INTRODUCTION
Corsair K70 RGB MK.2
The K70 RGB gaming peripheral by Corsair is basically an almost perfect gaming keyboard that features German-manufactured Cherry MX mechanical switches, an elegant and sleek overall aesthetic and numerous rainbow illumination settings. But, years of fine-tuning this particular device resulted in Corsair coming up with a totally new product named the K70 RGB Mk.2. Those years of fine-tuning seem to have really paid off for Corsair seeing has how they’ve managed to come up with a functional, innovative and beautiful gaming peripheral that’s fit for everyone. Yes, it doesn’t come cheap, which may deter a lot of folks from getting it, but, the high-quality Cherry MXs it uses and its durable chassis makes it totally worth the price.
SteelSeries Apex M750
The Apex M750 gaming keyboard has been touted by SteelSeries as the next evolution eSports gaming peripheral. This mechanical, full-sized gaming keyboard is streamlined, sleek and a perfect device for competitive gaming. Unfortunately, though, there’s still a lot you don’t get that you should for such a price, which includes detailed lighting options, a palm rest and discrete media key functions. With that said, the board has a durable attractive overall design-style that features comfortable keys, If you’re looking for a keyboard to use in competitive gaming scenarios, look no further because this board is what you need in your life.
DESIGN
Corsair K70 RGB MK.2
The K70 Mk.2 gaming keyboard by Corsair looks a lot like the Strafe Mk.2 RGP peripheral by the same company. Just like its Strafe Mk.2 counterpart, the K70 peripheral is a full-size gaming board that measures around 17×6 inches when it doesn’t have its wrist rest attached, and 17×9 inches with it on. Corsair ensured they didn’t waste any space on its good-looking black chassis. In fact, it’s actually even smaller than what you’d find on other full-sized gaming boards, and it makes this possible while still offering its users comfortable key spacing. However, what really differentiates the K70 RGB Mk.2 from the Corsair Strafe is the aluminum surface. The Strafe’s surface is plastic-based.
Granted, this alone might still not be enough to justify the peripheral’s hefty price tag, but, it certainly helps make the device more refined and durable. The Corsair K70 Mk.2 board won’t look like it’s out of place when being used in an office setup and it’ll fit just fine in a gaming environment as well. Its slightly elevated keycaps inject a little flair into the overall appearance of the keyboard. In addition to all this, it also contains discrete media key functions, USB pass-through capability and a few extra button features that help the user control brightness and Game Mode features. The board’s textured keycaps help in the WASD map and MOBA and FPS players will find this feature really helpful.
SteelSeries Apex M750
One of the best things about the SteelSeries Apex device is how it looks. Although the M750 has all the keys, the incredibly compact design-style that has it measuring around 17.5×6.0 inches helps make it a lot smaller than most of the other tenkeyless gaming keyboards out there. Additionally, the aluminum-based black chassis alongside its silver SteelSeries logo that has been elegantly embossed on it make it overbearing but yet still distinctive. In fact, this keyboard has only two major downsides. For starters, the SteelSeries Apex peripheral uses removable rubber feet instead of plastic ones.
Secondly, the gaming device lacks an underside track for cable management. The latter is a surprising factor seeing as how most other SteelSeries gaming keyboards have this cable management feature. This feature proves an incredibly useful one in situations where space is hard to come by, say like in competitive eSports tournaments and the like. Being forced to wrap your cable around an over $130 gaming peripheral seems a tad bit in elegant
KEYS
Corsair K70 RGB MK.2
Corsair is well-known for not cutting corners as far as their key switches are concerned and they normally install Cherry MX switches onto their boards. But, the options they provide you with are often limited. Anyway, what makes the Corsair K70 Mk.2 such an outstanding gaming peripheral is the five different Cherry MX key switches option it gives its user. You can either get noisy, tactile mechanical switches to quiet and linear ones. This Corsair gaming keyboard literally has something for everybody. This feature’s usefulness is something that can’t be overstated because many gaming boards out there, that utilize mechanical switches, normally offer two types of key switch options at most.
SteelSeries Apex M750
The SteelSeries Apex keyboard uses QX2 switches, which are modified Gateron key switches specifically designed for both comfort and speed. Among all of the Cherry MX key switches, these ones may not have an easy analog but they aren’t as noisy as the Blue switches are. It also has kind of a soft touch to it but still not as soft as what the Reds feel like. The QX2 switches are linear and they offer incredibly quick spring-back responses. However, truth is, they’ll need some getting used to for those folks that are die-hard Cherry MX fans, or those of you that are only familiar with Cherry analogs.
