Corsair K65 Pro Mini review: an excellent wired compact gaming keyboard
Reviewed By: Sebastian Kozlowski
Table of Contents
Corsair is one of the best brands for all types of peripherals and PC components, so when I heard I was getting my hands on one its 65% keyboards, expectations were sky-high. This time around, I got to take the Corsair K65 Pro Mini for a drive, and see if it delivered more than just great aesthetics.
- Form factor: 65%
- Key switches: CORSAIR OPX optical
- Keycaps: PBT Double-Shot
- Connectivity: Wired
- Dimensions: 315x105x35mm
- Weight: 599g
Corsair’s K65 Pro Mini is a very impressive piece of kit, with excellent build quality, speedy optical-mechanical switches, and lots of keys packed into a 65% board. It also sounds brilliant, with effective dampening too. For the price, it would have been great to have a wireless option, but for those looking for a premium wired board, this is well worth considering.
- Strong and sturdy build quality
- Fast optical switches and 8K Hz polling rate
- Sound dampening and robust keycaps provide great typing experience
- Has a smart and featureful key layout
- Has no wireless connection options
- Expensive in comparison to the competition
- Folding feet have only one tier of adjustability
Design and features
The K65 Pro Mini is a 65% keyboard, which means it’s much more compact than most. It does away with the numpad, function, home keys, and media keys, which drastically shrinks down its desk foot-print. It does keeps a full set of arrow keys, with the UK layout having a full-size enter key though.
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As you might expect, it adds a load of secondary functions to its standard set of keys. With the fn key at the bottom by the arrows, you can access more controls and keys, including those removed by shrinkage. But more interestingly, it adds mouse controls to WASD if you ever want to use your keyboard for complete control.
Corsair K65 Pro Mini in front of box, Image by PC Guide
Corsair K65 Pro Mini keycaps and switches, Image by PC Guide
Corsair K65 Pro Mini left side, Image by PC Guide
Corsair K65 Pro Mini profile, Image by PC Guide
Corsair K65 Pro Mini right side, Image by PC Guide
Corsair K65 Pro Mini box contents, Image by PC Guide
Corsair K65 Pro Mini box, Image by PC Guide
Corsair K65 Pro Mini cable, Image by PC Guide
Corsair K65 Pro Mini edge, Image by PC Guide
Corsair K65 Pro Mini front on, Image by PC Guide
The actual build has a brushed aluminum top plate and two layers of sound-dampening underneath. The keycaps are sturdy double-shot PBT that activate Corsair's own OPX switches.
Asides from that it’s pretty standard procedure here. There’s a detachable cable that comes out of the Type-C out the back, with a wired USB 3.0/3.1 braided cable included. As the keyboard is only wired, it has 8MB of onboard memory, so it doesn't rely on software being on constantly.
Pricing
If you're considering the K65 Pro Mini, it will cost $129.99/£129.99. This is a bit more expensive for such a keyboard, especially considering it lacks wireless connectivity and is somewhat limited in its capabilities.
Even compared to the 8BitDo or Akko keyboards we've reviewed, it’s a somewhat more expensive option, considering the fewer features and options available. This is likely due to the proprietary hardware, software, and brand tax.
Performance
Unfortunately, I personally found the keyboard a little uncomfortable to get going with. Considering its small size, it is rather tall, so your hands are at quite an angle without a wrist rest. Even if you extend the feet, there's only one set that doesn't quite push it up high enough, and I found myself reaching for a separate wrist rest to use with it. Then, it’s a lot more comfortable to use and prevents you from hurting your wrists. This is of course unique to the person using it, so you may have an entirely different experience.
But once you set it up as you like, it is a very rich-sounding board to type on. Its damp build and heavy caps make it enjoyable to type on and produce great sound. It isn't the loud, distracting sound of a metal body and loud switches. They are Corsair’s mix of optical and mechanical switches that have that very responsive actuation point.
I did find myself hitting the Corsair button in the top right quite a bit instead of the backspace, as it was relatively close together and got some getting used to. On the other hand, using the function keys to control the mouse was interesting and unique, along with plenty of other controls you can go through with these.
That includes the lighting, which is very thorough and per key, so you have plenty of customization options. Although some presets are onboard, you can customize them in iCUE to change and save them to your liking. You can also set macros and more in there.
Conclusion
Overall, the Corsair K65 Pro Mini is a great small keyboard offering. Even though it might not be to my taste, it has a surprisingly large number of controls and capabilities in such a small chassis. It is a well-designed board, including full-size arrows, extra keys, and plenty of function keys.
The build-quality is fantastic, as expected for the price, but it would have been nice to have a wireless option to open things up a bit. That being said, it’s still an excellent keyboard that’ll make for a welcome addition to your desk.
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