CORSAIR - VANGUARD 96 WIRELESS Mechanical Gaming Keyboard for PC - Black

Corsair is a world-renowned manufacturer of gaming keyboards. In 2011, Corsair introduced the Vengeance K60 (FPS) and K90 (MMO/RTS) keyboards. They were performance powerhouses and incorporated Cherry MX Red switches with unique brushed aluminum plates. Corsair continues to innovate cutting edge gaming keyboards & just released the Vanguard 96 Wireless Mechanical Gaming Keyboard. Built around a durable, streamlined aluminum frame, Vanguard 96 incorporates effortless MLX key switches with phenomenal RGB lighting. The compact 96% form factor, complete with numeric keypad, makes this keyboard a delight for both serious gaming, as well as for daily use. It measures 1.69" H x 15.27" W x 5.55" D. Corsair specifies the keyboard is designed for Windows OS; however it works perfectly on my Mac OS. A cushioned palm rest attaches to the keyboard magnetically. Vanguard 96 has an animated 1.9" 320 x 170 IPS color screen located above the numeric keyboard that, when combined with the rotary dial, allows personalization of your gaming experience. The key actuation force is 45g; actuation distance is 2.0mm. An included 6-foot USB-C to USB-A braided cable allows wired or wireless operation. I connected with Bluetooth; Radio Frequency (RF - 2.4 Ghz / Low latency) can be switched on using the included RF receiver. Corsair claims up to 125 hours of battery life using 2.4Ghz with RGB off & up to 132 hours using Bluetooth with RGB off. My results back up this claimed battery life using Bluetooth. CONCLUSION: Corsair created another winning product with the Vanguard 96 Wireless Keyboard. The 8000 Hz hyper-polling in both wireless and wired mode eliminate input lag. This keyboard is BUILT TO WIN & earns my highest recommendation.

The Corsair Vanguard 96 Wireless Keyboard is a lot more than a keyboard. It's a keyboard that is 75% the width of a full keyboard (it does not have the keypad to the right); so it takes up less room on your desk. It's considered a mechanical gaming keyboard. Taking it out of the box the first thing you notice is that this is still a hefty keyboard, weighing in at 2 lbs 9 oz (41 ozs 1.167 kg). As soon as you plug it in to charge it, you see just how pretty it's full color LEDs are. At the top right there is a 1.9" Color LCD display. This display cycles throught selectable Command functions (Volume Up/Down/mute). The LCD also displays the status of Cap Lock, Num Lock, Gaming Mode, Connection mode, Battery Level. Quite a bit of information. The keyboard goes to sleep if no key has been hit (or dial turned) for 1 to 2 minutes. During this delay the Corsair logo is displayed (Bluetooth, Volume Level, Battery Level, connection speed). The backlighting is quite exceptional and the light shined throught the keys so the keys are actually illuminated not just back lighted. The user manual is accessed via a QR code inside the box (this should also be under the keyboard or something, who keeps boxes). The keyboard can be connected via USB Cable, RF (Dongle) and Bluetooth. An app called Web-Hub is used to program macros and to adjust the polling rate (from 125hz (8ms) to 8Mhz (0.125ms) - remarkable). The keyboard is compatible with Windows, Apple, Xbox and PlayStation). The app when connected to the keyboard via USB will also upgrade the keyboard firmware and wireless firmware (do this when you first connect the keyboard with the web-hub app). The rotary dial can be used to control 11 different functions (determined in web-hub app). I installed the web-hub app and updated the firmware. But I personally got this for the "real" keyboard, and real key travel. The pre-key travel (the amount you can depress the key before it registers) is a bit more than 1mm and full key travel is 3.6mm. And you can program macros and to have up to 5 profiles for various games (accessed from buttons on the left side of keyboard). The Macro creation is done through the web-hub app or via keyboard key sequence (fn+M for 2sec). The key sequence loads onboard memory with the key sequences (5). The app allows you to store an unlimited number key sequences in your web-hub app (each can be loaded a profile number (1-5). The keyboard also allows you to customize the keyboard by changing switches. There is a tool to remove the keycap and a tool to remove the key switch. You can acquire additional keys through Corsair (I did not try this). I hooked the keyboard up to 3 separate computers and 3 via bluetooth (Windows, macOS and Android). Pairing went very easily, but switching from to another sometimes required the switch function (fn+left-key, fn+left+key, fn+left ENT key had to be done more than once). Anytime the keyboard comes back to life the pairing is displayed on the LED display and the left hand key flashes based on the connection in use (pretty neat). There are 11 predefined lighting effects because each key has its own led, the effects are quite astounding (Horizon, Static, Watercolor, Spiral Rainbow, Color Shift, Color Pulse, Color Wave, Rainbow Wave, Type Lighting key, Type Lighting Ripple and visor) each of these can have color, speed or direction modified. The web-hub App allows substantial additional customization. From Windows 11, I could barely tell the difference between a hardwired USB connection and the Bluetooth connection. I suspect this was due to using BT 5.3, but not positive. Both were very responsive, and under both I could overrun the keyboard buffer (miss keystrokes if hit too quickly), although this was more difficult than I thought it would be given the length of the key travel. The amount of sound dampening the keyboard has is very good. It's not like my clickety old Cherry keyboards. It has very low and consistent latency making it very high performance for gaming. You can rest your fingers on "fire" or "move" buttons with some pressure waiting for action. On some keyboards, like most laptops, any pressure on the keyboard is registered as a press. That's where this keyboard shines. Adding a good deal of quietness is a huge bonus (IMHO). The LED can apparently be user programmed from the web-hub app (Replacing the Corsair logo). I didn't try doing this. I'm quite impressed by the aesthetics and functionality of this keyboard. I look forward to using it for years to come.

