Corsair K65 RGB MINI 60% Mechanical Wired Gaming Keyboard - CHERRY MX RED Switches - PBT Double-Shot Keycaps - iCUE Compatible - QWERTY UK Layout - Black

Product Information

The K65 RGB Mini, however, relegates its function key to the right side — along with the arrows, the media controls and the delete function. In other words: The finger you need for the function button is, in all likelihood, the same finger you need for the shortcut button. And if it's not, you'll still have to contort your hand into an uncomfortable claw. Instead of having a limited number of keyboard profile slots, the number that you can create is predicated on what you change in each profile. Corsair claims you can make up to 50 profiles, but presumably those would each have only a few altered keys and no macros. After about 5 seconds, release the ESC key. You will see the keyboard lighting flash if the reset is successful. iCue splits its settings into six categories: Key Assignments, Hardware Key Assignments, Lighting Effects, Hardware Lighting, Performance and Device Settings. Changes made via Key Assignments and Lighting Effects are only effective when the software is running; changes made to the other categories persist, as long as they’re saved to onboard storage first.

The Corsair K65 RGB Mini performs beautifully in most games. This isn't terribly surprising, given Corsair's pedigree and Cherry's consistency. As with many mini keyboards, I was especially delighted with how the K65 RGB Mini handled Doom Eternal. Since FPS games generally require very few keys, not having to deal with a full-size model helped the action onscreen feel more precise and immediate, from scaling crumbling buildings to gunning down decaying demons. When gaming, the K65 RGB Mini feels a lot like other keyboards with linear mechanical switches but with the added bonus of leaving more desk space available to the mousepad. Its keys feel responsive, which is exactly what people expect from linear switches. Sometimes that led to mis-presses for me but not as often as when I’m just typing. The K65 RGB Mini has a signature feature, though it isn’t especially helpful. It supports up to 8000Hz “hyperpolling,” which raises the keyboard’s input report rate to 0.125 milliseconds. The standard polling rate in most keyboards is 1000Hz, or 1ms, so the higher setting theoretically cuts most of the already imperceptible input lag created by your keyboard.After about a week with the K65 RGB Mini, I averaged 125.6 words per minute (wpm) with 97.7% accuracy on the 10fastfingers.com typing test. That’s faster than I was with the Alloy Origins 60 (117 wpm) but equally accurate. Some of that speed boost may have more to do with me getting more familiar with the test and 60% keyboards though. The K65 RGB Mini is compatible with iCue, Corsair’s peripheral configuration software. The recently redesigned iCue app lets you create keyboard profiles with remapped keys and custom macros, change RGB lighting, and adjust other settings. With the revision, iCue is easier to read than before thanks to a larger, more visually minded interface.

Corsair never skimps on key switches, almost always employing authentic Cherry MX gear. While keyboard aficionados can (and do) argue about whether Cherry is still the be-all, end-all of gaming key switches, they're the gold standard for a reason. The model I reviewed had Cherry MX Speed switches, which feature 45 g actuation force and 1.2 mm key travel. The K65 RGB Mini is also available with MX Silent or MX Red switches, both of which are very quiet. All three switches are linear rather than tactile, so you have to depress the keys all the way before they register your input.

Big things can come in small packages.

That doesn’t mean the K65 RGB Mini is perfect. The pinging on some keys is frustrating, the all-plastic build could raise questions about the keyboard’s durability and the cosmetic flaws in the keycaps take some getting used to. The custom spacebar looks cool, even if I prefer the topographic design HyperX used for the Alloy Origins 60. Its light texturing adds a bit of flair without becoming a distraction every time the key is pressed. And it probably would’ve been enough to help the K65 RGB Mini stand out. Corsair didn’t stop there, however. The company also used a custom finish on the standard keycaps that makes it look like someone with severe dandruff scratched their scalp over the keyboard.

None of these traits are exclusive to the K65 RGB Mini. By now we’ve come to expect that a gaming keyboard will offer reliable inputs, responsive switches,and features like n-key rollover; their absence would be more notable than their presence. That’s all just a matter of acclimation, though, even if Corsair decided to put the arrow keys all the way on the “UHJK” cluster instead of somewhere closer to where they’d be on a larger keyboard. Buying a 60% keyboard is making a commitment to learning how to perform everyday functions on that particular board, and I don’t recommend switching between various models. We've converted this review to Test Bench 1.3, which overhauls how key input is evaluated. We've added new tests for Single Key Latency, Multi Key Latency, Data Transmission, and Chord Split. We've also introduced a new Raw Performance usage and adjusted how the Gaming and Office usage scores are calculated. You can see the full changelog here.That's why it's a shame that, for the life of me, I could not figure out a comfortable way to activate most of the K65 RGB Mini's keyboard shortcuts. For those who haven't used a mini keyboard before, you're required to use shortcuts for a lot of familiar functionality, from media controls to arrow keys. You do this by holding down a function key, then pressing a corresponding shortcut key elsewhere on the keyboard.