Corsair K65 RGB Mini review

Our Verdict

The Corsair K65 RGB Mini has incredible key switches and an impressively pocket-sized profile, but a few strange blueprint decisions hamper this keyboard.

For

Authentic Red MX fundamental switches
Compact profile
Beautiful aesthetics

Confronting

Inconvenient key shortcuts
No elevation options
Convoluted hardware profiles

Tom'due south Guide Verdict

The Corsair K65 RGB Mini has incredible central switches and an impressively small profile, but a few strange design decisions hamper this keyboard.

Pros

+
Authentic Cherry MX fundamental switches
+
Compact profile
+
Beautiful aesthetics

Cons

-
Inconvenient cardinal shortcuts
-
No elevation options
-
Convoluted hardware profiles

The Corsair K65 RGB Mini is even so some other argument that the mini gaming keyboard'southward time has come. HyperX and Razer accept already thrown their hats in the ring, but Corsair's mini keyboard has a potentially unbeatable asset: authentic Scarlet MX key switches. In theory, the K65 RGB Mini has all the elements in place to get ane of the best gaming keyboards in the mini configuration.

In do, the $110 K65 RGB Mini is very proficient, but doesn't quite reach its full potential. The fundamental switches are as comfy as they appear, the RGB lighting is beautiful and the software lets you customize only about every aspect of the keyboard to your heart's content. But the physical design is surprisingly sparse, while the default central layout is somewhere between "frustrating" and "unworkable."

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If you know you want a mini gaming keyboard, the K65 RGB Mini is well worth because. But there's no unmarried feature that elevates it over like fare from other manufacturers. Read our full Corsair K65 RGB Mini review to learn more than.

Corsair K65 RGB Mini review: Specs

Key Type: Mechanical

Switch Blazon: Cherry MX Red, Silent or Speed

Illumination: Full RGB

Size: 11.half-dozen x 4.1 x i.vii inches

Corsair K65 RGB Mini review: Design

The Corsair K65 RGB Mini is what's known as a 60% mini keyboard. That ways it eschews nigh 40% of what you'd get on a full-size keyboard. At that place'due south no numpad, no navigation keys, no function row and — most infuriatingly — no arrow keys. If you're a adept touch on typist, I should requite you fair warning that a mini keyboard might drive yous out of your heed. If yous're strapped for desk space, or want a express number of keys for a specific purpose (gaming comes to mind), a mini keyboard might be a practiced fit. Simply exist aware that they're not for everyone.

As the "mini" in its proper name suggests, the Corsair K65 RGB Mini is quite small. The peripheral measures eleven.6 x four.1 ten 1.7 inches, and weighs one.3 pounds. Information technology takes up less space than the average laptop keyboard, and information technology's only about as portable, thank you to a detachable, braided USB-C-to-USB-A cable. With sparse bezels and a sturdy plastic chassis, the K65 RGB Mini is a sleek and elegant device.

At that place's only one trouble, and it'south a pernicious one: There's no way to change the acme of the keyboard. Touch typists and gamers have very specific preferences about how much of an bending they want on their keyboards, but the K65 RGB Mini takes a one-size-fits-all approach, with a gentle downward angle. I didn't personally heed, just information technology would take a lot of tinkering to get the keyboard to lie flat, if you're and so inclined.

Corsair K65 RGB Mini review: Keys

Corsair never skimps on key switches, almost always employing accurate Blood-red MX gear. While keyboard aficionados can (and do) fence most whether Ruby-red is still the be-all, end-all of gaming fundamental switches, they're the gilded standard for a reason. The model I reviewed had Cherry MX Speed switches, which feature 45 g actuation force and 1.2 mm central travel. The K65 RGB Mini is likewise available with MX Silent or MX Red switches, both of which are very quiet. All three switches are linear rather than tactile, and so yous have to depress the keys all the way before they register your input.

Not only are the keys comfortable; they're too efficient. On a Typing.com exam, I scored 123 words per minute with 99% accuracy on the K65 RGB Mini. This is exactly the same as what I scored on my regular Logitech G915. Earning the aforementioned score on a review keyboard is almost unheard of, since I'm and then much more than familiar with the G915, which speaks to just how responsive and precise the K65 RGB Mini feels.

