My ~7 month experience with the K70 RGB, M65 RGB and MM200 mouse pad

Hi,

I decided to post my opinions about the K70 RGB, M65 RGB and MM200 mouse pad for holiday shoppers out there as well as others interested in these products. Reviews of product features are one thing, but using those products for a long period is another matter. I've been using both peripherals for ~7 months now, pretty much every day for 8+ hours. I received all of them early April of 2015. This post is quite long, it's a mix of a review, customer feedback and my general experience with them.

General

Out of the box the experience was very good for all products. I didn't encounter any driver issues on Windows 8(.1 I think, now on Windows 10), my BIOS handled the keyboard and mouse without problems. The CUE software and driver install was just like any other install process - no issues there. Ignoring the unintuitive CUE software design - setting up profiles wasn't too difficulty as I just prefer a solid color without any effects. Both the K70 and M65 were quickly configured to display the same blue-ish color within minutes.

The CUE software isn't the easiest to use, however I haven't yet encountered any limitations that couldn't be worked around. On the keyboard I've remaped the brightness button to switch between a profile with LEDs on, and another which has them off, so basically I just made it work as if the brightness button toggles the LEDs on and off. The windows lock key got remaped to a script that toggles my LEDs I've put underneath my monitor and around my desk. It was simple to do, and I really love the ability to modify certain keys that I don't use to function in ways that are beyond the scope of regular keyboards natively. AutoHotKey is great, but it works by intercepting key strokes, whereas using CUE you can modify these kinds of things natively. Very nice.

K70 RGB Brown

The reason I chose this keyboard was because of it's (at the time) unique design, the fact that the keycap font wasn't stupid matrix/alien-ish that other manufacturers use (and now Corsair on the Strafe), the media keys and most importantly the volume wheel. I don't understand why more manufacturers don't have dedicated volume controls and force users to use the Fn modifier, that's fine for a laptop keyboard, but I don't thinks it's fine for a desktop keyboard. Buttons would've been great for volume controls, but the wheel is just awesome. The media keys (play/pause/etc) are quite difficult to use in my opinion, as I sit layed back a bit, and I can't actually see them because the top numpad row covers my view of them, but it's fine - I wouldn't want those media keys to be raised anyway.

Cleaning the keyboard is almost fun! Blasting some compressed air is enough to have it clean, and I've removed and cleaned all keycaps twice. I wish Corsair included a keycap remover though..

The build itself is rigged and tough. The weight and rubber grips make the keyboard very stable even on my glass desk. There isn't much more I can add on that - the keyboard just feels very sturdy.

Since day one I've been using the wrist wrest. It's surprisingly soft, yet not mushy - a very nice design. However, for the past ~month or so, it has developed this subtle but noticeable squeaking noise when pushed in the middle. So when I rest my right wrist on it - it usually makes this noise. Quite annoying, not sure what the problem is or how I could remedy this situation.

I'm not going to dive into the 16.8m color LED issue, let's pretend it's solved and move on. The LEDs themselves aren't that bright, however for the most part I wouldn't want them brighter anyway. Summer days where quite bright, so during the day I would keep the LEDs off as they made no difference, but it's satisfying to turn them on when the surroundings get darker. However, a week or so ago, I noticed that my F9 key got greener. All of my keys are blue-ish, and that key got a little bit greener. There seems to be no difference between it and other keys when set to a solid red, green or blue color, but white or any mix of colors makes it a bit different from the other keys. I tried taking a photo of it, but it's not apparent in photos, only in person, and even then, if you wouldn't know it was a bit off, most people wouldn't even notice it. However this makes me a bit worried that this problem could effect other keys in the future, and since it's been only ~7 months, I'm not too happy about this issue having popped up. Thankfully the laws in my country require shops to provide a 2 year warranty, but still.. I wish this wouldn't have happened.

Overall I would give this keyboard a rating of 10 out of 10, however due to the squeaky wrist wrest and now the LED issue, I give a 8.5/10.

M65 RGB

Just as sturdy as the K70 keyboard - it looks brand new even with ~7 months of using it. I was worried about the surface of the mouse itself, as I wear a ring on my right hand, and with other mice I've had - I would scratch and ruin the surface as time went on, but the M65 has held up perfectly in that regard.

The LED's are quite dim, but they provide a great accent to my overall setup, and they aren't visible when my hand is using it, so a non issue for me.

I find the layout almost perfect, my wrist never gets tired of using it, I don't have any complains with the overall design of the mouse - it's great.

I find the sniper button useless in terms of how it's supposed to be used. I do play FPS games, and I've tried using it, but it just doesn't make sense to me. Thankfully every button can be remapped, and it works great a as a macro, shortcut or push-to-talk toggle button. I wish the keycap could be replace with something more subtle, as it does stand out and feels a bit unprofessional in my opinion.

A ~week ago the middle button developed an issue. It's been documented here - the click doesn't register requiring you to push very hard with mixed results. After a combination of a blast of compressed air and a few hard presses fixed the issue, but it started behaving the same way after a few days. I did the same thing as previously, and it fixed it once again. I'm not sure what's happening, it could be just a clogged switch from dust and stuff, but it does have me worried about the longevity of the mouse.

If not for the middle click issue, I would give the M65 a 10 out of 10, but this issue does have me worried, so 9/10.

MM200 mouse pad

To be honest, this is my first premium mouse pad, and coming from cheapo pads to this - it was an amazing experience. It's hard to describe the difference, but it is definitely worth it.

I'm impressed by how well the mouse pad has held up with such daily abuse. I clean it every week or two with a rubber cloth that I run under hot water, and it almost looks brand new. Very little fraying on the edges.

I give the MM200 mouse pad a strong 10/10. It has held up very well.

We are glad that you are satisfied with your purchases and thank you for the extensive review.

 

You mentioned that the wrist rest on your K70 is squeaking in the middle, we can easily take care of that by send you a replacement. If you are interested, please submit a RMA and reference this post.

Regarding the malfunctioning LED, is there something I could do to try and get it working normally? I've seen suggestions such as reflashing the firmware, but this issue popped up a few days before the latest keyboard firmware update, and after updating to it the LED is still not working properly.

If you were to create a new profile and change all of the LED to white, is the white consistent or is some keys off? My first suggestion is to remove CUE and reinstall it again. Make sure you delete the Corsair folder in APPDATA, prior to installing it. If the issue remains, contacting support for a hard reset is the other option.

I've tried creating a new profile and set all to white, the same discoloration on the F9 key:

http://i.imgur.com/N9Z06DUm.jpg http://i.imgur.com/NJDsiGwm.jpg

How would I contact support for the hard reset option?

https://corsair.secure.force.com/

That's the technical support contact. Tell them what you've told this forum and that you'd like to be guided through a hard firmware reset :)