One of the more exciting tech buys I recall making was my first truly big Tv. Information technology's been about v years now since I picked upwardly a 55" LED Tv for the living room to replace an older 42" Samsung model. After promptly mounting the shiny new display, the next footstep was to attach the home theatre PC, a capable machine of its time, though gaming wasn't actually on the agenda.

The thought of taking my Steam games to the living room was mighty tempting, but ultimately I never bothered because of the impracticality of it all. Since and then I've mostly played games such as F1 2022 using a Logitech G920 wheel and the occasional controller-friendly game.

While I take longed to play beginning person shooters on the big screen, getting the keyboard and mouse setup in a style that makes them usable is no easy chore. With plans to acquire a much larger 4K screen soon, being able to enjoy the latest shooters and real-time strategy games with the same level of comfort that I practise in my office would be astonishing.

Attempting to make this dream a reality is Corsair with their new Lapgod, sorry I mean, Lapdog. Dubbed as the "Gaming Control Center" the Lapdog allows you to take a gaming mouse and mechanical keyboard and place it comfortably on your lap.

Not to take anything away from Corsair, but the concept and resulting product are simple enough, so I'yard not sure why I've been waiting the improve office of a decade for such a product.

There have been attempts by other companies to deliver a keyboard/mouse combo y'all tin can employ on your lap only none take impressed. The Phantom Lapboard was innovative, only besides bad-mannered for gaming.

Patently in that location must be more to it than meets the middle. I know Corsair has been developing and preparing the Lapdog for mass product for quite some time at present. We first caught wind of information technology a twelvemonth ago and similar countless other gamers, I've been madly trying to pin downwards a release date.

Well the time is here and nosotros have it in lap ready for some gaming.

Pattern & Features

The Lapdog will be sold equally a standalone product (no keyboard or mouse) for what seems like a rather steep $120. Factor in the cost of the obligatory Corsair keyboard and your favorite gaming mouse and we're talking at least $250 for the bundle.

More specifically, the Vengeance K65 and K70 are $ninety and $130, respectively. While the sleek Corsair Sabre RGB gaming mouse nosotros used for testing is about $lxx. Unlike the keyboard you can use any wired or wireless mouse with the Lapdog, so a Razer, Roccat or Logitech mouse would be fair game besides.

Apparently at that place will parcel deals from Corsair which might present gamers will better value alternatives merely we don't take the details on those nevertheless.

For the standalone model yous essentially get a plastic beat out with some dainty brushed aluminium bits that go on top and a nice big contoured absorber to get underneath. The Lapdog measures 28.94" (L) 10 x.27" (W) ten three.seventy (H)" or 735mm 10 261mm x 94mm which means it can support a standard size mechanical keyboard with plenty room for a decent mouse pad.

The lap cushion can be quickly and easily fastened and removed, thanks to half dozen magnetic points that catch the control center quite firmly. The absorber is made from memory foam, and honestly feels very comfortable on your legs. Cleverly Corsair has also embedded a mounting position for the supplied commuter to remove the screws for accessing the underside of the superlative panels. This ways you have everything you need to quickly brand any adjustments to the layout.

On top we detect a surprisingly large 11" past 11" (279 x 279mm) mouse pad plate on the right hand side of the Lapdog, sadly this can't be moved to the left side for the lefties. This hard surface mouse pad backs onto an aluminium plate which is removable via four screws. Those that adopt soft pads could place a mouse pad over the hard pad without any bug provided it is the correct size.

Opposite the mouse pad is the keyboard tray. Designed featuring an adapter plate the tray tin cater for Corsair's full size K70 series as well every bit their tenkeyless K65 series. The keyboards fit similar a glove and while that is to exist expected I was still for some reason very impressed with the neat fit.

Running across the top of the keyboard tray is a removable cover for the cablevision compartment. This is where you feed your cabling from your keyboard, through to the USB hub at the correct hand corner of the device.

This USB hub is the center of the Lapdog. Powered by a DC input, this USB iii.0 hub provides users with four powered USB 3.0 ports. 2 of these ports are internal, and are designed to connect your keyboard and mouse.

The keyboard uses the cable route through the top of the Lapdog, and at that place'southward a small port at the peak left of the mousepad for your mouse cablevision. If you are using a wireless mouse, y'all could also plug your receiver in at this betoken, too.

On the right paw side, you'll notice the 2 external USB 3.0 ports, which could be used for a USB headset or things like your smartphone or USB storage devices. The closest i to the user is also a fast charging port though for some reason it isn't labelled and therefore non identifiable. Corsair should have made the higher amperage port a different colour such as yellow or red for example.

