Overview

Say hello to the Corsair Vengeance K60 keyboard.

To some, a keyboard is just a place to collect all your biscuit crumbs and errant Golden Virginia while you look at the latest funny cat video, but for the serious gamer it's a vital piece of kit.

These people are prepared to spend a bit extra cash for a keyboard that's comfortable, responsive and maybe even boasts a few extra controls – and Corsair wants in on that action.

Like the Vengeance M60 mouse, this K60 is designed with the FPS gamer in mind.

Corsair's keyboard is built on a brushed metal chassis and features fantastically clicky Cherry MX red switches for (steady now) fast, smooth action.

The WSAD and 1-5 keys are also rubberized and contoured to maximise your gaming comfort and performance, but you can swap these out for normal black keys with a handy tool stowed away, with the spare keys, in the wrist rest if you like.

Verdict

What an impression the K60 makes when you first clickety-clack its keys.

It's as if every key input you make is part of some crucially important bomb-decoding procedure or something.

Satisfying doesn't even cover it – this is the keyboard equivalent of popping bubble-wrap.

We're not sure if it makes a huge difference to your response times in game, but it certainly makes for a more tactile and comfortable gaming session.

Likewise, the contoured A and D keys keep your fingers from straying beyond the movement controls and setting off torches or dropping all your weapons in a moment of spasmodic panic.

The fact the rubberized versions of the WSAD keys are red is nullified by the fact that once your fingers have initially located them, that problem's pretty much sorted and you can't see the keys anymore, but the 1-5 keys are all the handier for their scarlet livery.

The wrist rest-cum-secret key repository can't be faulted for comfort, and switching the keys in and out is a painless manoeuvre.

Outside of a purely gaming application, we love the K60's scrolling volume control, placed just above the caps/num/scroll lock lights (which are a suitably sophisticated white).

It's handy to have such quick and precise volume control without having to fiddle around on your headset. The extra multimedia controls are also welcome, and all this functionality is fitted on a board that meets the rock-solid build quality you'd expect from both the brand and the price tag.

There are a couple of chinks in the brushed steel armour of this Vengeance K60 though.

Firstly – and it's not a biggie – it isn't backlit like the more expensive K90 MMO-focussed keyboard.

FPS gamers play with the lights off sometimes too, and it's a feature you might expect in a £90 keyboard, so be warned before you go trying to search for those funny cat videos with the lights off.

It could also benefit from a few more USB and headset minijacks in its pass-through, but both of those issues are dwarfed by our concerns about the price – it's so nearly as expensive as the K90, which has backlighting and macro keys galore – in fact at time of writing you can pick up a K90 for less money if you shop around.

We liked

Mechanical switches are where it's at in gaming keyboards at the moment, and this Vengeance K60 is a fantastic keyboard for serious gamers.

The Cherry Red MX switches are mega-responsive, and though the red rubberized switchable keys are more for show than anything meaningful gaming advantage, they offer more comfort than most keyboards, especially coupled with the attachable rest.

The incredible build quality and scrolling volume control cover the Vengeance K60 in glory.

We disliked

Only a lack of backlighting and an oddly close pricing between this and the higher-functionality K90 board can dampen our enthusiasm for Corsair's first move in the keyboard game.

Final word

We haven't seen a keyboard that caters for the needs of the FPS gamer this well before – a fantastic setup.

You know those times when you simply cannot find your keyboard on your desktop because it's either a) so covered with the detritus of your life nothing bar the empty coffee cups are visible or b) your keyboard is simply not a bright enough colour to stand out from the humdrum peripherals plugged into your PC? If it's the latter then Gigabyte has the answer in it's eye-wateringly colourful Aivia K8100 gaming keyboard.

If it's the former not even Gigabyte can help, it's time to stop hoarding needless junk. If we were feeling mean we could neatly segue into a discussion of how spending £50 on a colourful keyboard could easily equate to hoarding needless junk, but we're not going to because today we're being all positive. So, let's be positive about the Aivia K8100.

