I came from a K70 LUX and was initially hesitant about this keyboard. However, it was briefly on sale during Prime Day so I caved and grabbed one. My old board was Cherry MX Reds and this time I grabbed the Corsair OPX Optical switches.
First impressions: The keys have a different texture / finish that the K70's keys, it feels slightly more rough, like mildly rough varnish of some sort. It's not unpleasant and actually prevents my hands from sliding off the keys like on the K70. The wrist mount (not shown in picture) is also very comfy but I find it quickly causes my wrists / hands to sweat.
Typing: I typed approx. 100-120 wpm on my K70. The layout on the K100 is a bit different due to the macro buttons on the left side of the keyboard - my pinky keeps mistaking macro key G1 for ESC, but my muscle memory has been slowly rewiring over the past couple of days. This will likely be a common complaint early on however. I find typing on the K100 to be enjoyable and moreso than the K70 due to the speed of the Corsair OPX switches.
Gaming: I most play Counterstrike: Global Offensive. As far as a twitch fps goes, the K100 is much more responsive than my K70 LUX was. I've set the hardware polling rate to 2000hz and my movement in CSGO has gotten much more responsive and quicker. It feels like the game got better, but really it's just my hardware that got better. Side note: playing CSGO on a 244hz monitor with a K100 feels like cheating half the time. I've already been kicked twice because people think I'm wallhacking.
Build Quality: I've only had the keyboard for a few days now but it's holding up well. The keys seem more sturdy than the K70. You get what you pay for, and this keyboard /feels/ robust and built to last. For comparison, I had my K70 for 3 years before the comma key broke off, and that's after 1,300+ hours of gaming and 2,000+ hours of DMing text-based games in Roll20 for my D&D groups.
Software: The Corsair iCue software is very intuitive and nice to use. I set my board to a static blue for preference but it has a lot of powerful features. For example, you can set the colours to match the relative temperature of your motherboard/cpu/gpu, letting you know when you're running hot. The colour wheel on the top left is useful for more than just rgb, and I appreciate it allowing for track jogging / skipping. The media controls are also great and the iCue software lets you remap keys to any other key of your choice.
Macros: The Macro Keys (G1 - G6) can be disabled or set to do certain actions. For example, I've set G1 to open Google Chrome (my browser), and G2 opens Notepad++ (my word processor). G3 and G6 are disabled for now but they can be configured to perform game specific actions.
Final Thoughts: Coming from the K70, some changes took getting used to but I adapted quickly and I appreciate the upgrades and build quality of Corsair as always. I am very happy with my purchase and feel it has benefited my gaming experience and typing speed.
| Brand | Corsair |
|---|---|
| Series | K100 AIR WIRELESS |
| Item model number | CH-913A01U-NA |
| Hardware Platform | Laptop, Gaming Console, PC |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Item Weight | 1.72 pounds |
| Product Dimensions | 17.3 x 6.15 x 0.67 inches |
| Item Dimensions LxWxH | 17.3 x 6.15 x 0.67 inches |
| Color | Black |
| Batteries | 1 Lithium Ion batteries required. |
| Manufacturer | Corsair |
| Language | English |
| ASIN | B0BDMLY69R |
| Country of Origin | China |
| Date First Available | October 4, 2022 |
