As anticipated, the media controls occupy their designated space, situated at the upper-right corner just above the number pad. These controls encompass play, stop, skip, rewind, and mute buttons, accompanied by a generously sized metal volume roller. The redesigned volume wheel stands out as a marked improvement over previous iterations featured in Corsair’s gaming keyboards. Frequently, manufacturers impose limitations on customizing these controls, particularly when they are in the form of buttons rather than conventional keys. In this aspect, Corsair deviates from the norm by providing you with full control. Corsair should have either incorporated Nexus into this keyboard, or had the option for a "K100 Air Pro" with the Nexus for slightly more. The things I have not liked about the Corsair K100 RGB are the High Price Point, Complex Software Integration, Learning Curve, Transition Challenges, Catered Towards Specific Audience. This keyboard has impressive overall build quality. The chassis is very slim and made of plastic, but it feels quite sturdy and isn't flexible. The top of the keyboard frame is made of aluminum and has a stylish brushed metal finish, but it easily shows any fingerprints. On the underside of the keyboard, there are two plastic incline feet and a long rubber strip that do a decent job of keeping the keyboard in place on your work surface. Corsair doesn't advertise what kind of plastic the keycaps are made of, but they feel more like lower-quality ABS rather than PBT. They have a pleasant texture and feel extremely stable while typing. They also have shine-through legends to let you see the legends lit by RGB lighting in darker environments. The K100 Air also features a PlayStation mode for easy PS5 compatibility, and it works natively with Xbox Series X. You simply plug in the Slipstream dongle, hold the key combination for PS5, and you’re good to go. The implementation is overall very easy and straightforward. Software for the Corsair K100 Air Wireless

The K100 gives off an impression of being a premium and pricey product, and that perception holds true, considering its actual cost. Corsair K100 RGB – RGB Lighting I particularly enjoyed the feel of this keyboard with the Rose Glacier switches installed, which provide a much more noticeable tactile response than standard MX Brown tactile switches - great for typing, but also ideal for RTS and other genres where key accuracy is critical. So, opto-mechanical switches do deliver better speeds than conventional mechanical hardware, but there is a caveat: the difference between opto-mechanical and mechanical switches remains relatively small, with the optical improvement measured in milliseconds. While I do notice the speed improvement when gaming, the benefits are really only evident in fast-paced, competitive games, such as eSports and FPS titles. Corsair has created something unique here. While there are still some areas for improvement (like the shine on the keycaps), it’s the thinnest mechanical gaming keyboard I’ve seen from a large gaming brand, and Corsair has nailed the execution. The biggest thing I’m left wishing for is that smaller layouts were available at launch to make it my go-to travel keyboard. As it stands, this is an excellent choice if you’re a fan of chiclet-style keys and clean mechanical typing. Their proprietary software, iCue, empowers you to remap all of these controls, offering the ability to assign volume adjustment scrolling to the wheel in both upward and downward directions. While the Platinum XT and K95 Platinum both incorporated the standard array of functions, encompassing macro and media keys as well as USB passthrough, there’s an addition that sets the K100 apart. A distinctive feature is a metallic knob protruding to the left of the top bar, positioned between the Esc and F1 buttons—an innovation previously unseen in Corsair’s lineup. iCUE Control Wheel Corsair K100 RGB – iCUE Control WheelWhen writing a keyboard review, I make it a point to use the keyboard as my primary input device for a minimum of a couple of weeks. A typical week in my routine involves extensive typing, some gaming sessions, and casual browsing. While I personally lean towards tactile switches like the Cherry MX Brown for such tasks, I don’t have any reservations about using linear switches. The K100 switches represent a significant innovation. This product stands as the debut of Corsair’s latest OPX optomechanical switches.

