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When it comes to keyboard testing keyboards, we use real world experiences like gaming, typing and general usage to ascertain if the product is any good or not. This is of course quite subjective, so while we spend a lot of time on our reviews and consider them a good representation of what the product is like to use, we would still encourage you to try them for yourself, if you get the chance.
With that said, what's the Corsair Raptor K40 actually like?
I quite like it… for a non-mechanical. If you're a regular user of a mechanical board yourself, you'll understand what I mean, but for those of you that don't, let me explain.
Because mechanical keyboards use switches that don't require a full depress to activate (I.E., you don't have to bottom out) they're a lot less tiring to press. However with membrane boards the force needed can feel somewhat excessive. I found the actuation force required for the Corsair K40 to be quite high. It's not astronomical, but my hands have gotten tired a few times while using it.
Mechanical switches depress in a linear fashion, while membrane keys don't move at all … until they suddenly activate.
Keys can be remapped in the software, but only the six on the far left
These issues with the switches transferred over into the game testing. While I thought the K40 was responsive, it is not not a patch on a decent mechanical keyboard. The fact that the keys need to be completely depressed before activating, means you're at a slight disadvantage. It's not as massive issue, but it is distracting. Likewise it can take you a while to get used to the extra force required to press the key all the way down.
It can also get a bit tiring in arcade games or those that require multiple presses of the same key in rapid succession, but for the most part it worked pretty well. I think over time I would adjust to it, but throughout the testing I did sometimes find myself wishing for more responsive keys.
The lighting options are extensive and you can pick pretty much any colour under the sun
While typing, I actually found this keyboard really nice to use. However, as with the gaming tests I did sometimes find it a little tiring. My only other concern is the key spacing – the gap between the number and function keys was oddly small. Several times while typing I went for the backspace key and found myself hitting F11 or F12.
The keys are finished in a lovely soft plastic coating which is usually only found on high end gaming mice. Good choice Corsair.
There's a lot of different colour options available for the backlighting
One odd thing I did notice is that due to the slightly increased height of the keys, I actually had to readjust my sitting position so that I wasn't angling my arms upwards. This could be because I am quite short, but that near inch rise all of the keys have – to separate them and protect from spillage – did require some getting used to.
While great from overhead, the backlighting is a bit patchy when you're sat in a normal typing position