FEATURES
Corsair K70 RGB MK.2
The iCUE (Utility Engine), Corsair’s proprietary software, is what the K70 Mk.2 RGB keyboard uses. This software’s extensive feature set has been praised but its opacity has been highly criticized. It’ll take a little time before one can say they have the Corsair Utility Engine software completely figured out. Honestly speaking, its overall layout could’ve been a little more intuitive. But, once the user gets the hang of things, they’ll be able to do very many interesting and cool things with the device’s extensive illumination options. Additionally, it will also give them the chance to have all the keys on the board reprogrammed to their liking. They’ll also have the ability to come up with their own unique presets for individual apps and games. Furthermore, it features 3 onboard profile settings as well.
What usually helps most Corsair gaming keyboards stand out and differ from the crowd is in large part because of how its Utility Engine software goes about the customization of backlighting profiles and patterns. The user can create color schemes whereby beautiful and unpredictable rainbow color schemes ripple through the entire board every time a user presses a key. But, that’s not all. It’s also equally as easy to create breathing colors, color waves and static color schemes. Color gradient customization, however, is where all the fun’s at. Simple timers can be created by the user to ensure the colors are displayed in cycles.
SteelSeries Apex M750
The Apex M750 keyboard does not have any extra key functions, like discrete media controls or macro keys. Honestly speaking, though, even having a numpad column on board designed to allow players to easily transport it around is a bit of a luxury. With that said, the tenkeyless board need not solely be for the eSports enthusiasts to enjoy alone. It’s also good for those of you looking to use it as a productivity tool. Anyway, the board’s more substantive features come in the shape of the SteelSeries Engine III software. This software from SteelSeries themselves allows you to reprogram all the keys on the keyboard, customize RGB illumination settings and create specific profiles for individual applications and games. The nuts-and-bolts of the software itself work just fine, but the RGB lighting customizations could perform a little better.
SteelSeries has really concentrated all their focus, effort and time into the Apex M750’s board’s lighting capabilities. It offers users a wide variety of beautiful color patterns, from responsive rainbow waves to static lights. However, this also ties into SteelSeries’ new “Engine Apps”, a tool designed to help you synchronize with other programs. You can get chat notifications by toggling different colors on the keyboard via Discord. There’s also an Audio Visualizer that shows sound levels on keys similar to what you’d see on on-screen sound waves. Furthermore, games like Gigantic, Minecraft and Dota 2 come with special lighting features already ingrained into the software. This is much like with Project CARS and Logitech or Overwatch and Razer.
PERFORMANCE
Corsair K70 RGB MK.2
Overwatch, Tomb Raider, World of Warcraft, For Honor and Final Fantasy are all titles that the K70 Mk.2 RGB keyboard by Corsair will run seamlessly. Actually, this device will run all the famous PC game titles without an issue. The Corsair’s key switches, unsurprisingly, work superbly. This board’s comfortable caps and its responsive, springy mechanical switches allow the user to manage their bases in StarCraft and shoot down enemy combatants in Overwatch very easily. It really doesn’t have a favorite gaming genre it likes to run. Furthermore, the extra media keys it contains make it easy for gamers to run their favorite podcasts or soundtracks when they’re gaming.
The K70 Mk.2 RGB peripheral doesn’t have extra macro keys which means that hardcore MMO players might not like this particular board so much. But, since all its keys are reprogrammable and macro key features can be created by the user using the iCUE software, there are numerous ways one can avoid being disadvantaged by this lack of extra keys.
SteelSeries Apex M750
One thing that you can expect when you get the Apex M70 peripheral is efficient and fast in-game performances. This keyboard will deliver in almost every way. The spring key switches will give you a competitive advantage in fast-paced titles such as StarCraft: Remastered and Overwatch, both games which happen to be incredibly popular in the eSports world. Whether you’re commanding Terran soldiers to cross dangerous fields or swinging giant icicles with Mel, the SteelSeries Apex will more than hold its own during repeated button smashing and cautious single pressing.
Oh, and this gaming peripheral doesn’t disappoint when it comes to single-player game titles, either. Being a Necromancer and slinging evil spells in Diablo 3 or doing some Telltale’s Batman investigating is still comfortable and simple as well
VERDICT
Although the price-tag on the K70 Mk.2 RGB keyboard is somewhat on the hefty side and it comes with software that might just be a little too complicated, the device doesn’t necessarily have many downsides. In fact, as far as gaming keyboards go, it may just be close to as perfect one can get. From the durable overall aesthetic it has going on to its wide options of key switches it has on offer, the Corsair K70 Mk.2 peripheral is equally both a joy to behold and to use. All you need to do is determine which switches will make you most comfortable and productive during gameplay or work and then continue on to experience premium gaming and typing performance.
The SteelSeries Apex on the other hand, is also a comfortable and competent eSports gaming device. It’s not as pricey as the Corsair device, but it’s still in line, price-wise, with most the other high-quality boards on the market. Yes, it also has an equally sleek design but the software on it is performs worse than the one on the Corsair and it can’t even support certain game titles. Because of this, we had to give it up to the K70 Mk.2 RGB by Corsair.
