Corsair K70 Pro Mini Wireless review: a compact, feature-rich gaming keyboard

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The appeal of mechanical keyboards is their customizability. There is an infinite amount of parts to upgrade, swap out, or modify a keyboard to fit your needs. Sometimes using a keyboard just as it comes out of the box is just plain fun.

The keyboard switches are hot swappable. You can remove hot- swappable switches with a simple pulling tool instead of having each key's switch soldered to the board. Replacing them is as simple as changing a key cap. The feature is more and more common on enthusiast boards, but it is rare on keyboards from mainstream brands.

The K70 Pro Mini Wireless is an interesting accessory. It looks a lot like the kind of mechanical gaming keyboards that Corsair has been producing for years. It is the first keyboard from the company that comes with hot- swappable switches. It means it has a mix of Corsair's gaming focused features like low input latency and customizability.

It's expensive and won't be suitable for everyone. If you want to pay the price, it ticks a lot of boxes.

The Corsair K70 Pro Mini Wireless is very similar to Corsair's other products. The keys are styled with an aggressive all-caps fonts, and it is completely black. There is a physical on / off switch and a small dock for the keyboard.

There isn't a way to put the keyboard in a layout mode. Given Corsairs focus on gaming, this is understandable. If you want, you can set the keyboard at a sharper angle by placing two feet on the underside.

There is a good range of connected options, including a good old fashioned wired connection and the ability to save up to three different connections. Some of them aren't as responsive as other people. You will have to use a wired connection to get the keyboard's maximum polling rate, but it can only report at 2,000hertz when using its 2.4 GHz dongle. Corsair doesn't say what the keyboard's polling rate is, but typically, the wireless standard isn't known for its lowlatency.

Corsair only sells the K70 Pro Mini Wireless with either linear Cherry MX Red or gaming-focused linear Cherry MX Speed Silver switches, so you have a lot of other options if you want to. You could swap in alternative Cherry switches, like clicky blues, or even more obscure community options. Your lobster is the world.

I was able to replace a few switches with relative ease because Corsair included a switch puller in the box with the keyboard. Only three-pin plate-mount switches can fit in the keyboard's circuit board, so you'll have to clip the plastic legs off five-pin switches to get them to fit. It isn't the end of the world, but you'll have to pick your replacement switches carefully or modify them. The selling point of hot- swap is simplicity.

There is a chance to swap out the K70 Pro Mini Wireless keycaps. The key caps that come with the keyboard are double shot PBT and allow the keyboard to shine through. There are a lot of additional legends printed on the sides of the keycaps. If you replace the keycaps, you'll have a hard time remembering your keys. Compatibility issues with some Cherry-profile key caps can be created by the keyboard's switches being north-facing.

The K70 Pro Mini Wireless is very small. It uses a 60 percent layout, which means that it doesn't have any dedicated keys. When you want to maximize the amount of space your mouse gets, a keyboard that is specifically designed for space-Confined desks is a good choice.

A compact model like this can be useful if you run out of mouse space because of a large keyboard. I couldn't use the K70 Pro Mini Wireless as a work keyboard because of the restrictive layout. All of its missing keys are accessible via a function key on the bottom right of the keyboard, but having to press two keys just to access arrow keys is tiring, and it only gets worse when you need to add more modifier. I used to have to press as many as four keys at the same time. This keyboard isn't good for office work.

It isn't a good keyboard for typing. The construction of the keyboard makes them sound cheap and plastic, and they don't feel as good as competing keyboards from Epomaker or Keychron. Large keys have stabilizers that sound metallic.

When you use the K70 Pro Mini Wireless for gaming, you don't miss the extra keys, and you have the most to gain from its reduced input latency. I don't think most people can feel the benefits of polling rates higher than 1,000hertz. I used the K70 Pro Mini Wireless to play a game on a 120Hz display, first in its polling mode, which needs to be manually enabled in Corsair's iCue software, and then with its 2,000Hz dongle, but I couldn't see anything. It is reassuring that there is no input lag penalty for using the keyboard without a cable.

If you press the Fn key along with WASD, your mouse will move around the screen, and there are other ways to speed it up. I wouldn't recommend anyone to play a game like this, but it's a neat feature for people like me who have to control a gaming PC under their TVs with a wireless keyboard and trackpad. The K70 Pro Mini Wireless is a useful little tool that couch gaming enthusiasts might want to use if they want to play a game with a controller.

I wasn't able to run it down consistently during my review period due to Corsair's estimates, but the battery life is ok. It will last up to 32 hours with back lighting on, and up to 200 hours with it off. If you want to keep its lights on, you'll have to pay a weekly fee. The $150 MX Mechanical Mini, which offers 15 days with back lighting on or 10 months with it off, is in line with the $65 K12 model of Keychron.

The K70 Pro Mini Wireless is a keyboard that won't be for everyone. If you are looking for a compact keyboard that you will need to use for equal parts productivity and play, then my advice is to get a slightly larger one. It's not going to be possible to make up for the missing keys.

It is nice to get the customizability of an enthusiast mechanical keyboard without giving up the quality of life features of a big brand. A keyboard is a lot of money. The Corsair K70 Pro Mini Wireless is not a very versatile keyboard, even though it is a very customization keyboard.

Jon Porter is a photographer.

Every smart device has a set of terms and conditions that you have to agree to before you can use it. It is not possible for us to read and analyze all of them. Since these are agreements most people don't read and can't negotiate, we're going to start counting how many times you have to agree to use the device.

The Corsair K70 Pro Mini Wireless can be used without installing any Corsair software. You will need to agree to some terms and conditions to install Corsair's iCue companion software, which will allow you to unlocked its full function.

• Corsair End User License Agreement
• Corsair Website Privacy Notice

You can choose to receive marketing emails.

There are two mandatory agreements and one optional agreement if you want to use icue.