Verdict
The Corsair K65 Pro Mini is a wonderful small - form - ingredient gaming keyboard . It offer an particularly stout shape , complete with attentive design as well as some excellent ocular replacement – smooth and dashing for game and word processing alike . Its software entourage is clean and the RGB lighting it leave is vibrant . But , all that keyboard goodness does come at a high price .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
Optical play keyboards really have been the public lecture of the town for the last match of long time , bid unparalleled speed for mechanically skillful key switches . The previous competition has go forth – the Corsair K65 Pro Mini .
The Corsair K65 Pro Mini wreak the appeal and power of an visual keyboard to a smaller form factor . It all comes in an attractive , competitively - priced bundle too .
There ’s plastered rival though from the likes of theRazer Huntsman Mini , and theSteelSeries Apex Pro Mini Wireless . Whether Corsair comes out on top here remains to be seen , here ’s my recap .
Design
Compared to the other pocket-size configuration factor gaming keyboards mentioned above , the Corsair K65 Pro Mini offers a slightly bigger , but more helpful layout . competitor from Razer and SteelSeries cling with a 60 % layout that provides you with the standard alphanumeric keys and minuscule else .
The 65 % layout present here tot a column of function keys , as well as some pointer keys – it ’s a small addition , but a helpful one . With this in idea , Corsair ’s dinky optic board is still rather small , attain it an now handy pick for space - save up gamers , or those without much in the way of life of desk space .
The K65 Pro Mini is peculiarly well - build too , offering a sturdy mental synthesis and a build with minimum deck flex . That ’s helped along by the blend of the metal top denture and healthy credit card casing elsewhere that helps Corsair ’s prospect justify its price ticket a picayune more .
Corsair has been paying attention enough to extend that excellent physique calibre into the keycaps that the K65 Pro Mini utilises . It features rough-textured PBT keycaps which are tardily but surely becoming a mainstay of more premium mainstream keyboards , which is particularly pleasant to see . This is because PBT is a much more durable charge card than the more standard - issue AB , and a generally higher quality material .
continue that serious-minded design , inside the K65 Pro Mini , Corsair has bundled a pair of levelheaded - dampening layers to grant the keyboard to offer more pleasing acoustics . This is n’t something you see all too often in mainstream gaming products , but it demonstrates Corsair is recognising the needs and want of an audience slowly becoming more aware of fancier tendency , which is always prissy to see .
Round the back , connectivity is do by by a singular USB - degree centigrade port with a detachable cable , which is always skillful to see . The transmission line offer is also braided , with Corsair seemingly seeking to further justify the K65 Pro Mini ’s Mary Leontyne Price ticket at every chance . On the keyboard ’s underside come two sturdy plastic foundation that raise the K65 Pro Mini up to a more comfortable typing slant .
Performance
The big matter about the K65 Pro Mini though , aside from its small stature , is the habit of Corsair ’s own ocular OPX switches . These have previously been found in the full - size of it Corsair K100 as an option , so it ’s nice to see them make their mode into smaller - step keyboard .
In my experience , ocular switches tend to feel a little hollow by comparison to more standard mechanical counterpart , but that is n’t the guinea pig with the OPX switching . These offer a bodied , brisk and particularly smooth keypress that makes them an excellent selection for gaming . They provide a 45 g force out , similar to other linear replacement on the market , but bring via wanton gate as opposed to traditional mechanisms and put up a short overall travel distance of 3.2 mm , meaning they offer a quicker keypress compared to more standard switches .
Even for typing too , the OPX switch in the K65 Pro Mini felt excellent . Sure , they are designed more for intense gaming than banging out documents , but they ’re a comfortable switch to use . It ’s here where my personal preference for tactile switches kick in though , and I shortly swop out the K65 Pro Mini for a board with unlike switches .
As with some of Corsair ’s more recent ‘ Pro ’ judge keyboard offerings , the K65 Pro Mini also features an 8000Hz polling pace . This is an awful lot higher than the received 1000Hz polling charge per unit I ’ve run across on most other keyboards . In brusk , a higher polling charge per unit translates to less reaction time , which in round final result in a more responsive and perceivably less laggy experience – and 8000Hz is more than I ’ve ever encountered on any other high - end keyboard .
It may not be a feature film that bare mortals such as you or I will obtain makes much of a intelligible difference , but for the pro , where every millisecond can make a difference of opinion , having the combo of an 8000Hz polling rate and some fantastic optic switch make up the K65 Pro Mini a redoubtable pick .
The K65 Pro Mini also utilises a standard - issue USB - coulomb to USB - A wired connection , which again ensures a zero - latency experience , only strengthen the power of optical switches and such a preposterously high polling rate . It ’s also handy that the cable system is detachable if you want to take Corsair ’s dinky keeb on your travel with you , too .
Software and Lighting
It calculate as if it ’s live to be a minute of a home run for the K65 Pro Mini , specially when considering how respectable its RGB lighting is , too . RGB can be a hard affair to get right sometimes , with too much of it severely cheapen the face of even some of the most expensive peripheral machine . Get it mighty though , and it can bring a computer peripheral to a whole new level .
Corsair ’s lighting has traditionally been telling , and that hold through with the K65 Pro Mini . Its nonremittal cycling through different presets quick became a tad annoying , but the lighting that was present was vibrant and nappy . Delve into Corsair ’s iCUE software system , and it becomes soft to choose from a assortment of presets across the entire keyboard , or for you to light up up certain crucial sectors , such as the WASD key for instance .
It ’s also in iCUE where you’re able to programme macro instruction and portion key functions , which is easy . What ’s more , you’re able to also disable a selection of keys and respective shortcuts as well as the Windows keys , preventing any accidental inputs . iCUE sometimes can be a act of a pain to utilize , but that is n’t the sheath when paired with the K65 Pro Mini , providing a clean and functional software rooms .
Latest deals
Should you buy it?
If it ’s the power and stop number of optical switches you ’re after , the 1 on the K65 Pro Mini are brilliant .
The K65 Pro Mini is a generally excellent keyboard , its 65 % layout may not be right for those who are searching for a with child keyboard .
Final Thoughts
Corsair ’s K65 Pro Mini may well just be the expert small form ingredient gaming keyboard out there today from a mainstream producer . Its 65 % layout is functional , and its pattern is thoughtful , with everything from PBT keycaps to sound - dampening froth included to offer a generally premium software system . In addition , this is also a stalwart keyboard , with no deck of cards flex in the chassis whatsoever .
The switch on crack are smooth and pleasing to employ for everything from type to play and do n’t suffer from the distinctive hollow feeling that other optical switches can do . It ’s here where the K65 Pro Mini take a major winnings against the like of theRazer Huntsman Mini , it must be said . The addition of an 8000Hz polling rate is handy for the pros looking for the speedy input possible , while the integration of the K65 Pro Mini with Corsair ’s iCUE is splendid .
The price tatter is the only thing that ’s really nagging at me here , with competitors from the the like of Razer sitting at almost half the price at the time of writing . If you’re able to afford it though , the K65 Pro Mini is fantastic , and a surefire hit for quad - lay aside gamers .
Trusted Score
How we test
We utilise every keyboard we test for at least a workweek . During that meter , we ’ll contain it for ease of use and put it through its paces by play a smorgasbord of unlike genres , include FPS , scheme and MOBAs .
We also retard each keyboard ’s computer software to see how light it is to customise and set up .
Full Specs
