Corsair Raptor K40 Keyboard Review
by E. Fylladitakis on April 10, 2014 6:00 PM EST
Introduction and Packaging
A few years ago, we witnessed the return of mechanical keyboards and ever since then companies have been fighting a marketing war about whose keyboard is better. The truth however is that mechanical keyboards, even in their least expensive implementations, remain fairly expensive and such an investment doesn't always makes sense to users. For you that appreciate a good keyboard but do not care about whether it has mechanical key switches or not, Corsair's Raptor K40 is an advanced gaming keyboard that uses rubber dome switches.
The Corsair Raptor K40 is marketed as a fully featured gaming keyboard, with functionality specifically targeting advanced users and gamers. Corsair has the following list of features posted in their website:
- Rubber dome keys
- RGB 16.8 million color backlighting with three levels of illumination
- Six dedicated macro keys
- 36KB of onboard memory
- Seven easy-access multimedia keys
- Windows Lock key for uninterrupted game play
While "rubber dome keys" hardly qualifies as a feature, but the rest of the bullet points are actually good for an advanced keyboard. Regarding the rubber domes, Corsair's Raptor line is the less expensive version of their mechanical Vengeance keyboards, and subjectively there are users that prefer rubber dome keys to mechanical keys — particularly for gaming purposes.
Corsair supplies the Raptor K40 in a well-designed cardboard box, which also provides adequate protection during shipping. The main marketing theme is the backlighting of the keyboard, and rightfully so. There are plenty of keyboards with backlighting — with either mechanical key switches or rubber domes — but very few RGB backlit keyboards. It can be a very eyecatching feature, though after the initial "wow" factor, most users will likely settle for something functional rather than strobing lights. Let's have a closer look at the K40 and see how it fares.
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MrPete123 - Thursday, April 10, 2014 - link
Some of these new keyboards are cool and all, but has anyone made a mechanical switch keyboard with a layout similar to Microsoft's Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000? I used to be a ergonomic keyboard naysayer until I started needing one :)2kfire - Thursday, April 10, 2014 - link
This.I've read Jarred's reviews and I think the TECK would work best for me but I don't know how long it would take to get used to the relocated enter, Ctrl, backspace, etc. Plus the wife would probably hate it!
The natural on the other hand, would be great, were it not for the mushy keys!
Splendor - Saturday, April 12, 2014 - link
This is the holy grail for me. For some reason when people make a split ergonomic keyboard they go crazy with the layout. I wish someone would just make a simple ergonomic split keyboard with a standard layout and mechanical keys.LordConrad - Thursday, April 10, 2014 - link
I have two Unicomp Classic keyboards and I love them. They're big, sturdy, and I can use them as a weapon when I'm not typing. :-)pierrot - Friday, April 11, 2014 - link
aw man i thought the mx rgb had arrived when i saw this articleol1bit - Friday, April 11, 2014 - link
LOL 36KB of onboard memory! Wow less than my Atari 800 had in 1982! Really, with sd ram costing less than $1 per gb retail, why even show you have 36K of memory? Stupid. better to list what functions you can do than the amount of memory you have.lilkwarrior - Friday, April 11, 2014 - link
I think a Das Keyboard 4 Pro or a Dak Keyboard 4 Ultimately needs to be reviewed on AnandTech to give the German company their due with their elite keyboards. They're releasing this month.It'd be interesting how the Corsair Raptor K40 compares to that.
QChronoD - Friday, April 11, 2014 - link
I'd have to say that it looks like this keyboards biggest selling feature is that it will be super easy to clean. Since all the keys are raised up and there aren't walls around the edges crumbs and dust should fall right out with a little compressed air or a swab of some type.Impulses - Friday, April 18, 2014 - link
Yeah, that side of it is a little underrated, I love it. Looks real sharp too.mr_tawan - Friday, April 11, 2014 - link
Personally I prefer keyboard with shallow key travel (not too shallow like surface's type cover), as I can type faster with less afford. I like keyboard that has keys similar to hi-end laptop, but laid out like the standard PC keyboard.I don't know if there's such keyboard with shorter travel or not. Can someone suggest ?