at night.
  • The alphabet buttons felt fantastic! There’s good response on most keys, and there’s nice feedback.

 Cons:

  • Clicking noise on the keyboard is obnoxiously loud thanks to the Cherry MX Blue switches. Fortunately, there are other switches available such as the Cherry Brown and Red. The keys sometimes sound like an M1 Garand reload ping when typed.
  • The Enter and Backspace keys felt a bit too soft. It threw the nice tapping of the other keys off a ton. This feels like a gaming keyboard, and those other keys have vast uses when typing. I found that a regular keyboard works much better with it.
  • I’m not sure about the issue I have with the F1-F9 keys. I dislike them; it makes it so that for highly tactical games such as Mount in Blade where the F1 key plays a significant role, it is incredibly uncomfortable. It’s possible to key bind these to different keys, but the difficulty of using these in the first place offsets it I felt.
  • With the mechanical keys, there’s the issue of my fingers getting tired, especially in games which require a lot of finger dexterity. Fingers lost a lot of strength quickly and were tired by the end of the game. Plus, there was one sticky Backspace key.

Final Thoughts and Ratings

• Appearance: 9/10
• Usefulness (gaming): 7/10
• Overall: 7.3/10

• Space/compactness: 8/10
• Usefulness (Typing up essays and whatnot): 5/10

The MEKA PRO mechanical gaming keyboard has a list price of just under $90. Fortunately, it’s available on Amazon for $20 lower at the time of publishing.

There are scores of gaming keyboards available each with a variety of features, so shoppers will compare until they find the right keyboard for them.

Tt esports MEKA PRO keyboard review

Read:   Enermax Ostrog ADV Case Review

What do you think of this Tt esports MEKA PRO keyboard review? Do you agree or disagree with our verdict? Let us know in the comment section below or via social media. We’re eager to hear your thoughts.

• Follow Tt esports on Twitter
• Follow Tt esports on Facebook
• Follow Tt esports on Instagram

• Follow Beantown on Twitter
• Follow Beantown on Facebook
• Follow Beantown on Instagram

Don’t hesitate to head over to the Tt esports homepage to see their current line-up of products. The Tt esports Black FP gaming mouse comes with a 2-year warranty. Should you need to reach Customer Support, click on this link.

This review was co-written with Gamer Jack Yang. All photographs are the copyrighted property of Thermaltake or Beantown LLC © 2017.

FTC Disclosure: Tt esports provided Beantown LLC with one (1) MEKA PRO mechanical gaming keyboard sample for review purposes. Both writers opinions are 100% their own and neither are paid product ambassadors.

Read:   Lexar JumpDrive C25i Review for iPhone or iPad

Filed Under: Gaming Hardware Tagged With: Cherry MX, gaming keyboard, mechanical keyboard, MEKA Pro, Thermaltake, tT eSports 08/22/2017

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