Not only are the keys comfortable; they're also efficient. On a Typing.com test, I scored 123 words per minute with 99% accuracy on the K65 RGB Mini. This is exactly the same as what I scored on my regular Logitech G915. Earning the same score on a review keyboard is almost unheard of, since I'm so much more familiar with the G915, which speaks to just how responsive and precise the K65 RGB Mini feels.

The iCUE software is also important in that you can reprogram keys, which is something of a necessity if you want to play at a high level, or perform complex productivity tasks. Reassigning keys isn't difficult, although it can be a pretty deep rabbit hole, if you choose to create unique profiles for all of your favorite games and apps. The K65 RGB Mini is compatible with iCue, Corsair’s peripheral configuration software. The recently redesigned iCue app lets you create keyboard profiles with remapped keys and custom macros, change RGB lighting, and adjust other settings. With the revision, iCue is easier to read than before thanks to a larger, more visually minded interface.That’s all just a matter of acclimation, though, even if Corsair decided to put the arrow keys all the way on the “UHJK” cluster instead of somewhere closer to where they’d be on a larger keyboard. Buying a 60% keyboard is making a commitment to learning how to perform everyday functions on that particular board, and I don’t recommend switching between various models. We've added a link to the newly-reviewed Corsair K65 PRO MINI to the Dimensions section of this review. That doesn’t mean the K65 RGB Mini is perfect. The pinging on some keys is frustrating, the all-plastic build could raise questions about the keyboard’s durability and the cosmetic flaws in the keycaps take some getting used to. As stated above, the Corsair K65 RGB Mini runs on the iCUE software. As with other Corsair gaming peripherals, you can use iCUE to program some delightfully complex patterns on the bright and beautiful RGB-illuminated keys. The learning curve is a bit steep, but you can always just slap down a rainbow wave and call it a day. Settings that have been saved to the K65 RGB Mini’s onboard storage are easy to cycle through using various modifier keys. The default layout has profile settings, brightness levels, and lighting effects assigned to the “Z” to “B” keys. Keyboard shortcuts can also be used to record, assign, and delete macros without having to venture into iCue beforehand.

Instead of having a limited number of keyboard profile slots, the number that you can create is predicated on what you change in each profile. Corsair claims you can make up to 50 profiles, but presumably those would each have only a few altered keys and no macros.

CALL THE SHOTS

When gaming, the K65 RGB Mini feels a lot like other keyboards with linear mechanical switches but with the added bonus of leaving more desk space available to the mousepad. Its keys feel responsive, which is exactly what people expect from linear switches. Sometimes that led to mis-presses for me but not as often as when I’m just typing.

None of these traits are exclusive to the K65 RGB Mini. By now we’ve come to expect that a gaming keyboard will offer reliable inputs, responsive switches,and features like n-key rollover; their absence would be more notable than their presence. That's why it's a shame that, for the life of me, I could not figure out a comfortable way to activate most of the K65 RGB Mini's keyboard shortcuts. For those who haven't used a mini keyboard before, you're required to use shortcuts for a lot of familiar functionality, from media controls to arrow keys. You do this by holding down a function key, then pressing a corresponding shortcut key elsewhere on the keyboard. If you have a wireless keyboard, the steps for resetting it will vary slightly from a wired keyboard. In-game I didn’t notice any improvements either. I was still lumbering around the generations-old landscapes of Halo: Reach and accidentally using my utility before the round even starts in Valorant at exactly the same speeds that I was with other keyboards. That doesn’t make Corsair Axon a detriment to the K65 RGB Mini, though. It just means that it’s another spec that sounds impressive on paper but isn’t noticeable in-game.

LINEAR & FAST

iCue splits its settings into six categories: Key Assignments, Hardware Key Assignments, Lighting Effects, Hardware Lighting, Performance and Device Settings. Changes made via Key Assignments and Lighting Effects are only effective when the software is running; changes made to the other categories persist, as long as they’re saved to onboard storage first.