Corsair K70 Rapidfire Review

Recently, I caved and bought a refurbished Corsair K70 Rapidfire keyboard. For those who aren’t tech-savvy, this is a gaming keyboard with Cherry MX Speed switches, mechanical switches faster than any other keyboard on the market. Each key only requires a light 1.2millimeter, 45-gram press to activate. Some of you more knowledgeable gamers might understand why, and some might think I’m insane.

Compared to other switches, the change to 1.2mm is a huge drop, as most switches activate around the 2-millimeter mark. Although it is hard to distinctly tell the difference by eyeing a ruler, the difference lies within the keypress. Cherry MX Red switches, the cousin of the Cherry MX Speed switch, bears this 2-millimeter actuation point. Many consumers, upon trying the switch, have reported that the Speed switch is almost a nuisance, as lightly tapping the switch (heck, even resting your finger on it) activates. I’ve experienced this myself, as sometimes my finger would rest too much on the key, and activate the switch during a game. Let’s take this into Fortnite or Apex Legends. If I ever run straight, sometimes my key rests too much on A or D, and my character starts moving diagonally. As others might find this annoying, I don’t find it such a nuisance; I see it more as a tiny inconvenience.

The only problem that comes with the switch is during typing. Let’s say I was to type “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.” Combining the K70’s switches and my mediocre typing skills, I’d type something like “Theq quicvk brown fox jjumps over the lazy dog.” Granted, I typed that phrase on my laptop, so it isn’t 100% what I would type on my new keyboard, but it’d be along those lines. If not, it’d be slightly less bad.

Other than that, I have no issues with the keyboard. The rigid, aircraft-grade construction provides me with absolutely no worries that it’ll fall apart during long hours of gaming. The per-key RGB lighting is simply fantastic, and I have had no issues (minus drivers refusing to install) so far regarding Corsair’s software. The textured keycaps included were a nice touch, though I might not see myself using them that much. Corsair kindly understood the need to clean a keyboard and was gracious enough to include a keycap puller (to detach and wash keycaps) and an elevated base (of which prevents lodged pieces of food, lint, whatever from entering the keyboard). Huge props as well to the refurbishers of the keyboard. I had not even noticed it was used, and it felt like buying a brand new product!

The Corsair K70 Rapidfire is a fantastic gaming keyboard on the market and (despite popular discontent with the sensitivity of the Cherry MX Speed switches) is insanely fast; all it needs is some adjusting to from your end, and you’ll be on your way!