The Corsair Vengeance K70 (Cherry MX Blue) ($129.99) is offered alongside the Corsair Vengeance K70 (Cherry MX Red), with all of the same features, but offering Cherry MX Blue key switches. Because so many details are identical between the two models, this review focuses primarily upon the key switches and the differences that differentiates our review unit from its Cherry MX Red counterpart. As with the other model, the Vengeance K70 (Cherry MX Blue) may not supplant the Editors' Choice Roccat Ryos MK Pro as our top pick for gaming keyboards, but it's still one of the best around.
Design and Features
The Vengeance K70 has an industrial-looking design, with a machined aluminum base covered in keys that appear to hover over the black anodized aluminum deck. The Vengeance K70 features a full keyboard and 10-key numeric pad, and built-in media controls. The media controls include Play/Pause, Stop, and Forward and Back buttons, with a roller knob for Volume Control and a Volume Mute button. The keys most used in gaming, WASD and numbers 1 through 6, also come with swappable keycaps (keycap puller included), which feature a sculpted ergonomic surface and textured surface, along with a red metallic sheen. A detachable wrist rest runs the length of the keyboard, with a soft-touch rubberized finish with a dimpled texture.
The keys themselves feature Cherry MX Blue switches, which are popular among gamers for their consistency and combination of audible and tactile feedback. The switch registers each keystroke at the mid-point of the motion, and signals this with both an audible click and slight tactile bump. The Vengeance K70 is also available with Cherry MX Red and Cherry MX Brown switches, which fall between the two with the same tactile bump signaling each keystroke, but without the added clicking sound. As to which is better, it's largely a matter of preference, so we recommend trying before you buy to determine your key switch of choice.
The Vengeance K70 features customizable 
per-key backlighting, and connects with a USB 2.0 Y-cable, which allows for a USB pass-through connection on the keyboard. There's also a sliding switch on the back of the keyboard, next to the USB port, which lets you adjust the polling rates, but most users will simply leave it pegged at 1 millisecond for the faster response times. The accompanying Corsair Gaming Software is Windows only (Windows 7/8/Vista/XP). Corsair covers the Vengeance K70 with a two-year warranty.
Performance
While testing the Vengeance K70, I used it for both daily work and gaming. The Cherry MX Blue keyswitches offered consistent response, whether typing or rapid-firing commands during a game. The audible click of each keystroke will be familiar to most mechanical keyboard users, and the sharp click of each key served me well when playing Watch Dogs. The keys aren't as quiet as those of the Cherry MX Red switches we tried on the other model of the Vengeance K70, but the shorter keystrokes and unmistakable feedback will be preferred by plenty of gamers.
But things got interesting as soon as I swapped to the textured gaming keycaps. The sculpted, textured surface of the keys made it easy to find and stay on the WASD cluster without having to glance at the keyboard. It made it even easier to use other keys (such as for using items or tossing grenades), because I could be sure I returned to the proper keys without needing to look away from my monitor, letting me pay that much more attention to the game.
My only real complaints are the same ones I had while using the Corsair Vengeance K60—the molded keycaps are great for gaming, but not for typing, so you'll need to switch keycaps whenever you want to from gaming to typing, and the swappable number keycaps don't include secondary characters, making it a pain to remember which key is used for the dollar sign or a pound sign for your funny hashtag.
Conclusion
The Corsair Vengeance K70 (Cherry MX Blue) is a well-built gaming keyboard, and comes just as highly recommended as the Cherry MX Red variant (which one you end up choosing really depends you whether you like audible clicks with your key taps or not). Both models offer premium construction and game-friendly features like swappable keycaps, high-quality mechanical switches, and programmable backlighting. It may not have the extensive selection of features seen on other gaming keyboards—the Editors' Choice Roccat Ryos MK Pro keeps its top spot thanks to its many customizable functions—but it's still a notable addition to the list of best keyboards for gamers.
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