Corsair at CES 2014: A Mechanical Keyboard with Per-Key Full RGB, aka the MX RGB Project
by Ian Cutress on January 6, 2014 10:00 PM EST- Posted in
- CES 2014
- Corsair
- Keyboard
- Trade Shows
- Cherry MX
In a small CES preview, Corsair have emailed us about one of their internal design projects they will be showcasing this year at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Corsair is calling this the MX RGB Project: 100% mechanical key switches with per-key color backlighting, giving the user full control of 16.8 million color resolution.
This is a collaboration between Corsair and Cherry Corp., a technical showcase based on a Vengeance K70 keyboard and new Cherry MX RGB switches. The aim is to get a similar product on the shelves in the second half of 2014 in the fast Cherry MX Red, the light tactile Cherry MX Brown, or tactile and audible Cherry MX Blue.
Corsair wants feedback on ideas like this: I for one could see it useful for lighting up different keys that have different functions in different games. If it can detect when I am playing Battlefield 4 vs. Borderlands 2 or Grand Theft Auto, then I cannot wait to see it in the flesh. Expect it to be available sometime after Computex, when I am sure we will see a near-final version.
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mindchi - Friday, January 10, 2014 - link
Don't you expect, after every electronic purchase, that something new will come out sooner or later? Besides, it's going to be either Q3 or Q4 before the Cherry MX RGB switches will show up in the keyboards.frostyfiredude - Monday, January 6, 2014 - link
I quite like my Razer Blackwidow, which I did intend to keep for a long time when I bought it 1.5 years ago, but damn it if this is released in a matte design and doesn't cost an absurd amount I'll be buying one of these pronto. So many useful configurations will be available using the colours.editorsorgtfo - Monday, January 6, 2014 - link
Yes! I want a keyboard that will spell out in lights "GAME" then "OVER" every time I die.Rjak27 - Monday, January 6, 2014 - link
I've never understood keyboard backlighting, especially with Cherry MXs.If you need to look at the keyboard, then the quality of keyboard isn't going to help you any.
That goes for typing and gaming.
Dustin Sklavos - Monday, January 6, 2014 - link
It looks neat and gives you a way to personalize your system.I was pretty skeptical until I got my M17x R3, but being able to show up to a LAN party with the only laptop glowing magenta is pretty satisfying.
Mr Perfect - Wednesday, January 8, 2014 - link
It's purely cosmetic. Same reason why people spend $100 on a new set of keycaps for their Cherry MX boards, just because they have some cool design and they don't mind spending money on it.pierrot - Monday, January 6, 2014 - link
Yessss Ive been waiting for this - but dammit Computex is June? I just hop ethey keep it simple and dont ruin it by going too crazyvFunct - Monday, January 6, 2014 - link
I have the K95 and the keys definitely need more physical feedback. In fact, the feel is much worse than non-mechanical keyboards, as the Cherry Reds don't have any click at all to them.I grew up on IBM keyboards, the ones with actual springs in them, and they are so good, with perfect feedback. I wish there were something like that.
Corsair also needs Mac drivers. I use the K95 and M95 on Mac for Starcraft exclusively. (Don't play anything else.)
The M95 meanwhile misses a lot of clicks. Something weird going on there.
MadMan007 - Tuesday, January 7, 2014 - link
There are buckling spring clones from a company that bought the rights from IBM: Unicomp. http://www.pckeyboard.com/Or Cherry Blues if you want audible and distinct tactile feedback, Browns if you want non-audible and somewhat soft tactile feedback (especially if you are ham-fisted with the keyboard) but with a perfectly equal activation and reset point.
Ian Cutress - Tuesday, January 7, 2014 - link
I use blues, mainly because that's the sort I grew up on (old Commodore C64 hand), also as a writer I like an audible feedback when I type a key. It means I definitely know when I've typed it.