Corsair K68 Ultra-Durable Mechanical Keyboard Review

Corsair K68 Ultra-Durable Mechanical Keyboard Review – Looking Closer

Getting a first look at the K68, the keyboard looks like a beefed up K63. Oddly enough Pokemon jumped to my mind. I would call the previously reviewed K63 a basic Pokemon, whereas the K68 seems like it leveled up and evolved to stage 1, also gaining IP32 Special Ability. The styling and features on the K68 are quite similar to the K63. Liquid resistance, full/standard size, and wrist rest are the main features separating the two devices. The K68 has a completely plastic frame just like the K63.

A welcome accessory included with the K68 is the removable wrist rest. With or without the wrist rest I found the K68 to comfortable during long sessions. When getting eyes on the wrist rest it appears as though it is plastic with non-slip rubber sections. Upon closer inspection, the rest is completely made of plastic with textured areas where you would expect rubber to be. The rest does a good job of not retaining much heat from my hands and stays reasonably cool to touch during long sessions.The K68 features the same large font keycaps found on the K63, with that in mind the LED lighting and overall effect is similar on both devices. One thing I do note is that because of the rubber backdrop behind the keys, the overall brightness is dimmed slightly compared to the K63. This is because light reflects much better off the K63’s red plastic backdrop than the K68’s red rubber. The lighting still looks vivid and still produces that neat looking lava effect.For me personally, a huge feature found on the K68 is the dedicated media control keys. This may seem like a small point, but for a user like me that is constantly listening to music or media, the dedicated keys are essential and one of my must have features. I would have liked to see the gray textured and curved WASD keys included that are on Corsair’s Strafe keyboard which cost the same price as the K68. Another feature that would have really set the K68 off is a USB passthrough, which is also found on the Strafe. A few features the K68 comes with the strafe does not is the full-length wrist rest, dedicated media control keys, and of course the IP32 protection rating.   The K68 is a standard / full-size keyboard with a full loadout of Cherry MX Red key switches. These switches feature Gold Crosspoint contacts and are guaranteed to withstand 50 million clicks. Cherry MX Reds feature 4mm travel with a 2mm actuation point, 45g actuation force, and linear action. These switches are light, fast, and perfect for gaming. Every single key on the K63 has anti-ghosting, not just certain keys like the WASD section as found on some keyboards. The term “ghosted” refers to the keystrokes that are not detected and then drop off (for example, when someone presses D-C-U and only sees D-C, the U has been ghosted).

The K68 achieves its liquid resistance through the use of a rubber gasket like design that rests between the key caps and the key switches. After seeing how this design was implemented, I immediately wondered why this feature was not included on the K63, end cost most likely being the reason. I think Corsair should start including this feature as an option on nearly every keyboard they make and set their entire keyboard line apart from the market.Turning the K68 over we get a look at the nonslip rubber pads. In the above pic, you can also see the small recess for the wrist rest to clip into. The wrist rest is super easy to install/remove and can be done with a squeeze on the retention clip.

Now we take a look at the K68’s riser feet. The risers are a single height flip out design. You will also notice more rubber nonstick pads. The problem I found here is that when using the riser feet, my nonslip rubber pad area’s have no contact with the surface of my desk. This wouldn’t matter but there is no rubber on the riser feet so when they are extended I get no nonslip help from one side of the keyboard. The K68 still does a decent job of staying in place and wasn’t bothersome.

I’m betting most readers could have guessed by now what type of cord we were to find on the K68. Corsair keeps it consistent with the logo adorned plug with either tangle free rubber or braided fiber cord. For the K68 Corsair has chosen the tangle free rubber cord.