Corsair Makr Pro 75 Review: Not Worth the Price

The Review The Corsair Makr Pro 75 is a well-built magnetic switch keyboard, but it's expensive. In this review, we'll go over the pros and cons, and discuss the typing and gaming experience on this keyboard. The Pros - Well-built - Magnetic switches - Nice rotary knob The Cons - Expensive - Stiff typing experience - Upgrading is pricey Why You Can Trust Us Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test. It's nice to see mainstream gaming companies paying attention to the enthusiast side of peripherals, and some of the best gaming keyboards now are a mix of both, but why are they all so expensive? Corsair followed in Glorious' footsteps last year with the launch of its custom builder and the Makr 75, which started at $140 for a barebones kit and ended up closer to $250-$300 for a full board, and those weren't even magnetic switches. Well, now it has magnetic switches (and it comes pre-built). The Makr Pro 75 is a pre-built wired gaming keyboard with Hall Effect magnetic switches and a premium build. It's the magnetic switch version of Corsair's Makr 75, but while the Makr 75 is a DIY kit, the Makr Pro 75 only comes prebuilt. (It's still upgradable via the Makr 75's modules, however.) Design and Construction of the Makr Pro 75 The Makr Pro 75 is a magnetic wired keyboard with a 75-percent layout. It has alphanumeric keys, a full function row, arrow keys, and a line of navigation keys (Home, PgUp, PgDn, and End) as well as a programmable rotary knob. It features a full aluminum body, a gasket-mounted hot-swappable PCB, and double-shot PBT keycaps, and is designed to be largely customizable. Storage and Battery There is no information about the storage and battery on the Makr Pro 75. Specs - Size: 75% - Number of keys: 75 - Switch: Corsair MGX Hyperdrive magnetic (linear) - Backlighting: Yes - Onboard Storage: No - Dedicated Media Keys: Rotary knob - Game Mode: No, Win lock in Web Hub - Additional Ports: 0 - Connectivity: Wired (USB-C) - Cable: 6 ft. / 1.8 m, detachable - Keycaps: Double-shot PBT - Construction: Plastic chassis, anodized aluminum top plate - Software: Web Hub - Dimensions (LxWxH): 13 x 5.59 x 1.85 inches / 330.2 x 142 x 47 mm - Weight: 2.83 pounds / 1.282 kg - MSRP/Price at Time of Review: $249.99 Typing and Gaming Experience on the Makr Pro 75 The Makr Pro 75 comes with Corsair's MGX Hyperdrive magnetic switches, which are linear, pre-lubed magnetic switches with an actuation force of 30-55 grams and an adjustable actuation point of between 0.1-4.0 mm (adjusted in 0.1 mm increments). Like other magnetic switches, they support all the fun gamer-oriented features: dual actuation, Rapid Trigger, and FlashTap (SOCD). They're rated for up to 150 million keystrokes. Typing on the Makr Pro 75 is a pleasant experience; the switches are smooth and stable, and the keyboard sounds decent out of the box. The board comes with eight layers of sound-dampening in the case and has a rigid FR4 switch plate (for better switch stability, according to Corsair), which gives the keyboard a bright, crisp typing sound. It's not necessarily my favorite, and I prefer something deeper (and louder). In terms of comfort, the Makr Pro 75 is OK, but I expected a little better. I think it's the combination of the keycaps (double-shot PBT in an OEM profile higher profile, sculpted rows) and the switch plate that bothered me. The typing experience on this keyboard is pretty stiff, despite the gasket mount structure. The lack of flex combined with the higher-profile keycaps just felt a little taxing for me (but, of course, I type more than most). Gaming on the Makr Pro 75 is similar to gaming on any other 75-percent Hall Effect magnetic switch gaming keyboard - you get all the gamer-oriented features such as Rapid Trigger and FlashTap (I'm still not sure if anyone actually uses dual actuation in gaming or anywhere), along with a lightning-fast latency-free 8,000 Hz polling rate, if that's what you're looking for. (And the 75-percent layout leaves you plenty of room to go crazy with your mouse.) I don't love that there doesn't seem to be a way to easily enable a game mode on the keyboard, however you can lock the Windows key in the device settings in the Web Hub, but that's not exactly a convenient way to do things. Features and Software of the Makr Pro 75 The Makr Pro 75 is configurable via Corsair's new web-based Web App (it also seems to be at least cursorily recognized by iCUE, but that's it). You can use the Web App to customize the keyboard's RGB lighting and configure its magnetic switch features, including setting actuation point and dual inputs for individual switches, turning on Rapid Trigger, and configuring FlashTap. You can also remap keys and record macros, configure the rotary knob, and change a handful of device settings, including polling rate. The Makr Pro 75 gets up to an 8,000 Hz wired polling rate (but it ships with a 1,000 Hz polling rate). The Web App also has a section for switch testing and calibration - you'll need to calibrate if you decide to swap out your switches, and it handily lists some of the compatible switches (like most Hall Effect keyboards, the Makr Pro 75 can only accept other magnetic switches). The Makr Pro 75 is part of Corsair's DIY series; while this keyboard comes prebuilt, it's designed to be upgradeable via Corsair's modules. There are only two upgrade modules - an LCD module that you can swap in for the rotary knob, which has a 1.3-inch color screen that can show system stats (or Corsair logos, I don't know), and a wireless module that adds 2.4 GHz wireless and Bluetooth connectivity. Of course, while it's nice that there are options to upgrade this keyboard, they're not exactly cost-efficient. The LCD module costs $49.99 and the wireless module costs $79.99, so a wireless, LCD Makr Pro 75 will set you back $380. The Bottom Line Corsair's Makr Pro 75 is a well-built magnetic keyboard that looks and feels like a premium, custom board. It offers a nice typing experience - very bright and crisp, if too rigid for me - and its magnetic switches and 8,000 Hz polling rate will appeal to the gamers looking for every advantage. But it doesn't really have gaming features beyond that (it doesn't even have a conveniently-accessible game mode at the moment), and if we look at it as an enthusiast board with magnetic switches, it's just kind of mediocre. Lemokey's L5 HE 8K has magnetic switches and an 8,000 Hz polling rate, and offers a better, more comfortable typing experience - and it's $50 less ($199). The Magger 68 has a smaller layout, but it's a magnetic switch 8,000 Hz polling rate keyboard, and it's on sale for less than $70. The Makr Pro 75 is a solid board, but you can probably do better.