Corsair K70 CORE TKL Wireless Review – A Great Keyboard With An Asterisk

Unboxing

The Corsair K70 CORE TKL Wireless is the less expensive counterpart of the brand’s premium gaming keyboard lineup, though it has some on-paper upgrades over its sibling model that we reviewed last year. Opening the box and you’ll find the keyboard wrapped in the paper packaging, and on the lower-right corner is the QR code that takes you to the online user guide (the cable is also tucked in this section).

You only get a minimal number of items that include the keyboard itself, along with the wrist rest, USB-C to USB-A cable, 2.4GHz wireless USB dongle, plus two papers for warranty and regulatory notices.

Walkaround

The Corsair K70 CORE TKL Wireless continues the trend of minimalist-sized keyboards, with no extra space beyond what’s need to fit all the keys in a tenkeyless layout. Like the K70 PRO TKL we reviewed, the status indicators are placed in the gap between Esc and F1 key, while top right is where you find the Game Mode hotkey, iCUE hotkey (can be remapped), and the multi-function rotary dial. There’s also the magnetically attached wrist rest, which is firmer than the one from its PRO counterpart.

Since this is a wireless gaming keyboard, the K70 CORE TKL Wireless comes with a mode switch toggle next to the USB-C port, which can be connected using the included braided USB-C to USB-A cable. There’s also a dedicated compartment for the SLIPSTREAM wireless USB dongle, but out of the box you’ll find it slotted in the top-right corner of the box, in case you missed it.

In terms of height adjustment, the keyboard only comes with a single stage feet that adds an additional 5° on top of the 2° slope provided by the keyboard itself. That said, the keyboard’s base height is reasonable, though you can use the wrist rest to raise your palm to a more comfortable typing stance.

Corsair has also used the upgraded MLX Red v2 switches (the first version was used in the K70 CORE RGB) with slightly longer lifespan (now 80 million keypresses), though it retains the same amount of actuation force at 45 grams. They’re also pre-lubed, and overall the actuation is very smooth.

Specifications

Corsair K70 CORE TKL Wireless

Full specifications available in product page and online documentation.

Body Material	Brushed aluminum plate + plastic body
Form Factor	Tenkeyless (TKL)
Wrist Rest	Leatherette, magnetically attached
Keycap Material	Double-shot ABS *Non-ANSI (US) layout use ABS Paint keycaps
Switch Type (As tested)	Corsair MLX Red v2 Switch Type: Linear (pre-lubed) Actuation force: 45g Pre-travel: 2.0mm Total travel: 4.0mm Lifespan: 80M keystrokes
Polling Rate	Max. 1000Hz
Key Rollover	Full-key NKRO & full anti-ghosting
SOCD Support	FlashTap on A+D key (last key priority), OFF by default *iCUE remap & priority mode support available November 2024
Onboard Memory	5 profiles
OS Support	Windows 10, Windows 11 macOS 10.15 or newer Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
Connectivity	Detachable 1.8m wired braided cable, USB Type-C to Type-A 2.4GHz Corsair SLIPSTREAM USB dongle Bluetooth
Battery	4,200mAh / 15.54Wh
Colors	Black
Dimensions	365.6 x 134.8 x 39.4 mm Dimensions including wrist rest not specified
Weight	803.5g Weight including wrist rest not specified

User Experience

To access detailed keyboard customization, you need the Corsair iCUE app: here, you get access to the lighting effects, key assignments, control dial, and Game Mode specific settings. One omission right now is the advanced FlashTap (Corsair’s SOCD feature equivalent) controls, and here’s where things seemingly doesn’t go to plan on Corsair’s side.

Right now, the keyboard already supports basic FlashTap support that only enables A+D key in Last Priority mode, which can be activated at any time via Fn + Right Shift key. However, in the documentation Corsair has promised more controls will be added in a future iCUE update (not the firmware update) by November 2024, but as of this writing I have yet to see a new update that adds this feature (for reference, I currently have version 5.21.107 of the app, which Corsair says is the latest).

In any case, you can still manage the keyboard in the device settings, including activating power saving mode, PlayStation mode, and more. Interestingly, while the wired connection maxes out at 1000Hz polling rate, the wireless connection is capable of doubling that – though we’re talking about 0.5 milliseconds of difference here.

Here’s how the keyboard sounds like – it’s decently dampened, but not to the degree of Tecware Spectre 96 we just reviewed with great noise-reducing properties. Still, it’s quite a bit better than the K70 PRO TKL we reviewed (which comes with MLX Hyperdrive magnetic switches), and we think the spacebar’s noise is managed pretty well too.

The Good

Like the K70 CORE we reviewed last year, the new K70 CORE TKL Wireless has the same positive qualities of the original model – the typing feel is solid and smooth as far as linear switches go, and it’s even better this time thanks to more soundproofing made into the keyboard that keeps the high-pitch ‘pings’ to the minimum.

Besides that, two features – included wrist rest and FlashTap (SOCD) support – do add to the keyboard’s feature set and overall value. While the wrist rest isn’t quite as soft as other keyboards that I tried, it’s still pretty solid to help support your wrist while typing; as for FlashTap, it’s a good design choice on Corsair’s part to clearly indicate the feature is active, so you can easily see if the feature gets activated by mistake if you’re in a game where SOCD is not allowed.

The Bad

That said, there are two issues based on my past several days of usage. One of the is the rotary dial which has issues registering inputs if you’re scrolling it too fast. Specifically, if you quickly rotate the dial, you can rotate 20 clicks, but the keyboard only sends signals of 10 clicks. This applies to all modes, including volume control and page scroll – so we think this might be the issue on the dial’s encoder.

Another thing to point out is the late support of additional SOCD features that Corsair has promised. While the company promised the feature will be available in iCUE in November, at this point we’re yet to see the feature available in the app.

Verdict

At RM699, the Corsair K70 CORE TKL Wireless will still command a price tag that may not be for everyone – but if you’re someone who prefers linear switches, I think the typing experience will be quite likeable in general. Still, if you’re hoping to buy this for the SOCD features, I do think better options exist out there, especially when companies like Razer are even retroactively supporting SOCD (Snap Tap) in all of their current keyboards.

Special thanks to Corsair for providing the K70 CORE TKL Wireless gaming keyboard for this review.