Corsair K70 Pro Mini, a hot-swappable keyboard stuffed with specifications and capabilities in a compact form factor, Corsair appears to be taking its hot-swappable keyboard game seriously. Not simply because this is the first time the business has offered this amount of customization, but for a variety of other reasons as well, this is an exciting proposition.
There are many other models like corsair hs70 wireless, corsair hs50, corsair one pro i200, corsair void pro rgb wireless and corsair hs60 available for gamers to use. How does Corsair’s newest attempt compare to the market’s abundance of strong solutions for productivity and gaming, though? Over the past few weeks, we’ve been putting it to the test to find out.
Corsair K70 Pro Mini Wireless Review
If you like the 60% form factor, the Corsair K70 Pro Mini Wireless is a great keyboard. Hot-swappable switches are a great innovation, and it’s encouraging to see a major company provide them on a gaming keyboard. Regarding the technical specifications of this keyboard, there are many things to like. Additionally, the overall typing and gaming experience are excellent. Although the price may deter some people and it is not suitable for those who intend to replace five-pin switches, the K70 Pro Mini Wireless is still an excellent choice.
- Hot-swappable switch design with the Corsair K70 Pro Mini Wireless
- Cool RGB lighting bar.
- Number of onboard controllers.
- Comfortable feeling when typing.
- Fast actuation for gaming versus conventional RGB lighting isn’t as bright.
- Accepts only switches with three pins.
- High standards
- Key scanning at 4,000Hz and hyper polling at 8,000Hz
- Bluetooth 4.2 low latency or wireless 2.4GHz Slipstream
- The 8MB of onboard memory can hold 50 profiles and 20 layered lighting effects.
At first sight, you could mistake the K70 Pro Mini for the K65 RGB Mini’s wireless counterpart. There are certain parallels between these two systems: they both come with Cherry MX switches as standard equipment, and they both offer 8,000 Hz polling rates and low latency data transfer promises. Consider the K70 Pro Mini Wireless as the more costly and upscale sibling of the K65.
Although it may seem comparable, there is far more to choose from here. First off, it’s wireless, so you can dispense with the USB-C cord until you need to charge it (which is around every 30 hours with RGB on or 200 with the lighting off). Low-latency Bluetooth and 2.4GHz wireless are additional options, and a unique mode created especially for the PlayStation 5 is also available. With an 8,000 Hz polling rate, 4,000 Hz key scanning, and Intelligent Frequency Shift to instantly scan and switch to the clearest wireless channel, it also guarantees very quick performance.
All of this results in a precise signal from the keyboard to your gaming PC that is quick (0.25ms). Therefore, you won’t be able to attribute your in-game difficulties to hardware issues. As if that weren’t enough, the keyboard has an 8MB onboard memory that allows you to save up to 50 distinct profiles (think of various settings for different games) and layer up to 20 different lighting effects. Even though the Corsair K70 Pro Mini Wireless is modest, the secondary layer is jam-packed with extra features.
Also Check: SteelSeries Apex Pro Mini Wireless Review: Fastest Gaming Keyboard
With a double button push, you can now do a variety of tasks, including checking the battery level, recording macros, entering PlayStation mode, turning on Bluetooth, and more. This is fantastic news because it can be difficult to navigate several common usages and button presses on 60% of keyboards. Simple features like directional arrows often need to be accessed by pressing FN first since they are hidden in other buttons.
However, this location makes sense and is nice. The strange and fascinating functions on this keyboard also incorporate mouse motions and clicks in the WASD region.
Good news thus far,
- The hot-swappable switches, as you may have guessed, are the highlight for us.
- Up to a point, hot-swappable
- Switches are often Cherry MX RGB Red or Speed Silver.
- Three-pin Cherry MX switches that are swappable
Corsair Keycap and key switch pullers are included in the standard bottom row arrangement. The K70 Pro Mini Wireless’s flexibility to replace the switches is one of its best features.
It has a choice of two switches as standard:
- The actuation parameters for the Cherry MX RGB Red are 45g force, 2mm actuation, and 4mm travel.
- Cherry MX Speed Silver has a 1.2mm actuation point, 3.4mm travel, and a 45g actuation force.
These three-pin switches may be removed with the included switch remover and changed out for other switches of your choosing. This is excellent if you ever need to update or replace faulty switches, but it’s important to note that it only accepts three-pin switches, not five-pin, which may restrict your options. To modify the keyboard’s feel (and sound), we originally intended to lubricate the Novelkeys Creams, but we were unable to do so since the switches are five-pin.
That’s a terrible setback, then. Although it might seem like a minor quibble, the more reasonably priced NZXT Function MiniTKL is capable of accepting both three and five-pin switches. Even so, it’s still good to see this feature on a commonplace keyboard as it hasn’t yet been implemented by the majority of major gaming manufacturers. Another advantage of the K70 Pro Mini Wireless design is that it includes a conventional bottom row layout, allowing you to experiment with different custom keycaps to alter the keyboard’s appearance and feel.
Depending on your location, it comes standard with either PBT double-shot keycaps or polycarbonate keycaps. In our experience, the illumination doesn’t shine through as much with the thick PBT configuration. It’s a shame that there isn’t any RGB leakage with the K70 Pro Mini Wireless, as there was with the K65 RGB Mini, owing to the white backplate.
We experimented with a variety of keycap sets, and while Corsair’s coloured ones seem a little nicer, they still don’t let in as much light. Looking at this keyboard from the side, you’ll notice that it has a 28-LED, 360-degree RGB LightEdge lighting bar.Although it didn’t seem to brighten up our workplace much, it nevertheless adds a great touch of added elegance to the keyboard. We would have preferred better aesthetics, especially since the K65 RGB Mini looks better right out of the box, thanks to the ability to overlay lighting effects.However, by utilising something like SteelSeries PrismCaps, you may make some improvements. Pudding keycaps significantly improve the light and attractiveness.
Small board – Huge Price!
Despite its programming flaws, the Corsair K70 RGB Pro Mini Wireless meets all the requirements for gamers. However, it costs $180, which is more than many mechanical wireless boards. It’s comparable to the BlackWidow V3 Mini from Razer, but that board is also outrageously priced; for something more reasonably priced, consider the Logitech G613 or perhaps the Asus Falchion.
Even if it’s a question of preference, the latter manages to incorporate all of the arrow keys into the design with very little extra space. The Corsair K70 RGB Pro Mini Wireless, with its highlight feature of hot-swappable switches, suits the fairly particular niche of small wireless gaming mechanical keyboards quite well if money is no problem and you want every feature you can think of (except the possibility to move the Fn key around). However, if you’re on any level thrifty, if you don’t want every feature known to man, and you prefer programming that is more flexible, seek elsewhere.
Conclusion
A great keyboard is the Corsair K70 Pro Mini Wireless. It has good battery life, excellent responsiveness, excellent programmability, and lovely RGB backlighting with an attractive diffusing ring to cast light onto your desk. It is also the first of many new keyboards from Corsair that we anticipate having hot-swappable switches. It’s one of Corsair’s most costly keyboards at around $180, while being far smaller than its closest contemporary rival, the K70 RGB Pro.
Important restrictions apply to that pricing as well. If you’ve recently used a linear switch, even one from the less expensive competitors, you might be perplexed as to why the K70 Pro Mini Wireless doesn’t feel as wonderful. It’s not terrible, but when I tried it, the first thing I wanted to do was switch to a new set of switches, which is probably not what you want from a $180 keyboard.