Corsair Went ALL OUT this time - K100 RGB Gaming Keyboard Review

The Corsair K100 gaming keyboard is a full size keyboard that uses the new Corsair OPTX optical switches and also has a bunch of other features too. But with the K100 price being quite high and its availability right now, is this the best full size gaming keyboard right now? In this Corsair K100 review, we'll take a look at the new OPTX switches, K100 build quality, the iCue software and check out if the K100 4000Hz polling rate is actually worth it.

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0:00 – Intro
0:24 – Corsair K100 Keyboard Unboxing
0:55 – K100 Features, Price & Availability
3:01 – Physical Overview
4:35 – K100 Keycaps + Switches
5:49 – Corsair OPTX Switch Sound Test
6:35 – iCUE Control Dial
8:32 – Is a 4000Hz Polling Rate Worth It?
10:12 – Lighting Customization
11:22 – Conclusion

Review unit provided free of charge by Corsair. This video is sponsored by Steelseries. As per Hardware Canucks guidelines, no review direction was received from manufacturer. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

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[thecaffineman]

Your videos look like a movie. The quality you have reached in terms of lighting and your audio fidelity as well is outstanding.

[justrob]

I love how corsair does not strafe away from their OG mech keyboards design instead they improve them, really appreciate the cohesiveness to every product they release. Would love to have a corsair build, if only i could afford the damn thing.

[RSHori]

4000hz polling rate when noone would notice the difference

[ViableSolutions]

I just bought this and omg this is an amazing keyboard...Absolutely love it.

[killacamfoo]

I'll keep my K95 Platinum, was worth every penny then, but it's something you replace only when you really need to which is like every 10 years or so.

[astudentpilotlife]

I have the k100 and I have never in love and taken care of a keyboard as much as this one. And it also give me some advantage when playing game!

[subrezon]

4000 Hz is probably the most useless marketing point I've heard in a while. It is only even theoretically useful on devices with optical switches, due to mechanical switches having so-called debounce delay - a time period of around 5ms that the keyboard waits for the contact leaf in the switch to stop vibrating after actuation (although Cherry claimed to have tightened their contact tolerances to reduce this delay, we'll see). But even then, before any tiny amount of difference actually begins to matter, the input has to go through several input abstraction layers of your OS, reach your game's process, and actually get processed by your game, which will absolutely blow away the *theoretical* difference of 0.75 ms of input lag between 1000 Hz and 4000 Hz.

Also, due to the high power consumption of optical switches, a wireless optical keyboard remains impossible for now, and wireless operation feels like a much more tangible quality than sub-1ms *theoretical* latency reduction. Wireless is probably where the industry is headed right now.

I'm not a pro gamer by any means, but I have played fast-paced games passionately for the last 20 years. The only polling rate difference I can notice is going from 125 to 250 on mice, and not even that on keyboards.

God this marketing is stupid.

[taltigolt]

can't stand that big logo knob that is anything but the clean corsair design i am used to

[carthoughtswithdan]

I love your scratch test, actually gives some insight on the feel of the whole thing. Never seen a review do this

[WilliamRivera]

Just picked one of these up at Best Buy for $107 thanks to some store credit that I had saved up and I must say I am really happy with it. Didn't take me that long to get used to typing with the linear switches, I already played some Doom Eternal on it and they do feel very pleasant to use. My top wheel also doesn't have any play or jank in it as mentioned here so it must have been his particular sample for sure. Overall very solid feeling board with many nice features and great aesthetics. At the price I paid for it, it's a 10/10 to me for sure. Now I just have to figure out what I want to do with the macro keys.

[KK-egem]

I'm happy enough with my K95 Platinum.

[wilfredobracero]

I wonder when Corsair is going to make a Premium Wireless Keyboard like the Logitech G915 and no I don't mean the K57.

[aleksandersaski]

Yeah, but... really, what is the point of having 4000Hz (0, 25 ms) polling rate if it takes much longer for THE USER to activate the key?!

[CheapBastard]

I like the feature set and full size keyboards in general but a keyboard isn't something you replace often once you have one you like. I also want clicky keys (or at least a very noticable bump at the actuation point). The major improvement a keyboard like this could receive is the ability to use all these features without having the controller software active. That's what I hate about my Razer keyboard, it has many features but the software has to be active for them to work. Fuck that! It should be a matter of set up and forget about it. Not needing the software active for the features to work is the only reason I'd replace my current keyboard prematurely.

[Osprey]

If I am spending this much on a keyboard it is going to be from DROP or I am going to spend much less and get another GMMK which I know will probably last me longer than the optical switches. Not to mention that with the savings I can get all sorts of stuff like custom key caps, some lube for the switches, etc.

[hayden-ketchup-gruhnd]

Idk why people talk so negatively about the knob wheel design. I actually think it looks kinda nice on there.

[simoSLJ]

I really don't like that bulky wheel, and for that price, the wheels should be smoother.
For the future, I hope in brown switches and maybe low profile switches, while I'm ok they don't release TKL: numbers and macros are so useful !

[BiGG_X]

If my experience with ICUE software hasnt been so bad, I might consider this keyboard.

[TheEightshot]

Honestly couldn't care less about the icue or the speed, rgb looks nice and always a fan of those macro keys. In the UK however costs around £280 (approx $380) so will be giving it a miss. Can get a very nice new monitor for that.

[th]

For anyone who sees that large polling rate and is excited for it, a little read:

----Key Bouncing
All types of key switches - including rubber domes - do this. When you press a key, the switch "bounces" on and off very quickly as it sets into place. This causes keys to register multiple times for each press. Because of this, keyboards need to implement some sort of debouncing delay - so that once you press a key, the controller waits a certain amount of time before registering a keypress. As an example, Cherry MX switches need 5ms of debouncing time, while rubber domes need longer (exactly how long depends on their quality).

----Polling Rates and Response Times
While it is very useful for mice, it's just about meaningless for keyboards. Let's assume for a minute that all switches have the 5ms debouncing time of Cherry MX switches (which is being very generous). Even if you had super human speed and reflexes, every single key would be delayed by at least that much. So really, any polling rate over 200Hz (at best) is absolutely useless, and nothing but market hype. It may even be a bit detrimental, because you'd be wasting CPU time polling the keyboard unneededly. And unlike USB keyboards, PS/2 boards aren't polled at all. They simply send the signal to the PC whenever they are ready to, which causes a hardware interrupt, forcing the CPU to register that keystroke.

----PS/2 or USB?
PS/2 wins on three fronts: First, it supports full n-key rollover. Second, PS/2 keyboards aren't polled, but are completely interrupt based. And third, it is impossible for it to be delayed by the USB bus being used by other devices. There are two types of USB transfer modes - the interrupt transfer mode (USB polls keyboard, when key is sensed the USB controller sends the interrupt to the CPU), and the isochronous transfer mode, which reserves a certain amount of bandwidth for the keyboard with a guaranteed latency on the bus. Unfortunately, there are absolutely no keyboards made that use the latter, because special controllers would have to be used, thus making it cost prohibitive.

So if your keyboard supports both PS/2 and USB, and your PC has a PS/2 port, there's no reason not to use it.