Corsair K55 RGB Wired Membrane Gaming Keyboard - IP42 Dust and Spill-Resistant - 6 Macro Keys with Elgato Integration - Three-Zone RGB Lighting - QWERTY UK Layout - Black

Product Information

To give credit where it’s due, like a lot of membrane keyboards, the K55 RGB Pro XT is actually quite good for typists, with precise, responsive keycaps. On a Typing.com test, I scored 124 words per minute with 99% accuracy on the K55 RGB Pro XT, compared to only 108 words per minute with 98% accuracy on my usual Logitech G915

The biggest addition to the K55 Pro XT is per-key RGB lighting. That means you're no longer restricted to three zones of customization, with the whole world of iCUE now open to you. And that's a wide world. The cheaper K55 can now take full advantage of Corsair's lauded software, and that means plenty of programmable key customisation alongside the six dedicated macro buttons. NOTE: If you need to stop recording, hold the macro button until the macro indicator stops pulsing or blinking. When it comes to how the keys feel, the Corsair K55 RGB Pro XT is destined to be divisive. I have no desire to wade into the never-ending “membrane vs. mechanical” debate, but I will say that in my experience, mechanical keyboards are generally more comfortable, better for gaming and able to last a much longer time. The Corsair K55 RGB Pro XT actually has a slightly cheaper variant: the Corsair K55 RGB Pro. The Pro model eschews the per-key RGB lighting and patterns, opting instead for five zones with six possible patterns. The G keys contribute the most of all to this keyboard's extra spread. The keyboard measures 2 by ‎20.2 by 7.2 inches (HWD), which means it will take up most of the space in front of your gaming monitor. The included wrist rest adds 2.6 inches to the depth. This piece attaches via two plastic clips on either end; it provides a minimal layer of comfort for people who like to rest their hands while typing, though it isn't as plush as the padded rest of the Razer Ornata V2. The rubberized surface of the rest also collected a fair amount of dust during our testing, so cleaning might be a hassle.There’s also a detachable wrist rest, which is pretty comfortable thanks to a coarse, bumpy texture.

As such, the question is whether the K55 RGB Pro XT’s keys succeed on their own merits. And the answer is, “sort of.” This Corsair keyboard is arguably a good place to start in the world of PC gaming peripherals, but there’s a whole lot more to see if you can afford to spend just a little more. At 19.0 x 6.6 x 1.4 inches, the Corsair K55 RGB Pro XT is pretty large, even by full-size gaming keyboard standards. Part of this length is due to the extra macro keys, but other keyboards with similar features, such as the Logitech G915, are a full half-inch shorter. In hardware mode, your keyboard can run any lighting effects or macros that are saved to its onboard memory. You can even record macros when iCUE is not running, so long as your keyboard has space in its onboard memory. The K55 RGB Pro also works with Elgato apps, which you can use to assign additional software shortcuts to control your live streams (though you can assign regular macros and shortcuts as well). Starting and stopping a stream, changing scenes, or muting your audio can be tied to the left-side "G" function keys.The Corsair K55 is a membrane keyboard, which means it utilizes rubber domes under its keycaps as opposed to mechanical switches. The result is a softer keypress with a nearly silent response. Thankfully, this doesn't translate to spongy keys—there's still a pleasant amount of resistance when typing or gaming. Under the keycaps are three RGB lighting zones instead of more expensive per-key lighting. The colors on the K55 have an excellent diffused glow and really fill up the space with light, thanks to the rubberized domes and floating keycaps.