The Corsair K70 RGB TKL Champion Series Optical-Mechanical Gaming Keyboard has a ridiculously long name for a keyboard, so to protect my wrists from carpal tunnel, I will henceforth call it the K70 OPX. This board is not new; it is the same one released in 2021, with Corsair's OPX Optical-Mechanical switches. These switches are the same as those found on our favorite gaming keyboard, the Corsair K100 (opens in new tab).

The K70 OPX sells for $150 (opens in new tab), $10 more than the other K70 with the more common Cherry MX switches. Whether this premium is worth it to you depends largely on what kind of switches you prefer. Essentially, the OPX switch is a linear switch designed for speed and fluidity. They have a working distance of 1mm and zero debounce. For reference, the Cherry MX Red has an actuation distance of about 1.8mm.

This means that the switches are really fast, smooth, and clicky, though not aggressive; Corsair says the new switches are far more reliable, guaranteeing a whopping 150 million keystrokes before failure or performance degradation occurs. This is very impressive figuratively, but ultimately meaningless, since no one actually counts. What really matters, however, is that it feels great when you're playing the game.

I can say that playing Destiny 2's Crucible was effortless, as all my frantic sidesteps, jumps, and slides registered without a hitch; whether you notice the difference between 1mm and 1.8mm actuation distance is debatable, but I'd say that the difference is more than worth it. Typing, on the other hand, was not as pleasant, although we are not sure if this had more to do with the size and shape of the PBT cap than the switch itself. The clinking noise was much less, at least compared to other boards.

The K70 OPX is a great board. The whole thing is designed to withstand the rigors of the esports tournament scene and it shows. The all-black chassis is made of lightweight aluminum and looks and feels very nice.

This is the TKL configuration, which loses the numeric keypad but makes for a smaller, more portable board. The slightly rough PBT caps are non-slip and will not fade with age. The keys are all individually backlit, but even at their brightest, the lighting seems a bit pastel and washed out compared to the Razer board. Seems odd to me and not a fan.

A lot of customization is possible with up to 20 layers of lighting effects that can be configured in the Corsair iCUE software suite. iCUE also allows for finer control over polling rates, custom key bindings, and profiles, with 50 of which can be stored in the keyboard's 8MB storage.

At the top of the board is a section dedicated to media controls and quick profile settings. I really like the media bar, with its diamond-textured aluminum volume dial and playback buttons on the left side. These work perfectly on both Windows PCs and Apple computers.

There should be an LED display on the center panel, but unfortunately it is only lit by the Corsair logo. Quick profile buttons allow you to change saved profiles, lighting, and lock the Windows Start key so you never have to tab out of a sweaty game.

The board is connected via a removable USB Type-C cable, and Corsair provides a very handsome and sturdy braided USB Type-C to Type-A cable, but you can use whatever you have lying around. next to the USB port is a Tournament switch, with a toggle to disable all custom macros and obtrusive lighting profiles.

The K70 OPX also features Corsair's AXON Hyper polling technology, which allows for an impressive polling rate of 8,000 Hz. Again, this is something that ordinary people cannot discern in the real world, but comparatively speaking, the response of the K70 OPX is 0.25 ms, while some of the best boards are only 2 ms. Combine this with the ultra-fast OPX switches, and there is no excuse for the poor K/D ratio.

The K70 RGB TKL Champion Series OPX is an excellent gaming keyboard and should please more than just the esports players Corsair is aiming for. It is a pleasure to use every day, both at work and in my personal life. The new OPX switches are attractive on paper, but in practice, I don't think they justify the $10 premium at all. However, if you are looking for speed and excellent media control in a handsome enclosure, you will not be disappointed with this board.