That'south why information technology'south a shame that, for the life of me, I could not figure out a comfy fashion to activate well-nigh of the K65 RGB Mini'south keyboard shortcuts. For those who haven't used a mini keyboard earlier, yous're required to use shortcuts for a lot of familiar functionality, from media controls to pointer keys. You do this by holding down a part cardinal, so pressing a corresponding shortcut key elsewhere on the keyboard.

The K65 RGB Mini, nevertheless, relegates its function cardinal to the correct side — along with the arrows, the media controls and the delete function. In other words: The finger y'all need for the function push button is, in all likelihood, the aforementioned finger yous need for the shortcut button. And if it's not, you lot'll nevertheless have to contort your manus into an uncomfortable claw.

The placement of the arrow key shortcuts is particularly jarring. Other 60% keyboards tend to identify these keys as close to the bottom-correct equally possible, to keep them in a familiar spot. But with their default placement on the K65 RGB Mini, it's essentially impossible to use them in conjunction with the delete key (itself a shortcut on the backspace cardinal). Affect typists volition understand the problem directly away.

It's worth pointing out that yous can reprogram any of these buttons in the Corsair Utility Engine (iCUE) software. But "you have to completely upend the keyboard'south default layout as soon as you lot take information technology out of the box" is a pretty big caveat.

Corsair K65 RGB Mini review: Features

As stated higher up, the Corsair K65 RGB Mini runs on the iCUE software. As with other Corsair gaming peripherals, yous can use iCUE to plan some delightfully circuitous patterns on the bright and cute RGB-illuminated keys. The learning curve is a fleck steep, but yous can always just slap downwards a rainbow wave and call it a day.

The iCUE software is also important in that you tin can reprogram keys, which is something of a necessity if you desire to play at a loftier level, or perform complex productivity tasks. Reassigning keys isn't difficult, although information technology can be a pretty deep rabbit hole, if you cull to create unique profiles for all of your favorite games and apps.

The only potential snag here has to practice with hardware profiles. You don't have to program the K65 RGB Mini with iCUE; you can also adjust lighting, record macros and create profiles right from the keyboard itself. The problem is that the procedure is rather complicated, particularly since you tin can store upwards to 50 profiles. While information technology'southward impressive that you can reprogram the keyboard without a complicated software suite, I found the process to be more trouble than information technology's worth.

Corsair K65 RGB Mini review: Performance

The Corsair K65 RGB Mini performs beautifully in most games. This isn't terribly surprising, given Corsair's pedigree and Cherry'southward consistency. As with many mini keyboards, I was especially delighted with how the K65 RGB Mini handled Doom Eternal. Since FPS games generally require very few keys, not having to deal with a total-size model helped the action onscreen experience more precise and immediate, from scaling crumbling buildings to gunning down decaying demons.

On the other hand, Terminal Fantasy 14 presented some challenges. This game, like a lot of MMOs, requires a lot of button commands from across the entire keyboard. Having to learn (or program) shortcuts slowed downward my skill rotation and just mostly felt a lot less convenient than having a total-size, or fifty-fifty TKL, model.

I had like observations in Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition and Control. Whenever I just needed just motility and number keys, the K65 RGB Mini worked beautifully. Whenever I needed arrow or role keys, I had to go hunting for shortcuts rather than just pressing them. Your tolerance for this kind of activity will make up one's mind whether the K65 RGB Mini will be a adept fit, or a hindrance.

Corsair K65 RGB Mini review: Verdict

The Corsair K65 RGB Mini keyboard isn't the very best mini gaming keyboard I've reviewed. The HyperX Alloy Origins 60 is a piffling more straightforward, and the default central layout is much better. Merely the K65 RGB Mini has many charms, including its robust RGB lighting and its gorgeous advent. Simply having Cherry MX key switches also elevates the whole production.

Whether yous'll desire a mini keyboard — or this mini keyboard in item — depends largely on which games you lot'll want to play, and how much tolerance you have for creating and customizing profiles. But if you're willing to put the work in, the K65 RGB Mini has a lot to offer in return.

Marshall Honorof is a senior editor for Tom's Guide, overseeing the site's coverage of gaming hardware and software. He comes from a science writing background, having studied paleomammalogy, biological anthropology, and the history of science and engineering science. Later hours, you tin find him practicing taekwondo or doing deep dives on classic sci-fi.