It comes in a nice, big, shiny box with gold lettering and, as we've already alluded to, the keyboard is very brightly coloured. This one is sporting Ferrari red, but there's also Lambo yellow as well as Porsche black options.

It's got a near anti-ghosting function which means that it allows for 20 simultaneous key presses, and has different force requirements for different key sets. And there's also a swishy touch-control for handling volume control.

Design defined

Sadly, for all its appearance that suggests gaming pretensions, it doesn't really deliver as a £50 gaming keyboard. The actual action of the keyboard itself feels dead and without urgency.

It doesn't have the honest solidness of Mionix's Zibal or the versatility of the Roccat Isku, and really does suffer by comparison. It's a decent effort by Gigabyte, but the dedicated keyboard-making competition have a serious edge.

This is one well-built keyboard. Mionix says it's 'rage proof', but we say forget the puny hands of frustrated gamers – the Zibal 60 looks like it could survive an assault from an angry freight vehicle.

It has an impressive spec too. Keyboard geeks will be familiar with the high travel and satisfying clickiness of black Cherry MX key switches. We're not sure if it would make the difference between pwning and being pwned, but it sure feels purty on the fingers.

Illuminating

Each key is individually illuminated, which we prefer to backlighting and the strange feeling it gives us of a creepy glowing realm hidden just behind the keys. Maybe PCF has just watched Poltergeist one too many times. Actually, that probably explains why we NEVER LET CHILDREN AND TVs IN THE SAME ROOM EVER. You can cycle between lighting just the WSAD keys and the full keyboard, too.

Extruding from the magnificent girth of the Zibal 60's braided cable are two USB connectors: audio in and mic in, which let you connect a gaming headset to your keyboard rather than trail it round to your case, and stick a USB drive in there too, for laughs. This isn't an innovation, but we certainly expect this box ticked for a keyboard this expensive and some boards use a USB 1.1 hub instead of the 2.0 hub here.

Using the same Mionix 'action key' you can also access media and volume controls. It keeps the keyboard neat and compact, and at least part of its appeal to us is that at first glance it looks not unlike a bog-standard Dell workstation keyboard – it's the subtlety that impresses.

Our only gripe is the flimsy palm rest – ours arrived a bit broken and it doesn't look as 'rage proof' as the board itself. Other than that, it's the board of champions.

The keyboard has long been the primary input device on the PC, so what can Roccat do to convince us the Isku keyboard is the finest example of button-pressing technology known to man?

QWERTY boards were around long before the monolith was dropped on prehistoric man so its got quite a task on its hands in the innovation stakes, but, by Jove, I do believe it's managed it.

As well as being heavily laden with extra keys and media buttons there's also a little bonus feature for those of the Roccat faithful. It has recently released a piece of software called Roccat Talk, which enables different bits of its hardware to talk (clever name, eh?) to each other.

The perfect rodent partner for the Isku then is Roccat's own Kone[+] mouse. But what possible benefits could be had from having your mouse and board chatting away?

Shift unleashed

The key to this cross-peripheral chatter is the EasyShift[+] function it added to the Kone mouse a while ago. This is an alternative to spraying a gaming mouse with more buttons than even the great lord Cthulu could manage and means that by holding down a single button other functions can be assigned to each of the other buttons. It's a simple solution, and works in the same way as the [Shift] key on a standard keyboard.

The Isku also comes with EasyShift[+] functionality replacing the [Caps Lock] and gives secondary functions to all the keys in the 'EasyZone' of the keyboard. The EasyZone stretches across the numeric keys from 1 to 5 and the 15 keys directly below, and provides an extra 20 possible secondary functions surrounding the WSAD keys, which makes them easily within reach of your gaming claw of a hand.

The EasyShift[+] button also transforms the five macro buttons down the left-hand side of the keyboard and the three 'Thumbster' buttons below the keyboard too. That secondary functionality doesn't have to be another keypress; it can be a shortcut, a quicklaunch or a pre-recorded macro. To say the Isku is versatile really is doing it an injustice.

The real star of this setup though is that Roccat Talk software. Being able to have the EasyShift[+] button on either the Isku or an attached Kone mouse – controlling both devices – makes for even more versatility.

