Corsair K60 Vengeance Review

Written by Harry Butler

December 18, 2011 | 07:55

Tags: #cherry-keys #cherry-mx-red #gaming-keyboard #mechanical #premium-grade #price #recommended #specs #tested

Companies: #cherry #corsair

Corsair K60 Vengeance Keyboard Review

As well as the change in feel between certain keys, another odd choice is that the K60’s keys are actually raised above the surface of the keyboard rather than being recessed into it. This is actually of surprising benefit though, as it means that cleaning crud, hair or crumbs from the K60’s innards is very easy.

There’s more to the K60 than just its fancy keys, though. Corsair is quick to boast of its anti-ghosting and 20-key rollover abilities, which treat each key identically rather than prioritising standard patterns such as WASD. It’s an infrequently encountered issue for us (after all, unless you’re a 4-armed mutant, pressing 20 keys is unlikely) but it’s a useful inclusion for those who prefer alternative keyboard controls (or the aforementioned mutants).

Corsair K60 Vengeance Review Corsair K60 Vengeance Keyboard Review
The keys sit proud of the main chassis, creating less noise and making it easier to clean

Handier is the included plastic wrist-rest that fits beneath the WASD keys to support your left hand during games. This also houses a key removal tool and replacement WASD and 1-6 keys. The replacements aren’t for when you break the originals during a rage-quit, though; these are more aggressively curved and rubberised for easier use during games. It’s an interesting inclusion, and could be useful if you find your hands getting lost on your keyboard mid-game. As we’re hard-wired for WASD following years of FPS training, though, we found the replacement keys rather needless.

Rounding out the K60 is a battery of media keys, including a volume control roller, clean white LEDs for the caps, scroll and num lock indicators, and a Windows Key lockout button to prevent those mid-game drops to desktop we’ve all experienced. It’s a sparse package but, having tried the pick of gaming keyboards ourselves we can’t fault Corsair’s logic. Macro keys lie fallow, back-lights are often unnecessary bling and LCDs often go unused. By going back to basics, the K60 offers a clean, no nonsense approach and it's better for it than if Corsair had overloaded it with gamer-guff.

Corsair K60 Vengeance Review Corsair K60 Vengeance Keyboard Review
The wrist-rest houses some red-coloured replacement keys, just in case you're
such a n00b that you can't find the WASD keys

Conclusion

Having spent plenty of time living with the Corsair Vengeance K60, both at work and when playing games, we can’t help but be impressed. The Cherry MX Red keys are great for gaming, and while their extreme sensitivity is a little tricky to get used to when it comes to typing, going back to membrane keys afterwards is like typing in jelly while wearing ski gloves.

The look and feel of the K60 also made an impression; with its clean lines, raised keys and brushed aluminium chassis it looks a class act compared to other nondescript black keyboards, or overly ostentatious gaming models.

However, the K60 is undeniably pricey considering similar non-Cherry key keyboards such as the Saitek Cyborg V5 sell for almost a third of the price. If you’re looking to make the switch to Cherry Keys, though, it’s fairly priced in comparison to the competition and, at £100, the K60 warrants a firm recommendation for anyone looking for a premium keyboard.
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  • Value
    21 / 25
  • Features
    28 / 35
  • Design
    37 / 40

Score guide
Where to buy

Overall 86%
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