Corsair has just reached out to gamers on tight budgets, by releasing a new RGB gaming keyboard with a price that won’t make your bank send you threatening letters if you buy it. The Corsair K55 Core RGB ticks many of the usual gaming keyboard boxes, including RGB lighting, dedicated media controls, and a spillproof surface, yet it costs just $39.99. Is there a catch? Why of course there is.
There’s a good reason why the Corsair K55 Core RGB costs less than half the price of all the top models on our guide to the best gaming keyboard, which is that it uses an old-fashioned membrane to register key presses, rather than individual mechanical keyswitches.
The company took the same approach with the previous Corsair K55 RGB Pro XT, which we criticized for being too expensive at $69.99 back in 2021, but the new K55 Core RGB’s price of $39.99 (£39.99) looks astoundingly generous.
The K55 Core RGB has a full-size layout, complete with numpad, but the lack of mechanical keyswitches has enabled Corsair to give it a slim profile. The company also notes that the lack of clackety switches means you can ‘type in chat on quiet responsive membrane keys.’ Your keyboard will also be safe from coffee spills and is rated to withstand up to 300ml of liquid being spilled on the surface.
You even get RGB lighting, which is controllable via Corsair’s iCUE software. There are lots of RGB lighting control systems available, but I’ve found Corsair iCUE to be exceptionally good – it’s really easy to use, and it gives you loads of fine-grained control over colors and effects.
You don’t get the per-key RGB lighting you get on pricier mechanical keyboards here, but the K55 Core RGB does give you ten RGB zones around (and through) the keycaps, so you can still light up your desk to match your own custom color scheme.
Sadly, you don’t get the excellent volume roller that you find on Corsair’s pricier keyboards, such as the Corsair K70 Max, but you do get dedicated media controls above the numpad, giving you play/pause, mute, and volume up and down functions. You’ll also find a Windows key lock button here, to stop you accidentally bringing up the start menu with your palm when you’re mashing the WASD keys.
The Corsair K55 RGB price is $39.99 (£39.99) and is available to buy now. If you’re looking to buy a new keyboard with RGB lighting, make sure you also read through our guide to the best RGB gaming keyboard for our expert advice.