Top critical review
1.0 out of 5 starsHated it: Cheap keyboard, Good keys, Awful sounds & Effects
Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2023
There are some upsides and some downsides to the Corsair K100. I bought this after having used a Logitech G513 Carbon (Red Linear Switches) for some time. There are a few downsides about the Logitech that frustrated me, such as no dedicated media buttons and overly sensitive keys which made it very easy to type out a string of letters accidentally or inadvertently press something when your fingers were resting.
With the Corsair K100, the first thing I had an issue with were the special function keys going down the left-hand side o the keyboard. Instinctively, I am used to quickly going to the top left of my keyboard to hit Escape or bottom left for Control. It's a built-in muscle memory, and those function keys got in the way and really bothered me. I think I could have gotten used to it after a while, but the other downsides were enough to put me off.
For instance, the indents on the F and J keys were very hard to feel. They were not prominent enough, so finding the right hand placement was difficult. This is something that I can usually do on any keyboard blindfolded, but the indents were just not noticeable enough on the K100. I do as much typing as I do gaming so this was important to me. Although the keyboard ships with additional keys with better texture, (such as W A S D, among others), the J was not included and I need to be able to feel these to know I'm good-to-go when it comes to typing.
I think what bothered me the most was the horrendous ringing sound the keyboard makes whenever you bottomed out a key. It sounded like a ringing bell, over and over again, with each keypress. The keyboard feels so cheap and chintzy sounding that I couldn't believe I paid over $200 for this. I know I can buy O-rings to help dampen the sound; and I know I can take the keyboard apart and put foam inside -- but why should I have to? I don't want to void any warranties, either. The keyboard felt like a piece of junk to be honest. The LED lights suck in comparison to the Logitech keyboard. They quality of the lights is just very poor. The profile you setup in the iCue software doesn't go into effect until you have logged into Windows, so during bootup period you have to stare at a random display of flashy colors that looks very tacky.
Another issue I have is the font used on the keyboard itself for the letters and numbers. It's a hideous font in person. And the symbols next to the numbers along the top of the keyboard are so in-your-face that it's a distraction. Whatever Corsair did right, they did not get the aesthetics down of this keyboard correctly, that's for sure. The whole thing is really very ugly.
On the plus side, the Cherry MX Speed Silver switches were very straightforward and worked perfectly. No keys wobbled at all, unlike the Logitech I'm using. There were no inadvertent double presses from resting your finger gently on another key. Granted, I only tested this K100 for a couple of days over Easter before returning it, but credit is due for the good key presses.
The media keys are excellent. The volume bar and Play/Pause Next/Back keys on the upper right are simply great for listening to music and adjusting the volume for your game or music. The Logitech G513 is lacking dedicated media keys and I already miss these from the Corsair.
In the end however, the bad far outweighed the good. I cannot justify spending $220 on what feels like a piece of junk. The additional function keys running down the left side are something I never want to experience on another keyboard ever again. I think the K100 is fine for younger gamers who care less about the feel of the keys and the typing aspect, or the aesthetics. They might even like the aesthetics. But it is certainly not for me. It should be a $60 keyboard, not a $200+ keyboard.