The Corsair K65 Plus Wireless Gaming keyboard and M75 Wireless Gaming mouse for Mac are the first for Corsair. From MLX Tactile switches for the K65 Plus to a MARKSMAN 26K sensor for the M75, there are many premium features to appreciate. Priced at $179.95 and $129.95, respectively, this keyboard and mouse offer impressive upgrades to your Mac setup.
Specifications
Keyboard
- Keyboard Size: Compact
- Poll Rating: 1,000Hz
- Onboard Profiles: 4
- Key Switches: Corsair MLX Tactile
- Key Rollover: Full Key (NKRO) with 100% Anti-Ghosting
- Connectivity: Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz Wireless, Wired (USB-A 3.1)
- Battery Life: 266 hours (LED off)
- Weight: 922 g
- Software Support: iCUE
Mouse
- Sensor Type: Optical MARKSMAN 26K Sensor
- DPI: 26,000
- Mouse Feet: 100% PTFE mouse feet
- Special Features: swappable magnetic side buttons
- Onboard Profile: 1
- Grip Type: Any
- Connection: Wired, Wireless (2.4GHz SLIPSTREAM), Bluetooth 4.0
- Battery Life: 34 hrs (wireless), 100 hrs (Bluetooth)
- Weight: 89g
Corsair K65 Plus Wireless and M75 Wireless - Design and Highlights
The K65 Plus Wireless and M75 Wireless both follow the same design as their Windows PC counterparts. The K65 Plus is a 75% Wireless Mechanical Keyboard with a single zone RGB configuration. This is slightly disappointing considering the price point. At $179.95 it would have been nice to see a bit more RGB customization available.
The K65 Plus features Corsair MLX Tactile switches that offer a deep, resonant sound when engaged. As for the tactile response, the MLX Tactile Switches provide a satisfying click response when engaged. For comparison, they sound and feel similar to Red Linear switches. Corsair has also opted to allow for hot swapping of the switches making for easy swapping of any key to your switch of choice.
The K65 Plus also features a multifunction dial for control of a variety of system functions and is located in the upper right corner of the board. A single side button located on the left side of the board operates as a quick on/off switch for RGB. The top side of the K65 Plus houses both the connection mode toggle switch as well as the Mac/Windows switch for easy profile switching. Additionally, a small alcove handles storage of the USB-A wireless dongle when stored. It's a straightforward design and easy to use.
Finally, the K65 Plus opts for a full Mac keyboard layout. The Option and Command key are present and placed exactly as you would expect. There is an option to toggle between Mac and PC which swaps the functionality of the aforementioned keys. In testing, it worked quite well without any issues.
The K65 Plus feels solid and sturdy when typed on. The translucent blue faceplate (also available in white) offers a unique cosmetic element to the K65 Plus. The light blue keys, likewise, add to the overall unique look of the board. It has a slick design and reminds me of the K70 series boards in its design philosophy. Corsair has added small accent details that individually are fine but when brought together create a unified and unique design.
To help bolster the durable construction, Corsair has added a few unique features. PCB mounted screw in stabs help secure the top plate which in turn creates a more consistent typing experience. The result is a typing experience where each keypress feels isolated with little vibration carrying over to the rest of the board. Additionally, the K65 Plus features two additional layers of sound-damping foam which further decrease the overall acoustic vibrations. When brought together the K65 Plus offers a smooth and relatively quiet typing experience.
The M75 Wireless Gaming Mouse also leans into that unique, translucent design aesthetic. The top plate matches the solid light blue finish found in the keycaps on the K65 Plus and likewise adds translucent plating to each side of the mouse. The side buttons follow the color scheme of the top plate and look sharp. The M75 has a single RGB zone control with three areas of lighting (down both sides and on the bottom) that offer some nice additional lighting accent. Like the K65 Plus, I was a bit disappointed to see a single RGB zone considering the price point. It would have been nice to have a bit more control over the lighting, especially considering how much it adds to the overall aesthetic. Regardless of this slight critique, the overall design and aesthetic come together to make a sharp-looking mouse.
The M75 is designed as an ambidextrous mouse and as such two side buttons are located on either side of the mouse. Either side can be disabled as needed via iCUE, Corsair’s in-house software suite. What makes these even more adaptable is that the side buttons on both sides are magnetically attached and can be swapped out for more prominent versions of the buttons which are included with the mouse.
Flipping to the underside of the M75, two buttons allow for quick profile swapping and power button. Additionally, a small alcove provides housing for the USB-A wireless dongle when not in use. 1000% PTFE mouse feet take care of mouse glide which in testing worked as expected on a variety of surfaces. The front side of the M75 houses the USB-C charging port making the M75 usable in both wired or wireless mode. The overall design, like the K65 Plus, is straightforward functionally but offers a unique aesthetic that helps separate it from other gaming mice on the market.
Corsair K65 Plus Wireless and M75 Wireless - Performance
The K65 Plus Wireless is a solid gaming keyboard. The MLX Red Linear switches provide great feedback and response in testing. While the gaming options on Mac are significantly less than that of their PC counterpart, I tested a MOBA (Heroes of the Storm), an MMO (World of Warcraft) and an FPS (Prodeus). In all three test cases, the K65 Plus handled gaming exceptionally well. The pre-lubed switches offered a smooth and fairly quiet interaction during gameplay. With full NKRO (n-key rollover) the K65 Plus never missed a key press during testing. This coupled with the Anti-Ghosting sets the M65 Plus up for solid performance.
