Corsair Gaming Vengeance K90 Keyboard Review

Take a look at a keyboard, and the unusual way it is set out. The QWERTY layout, as it is known, was devised in the early days of mechanical typewriters, to avoid the jamming of the arms that were thrown to strike the ribbon with the paper underneath. It was designed to slow the user down. I was a printer many years ago, not the type you see now with computers and desktop publishing, but the old-fashioned way, with hot metal type. Movable type as it was called was the result of an operator typing at a large George Orwellian type of machine called a Linotype Typesetter, and the noisy, smoky result was a mass of columns of single back to front characters, all ready to be placed into a frame, coated with a thin film of ink and start the mass run of printing. The Linotype setter’s keyboard was different to the normal keyboard however, in that the letters went in alphabetical order, and when i watched the operator working, his speed was phenomenal.

Surprisingly, with the advent of the computer age, the qwerty format had already caught on, and typists with the sit up and beg clattering machines they had progressed from were immediately at home with the system, despite the fact you do not need to hit the keys as though you were pumping up a flat tyre. The mouse also gave some strange looks when it was introduced at a later time, and many typists refused to use it, as they were quicker with the keys; there were no reports of ladies standing on chairs though.

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My first introduction to a QWERTY layout was with my first “computer” a Phillips 2000. This was a cartridge based games console that also had a “programming” cartridge that would allow the user to learn computer programming. To be honest, the cost of this was immense, and I had to part- exchange my electric guitar and amplifier to afford it, but the programming was way, way beyond me. You would have had more success teaching me to program by tapping a six inch nail into the side of my head and hope that it would pick up a radio station that by some chance would explain it in simple layman’s terms. To be fair, this programming lesson was not in BASIC, but some “boffin with a computer the size of a council hall” machine code or something. It frightened me. The “keyboard” was full size, but a membrane type, rather than the tap it and it works buttons we are all used to. Indeed my next had a decent keyboard attached, the Commodore VIC 20, which had 3k (yes, that’s correct!) of memory, and a tape recorder to store and load programs. I was now able to learn a bit about programming, and also play games, which were amazing considering the constraints these guys had to work with. Next came a Commodore 64, which had 64k of memory (elephantine, they called it back then) and the gaming improved one hundred fold with fast, responsive platform, shoot-em-up and joystick enabled addictive fun rocketing sales. I spent two hundred quid on a 5.25 inch disk drive for this mammoth, which held 80k! An Atari 520 followed, and I used this to work with spreadsheets, word processing and again the amazing games, which now came on 3.5 inch floppy disk. After increasing the memory on my 520 and adding two customised hard disk drives, I finally came of age (technically speaking) and got a PC, an IBM Compatible, with a “real” keyboard. This was a natural progression thanks to all the QWERTY stuff I had used, but the feel and resilience of the keys were a vast improvement, like changing the wooden wheels of an ox cart for pneumatic tyre shod alloys with a nice soft suspension.

That analogy rings true with the difference when you try the new Corsair Gaming Vengeance K90 Keyboard, which although obviously enhanced for the gaming fraternity, would increase throughput and comfort of any PC user. I have used cheap keyboards, illuminated keyboards, and some that were hideously expensive, and not one has come close to the feel of this one. True, it is hardly priced for the supermarket shelves, but unlike some of the others I have tried, this yields a quality that belies its price. Gone is the indecisive waggle of a key if you do not hit it just right. Gone is the hideous bounce that you have to anticipate for the multiple tap. Each key is as precise, decisive and controlled as if it were designed for the military, to use in launch systems and other really important stuff. But hang on; this IS to be used for military, life and death situations on possibly a day to day basis, as it is a gaming keyboard.

Fully customisable, this gaming system increases your response time and accuracy over other keyboards. The Cherry MX Red (TM) key switches are the finest switches available, with precision sensitivity and ultra quick reaction. No less than eighteen G-Keys can be customised to issue commands or run macros, with up to 54 programmable functions accessible from three separate banks, which can be created on the fly, customised and run by a single key press. Anti-ghosting technology provides control even during multiple keys presses at once, thanks to dedicated diodes for each switch so every key press results in an input. Think of it like a polyphonic music keyboard. A standard USB keyboard has a six key press rollover, but the Corsair K90 has an amazing 20-key rollover at a blazing fast 1ms (1000 reports per second) reporting rate.

Build quality is also premium, as gamers can be as tough on their kit in the heat of battle as the grunts they are taking the persona of, so a professional grade brushed aluminium chassis takes care of the stability and strength of the unit, whilst the stiff suspension and laser etched keys offer durability and won't degrade over time. Illumination is provided by more than ninety LEDs, giving the edge even in atmospheric low light.

Create up to fifty profiles and share, import and export macros with the free Vengeance keyboard gaming software (corsair.com), and then take them with you (customizations and profiles) and use them on any system, courtesy of the on board memory. Multimedia controls allow you to effortlessly enjoy your music or films, and a USB through port allows mouse or other devices to be close to hand.
To complete the comfort of this exceptional keyboard, soft-touch wrist rest helps you play comfortably through the night, and still manage to drive/work/study the next day. Sadly, it has no feature that keeps you awake the next day.

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