Corsair K100 RGB review

Our Verdict

83%

A quality, premium keyboard with lots of extra buttons, but its fixed cable and loud keys won’t be for everyone.

The K100 RGB is Corsair’s flagship wired desktop keyboard. On top of a full-size keyboard layout and a handful of media controls, it adds a column of six extra gaming keys down its left edge that can be programmed for convenient gaming or other desktop macro functions. There’s also an iCUE control wheel that can be programmed to control brightness, skip through tracks, switch applications and more.

The top plate of the body is made from brushed aluminum, which gives the keyboard a premium feel. However, the metal isn’t as thick as on the older design and its black finish somewhat hides it construction. The K100 also features 44-zone RGB lighting around the sides, as well as individual lights under all the keys. The rear and side sections don’t provide an obvious glow from above, but they’re visible from other angles.

There’s no lighting along the front, as that’s where you attach the magnetic, padded wrist rest. It’s sufficiently deep to actually support your wrist, not just sit under your fingers, and the padding is soft. It would be near-perfect if it were just a bit thicker at its front edge to improve the angle of your wrists.

Meanwhile, a very thick, tethered and braided cable protrudes from the center rear of the keyboard and terminates in two USB Type-A plugs. This arrangement means you can’t easily replace the cable, but the second plug provides a connection for a USB passthrough port next to the cable exit.

In front of the cable is a recessed plastic panel in which are hidden the indicator lights for the Lock keys, mute function, Windows key lock and more. It’s a clean way of keeping all such indicator lights clearly visible when needed but hidden otherwise. Then, to the right are the media controls: a volume wheel and mute button above buttons for stop, back, play/pause and forward functions. Finally, to the left are the control wheel and buttons for switching profiles and disabling the Windows key.

In the center of that control wheel is a button that you tap to cycle through the functions of the wheel, with the wheel then adjusting the function. Options include brightness control, track jogging, track selector, macro recording, application switching, vertical scrolling, horizontal scrolling and zoom.

Move down to the keys, and you’ll find doubleshot PBT keycaps, so the plastic is harder wearing than ABS, and the legends won’t wear away like on-screen printed keycaps. What’s more, unlike some doubleshot keycaps, the legends are crisp and bright.

Normally, Corsair’s keyboards are available in a wide range of Cherry MX switch types but the K100 is only currently available with Corsair OPX optical switches (reviewed) or Cherry MX speed switches. Both have a similarly light, linear action with a very shallow actuation point (1mm and 1.2mm respectively).

This is useful for gaming, where rapid repeat key presses are used, but we found the way even the slightest touch elicited a key response was rather unforgiving in day-to-day use, especially when typing. The switches aren’t hot-swappable either and the keyboard is quite loud, registering around 67dB from 20cm away.

Corsair K100 RGB pros and cons

Pros

• Extra G gaming keys
• Useful iCUE control wheel
• Smart design
• Premium PBT keycaps

Cons

• No removable USB cable
• Loud keyswitch action
• Switches aren’t hot-swappable

Corsair K100 RGB specs

The Corsair K100 RGB specs list is:

Corsair K100 RGB price

The Corsair K100 RGB is an expensive keyboard thanks to its inclusion of extra gaming keys, multimedia controls and extra lighting areas.

Price: Expect to pay $240 USD / £230 GBP

Corsair K100 RGB review conclusion

The addition of a control wheel and extra gaming keys elevates the versatility of the K100 RGB, making it a hugely capable keyboard for gaming and work. Extra touches, such as the premium keycaps and soft wrist rest, all add to the sense of value too.

However, you don’t get a removable cable, the switches aren’t hot-swappable and the Corsair OPX switches are loud keyboard, so it’s not a clean sweep for Corsair. If the Corsair K100 RGB is a little pricey for you, why not check out some more budget-friendly options in our best gaming keyboard guide.