The Corsair MLX Tactile switches offer a solid response as well. With a 40g actuation force, the MLX switches feel great to use. They require just enough force that mistypes are rare based on my testing. The total travel distance of 3.4mm also feels good while typing and gaming. As mentioned the pre-lubed switches also mean that the overall typing experience is smooth.
The 2.4GHz wireless connection ensures a 1,000Hz poll rating and results in no noticeable lag for keystrokes. Thanks to the efficiency of the wireless connection, the K65 Plus is rated for 266 hours of battery life (RGB off) giving it some impressive battery life overall. Even with RGB on I’ve been testing the keyboard for a couple of weeks and have yet to charge it. The K65 Plus offers some stellar battery life.
As for the M75 Wireless gaming mouse, it offers a similar, premium experience. The MARKSMAN 26K optical sensor offers precise monitoring with a DPI sensitivity of up to 26,000Hz a standard among gaming mice of this price point. Similar to the Pixelart 3395 sensor seen in other premium mice, the MARKSMAN 26K optical sensor is an excellent choice for gamers needing FPS levels of precision. In testing it offered excellent precision and response with no notable lag.
Mouse glide is also quite smooth thanks to its weight and PTFE glide feet. The M75 weighs 89g putting it on the heavy end of lightweight but also in the sweet spot for those looking for just a bit of resistance when moving the mouse. I found it to be quite comfortable to use and easy to adapt to despite being someone who vacillates between light weights (sub-80g) and heavier mice (200g+). While it lacks some of the ergonomic comforts of the CHERRY XTRFY M64 or the Razer Basilisk V3 Pro Wireless, the height of the M75 which measures 1.6 inches still allows for a comfortable resting place for your palm without applying extra tension to the wrist.
The left and right buttons feature Corsair Quickstrike buttons to help increase overall response. The Quickstrike buttons are built so that there is no distance between the spring and the switch. This translates into nearly zero latency between press and actuation and by extension reduces the reset time before it can be pressed again. In real-world terms, it brings your panic mashing of the fire button to a new level of panic. FPS titles that require a quick turnaround between press and reset feel great on the M75.
As for battery life, the M75 Wireless is rated for 105 hours on a single charge. This should give you ample time for both gaming and productivity. As for charging time the 0-100% rating is about 75 minutes meaning there will be little need to switch to wired mode. Overall its a fairly solid offering.
Like the K65, the M75 also features wired, 2.4GHz SLIPSTREAM wireless and Bluetooth connections. The 2.4GHz SLIPSTREAM is note-worthy as it allows for up to 2,000Hz poll rating while still using a standard USB-A dongle which is compact and fits perfectly in the aforementioned onboard storage compartment. Cycling between bluetooth and wireless is handled by the buttons on the underside of the mouse and works as expected.
Both the K65 Plus and M75 Wireless are further supported by Corsair’s iCUE software suite which is available on both Mac and PC. If you have experience with the PC version of iCUE you’ll feel right at home with iCUE on Mac. Performance, button mapping and RGB settings are all handled through iCUE. While it works well, iCUE is not the most intuitive software suite I’ve worked with and as such does come with a bit of a learning curve. However, once mastered iCUE takes care of every customization option you would need to adjust with ease.
The K65 Plus and M75 Wireless are solid pieces of hardware that work as one would expect considering the hardware packed into them. The only question left is why create a Mac version? Don’t get me wrong, having a mechanical keyboard specifically catered to Mac is wonderful. As someone who spends a lot of time jumping between Mac and PC for work, nothing is more horrifying than moving from my nice mechanical keyboard on my PC to a terrible Mac-branded wireless keyboard. However, these two components are specifically designed for gaming which historically has not been a Mac-centric focus.
However, I do believe there is a case to be made here. First, setting aside the gaming aspect for a moment, there have not been many, if any, mechanical boards and mice released for Mac that offer the quality that Corsair has presented in the K65 Plus and M75 Wireless. Especially regarding the mechanical keyboard, they simply do not exist for Mac in any meaningful way. As an avid typer who uses both PC and Mac for work, I love what the K65 Plus offers. As for the M75 Wireless, while gaming frequently does work on Mac, most of the time they lack the software support to fully leverage their entire feature set. The M75 benefits from all that iCUE has to offer natively on macOS.
Shifting back to gaming for a moment, while I did note that, historically, Mac hasn’t been leveraged for gaming (and there are many great reasons why) we are starting to see a bit of a shift in this. A great article by techdriveplay.com notes that just under 10% of gamers are now gaming on Mac. While this is still a very low percentage, it is up from even five years ago. It also highlights how the shift to M series chips and unified component design is having a positive impact on the gaming landscape for Mac. It seems like Corsair is reading the trends and aiming to be the first to cater to gamers leveraging Mac hardware and for that, I cannot fault them.
Final Thoughts
The Corsair K65 Plus Wireless Gaming Keyboard and M75 Wireless Gaming Mouse are solid pieces of hardware. The K65 Plus design offers great flexibility with its switch swapping and great typing experience thanks to the Corsair MLX Tactile switches. The M75 Wireless, likewise, is an extremely flexible mouse offering an ambidextrous design that caters to a much wider range of gamers. The magnetic swappable buttons offer some great customization and the MARKSMAN 26K optical Sensor provides a premium mouse experience.
While the single zone RGB on both components is a bit of a letdown considering the price of $179.95 and $129.95 respectively, the overall quality and flexibility of the K65 Plus and M75 Wireless help justify the price point. If you are a Mac user looking to upgrade your desktop setup with some premium components, the Corsair K65 Plus Wireless Gaming Keyboard and M75 Wireless Gaming Mouse are superb additions to consider.
The product described in this article was provided by the manufacturer for evaluation purposes.
