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A bunch of technical questions, expert needed.


dman232

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(Please excuse the grammar, i copied and pasted my brainstorming from my sticky notes)

 

Hello All! I have a few technical questions for you about the corsair k95 RGB keyboard. Thank you in advance!! :biggrin:

 

1) is there anywhere to find a manual/guide for these questions? only found guides for macro questions.

 

2) if it is usb 3.0 can you/should you still use 2 plugs. Is it better to always use 2? Is it okay to plug the non keyboard plug into usb 3.0 and the keyboard plug into normal usb

 

3) when i use the usb 3.0/charge port, it lights up but does not ALWAYS work on mine when I startup computer. Will keep doing the rainbow color scheme then switch to the blue lighting on wasd and back to the rainbows. Have to sometimes unplug and then plug it back in. Never happens when using both usb 2.0 plugs in 2.0 ports.

 

4) is it okay to unplug/plug in the keyboard while the computer is on?

 

5) why plug in 2 arrows usb first? will it damage keyboard if you dont? also, why does the keyboard works when keyboard icon plugged into just 2.0 usb alone?

 

6) is a charge port the same as usb 3.0 (my port is usb 3.0 but also a charge port, is this an issue? will it always supply power to the keyboard?) I believe it is an always on charge port as well. When I have the key board plugged into this port, the lights stay on when the computer is off. Shoud I use another port of just turn off the lights before shutting down the keyboard? Is the constant power bad? Why does my steel series rival 300 mouse not stay on when plugged into this port? (The laptop I am using is the acer aspire m5-582pt-6852

 

7) the aluminum often shocks me with static . I have a rug in my room where i use my computer. Can this damage the keyboard?

 

8) does not auto remember the macro/lighting profile until I open and close the keyboard program. It does however if i enable the program to start on startup. Does it just run in the background? Does it use many resources?

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1) There is a sticky thread about the USB ports to use with K65/K70/K95 RGB keyboards: http://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=132322

 

2) No, plug only the keyboard cable, several peoples reported issues plugging both cables into a 3.0 port. That happens because the keyboard receives too much power, thought it can change from motherboard to motherboard. Not all respect the proper standards unfortunately.

 

3) I would avoid using the USB 3.0 charge port, don't you have any other "normal" 3.0 free port? Or, if it works just fine with 2x2.0 ports as you mentionbed simply use those. There is really no reason to try and fix something (with 3.0) that already works (with 2.0). But that's just my opinion.

 

4) Yes, I do it myself sometimes. The keyboard is a plug-n-play device.

 

5) The arrows cable is meant to receive only power, plugging that in first the computer won't detect it as a keyboard. Then when you plug the other keyboard cable into the 2.0 port the keyboard will start up properly (because it receives all the power it needs) and the computer will detect it. Plugging first the keyboard cable won't give the keyboard all the power needed and some computer might not detect it unless you unplug and re-plug it.

 

6) Charge ports usually provide power even when the computer is off (unless you change some BIOS settings). The keyboard will start the demo/rainbow mode when it receives power but there is no USB enumeration (computer off). Most likely the mouse you mention still receives power too but the firmware makes it not light up unless there is USB enumeration (unlike Corsair keyboards). As I mentioned in #3 I would just use 2x2.0 USB ports, unless for any reason you need to free up one of the ports.

 

7) If this is constant I would think there is some issue with the keyboard itself. I had a little shock only once in more than a year after getting the K70. Getting shocks constantly is certainly not normal, I would open a support ticket and see what they say.

 

8) The keyboard can only save a static lighting profile on the onboard memory, for macros/effects or anything else more complicate you need the CUE software active and running in background. And no, it does not use many resources. At least it doesn't for me.

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Terabyte, first off, thank you so much for your insanely good and well thought out response! I really appreciate it! :biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

 

I have a few responses for some of your statements/questions and will number them to your responses. :!::!:

 

1.) So then there is no overarching manual created by corsair, just forums?

 

2.) by issues from too much power do you mean permanent damage?

 

3.) The only reason I was trying to use this port was because I have a mouse, a headset, and the keyboard and only 3 ports including the 3.0 charge port. I suppose i can always just use the speaker on my laptop instead of the headset though. OR get a usb splitter (if those exist and are not harmful).

 

5.) Though the keyboard cable alone wont give all the power needed, in the cases where the computer does recognize it without the power cable (like in mine) will the insufficient power damage the keyboard? I am just curious because I had been doing this a few times by accident without knowing the proper usage.

 

6.) Thought he mouses firmware does not activate due to this enumeration, is the constant power bad? The only reason I have to use this port is my laptop only has 3 usb ports (including the 3.0 charge port). I may try and see if there are usb splitters i can buy.

 

7.) I do not think it is a keyboard issue. The chair I use is hard so i put a soft blanket on it. I am often wearing a flannel that rubs on the blanket when I get up and creates static on me. When i sit down and first touch the keyboard, it shocks me once, then not again. It also does this when i touch my laptop (which is also aluminum) so I believe it to simply be static. I am just curious at the harmful effects of this occurring over time.

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1) I believe there should be some kind of info about this in the package but I can't really remember right now, I got mine over a year ago :p:

 

2) It is really really really rare that there would be damage, really! It mostly depends on the motherboard too, most mainstream ones should be pretty safe. There are some "obscure" ones of an unknown brand sometimes that might cause issues like damage. I wouldn't worry about it personally, unless you have one of those motherboards of course lol. Asus, Gigabyte, Asrock, MSI and other similar ones should be safe.

 

3) Is that 3.0 charge port the only 3.0 one? If not try using the keyboard on another one and use the mouse/headset on this one instead.

 

5) If it recognizes it it "could" work because the port probably provides more power compared to the standard specifications, but you might still notice issues. You have to use it and see what happens thought. For example does the lighting seem more dim? Do macros works? Etc...

 

6) I wouldn't worry about it. But if you want to feel safer (just in case) unplug the keyboard or disable the charge port in the BIOS so that it doesn't provide power when the computer is off (unless you need/use it?).

 

7) Probably no effects, but I really have no data to base this one. Just my opinion :p:

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You're the man terabyte! :D:

 

1.) Strangely enough, it really does not come with a guide haha. Just a simple setup which consists of "plug it in and download software from this site." It would be nice if it did though haha. I think when you get into more specialty/technical items, they assume that the user knows more.

 

2.) Do you mean each of their k95 that they produce comes with a different motherboard? Why would they not just make it uniform across the board...no pun intended haha?

 

3.) Unfortunately yes, it is the only 3.0 port. However, I am building a pc in the next week or two so that will not be a problem anymore.

 

5.) Honestly, I would rather not mess with it haha. If they say not to do it, I guess I will not do it lol. As I said though, less power would not cause damage right? It would just make it work at a less than optimal level?

 

6.) Good advice on the bios, I am going to see if it is possible to turn off on this laptop.

 

7.) I hope you are right haha. I know some other people had this issue and said it ruined the leds o n the old k95 model. However, they may have had a problem more than just static and wrongly diagnosed it to be static. For me though, I have a space heater in my room, a fuzzy blanket i sit on, and a flannel with sweat pants....I could probably make enough static to power my house haha.

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2) No no, I meant the computers motherboards themselves.

 

3) If you're building a new computer than you've got the issue covered :p:

 

5) No, less power won't cause any damage. Things just might not work properly.

 

7) The old K70 and K95 non-RGB models had some issues with static discharge. The new RGB keyboards are made in a completely different way to solve it as far as I know (new PCB, different soldering method, etc).

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