First impression: I love the color presets. It seems like such a small thing, but the default RGB color scheme is a muted pastel pattern that to me looks incredibly professional next to most gaming keyboards that are all about super-saturated bright rainbow colors. So my first impression was wow, this is something I could have on my desk while at work—not just as part of a dedicated gaming setup. Second impression was with how it feels. It’s a solid construction with the aluminum frame. I like the position of the G buttons on the left side: easy to access and straightforward. The fact that they can natively integrate with streamdeck is really cool too. However, I do tend to bump them whenever I go to move the keyboard. Everyone has their own preference when it comes to the weight and touch of the keys, and at first these seemed way too light to me. However, the more I use them the more I like them. They claim to be linear, but it almost feels like there’s a little bit of feedback in the way of a little more friction at the top of the motion with an easier slide further down. It might just be my imagination, but either way I am liking the way they feel: once the motion starts, it feels like a key press is sure, not hesitant. Even so, the keys are louder than I’d prefer. There’s not as much matting or absorption material in the frame as some other keyboards. Other little design choices are a nice surprise. I know that not everyone likes a wrist rest and may not use this one, but the fact that there’s little magnets to help hold it to the keyboard is really cool. There are cable routing tracks in several directions across the bottom so that the USB cable can be neatly routed in the best direction for a particular setup. And Game Mode might be my favorite feature: a single button to change the settings. I like to go from a casual lighting scheme to a focused color for optimum gaming concentration and operation. Not every design choice seems fully thought out, though. The switches have a white frame, for example, which when I’m seated in front of the keyboard is visible under the key caps. It’s an ugly contrast against the otherwise black keyboard. Also, the keyboard has a small screen. This seems like a wasted opportunity. Yes, you can upload a gif or jpeg to customize the look. But come on. Other than a few icons along the edge that show battery level and mode, it is almost completely nonfunctional. Couldn’t we do some interactive animations, useful information, or even simply synchronize it with the RGB animations? While the presence of a screen is a really intriguing idea, the implementation here is more tacky than useful. Finally, the compact design. This is a selling point: a virtually full-sized keyboard layout without using up so much desk space. But I think I’d rather have fewer keys that are more spread out, honestly. The arrow keys and number keypad feel crowded, and because of that it’s hard intuitively navigate my fingers around the keyboard. While I frequently miss the extra keys that most gaming keyboards lack, smashing additional full-size keys into a small package is not an obvious improvement. Maybe I’ll get used to it if I keep using it, but I’m not sure if this product provides a compromise that is appealing enough to bridge the divide between a true full-size keyboard and a more minimal gaming keyboard. Love: - The solid frame and grippy feet. - Cable routing. - RGB presets include muted options that look professional. - G buttons. - Game mode. Don’t love: - Loud keys. - White switch bases are visible when I’m sitting in front of the keyboard. - Screen. - Compact design.