With an unbelievably thin frame measuring just 11mm at its slimmest point and a clean, minimalist aesthetic, the K100 AIR fits right in on any desktop or workstation. Hyper-responsive CHERRY MX Ultra Low Profile mechanical keyswitches provide the satisfying, tactile, and reliable keystrokes that users demand, without the height of a full-size keyswitch. To elevate your workflow, the K100 AIR can seamlessly switch between wireless connections on your PC, laptop, tablet, and more with the press of a key for masterful multi-tasking, protected by AES 128-bit encryption. Four fully programmable macro keys enable you to perform complex macros, actions, and application launching, while dedicated media keys and a programmable aluminum volume roller give you convenient control. When connecting the K100 AIR to other devices, 8MB of onboard storage saves up to 50 profiles to keep preset macros and lighting effects always close at hand. The Corsair K100 isn’t’ the slimmest or lightest of keyboards. The full-size layout and extra features mean that it’s 470mm wide and 166mm deep, weighing in at 1.35kg. This isn’t surprising, nor is the fact that build quality is fantastic, but you will need plenty of space on your desk. The Corsair K100 RGB emerges as a flagship mechanical keyboard that combines an innovative design with a multitude of features. With its distinctive OPX optical-mechanical switches, it offers a responsive and comfortable typing experience. CHERRY MX SPEED RGB Silver Keyswitches: Offer lightning-fast response times with an actuation distance of just 1.2mm, are guaranteed for 100 million keystrokes, and keypresses up to 4x faster than standard mechanical gaming keyboards with CORSAIR AXON.The K100 is also manufactured with CherryMX Speed Silver switches, and those switches have a 1.2mm actuation point and 3.4mm of total travel alongside a 45g actuation force – so they require a little more movement to register a press compared to the Corsair OPX hardware. In addition, those Speed Silver switches are shallow when compared to most traditional mechanical switches – popular options such as CherryMX’s Red, Blue and Brown switches need more movement and force. Powered by CORSAIR AXON Hyper-Processing Technology: CORSAIR’s most advanced gaming keyboard experience delivers up to 4x faster throughput with native 4,000Hz hyper-polling and 4,000Hz key scanning, while driving up to 20-layer lighting effects. Mechanical keyboards are defined by their switches. The most common options are MX switches, originally made by Cherry and now made by a range of manufacturers. Each switch is described by its colour; the three most popular are as follows: In terms of typing, the K100 Air Wireless holds up pretty well. In a one-minute Typing.com test, I scored 105 words per minute with 98% accuracy on the K100 Air Wireless, versus 116 words per minute with 99% accuracy on my usual G915. This is not a big difference, considering how much more familiar I am with the latter. Corsair K100 Air Wireless review: Features For someone like me who often engages in image editing both for passion and profit, I found the wheel particularly handy for zooming. I could swiftly zoom in for detailed edits, make necessary adjustments, and then promptly zoom out again. The control wheel stands out as one of the keyboard’s two significant new features, contributing to its price surpassing that of the vast majority of rival gaming keyboards. However, its use is specific, and without a non-gaming purpose for the control wheel, I wouldn’t find myself utilizing it extensively.

