Corsair K65 Plus review

Enter the Corsair K65 Plus, the newest and once again confusingly named keyboard from Corsair. Although the name might suggest that the K65 Plus is a 65% board 'plus' some extras, it's actually just a 75% keyboard. Don't hold the backwards nomenclature against it, though. There's otherwise a heck of a lot to like about this compact keyboard. In a world where almost all the best wireless gaming keyboards have hundreds of hours of battery life, hot-swappable key switches and dedicated media controls, it'll have to pull something pretty special to get on the list, though.

Out of the box the K65 Plus looks like a lot of the other compact boards we've put on our best of list. It's not plagued with so much of the gamery aesthetic that some boards are, as it comes with a two-tone grey keycap set, and a backplate and spacebar decorated with Corsair's subtle polygonal pattern. There's a touch of metallic silver with the escape key—adorned with the Corsair ship logo—and a swanky metal dial in the top right that gives it some extra flair. You can tell it's going to be a high-end board just from the aesthetic, but there's more hiding under the hood.

What you can't tell from just looking at the K65 Plus is that it comes with hot-swappable key switches. If you aren't one for linear switches, there are sadly no other options for different key switches with the base model. So yeah, hot-swap switches are a great feature, but if you're still saving up for new switches and can't stand linears, the K65 Plus isn't going to be the best option for you. If you've already got some lying around, the likelihood is they'll fit the north-facing 5 pin slots, as these will fit most standard key switches. And if you just want to swap the caps, you're looking at the common-as-muck cross key stem and a Cherry profile. All pretty standard, so there's very little stress when it comes to swapping out. 

The MLX Red linear key switches Corsair offers with base K65 Plus are super satisfying. They're soft