Corsair K70 RGB PRO Mechanical Gaming Keyboard review

The K70 RGB PRO arrived in February 2022 as a full-size, 104-key wired keyboard from Corsair. It is built around competitive play. The switches are Cherry MX Speed Silver with a 1.2mm actuation point, and the board includes a Tournament Mode that owners say works as advertised and gives a competitive edge.

The listing is a US ANSI layout. UK buyers who want an ISO Enter key and a UK legend set should check that before ordering, because the spec sheet gives no ISO option for this model.

The Speed Silver switch is the main talking point. The 1.2mm actuation distance is short, which suits rapid repeated keypresses. Tom's Guide tested Speed switches and scored 115 wpm at 97% accuracy. That is a single reviewer's score for the Speed switch type.

For competitive play, the short 1.2mm actuation and Tournament Mode are the two features that the specification and owner reports point to.

Sound is the recurring complaint. Owners describe the Silver switches as noisy, and one report calls the 'ping' sound profile annoying. If you share a room or take calls at your desk, that matters more than the actuation figure.

The keycaps are PBT Double-Shot PRO at 1.5mm thick, and they sit alongside the aluminium frame in the build.

The frame is aluminium with a black anodised, brushed finish. The board measures 444 × 166 × 40 mm and weighs 1.13 kg. Owners praise the solid build, and the metal case and PBT caps give that praise a clear basis in the specification.

The braided USB Type-C cable detaches from the board.

Key remaps and macros go through Corsair's iCUE software, which runs on Windows and macOS. No QMK or VIA support is mentioned. Anyone who wants to remap keys through open firmware, or without installing a vendor app, has no stated route here.

On the plus side, the keyboard has 8MB of onboard memory and stores up to 50 profiles. Once you have set things up in iCUE, the profiles live on the board itself.

This is a wired-only keyboard. There's no Bluetooth and no 2.4GHz receiver, so it is a desktop board that stays plugged in listed. The USB Type-C lead carries the connection, and the specification lists no wireless mode. The upside of that is that there is no battery to charge or replace. The downside is that you cannot pair it with a laptop, tablet or second machine wirelessly.

Some owners consider the keyboard expensive for what it offers. Owners also praise the solid build, so the price comment appears alongside approval of the hardware.

It suits competitive players who want short-travel, fast-actuating switches in a metal full-size body, and who are comfortable using iCUE. The noise reports, the wired-only design and the US ANSI layout narrow the audience. Buyers who want quiet switches, open firmware or wireless pairing should look at other boards.

The owner themes line up with that. Tournament Mode draws praise as a competitive edge, and the build draws praise too. The complaints cover noise and price.