Anyway, this is where you will want to connect your phone, tablet, or Bluetooth speaker for a quick charge. Lastly in terms of ports, you'll find the DC input and USB host port at the back right of the Lapdog'southward torso.

Plugging into these ports is the conjoined USB cable and DC cablevision supplied in the packet. This cable has enough of length, at 16ft or merely under 5 meters, and at the other cease you lot adhere the little DC ability pack and plug the USB cease into any USB 3.0 port.

It is important to note that the DC power is rated for just a single amp which could become an issue when charging devices that can draw much more than that, such every bit tablets for example.

This made me wonder just how rapidly the fast charging port can really charge, particularly given Corsair'south specification calls for 1.5 amps. Therefore, I decided to do some testing.

Equally a benchmark the fast charger that comes with the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 takes about 90 minutes to complete a full recharge or 120 minutes with a standard charger. The Lapdog took approximately 150 minutes to charge my phone using the 1.0amp ability pack with the phone plugged into the "fast charge" USB 3.0 port.

Getting the Lapdog upwards and running was relatively straightforward -- though this isn't something you would want to practise on a regular basis -- yous won't be sharing your desktop PCs peripherals with the living room setup. All told, information technology takes about 5 - 10 minutes to install the keyboard and mouse, possibly longer depending on how corking you are and if you lot opt for cable ties.

Using the Lapdog

If you are thinking designing a lap type product doesn't seem overly complicated, you are not alone. My initial impression was the same, even so equally I pondered what I would change to make the Lapdog better, the more problems I found with my own prospective changes. As it turns out, making a ane-size-fits-all type lap solution for gamers is mighty hard.

So I must requite Corsair a lot of credit on this offset attempt. For the most function I constitute the Lapdog to exist comfortable to use on the couch and games of all genres a heap of fun to play on my living room TV.

The contoured foam padding displaces the Lapdog'due south weight well across your legs and despite weighing in at 3.9 kilos fully loaded, it didn't experience most that heavy when in utilise and I didn't discover the weight to be an issue afterwards sequent hours of gameplay (aye information technology has been a tough job this 1).

Corsair's Sabre RGB tracked very well on the difficult pad, this was actually the first fourth dimension I accept used this mouse and I have to say I was impressed. Using the mouse on the Lapdog actually wasn't that different to my desk and then that is a huge plus.

Sadly, the keyboard was a less satisfying feel. At my desk the awesome K70 RGB Rapidfire features a nice detachable wrist residuum which I find not just comfortable simply essential. Installed in the Lapdog the wrist rest is left behind and replaced by cypher. This made the Lapdog a bit wearing on my left hand as it attacked the WASD keys.

I found the front border of the Lapdog to be quite sharp. This harsh edge became very uncomfortable presently and trying to avoid it only cause my hands to fatigue quicker. Because of this I couldn't assistance just feel the large space above the keyboard used to hide cables could have been put to better utilize as a wrist rest.

Roccat's upcoming Sova (announced in 2022!), another new burrow solution for gaming looks to characteristic a design that will better adjust my needs. Of class, we are yet to see the Sova in the flesh, so making whatever meaningful comparisons with the Lapdog is a flake pointless, only it looks like Roccat might have a more wrist-friendly production on their hands.

The just other gripe I accept with the Lapdog is the lack of a iii.5mm sound passthrough for analog headphone users. Still given most gamers these days seem to be using USB headsets this probably isn't a huge deal.

Despite these gripes, I'thousand still very happy to have the Lapdog in my life and consider information technology to exist the best option yet for gamers wanting to sink into the burrow. The overall build quality is good and I particularly similar the removable padded cushion.

At $120 for the standalone Lapdog information technology does seem a scrap steep, but with no real competition and an underserved niche of gamers asking for such a solution, Corsair will probable get abroad with information technology.

The but viable alternative right now is Razer'southward $150 Turret -- which non coincidentally was just released this calendar month, TechSpot review incoming -- the Turret includes a keyboard and mouse for that price, however these two products are not in the same league, with Razer's offer being more of a meaty mobile gaming solution.

Overall the Corsair Lapdog is every bit practiced as PC living room gaming gets right at present and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it if you've been looking for a lap desk-bound solution for long.

Pros: Unique solution for PC living room gaming. Works with whatsoever gaming mouse. Big but non too bulky, mostly comfortable.

Cons: No keyboard wrist rest. Pricey.