Corsair K55 Core RGB Review

The K55 Core RGB is a budget gaming keyboard from Corsair that focuses on providing a well-rounded typing and gaming experience, at a highly competitive price point. Corsair is a veteran manufacturer that has been in the PC gaming space for quite some time, offering a vast range of hardware to choose from.

Among their excellent component choices, Corsair are well known for their great keyboards that cater to the mid-range and high-end markets. But is the K55 Core RGB a solid budget option that’s worth picking up versus other price conscious gaming keyboards?

In this review we’ll be doing a deep dive on the K55 Core RGB taking a look at its various features and design elements, along with the responsiveness, feel, and value that this keyboard offers.

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Specifications

The Corsair K55 Core RGB is a full size keyboard with 110 keys to utilise. The rest of the specs are relatively standard for a more budget-oriented membrane keyboard. The K55 Core RGB does feature 12 key rollover, which means you can press 12 keys at once before the keyboard locks out. This is particularly useful for gamers that need to press a lot of different button configurations at once.

In terms of connectivity, the K55 Core RGB is a wired option with no wireless capabilities. While this does mean you’re missing out on portability to a degree, wired keyboards offer a more stable connection and better responsiveness.

RGB is also another great feature that buyers can leverage. The Corsair K55 Core offers 10 zone RGB lighting that can be fully configured within Corsair’s iCUE software. This does differ slightly from per-key RGB lighting, but the software controls provide plenty of different effects and colours to choose from.

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Corsair K55 Core RGB Design

While the Corsair K55 Core RGB is one of Corsair’s more scaled back designs, it still retains the sleek signature Corsair look that many buyers know and love. The plastic chassis, membrane switches, and ABS keycaps contribute to the minimalist style that this keyboard offers, while keeping costs down to a minimum.

Despite this, we still find the K55 Core RGB to be a solid offering regardless of its more stripped back and cheaper aesthetic. The entire chassis is black providing a consistent look across the entire design, including the keycaps. This helps it blend in well with other black peripherals in your setup. Alternatively, the 10-zone RGB lighting offers up some more flair that you can customise to your heart’s content.

None of the cheaper design elements are a deal-breaker for us. Keyboards have become exponentially more expensive, with fancy metal cases and custom-designed switches becoming the main features that manufacturers want to showcase. So the Corsair K55 Core RGB is a pretty good option considering the price point.

In terms of layout, the K55 Core RGB uses a full 104-key layout, along with the six additional media buttons located towards the top right of the keyboard. You’ve got access to a full numpad, a dedicated function row, along with arrow and navigation keys, and a cluster of lock indicators sitting at the left of the media keys.

The number row when paired up with the ‘Fn’ key also allows you to change your RGB lighting presets on the fly, with 5 options to choose from.

Looking at the rear of the chassis, you’ll find two kickstands that allow you to adjust your typing angle. The rear of the K55 Core RGB also offers a glossy Corsair logo, along with some engraved lines that follow the edge of the chassis. There unfortunately isn’t any way to route your cables, but because the rubber cable comes out of the back of the keyboard, it should be relatively easy to hide or manage the mess with some ties or a bungee.

Towards the bottom of the underside you’ll find 4 drainage holes that sit above each of the chassis screws. The K55 Core RGB reportedly has a spill resistance of 300ml, hence the drainage holes. While this is a useful feature for water, there is a potential risk of getting your keys quite sticky if you were to spill a fizzy liquid over the K55 Core RGB.

Switches and Keycaps

The biggest scaleback of the K55 Core RGB is arguably the membrane switches. Corsair have opted to use a rubber dome style membrane key that offers tactile feedback and a more quiet keystroke. Admittedly, I’m not a fan of membrane keyboards but I think the overall feel that what the K55 Core RGB offers, is solid considering the price. The membrane switches aren’t particularly refined, but they do have quite a smooth feel to them.

As we’ve highlighted in the design section, the K55 Core RGB utilises ABS keycaps. This is primarily to save money, as ABS keycaps are generally cheaper than their PBT counterparts. ABS keycaps have a glossy look and feel to them which won’t be to everyone’s taste. ABS is also well known for attracting fingerprints and moisture pretty easily, so if you’re not a fan of this, the K55 Core RGB won’t be for you.

Overall, I feel the switch and keycap combination that the K55 Core RGB offers is perfectly fine considering the price. You’re not going to be blown away by the membrane switches or the glossy ABS keycaps, but for a budget keyboard the K55 Core RGB is a solid offering.

Features We Like

Customisable RGB

The Corsair K55 Core RGB offers 10-zone lighting which can be fully customised within Corsair’s iCUE software. You can easily adjust the colours within each zone using the lighting effects tab, which also has a range of preset effects to choose from. Alternatively, if you select the hardware lighting option, you can sync up the K55 Core RGB with the lighting of other Corsair components or peripherals which is useful for those that prefer synchronised RGB.

Media Controls

The K55 Core RGB offers four dedicated media keys towards the top right of the keyboard. These allow you to pause and play and media you’ve got running in the background, including volume control and a mute button. This is a neat feature for a budget keyboard, and one that we’d like to see across other cheaper designs.

Features We Don’t Like

Non-Detachable Cable

Although the K55 Core RGB is a budget-oriented option, it would be nice to see a detachable USB cable. While this won’t be a deal-breaker for most buyers, offering a detachable cable just provides you with some more portability while reducing cable hassle to a degree. It would be great to see this feature pop up more across cheaper keyboards on the market.

Conclusion

Corsair K55 Core RGB

Product Name: K55 Core RGB

Brand: Corsair

• Features
• Design
• Versatility
• Value For Money

4

Summary

Corsair’s K55 Core RGB is a solid keyboard geared towards the price conscious buyer. This keyboard isn’t going to blow you away when it comes to features, but it doesn’t need to, because it is incredibly cheap. Buyers will be able to leverage customisable RGB across 10 different zones of lighting, alongside dedicated media keys allowing you to quickly play and pause any music or videos while you’re gaming.

The membrane switches and ABS keycaps aren’t impressive, but they provide a soft and tactile response that I feel most gamers will enjoy. I don’t have any major qualms with the K55 Core RGB other than the lack of a detachable cable, but this won’t be a deal-breaker for the vast majority of gamers that just need a solid functioning keyboard. In a market where products have become increasingly expensive, its great to see a cheaper option from Corsair that doesn’t overcomplicate the available features. If you’re looking for a great budget gaming keyboard, the K55 Core RGB from Corsair will not disappoint.

Pros

✅ Competitive price

✅ Minimalist aesthetic

✅ Customisable RGB

Cons

❌ Non-detachable cable

❌ Membrane isn’t for everyone

❌ No wrist rest