Don't you hate it when you've been gaming for so long that your fingers tire out and maybe even cramp up? What, that's never happened to you? Corsair reckons it must have happened to someone, because the pitch for its latest bid for the best mechanical keyboard crown is that the low profile keys "lessen keypress fatigue during extended typing or gaming."
Corsair is not actually the first to release a mechanical plank with low profile keys, though they're certainly less abundant than ones that use full size keycaps. What Corsair can (and does) claim is that its new K70 RGB MK.2 Low Profile Rapidfire is the only one to incorporate new Cherry MX Low Profile RGB Speed key switches. For the moment, this switch type is exclusive to Corsair.
The other non-Rapidfire version of the same keyboard uses Cherry MX Low Profile RGB Red mechanical key switches. Both types measure 29mm tall, versus 40mm for standard mechanical key switches. The primary difference comes down to actuation—Cherry MX Low Profile RGB Speed switches have a 1.0mm actuation distance, while the Red is slightly further at 1.2mm.
Both of these keyboards sport RGB lighting, which almost seems to be a requisite these days. They also purportedly shine brighter than keyboards with taller keycaps.
"The housing for these new low profile switches has also been engineered to increase LED diffusion, and combined with redesigned keycaps that sit closer to the LEDs, make each individual RGB backlit key shine brighter and more vividly than ever before," Corsair says.
The keys sit in an anodized aluminum frame with a detachable wrist rest. They have dedicated volume and multimedia controls, USB 2.0 passthrough, textured replacement keycaps for the WASD and QWERDF keys, 100 percent anti-ghosting with full key rollover, and 8MB of onboard storage for saving key and light settings.
Both the regular K70 RGB MK.2 Low Profile and Rapidfire version are available now for $169.99 direct from Corsair. For more, check out a round-up of our best gaming keyboards.
