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Extra small with a side of RGB.
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Gaming hardware lights up. That’s just sort of a fact of life. Whether it’s peripherals like keyboards or mice or entire gaming PCs, RGB LED lighting is one of the stand-out features that says “this is for gamers!” If you’re into that—then this is the tenkeyless mechanical keyboard for you. Many of the features of Corsair’s K65 LUX (See it on Amazon) are similar to most of its competitors, but the programmable lighting is definitely a cut above.
Design and Features
The K65 LUX RGB is a simple tenkeyless keyboard, as are most mechanical gaming keyboards of this type. It has a plastic base topped with a brushed aluminum keyboard deck, with keys floating up above it. This seems to be the basic design standard for nearly all tenkeyless gaming keyboards, and it works.
But Corsair goes the extra mile in a few small ways that I really appreciate. First, I should note that this model uses Cherry MX Red RGB switches—special versions of the Cherry MX Red exclusive to Corsair. They’re just like the regular Cherry MX Reds (linear motion, quiet operation) except for a clear plastic base that allows the RGB LED to be placed beneath the switch. Most other mechanical keyboards with Cherry MX switches place the LEDs very close to the switch, or under a semi-transparent inset keyboard tray.
This gives the keys a more uniform glow around every edge, and up through the cutout letters of the key caps. Speaking of which, Corsair’s key caps have very large, bold lettering. It’s probably a bit much for a standard keyboard, but it’s a good choice for an LED backlit keyboard as it lets through a bit more light and color.
The braided USB cable is permanently attached and quite thick, as it encompasses both the keyboard’s USB connection and a second USB connection for a pass-through port on the back. Next to the pass-through USB port you’ll find a switch that can be set to 1, 2, 4, 8, or BIOS. The numbers indicate polling rate (1ms to 8ms), while BIOS is a special mode for compatibility with old legacy PC BIOS systems, where modern keyboards may not work well. When in BIOS mode some of the more advanced functions, like n-key rollover, won’t work. But you’d only need to enter that mode fiddling around with an old PC BIOS, not in normal operation.
While most tenkeyless keyboards rarely extend beyond the function keys, Corsair seems to have heard my pleas and has extended the footprint by about an inch to make room for a few physical buttons. There’s a lighting button (to adjust brightness), a mute button, volume up and down buttons, and a gaming mode lock button. It’s almost perfect, but an analog volume dial such as the one on the K70 would be better, and why not put the media control buttons (stop, play/pause, etc.) up in this area as well? Instead, this keyboard still has a Fn key, which you hold while pressing F9-F12 to control media playback.
Corsair throws in a few angled and textured keycaps (one set for MOBA players and one for FPS players) along with a keycap removal tool. I don’t think they look very good, but at least you don’t have to buy them separately. Oh, and it comes with a wrist wrest, too. Because if you’re spending $130 on a keyboard, the least they can do is throw in a $1 piece of plastic. Still, Corsair deserves credit for bringing some of the creature comforts of larger keyboards to this compact form factor.
Software
While there are no special drivers or software required to use the K65 LUX, you’ll need to download and install the Corsair Utility Engine (CUE) to get the most out of it. CUE is the unified control software for Corsair’s gaming peripherals, and really expands this keyboard’s possibilities.
The CUE software isn’t especially well-designed; it takes longer than it should to click around everywhere and figure out how it works. Really, a little context-sensitive help within the app would go a long way. But at least it has a layout that scales to whatever size you want, and while it uses more resources than Logitech’s similar control software, it seems stable.
You can pick any key on the keyboard and create an action for when you press it. This includes entering text, remapping keys, playing macros, switching profiles, or even just totally disabling the key altogether. You can also change the function of the Windows Lock button; it simply disables the Windows key by default, but you can make it disable Alt-Tab, Shift-Tab, and Alt-F4 as well. You can even choose what colors it should show when enabled or disabled.
The lighting effects are perhaps the most extensive I’ve seen in any gaming keyboard. Get a load of this list of lighting effects, each of which can be applied individually to whichever keys you want, in any combination, together with any others: Spiral rainbow, rainbow wave, visor, rain, color shift, color pulse, color wave, type lighting (key), type lighting (ripple), void playback visualizer, void microphone visualizer, static color, and lightning link.
And that’s just the standard controls. Click the Advanced toggle and you can adjust the colors, duration, and intensity of light for along an X-Y axis grid for several lighting modes, and choose when that effects starts and stops. With enough time and dedication, you can develop some really crazy lighting effects.
Fortunately, Corsair doesn’t require you to do all that work yourself. It has a library of user-submitted lighting profiles online, and you can even browse and download profiles right from within the CUE software. This built-in, fully integrated social sharing of lighting profiles and actions is something I haven’t seen in any competing product. It is really what sets the Corsair gaming keyboards apart from the competition these days, as you can run some incredibly creative lighting patterns.
Gaming
As with any modern gaming keyboard with Cherry MX keys, a 1ms polling rate, and n-key rollover, performance is excellent. It’s very much on par with its contemporaries in the tenkeyless mechanical gaming market.
Whether playing PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Agents of Mayhem, or Crypt of the Necrodancer, I never had the slightest feeling that my keys registered late or incorrectly. Where the K65 LUX might give you an edge is in building detailed actions and macros for use in your favorite games, or downloading profiles from others that have already done the work for you.
If I had to pick a nit, it’s with the construction of the keycaps. The cutouts for the transparent plastic of the letters are not quite perfectly flush with the top of the key, and you can just barely feel them with your fingertip. It’s definitely not a big deal, and only slightly distracting at first, but it’s a detail that I haven’t run into with other premium gaming keyboards.
Purchasing Guide
The Corsair K65 Lux RGB has an MSRP of $129. It can sometimes be found for a little less, but it's a popular keyboard that often goes out of stock, so it isn't uncommon to see it sold for around $10 more than MSRP, either:
• See the Corsair K65 LUX RGB on Amazon
The Verdict
Corsair’s K65 LUX RGB carries a price tag more in line with full-size keyboards; it’s a bit steep for a tenkeyless model. But dedicated volume keys, USB passthrough, transparent Cherry MX Red switches, and incredibly flexible software really add a lot of value. If you’re looking for extensive lighting control and you like Cherry MX Red switches, this is the compact tenkeyless keyboard for you.
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