The optical-mechanical keyboard uses the CORSAIR OPX optical keyswitches. These keyswitches use a beam of infrared light to register a keypress, giving the keyboard a smaller actuation distance and a faster time to register keypresses. There is zero debounce delay and rapid keypresses will still register. The Bluetooth mode also works as advertised, and lets you connect to up to three different systems. As such, you could theoretically connect the K100 Air Wireless to four different devices around your home, which is helpful if you have a desktop, a laptop, a game console and a mobile device. The implementation of RGB lights across various aspects of the keyboard is evident. It’s intriguing to consider that Corsair might explore incorporating their vibrant Capellix LEDs onto the wrist rest or even into the cable in a future iteration. That’s not a recommendation so much as an observation that almost everything else has been illuminated. Performance Corsair K100 RGB – Ergonomics A word of caution: Do not try to remove these keycaps. Corsair advised us ahead of the review that removing a keycap can easily destroy the switch below. That kind of risk is worth a special call-out, but there’s really no need to remove them anyway. The mounting style of the keycaps is unique, so aftermarket keycap sets are out. But don’t let your curiosity about a new switch put your warranty at risk unless you’re confident you can do so correctly.The K100 uses an Arm processor that has multi-threading, and 8MB of on-board memory means that the K100 can have complex lighting effects and up to 200 profiles stored on the device. The CPU also means the K100 can use a 4000Hz polling rate, although it’s set to 1000Hz by default, which I found perfectly fine. This is another area where the Corsair is incredibly capable; but it will be overkill for most users. There's no question that the Corsair K100 RGB is a colossus of a keyboard. Weighing just under three pounds, it's heavier than most full-sized boards, and the dimensions don't make the portability any better. Still, if you plan on setting and forgetting the K100, then your biggest concern should be making desk space to fit the keyboard and its accommodating wrist rest. The review unit that I tested came with Corsair's new OPX optical-mechanical switches, but the K100 also comes in a Cherry MX Speed variant. No matter which version you buy, you'll be typing on linear-based keys. Design With AAA games, there was absolutely no lag thanks to its 4000Hz polling rate. Regardless of the game, there weren’t any response or press issues with the K100. For example, with the new Marvel Avengers game, you need to use a number of keys in conjunction with the mouse to trigger special and power. Those key presses are often right next to the WASD buttons, which controls movement in the game. Because it’s a fast-paced action game, there’s a lot of scrambling to press those buttons – the kind of thing that often results in missed presses. However, thanks to that incredible polling rate, the 1.0mm actuation rate, and the N-key rollover, I ended up spending a lot less time button-mashing while having my character do exactly what I want them to do. In terms of extra features, this tenkeyless keyboard has a rare volume wheel in the upper right and a button that's set to play/pause by default. This can be customised in the SteelSeries GG software, which also allows different lighting modes and key assignments.

Corsair's iCue software is easy enough to use, too, and pretty unintrusive which can't be said for some—Razer Synapse, I'm looking at you. The per-key lighting options are multifarious, and maybe a little unnecessary with the option to go 20-layers deep with the lighting effects. I have to say I had fun playing around with it, though. Features: NKRO, anti ghosting, 4x macros, 8MB onboard memory (50 profiles), dongle holder, 1ms response, Up to 33ft (10m) Corsair K100 RGB – SoftwareAnyone who’s familiar with Corsair has dabbled in iCue, the company’s hub for controlling all the settings in its peripherals. For those who are not, it may look only like the app to control your Corsair product’s RGB lighting. And while it can definitely do that, it’s also where you remap keys, create Macros, and adjust other settings, such as the polling rate in the case of this keyboard.The Corsair K100’s laser-based switches pair their impressive technology with a solid set of specifications. They have a 45g actuation force and 3.2mm of travel alongside a 1mm actuation point. The K100 also has full NKRO and anti-ghosting. The keys use a linear motion, which means that they press down smoothly, without the noticeable bump delivered by many other mechanical switches. Those travel, actuation and force figures are impressive when compared with conventional hardware. The overall appearance of the keyboard hasn’t undergone significant changes. The glossy Corsair logo still graces the top of the chassis, as it has since the beginning. The indicator LEDs also find their place on this strip, although they remain hidden from view when the keyboard is idle. Even when activated, the indicator lights emit such a dim glow that they remain inconspicuous unless one actively seeks them out. The keyboard comprises 104 regular keys alongside six macro keys, G1 through G6, situated to the left of the primary key set. Unfortunately, some of the Corsair K100 RGB’s unique features require one of the worst peripheral softwares out there: Corsair iCue. It’s not bad so much as it is very hard to use (and large, at 1.5GB). iCUE still has one of the steepest learning curves of software for PC peripherals – something that hasn’t changed in years. It remains surprisingly confusing how lighting effects, functions, macros and such are assigned to individual keys. And with a keyboard that has so many keys and lighting zones, it’s far too easy to undo a ton of customization by accidentally making the wrong selection. None of the K100’s new features are truly must-haves. There are plenty of very good (and good-looking) gaming keyboards that cost much less, while delivering similar gaming performance.