Corsair’s K60 RGB Pro Low Profile gaming keyboard nails the basics
You don’t always need macro keys or media controls.
Even if you’re not a hardcore PC player, you might be tempted to buy a gaming keyboard for its sturdy construction and mechanical keys. But the tradeoff is often much noisier typing, as well as a larger build thanks to features like media buttons and huge palm rests. Luckily companies like Corsair still offer somewhat subdued decks like the new K60 RGB Pro Low Profile. It’s a small, compact mechanical keyboard that’ll fit easily on your desk and won’t distract your roommates… too much.
Corsair has consistently made some of my favorite keyboards, with the K70 serving as my current daily driver. I even had kind words for the new K100, despite my dislike for opto-mechanical switches. It offered every feature you could want in a gaming keyboard, from macro switches and a dial to Steam Deck integration. The $90 K60 RGB Pro and $110 K60 RGB Pro Low Profile are more a swing in the opposite direction, boiling down to a Corsair’s most essential feature: the keys themselves. There are no media buttons, no macro keys and not even a volume dial on the upper right hand corner. It does include a number pad on the side, so it’s not as streamlined as it could be, but I’m also a weirdo who uses those keys to do actual math so I appreciate their inclusion.
When viewed from above, there doesn’t seem to be a huge difference between the regular K60 and the Low Profile model. They have the same number of keys, packaged into a deck that’s the same width and depth. It’s the height that marks the major difference, with the Low Profile version sitting nine millimeters shorter than its sibling. It doesn’t seem like a big change, but it does make an impact.
The colors on the K60 Pro Low Profile seem muted in comparison, with the higher-sitting K60 shining like Times Square. That’s partly because while the key caps on both models are identical, the switches on the Low Profile are shorter and allow less light to escape from underneath the cap. So the keyboard ends up being low profile in not just height, but lighting scheme.
The regular K60 Pro uses linear and smooth Cherry Viola switches, which feel fine but make a slight metallic scraping sound when pressed down. This isn’t a big deal when you’re wearing a headset, but if anyone around you has sensitive hearing, they might find it annoying. The Low Profile is much more pleasant to listen to and type on. Its Low Profile Cherry MX Speed keys feel soft and muted compared to those on other Corsair decks, but there’s still a very firm bounce to them with an incredibly short actuation point. That short press means it’s easy to accidentally hit the spacebar if your hand were to brush over the deck, but I didn’t have a problem with any other key.
Since there are no extra buttons or dials on the keyboard itself, all customization has to be done via Corsair’s iQUE software, which has only gotten more user friendly over the years. There are plenty of built-in presets so you don’t have to spend too much time designing patterns, and it’s easy enough to just make the whole deck glow white if you’re trying not to have it scream “gamer gear.”
And for some people that’s important — working at home so much now means we’re upgrading our setups with better equipment than whatever our office IT departments were willing to give us, but we’d still like to maintain some professionalism. The K60s are perfect in how they don’t feel like pieces of gamer gear, allowing us to concentrate on work during the day, but still handle a few games of Overwatch and Apex Legends at night.
