Corsair‘s latest keyboard announced at CES is the K95 RGB platinum mechanical gaming keyboard. This new keyboard is built using aircraft grade anodised aluminium frame. This is said to last a lifetime of gaming coupled with the tried and tested Cherry MX key switches. When buying this keyboard consumers will have the option of the Cherry MX RGB speed switch, which is a very high speed key with a low travel, which means there is not much distance between the raised key and a pressed key, or the Cherry MX RGB Brown switch, which is a still fast but not as fast as the former and have a light tactile feedback, this means that there is a bump when you press it down to let you know your keystroke has registered. These switches also do not have a click like the former switch.
The K95 RGB Platinum comes with onboard memory which means you can store profiles on the keyboard and not on the software that runs on the computer. These profiles can hold your custom key macros and complex lighting arrangements. Along with this is 6 programmable G-keys for in-game macros.
The K95 RGB Platinum has per key RGB which means every key can be a different colour to the rest. This means you can colour code regions of the keyboard for certain features in games making it very easy to locate certain in-game commands. The lights can have different effects like ripple, glow etc. On the top edge of the keyboard comes a new LightEdge which is a strip of Light that has 19 zones that can be lit colours independently of the rest of the zones and the keys. This LightEdge also allows you to have the different light effects. Sounds like you could have some truly eccentric light shows going on here! I would have a different set up of lights every day!
The K95 RGB Platinum also has a soft-touch dual-sided detachable wrist rest, try saying that 10 times fast! Which means you can have a smooth or textured wrist rest just by flipping it over. There are dedicated media and volume controls so you can adjust your sound without having to jump to the little icon in windows, a dedicated windows lock key and brightness buttons, No more FN and F keys for these features. At the back is USB pass-through port so you can quickly plug in your headset or USB key instead of fumbling around your computer looking for an empty port. Underneath the keyboard is a nice little X-shaped wire routeing to keep your extra wires on your desk nice and tidy. Corsair also includes some textured keycaps for a better feel for those all-important keys used in-game.
The K95 comes in two colours, black or gunmetal, although the gunmetal will initially only be available in north America with the Cherry MX speed switches. It will be available late this month worldwide. There is no word from Corsair on the price but given that on their website the K70 is between $170 and $180 you can expect the K95 to be at least $200 if not more.
