Corsair K63, Lapboard and Dark Core Unplug and Play Review

Conclusion

Sometimes when you get a collection of hardware that is supposed to work together the individual parts don’t quite equate to their completed self. With the Corsair range though each item works well as a standalone whilst being even better if you can stretch to the full list.

Starting with the biggest part, the K63 Lapboard, it’s clearly an evolution of the original Corsair lap design, and with some tweaks that solve the problems. Instead of requiring you to get out your toolkit every time you wanted to use it, Corsair have moved away from clamping the keyboard in with metal bars and screws, but instead using a clip and latch type system that lets you get up and running in moments. Even better is that it’s as simple to unclip everything and use it on your desktop. The size is compact enough to not give you the feeling that you’re balancing an ironing board on your lap, whilst also not making everything feel cramped. There is a good level of padding on the underside to keep your thighs comfortable, whilst the wrist rest greatly reduces the chance of RSI.

The K63 Tenkeyless Mechanical Keyboard is, perhaps, the simplest thing to review because it is so obviously a Corsair keyboard. The design tropes that are ingrained into their corporate identity are in full effect. We have the media keys that nobody would confuse for those of another brand, the textured space bar that is such a part of the Corsair look, and their clear font on the keycaps that let the blue LEDs shine brightly. We’d probably have opted for white LEDs ourselves, just because they are more flexible, but Corsair know that the blue LED is by far their biggest seller and therefore it makes perfect sense for them to commit to it. “Why not RGB?”, we hear you ask. The power draw differences between a single colour LED and a full spectrum RGB offering is significant enough that it had a major effect on battery life. We’d definitely rather have a lot of battery life than compromise that – and the whole wireless idea – just to get a particular shade.

The Dark Core RGB SE Mouse and MM1000 mousepad are such a pairing it’s almost impossible to separate them. If there is one element of a wireless rodent that gives a moments concern it is the latency and worrying as to whether it’s about to die. Latency has been solved in the past couple of years and if you’re running the Dark Core with the 2.4GHz connection option then you can reach all the way down to the 1ms response that is familiar to anyone used to wired mice. Battery life is something clearly indicated by the three LEDs that double up as the DPI stage indicators. There are different combinations of colours and blinking to ensure that you’re never in the dark about how much battery life is available. Perhaps what really sells this though is the Qi charging capability. By having a place upon the MM1000 Mousepad that can be used for wireless charging you can quickly get used to placing the mouse over the hotspot when you’re typing or playing with a pad to keep the mouse topped up.

For latency reasons everything has its own wireless receiver that needs plugging into your system, which is about the only minor negative we have. We’d liked to have seen Corsair try and design a receiver that can handle all the signals without increasing the latency rather than needing one for every device. We’re also curious as to whether extra dongles will be available or if you need to carry them around between systems all the time 9desk rig to front room rig).

However, Corsair have clearly learned the lessons from their previous attempts at letting us play on the sofa in comfort and simplicity, and the whole range is quick to set up, comfortable to use and responsive so you never feel your skills are being blunted by the wireless design. All the various elements are very good on their own and excellent when combined into a Wonder Twin’s style whole.

  

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