I
foundmyselfmuttering,‘Ohthat’s
lovely,properlylovely,’themomentI
setthiskeyboarddownonmydesk.
Corsairhaslongledthechargeforsmart-
lookingmechanicalkeyboards,andmuchofthis
keyboard’sappealcomesdowntoCorsair’stried
andtesteddesign.There’sthebrushed
aluminiumtopplateonwhichthekeysare
mountedandtheall-blacklivery,butthepièce
derésistanceis thenewlow-profilekeys.
Corsairkeyboardsthatusestandard
CherryMXswitcheshavekeysthatstandso
proudofthebasethattheylooka bitgangly
andcluttered.Withthesenewlow—profile
switches,though,thewholeunitsitstightly
together,makingfora moreelegantlook.
What’smore,Corsairhasreallymadethemost
ofthelow-profileswitches,withthekeyboard
measuringjust22mmtothetopofthefront
keys.Mostothermechanicalkeyboards
measurenearly10mmtaller,andeventhe
RoccatVulcan 120 measures26mmtall.
D
uckyhasbeenmakinghighlyregarded
mechanicalkeyboardsfora longwhile,
andtheShine7 is itstopmodel.It
sportsRGBbacklighting,double-shotPBT
keycapsanda beautifulzincalloytopplate.
Thelattersurroundsthekeysandbends
downthesides.It looksgreat,andthematerial
is apparentlythreetimesstrongerthan
aluminium,althoughit’sdebatableif there’s
muchbenefitwhenit’sonlyusedtomake
thetopplate.Theplatesurroundsthekeys,
ratherthanthekeysbeingmounteddirectly
toit, whichcreatesa cleanlookandallowsfor
anevenbacklight,thankstothewhiteplastic
layerdiffusingthelightbeneaththekeys.
Flipoverthekeyboardandit hasa standard
plasticbase,withstaticrubberfrontfeetand
two-stage,flip-downre arfeet.The1.6mUSB
cableis alsohandilyremovablethankstoa USB
Type-Cconnection.There’sanintriguingrow
CORSAIR K70 MK.2 LOWPROFILE/£160 inc VAT
DUCKYSHINE 7 /£170incVAT
SUPPLIER scan.co.ukSUPPLIER overclockers.co.ukThis low height allows your wrists to sit
at a lower angle than normal, making long-
term use more comfortable. The shorter
throw of the switches can also make them
easier to use. The overall typing experience
of this keyboard is fantastic, although getting
used to it might take time if you’re a diehard
fan of full-height mechanical switches.
Also, we did find a problem with the ‘2’ key
erroneously repeating key presses, a hardwareof DIP switches on the underside too, allowing
you to swap the left-Ctrl and Caps Lock keys
or the left-Alt and left-Windows key. They can
also disable the Windows keys and switch
between N-Key rollover and 6-Key rollover.
You get four extra buttons on the top right,
providing mute and volume control, along with a
shortcut for the calculator app. Below them sit
four annoyingly bright indicator lights for the lock
keys. Otherwise, there are no other secondary
functions or extra keys.fault we’ve never encountered before on a
new mechanical keyboard, but one that’s
hopefully only limited to our review sample.
The rest of the keyboard delivers the goods
too. You get multimedia controls in the top
right, and profile, brightness and Windows key
lock buttons in the top left. On the back edge
there’s also a USB passthrough, and of course
you get RGB lighting. Corsair’s software also
provides full-key illumination and control,You can program keys and macros manually
through a convoluted sequence of button
presses, but there’s no software to do it quickly.
You do get software for programming the RGB
lighting, however, with extensive options for
effects, although you can’t fully program
individual keys.
Keyswitches are the usual selection of
Cherry MX models, and they’re as good as ever.
Meanwhile, the fancy double-shot keycaps
use a two-step injection moulding process,LABS TEST / GAMING KEYBOARDS
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