We opted to have the EasyShift[+] button controlled from the Kone mouse with the corresponding button on the keyboard turning on the EasyAim function. This instantly drops the DPI level to a pre-defined setting to allow for finer granularity when aiming in an FPS.

There's also a ridiculously simple live macro recording button that guides you through the process vocally, even in-game. Though it does take a good long while to save those macros to memory. We had the keyboard playing Trials 2, aping our previous run with little success.

The versatility of the Isku means that for the online FPS guru and the MMO obsessive it's a great keyboard for both. It's also solidly built and responsive. The aesthetics may divide opinion, being rather angular and industrial, and the blue backlight isn't so easy on the eye in a bright office, but it's a board that pretty much has it all.

Obscure Washington outfit Microsoft present us with this, the Wireless Optical Desktop 700.

It's been fairly inconsistent in the design and quality of its peripherals lately, swinging from the sleek Arc Touch to the almost unusable Windows 7 Touch mouse.

Recommended at £30 but available for a shade over £20, the Wireless Optical Desktop 700 features a well-built keyboard running on AAA batteries and a slightly flimsy mouse running on AAs, each communicating with your PC or laptop via a wireless receiver.

Key feature

As far as this reviewer's weary fingers are concerned, the best thing about this package is the weighting of the keys.

The mouse, however, is less satisfying underhand. It's extremely light, which makes it a bit of a nightmare in a gaming scenario. Despite this and some flimsy buttons, the real problem is that it goes to sleep too soon if you haven't moved it in a while.

We can forgive the Wireless 700's unsuitability for gaming because that's not what it's designed for, but this has an impact on everyday desktop use. It's an issue that plagues many wireless mice, particularly at the budget end.

The big problem here is the absence of any lights for caps, num and scroll locks. Okay, it's £30, but no lights? It affects the most fundamental keyboard tasks, and is something that £10 keyboards get right.

It's easy to get up and running wirelessly and while the mouse doesn't feel great, we doubt either peripheral will fall apart any time soon.

However, you should only consider this keyboard and mouse if your needs necessitate a wireless setup, and your budget's locked down to this price point. There are better wired bundles for the same price, and better wireless ones for a bit more.

The Logitech Wireless Keyboard K360 is a pretty standard wireless PC keyboard, but it has a few nice features and design choices that make it worth considering if you're on the lookout for a new keyboard.

To begin with, the K360 is pretty small – around three quarters of the size of a usual keyboard. This reduction frees up a lot of space on the desk, and makes it easier to carry around.

We've often found that typing for long periods on a laptop – or even worse, a netbook – can be quite uncomfortable. So having a larger keyboard to use on them, that is still small and light enough to fit into a laptop bag is a real bonus.

Smaller keyboards can often lead to more discomfort and, unlike a lot of recent Logitech keyboards, the K360 is not ergonomically designed. However, we found that when using it, the Logitech Wireless Keyboard K360 felt very comfortable – a lot of this being down to the ample spacing between the keys.

The small size also allows for an excellent battery life of around three years.

As well as six media-centric keys (back, forward, play/pause, mute, volume down and volume up) there are 12 programmable F keys for linking to much-used applications such as internet browsers and email. These can be easily programmed via Logitech's user-friendly software.

Another nice bonus is that if you have a number of other wireless Logitech devices, such as the Logitech Anywhere Mouse MX, then you can connect them all up to a single USB dongle, freeing up your computer's USB ports.

Modern keyboards can sometimes be accused of being overly elaborate, with products such as the Logitech G510 gaming keyboard including all kinds of bells and whistles to justify its existence.

First impressions of the SteelSeries 6Gv2 pro gaming keyboard may lead you to believe that it's just a standard office keyboard. Its plain looks and lack of ergonomic design obscure the fact that this is a well-made keyboard that excels at competitive online gaming.

The inclusion of a USB to PS/2 adapter might seem like a curious throwback, but far from being an obsolete port, the PS/2 allows for 104 simultaneous key presses – compared to only six with USB.

