Corsair Gaming K70 RGB keyboard review - Mechanical Cherry Keys

All keys are mechanical, in our case making use of Cherry Red MX RGB switches. The idea behind mechanical switches is that they give a key press a more perceptible feel than the standard rubber membrane used in cheaper keyboards. Gamers seem to prefer mechy's very much over dome based keys and ever since the past year or two mechanical keyboards have been on the rise. The keyboard registers ALL keys pressed at once, as such this is full key rollover. 

THE RGB Cherry MX switches can withstand over 50 million key presses. Each key switch is mounted directly onto a top metal (aluminum) plate that ensures structural rigidity, topped with a translucent ABS laser-etched keycap to enable back-lighting. Back-lighting on a Cherry MX switch is much sharper than that of a membrane keyboard because each key is lit by an individual LED and not in an array. This means that if the user removes the keycap, he or she should see an LED directly under it that maximizes the lighting effect. Due to the design of the Cherry MX switch, there is only room for a single 3mm LED that could mount directly onto the key switch (side view above). Since the minimum size for a RGB LED requires 5mm, this meant that all manufacturers who incorporated LED back-lighting onto a Cherry MX Switch would be limited to a single color without any type of adjustments. Even if a user wants to customize the type of LED used in the switch, it would be extremely difficult because of the way in which the key switch is mounted to the PCB.
 

Our keyboard houses red Cherry MX switches. You however get to choose from the Blue and Brown model as well. There are actually four types in genera with the following specifications:

• Cherry MX Black - Linear switch with Actuation Force: 60g (40g-80g overall)
• Cherry MX Brown Switches - Tactile Switch with Actuation Force: 45g (55g Peak Force)
• Cherry MX Blue Switches - Tactile & Clicky with Actuation Force: 50g (60g Peak Force)
• Cherry MX Red Switches  - Linear Switch with Actuation Force: 45g

Each color switch feels different and Corsair actually has this keyboard available in three color switches (for your personal preference). We have the red variety, this is also the most common preferred switch type. So yes, the K70 is 100% mechanical on all keys. New is also per-key adjustable lighting, using RGB LEDs, so that you can customize which keys are lit, according to the game you’re playing versus a color or animation and even versys macro or recorded action. 
 

The Cherry MX Red mechanical switches are intended for for fast, efficient gaming action with 45g actuation force.  The keys are curved a little and are fairly slippery which gives them a unique feel. Here I lighted the WASD keys in white. Obviously you can choose yourself how you colro the WASD and 1-6 keys (or any key for that matter). But since we see them activated here, let's talk about the LED back-lighting a little shall we ?