This month, Corsair unveiled its successor, the K95 RGB Platinum XT. It raises the game with native Elgato Stream Deck integration, improved switches and keycaps, more onboard storage, and a comfier wrist rest. So is it worth your $199?
Design and Features
At first glance, the K95 RGB Platinum XT looks nearly identical to the original. The biggest visual update comes with the new wrist rest and the new blue keycaps for the macro keys. Apart from that, Corsair has adopted the “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it” approach to product design. I was a big fan of the original version, but if you’re new to the K95 it’s worth noting just how big it is, measuring more than 18 inches wide and 6 inches wide. Even without the wrist rest, you’ll need extra space on your desk to accommodate it compared to more modestly sized boards.
Keeping the same design also means that everything that made the original K95 great is back again for another round. We once again see the “floating key” design that exposes the key switches for improved lighting. Dedicated media keys and the excellent metal volume roller are back for easy control of media playback. So is the hefty “aircraft-grade” aluminum top plate for rigidity and weight. Plus, the six customizable macro keys along the left-hand side and vibrant LightEdge bar on the top rim also make their return.
Just below that, we have the USB passthrough port. It’s still only USB 2.0, so you’re stuck with last-gen transfer speeds, but it works great for connecting a gaming headset or mouse. The cable on the K95 RGB Platinum XT is braided but thick, stiff, and filled with bends from packaging. It ends in two headers, though you can get away with a single USB 3.0 connection if you don’t plan to use the passthrough. If you do, there are also helpful cable guides on the underside of the board to keep the front of your desk tidy.
The lighting on the XT is as gorgeous as ever. Unfortunately Corsair’s proprietary Cappelix LEDs aren’t in the mix here, but even so the light show is impressive. The LEDs are bright and, thanks to the translucent housings on the Cherry MX RGB switches, it looks amazing from any angle. From above, the denser PBT plastic and black metal of the top plate keep the lighting surprisingly isolated and avoid the light bed that occurs on lighter colored keyboards. The customizable LightEdge bar adds an extra touch of visual flair that really takes lighting to the next level, though it’s not as unique a feature as it once was. Even small brands have gotten in on the trend.
The K95 RGB Platinum XT does have some unique tricks to tempt you into a buy. This version comes stock with double-shot PBT keycaps, something you previously had to buy separately for $50. If you’re not deep into the world of keyboards, having keycaps made of a different kind of plastic might not seem like a big deal, but it is. PBT keys are more resistant to shine, so they won’t develop that oily sheen gaming keyboards are known for. Being double-shot also means that the legends are made of a second piece of plastic and will never fade or chip over time.
Ask anyone who has used a good set of PBT caps and they’ll tell you the most important thing: they just feel better to use. PBT is a denser plastic than the ABS used on most boards and, in fact, these keycaps are a good 50% thicker on top of that. Gaming and typing feels more solid and substantial, which is satisfying. Going back to bog-standard ABS caps makes the whole keyboard feel more cheap after getting used to the XT. These keycaps are an excellent value-add that makes the XT upgrade more worth it, and I love that PBT is slowly making its way into more flagship keyboards.
The switches themselves have also received an upgrade. Both the Cherry MX RGB Speed and Brown switches have had their stems redesigned to feel consistent over time. In practice, I didn’t notice any difference in how the keys felt from the prior version. They’re also more durable and rated for 100 million key presses each compared to the standard 50 million. For the first time, you can also order the K95 RGB with Cherry MX Blue RGB switches, but these don’t have the redesigned benefits. I wasn’t able to tell the difference during my testing, but I expect a much greater lifespan as a result.
The other big upgrade comes with the new foam wrist rest. Frankly, it’s about time. Corsair has kept the rubber surface to its wrist rests since the early days of the original Vengeance K70. Look, I get it: rubber is grippy. It keeps you in place while gaming. It also makes your wrists sweat. The new foam padding is a huge improvement and much more comfortable.
If you’re a streamer, the K95 XT’s killer feature is surely the new Stream Deck functionality. Elgato’s Stream Deck is essentially a macro pad custom-tailored to for streamers, and it’s exciting to see that functionality make its way into the K95. With Elgato’s software, you can now use the six macro G-keys as Stream Deck buttons. It’s as simple as dragging actions onto the key and the software does the rest. This integrates seamlessly with an existing Stream Deck or can work all on its own with a special floating window inside Windows.
I don’t stream often but I do produce YouTube videos, and I loved being able to start and stop recording with my capture card with these easy to find buttons. If you host a stream, you can use it to change profiles, trigger GIFs, change scenes or interact with your stream in a way that was, at best, much more difficult with the original K95 Platinum. Corsair has even included some blue, Elgato-themed keycaps to replace the stock silver ones that come installed on the board. In a future version of the board, I would love to see LED macro buttons like an actual Stream Deck.
Under the hood, the K95 XT includes all of the responsiveness and programmability you would expect from a modern gaming keyboard. It features a 1000 Hz polling rate, full n-key rollover, and anti-ghosting to make sure that it tracks your inputs accurately every time. You’re even able to adjust the electrical debounce time to prevent misclicks, which I found helpful with the super-smooth and super-sensitive Cherry MX Speed switches. In all my testing over the last month, the keyboard never once missed a keystroke. If there was a mistake, it was always my own over-eagerness in-game.
Performance
I tested the K95 RGB Platinum XT with both Cherry MX RGB Speed and Brown switches, which provide very different experiences in-game. Speed switches are smooth and non-tactile and actuate 80% faster than either browns or blues. Brown switches, on the other hand, have a soft tactile bump when the key triggers, giving you an extra bit of feedback to prevent misclicks.
Theoretically, the shorter travel distance of the Cherry MX Speed switches should let you send commands more quickly, but this depends entirely on your response time. Practically speaking, you’ll notice how much more typo-prone you are before you ever notice a benefit in-game. This gets better with time, but there’s a definite learning curve. For my part, I enjoyed playing with the Cherry MX Brown switches. The sensitivity of the Speeds led to more misclicks and even made me run from cover once or twice due to resting my fingers too heavily on the board.
Switches aside, the K95 RGB Platinum XT performed phenomenally in games. It’s as responsive as you would expect a high-end gaming keyboard in 2020 and I had no trouble playing through intense matches of Apex Legends and Battlefield V. I really liked that I could quickly record gameplay clips with the Elgato buttons.
The macro row also let me do cool things like move my gadgets and secondary skills off the number row. In the middle of an intense match, it’s much easier to figure out which macro button you’re pressing than an untextured number button without looking at the board. If you’ve ever pulled out the wrong weapon because you hit 4 instead of 3, then you already know what I’m talking about.
I also spent some time using these macro keys in World of Warcraft. Paired with the tools in the game, it’s possible to map pieces of your skill rotation into a single button. This isn’t something unique to the K95 (you can do it with any keyboard) but having skill chains and abilities in their own dedicated row definitely made it more useful. The K95 XT allowed me to have a whole set of standby functions without needing to sacrifice any of my other keys.
The programmability of the K95 XT is useful outside of gaming too. With its five profiles of onboard storage, I was able to create keymaps for my four favorite games and another for Windows. When I login to my gaming PC, I can now press one button to open my email, another to load Discord, another for Notepad or Calculator, and another for Spotify. Since these profiles also store lighting settings, I was able to give each one its own look so I never confused which profile I was using.
Purchasing Guide
The Corsair K95 RGB Platinum XT is available now with an MSRP of $199 on Amazon or direct from Corsair.
