Functional usage and Software
Functional usage and Software
As we always do, a little history first. Keyboards have always been a part of computing since the very beginning. The original IBM PC came with one, the Model M, which I used as a kid. The Model M, of course, set the standard for all keyboards that came after it. There are some variations in layout, but it's all based off the 101-key Model M. The modern keyboard, thanks to Windows, now has 104 keys, and depending on your location, you can have many more keys than that.
Suffice to say, keyboards are still the most efficient way of interacting with your computer, even with the great strides made in voice-recognition, touch screens, and GUI optimizations. I think the chances of humans ever growing out of the keyboard are pretty slim. In the early days of personal computing the keyboard really meant something because it really was the only way to interact with the machine. Having a good-feeling keyboard was very important, at least until the mouse and GUI came along, and shifted the focus a little bit. Mechanical keyboards have always been around, though, part of the collective geek consciousness, and the enthusiasts that inhabit that world are as hardcore as their keyboards.
The million dollar question
So, why would you want to spend over $100 on a keyboard? Is it really worth it? Yes, we think so. Mechanical keyboards really are in a class on their own. Once you have used a mechanical keyboard, there is no going back to a regular keyboard. The differences are just too great, typing is better, faster and gaming is better. It's just no comparison. The one downside though is that they do make a lot more noise and this applies to gamers mostly.
Making high-end gamer's keyboards is nearly an art form these days with a very enthusiastic crowd that is very critical. As such we are glad that Corsair made the K70 all mechanical, they received some critique with the K60 and K90 sets as the function row keys were rubber dome based. Personally I honestly did not mind, but Corsair received some heat on that from the enthusiast crowd as people tend to swap out all keys after a while. This has been altered for the K70 and K95. Also, and mostly due to their price range, mechanical keyboards try to sweeten the deal with extra audio ports, USB hub, lights, knobs, wrist rest, or something. Corsair chose to keep the features a little more basic, aside from the one USB port and wrist rest, but kept the quality high. New of course is the LED key backlighting, which we think is great. Now you don't need a fancy mechanical keyboard to play a game well, but it can make a game much more enjoyable to play. On the other hand, there are keyboards that are better for noise than others. The Corsair K70 and K95 are in the noisy keyboard category, it does have a decent clickety-clack though! Gaming wise I definitely liked the keys.
The basic functions are pre-built into the software so you can assign the more obvious ones if you desire. You can program up-to 54 Macro key possibilities and preferences.
The K95 uses the software for macro programming (though you can program on-the-fly from the board itself too), and a key feature to note is Hardware Playback mode. Essentially, this bypasses the software and runs the macro direct from on-board memory. Some games, including BF4 and Skyrim, block software macros, so this is a rather handy 'feature'. You do need to remember to store the profile to the K95 in the software though, and only one profile can be stored at a time in Hardware Playback mode.
Recording a macro is as simple as pressing the MR button, selecting the memory bank (M1, M2 or M3) and key to record to and getting on with it. Once you've finished press MR again and you can then tweak it still further if you wish to. The functionality has to be one of the simplest systems we've ever worked with, and we like simplicity alright.
