The Corsair K63 Wireless Mechanical Keyboard Review: PC Gaming Untethered
by E. Fylladitakis on September 16, 2019 10:30 AM ESTConclusion
Corsair developed the K63 Wireless Mechanical keyboard primarily for living room gaming. And while, Corsair has made some trade-offs to get here, when combined with the optional Corsair Lapboard and a wireless gaming mouse like the Corsair Ironclaw, it forms an ideal setup for couch gaming. It can also be used as a wireless keyboard for a gaming laptop while connected to an external 5V power source or to another PC, making it particularly useful to users who want a desktop capable of switching between devices.
In terms of quality, the Corsair K63 is a well-designed, robust keyboard. Corsair mixed the design of the K65/K95 series with that of the Strafe with very good results, creating a solid and relatively lightweight portable mechanical keyboard. Cherry’s MX switches never disappoint, showing exceptional stability and quality over and over again. Aesthetically, the plastic-shelled keyboard certainly loses some points over the aluminum-based designs of the K65/K95 keyboards but, despite that plastic chassis, it remains elegant and ideal for modern desktops and living rooms. The real issue with the design of the K63 probably is the classic recessed keys area that, unlike flat designs with “floating” keys, traps dust and debris and requires frequent cleaning - an issue that will probably be bourgeoned during living room use.
With any wireless product – but especially one in a relatively new field like wireless mechanical keyboards – comes the question of battery life, and here Corsair's keyboard doesn't excel, but it does offer a reasonable compromise. On the whole, the K63's battery life is sufficient and it will easily last through daily gaming sessions, but at the same time it can't match typical wireless office keyboards, whose battery life of which is measured in months, or even years. With the backlighting disabled, you're looking at a few days of battery life, while enabling the beautiful-but-expensive backlighting will bring the K63 down to just a day of battery life.
Overall, the Corsair K63 is excellent quality product, but it is not a keyboard for everyone. Corsair made a gaming-focused keyboard with the K63, and that's certainly where it shines. The tenkeyless design is a trade-off in and of itself, but unless you need it for gaming, then the small size of the keyboard can enhance a gamer’s experience by improving mouse handling and space. On the flip side, however, this isn't a portable version of Corsair's most advanced keyboards – it's a K63 rather than a K95 for a reason – so gamers looking for the most advanced keyboard on the market may find the keyboard coming up short. In particular, the limited number of keys may constrain gamers who are used to having a great number of macros and other advanced functions.
Meanwhile, office/productivity users will want to look elsewhere entirely. The trade-offs made for a gaming keyboard don't make as much sense for general use, especially with the lack of a numpad.
As for portability, the K63 is a reasonably small keyboard; but it is not quite small and lightweight enough for frequent transportation. This goes hand-in-hand with the battery life of the keyboard, which although is reasonable for the segment, it is still is measured in days, making it better than a smartphone, but worse than something like a game controller.
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piiman - Saturday, September 28, 2019 - link
Name one keyboard that is mechanical and polls faster than 1000mhz? Good luckI personally use a Logitech mouse not because it as less Latency but because of the free spin wheel (can't live without it.) but the latency is the same.
Dug - Monday, September 16, 2019 - link
Yay. Another super thick keyboard that causes strain on your wrists unless you use a thick wrist rest. And cherry switches really aren't the be all. Prefer two other brands besides these, as do many people after blind test.Maybe they can try for something slimmer next time.
Eliadbu - Monday, September 16, 2019 - link
I would love to see g915 but in small form factor like my g pro tenkeyless.Dug - Monday, September 16, 2019 - link
Yes!!piiman - Saturday, September 28, 2019 - link
Put it in the optional tray and its flatColin1497 - Monday, September 16, 2019 - link
I would definitely prefer to see a comparison than a stand alone review. How does it stack up against other offerings in this area?piiman - Saturday, September 28, 2019 - link
What other wireless mechanical keyboard? There aren't manyPeachNCream - Monday, September 16, 2019 - link
It's an interesting concept. What about input latency? I'm guessing that there was nothing noteworthy about it when compared to wired solutions or it would have been mentioned, but I have heard in the past that people were reluctant to pick up wireless hardware out of concern that the lack of a physical connection would somehow slow down response time in twitchy shooter style games. It's also a bit odd that battery life is so short even without the backlights turned on. Is that possibly something with the choice in keyboard controller and/or added complexity or are Cherry's switches somehow more energy hungry than cheap wireless keyboards with membrane switches?piiman - Saturday, September 28, 2019 - link
it polls @ 1000mhz you will NEVER know the difference if no one told you. But it will make a great excuse for your crappy play. :)dan82 - Monday, September 16, 2019 - link
Am I the only one who is annoyed by new devices not embracing USB Type C at this point? microUSB is extremely outdated.