The SteelSeries 6Gv2 pro gaming keyboard specialises in multiple key presses – not terribly useful for word processing, but it helps to avoid 'ghosting' when playing games. This is when too many keys are pressed for the keyboard to record, so crucial key presses are lost.

The SteelSeries 6Gv2 is an extremely well made pro gaming keyboard, with a solid weight. The mechanical keys feel crisp and responsive when used, and can withstand a lot of wear and tear.

It's not as comfortable to use if you're typing long documents, but that's not what this keyboard is built for. For PC gaming, this is a great, straightforward, choice.

Almost 15 years ago, PDAs such as the Sony Clié or Pocket PC were the best means of carrying your data around with you. Their admittedly modest success spawned a range of keyboards that docked with your touchscreen device.

Over time, these keyboards grew into mechanical marvels that folded very small for portability, but gave a typing experience to rival a notebook. These days, smartphones and tablets are the touchscreen portables of choice, and most mobile keyboards favour Bluetooth connectivity.

But if this Verbatim Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard is anything to go by, lessons learned by PDA keyboards 15 years ago urgently need revisiting.

The open keyboard is 32cm wide, folding down to 16x10x2cm when closed. We've seen smaller, but it's portable enough and comes with a handy leather slipcase.

It has a slideout stand for the iPhone, but it's flimsy and certainly won't hold an iPad. Indeed, the build quality overall isn't fantastic by any means.

To make matters worse, key positioning has been compromised for space. Things are not quite where they should be, making typing at length a chore. The tiny backspace key and split spacebar are especially annoying.

It sits flat on the desk too, with no stands to speak of to raise it to a comfortable typing angle. The keyboard has useful media keys for listening to your music as you type, and the arrow keys make it easier to highlight text and use the cut, copy and paste functions, but overall, it's difficult to recommend.

It's okay for SMS, short emails and updating your Facebook status or Twitter feeds, but this keyboard is certainly not for serious typing.

There's a lot to admire about the K750. Its headline feature is that you do not need to keep replacing the batteries, unlike other wireless keyboards.

For anyone who has experienced trying to type when a wireless keyboard's batteries are on their last legs, this is a big plus. As long as the keyboard gets enough light, you can keep on typing without interruption.

Making sure the keyboard remains charged isn't too much of a problem either - the battery life is around three months in complete darkness, though of course it's not recommended that you use computers in complete darkness anyway.

If you have left the keyboard in a drawer for a long time, a quick press of a button lets you know if the keyboard has enough charge.

Not needing to go through disposable batteries makes this a very ecologically friendly keyboard, and the 100 per cent recycled packaging that it comes in reinforces this green ideal.

The keyboard is incredibly thin, which makes it easy to carry about and store, however it isn't as comfortable to type on than more ergonomically designed keyboards.

The keys themselves feel similar to those found on laptop keyboards, so if you find those uncomfortable to type on, then you should avoid this keyboard, no matter how green it is.

When you're using a wee PC as a multimedia machine in your living room or bedroom, realistically the last thing you want attached to it is a keyboard and mouse. Because let's face it, trailing unsightly wires across a room is as much of an eyesore as it is a You've Been Framed-friendly tripping hazard.

So wireless keyboard mouse sets are winners – except you don't really want a full-size keyboard jammed down the side of your sofa either. The solution, then, is a small wireless keyboard like this wee keyboard from iTablet here.

As a Bluetooth device it will connect to a host of gadgets, as well as your PC. Shaped like an Xbox 360 controller, it fits neatly in the hand, giving your thumbs access to most of the keys. There's also a handily-placed trackpad on the reverse, which is surprisingly responsive.

However that, sadly, is as good as it gets for the iTablet. The keys on the front feel clumsily laid out, awkwardly placed and are about as responsive as two-day-old roadkill. There's also little style about it beyond the Xbox outline.

It's also very expensive for something this plasticky. I was prepared to give it the benefit of the doubt if it tipped up at £30, but as it's more expensive than the excellent Logitech Dinovo Mini, it's a complete dud.