Corsair STRAFE RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard (Cherry MX Silent Switches, Per Key Multicolour RGB Backlighting, Designed for Streamers, UK Layout) - Black

This is my first experience buying a mechanical gaming keyboard, and i'm absolutely blown away by what i've been missing all this time! I've been a PC gamer for about 15 years, and until now i've always gone with cheap, run-of-the-mill basic keyboards. "They all do the same job" I used to think. "Why would I pay silly amounts of money for one?" Well as i've said in previous reviews, i'm a true believer in "you get what you pay for", but in this case, I believe I got so much more than that. First feature I wanted was backlit keys. Having recently rearranged my gaming area with remote-controlled mood lighting and other items featuring decorative lighting options, I wanted something that would fit in nicely with the new setup. The lighting had to be RGB, so I could select exactly which colours I wanted at any time. Second but primary feature had to be mechanical keys, simply due to the reviews and recommendations I had read regarding their use with certain game genres. THE GOOD POINTS: This is where I had to do a little bit of homework before committing to the purchase. Mechanical keys are not JUST mechanical keys. For those of you reading this who may not be familiar with them, Cherry MX keys come in a variety of different options, each one offering a difference in feel; light, medium or heavy touch etc. My advice would be to Google the different types before choosing which keyboard variant you wish to purchase. The keyboard I chose has the Cherry MX RED keys. These keys require minimum effort to press, provide nice solid, positive feedback, and actually sound great too. I was half expecting a retro-style clunk, synonymous with those old Microsoft keyboards we had at school in the 80's and 90's. Now, while these keys do provide a trip down memory lane with each resounding "clack" of keystrokes, it's nowhere near as bad as I had expected. It's not irritating. Oddly enough, it's a calming, satisfying sound. Backlit keys, positive feel, and nice sounds. My review would normally be complete around now. But there is so much more to talk about! The fact you are looking at this product suggests that you are most likely already familiar with the Corsair brand and reputation. This is one of the main reasons this keyboard made the shortlist for me. Corsair have produced a fantastic piece of software to accompany this keyboard, in the form of the Corsair Utility Engine, CUE 2. This does NOT ship with the keyboard, but can be very easily downloaded from the downloads section on the Corsair website. Having downloaded and launched this software, I suddenly realised just how much I had underestimated the customisation options. I will say that I am not fully familiar with the software as yet (too busy gaming!), but I will try to give you an idea of what you can expect and achieve with it. There are helpful tips and reviews about CUE 2 on YouTube if you wish to investigate further. CUE 2 allows you to create custom profiles for your keyboard. Not only can you set up different light colours and effects for your keyboard, you can also assign colours and effects to individual keys. That means that if you use a game or other application which uses a small selection of keys, you can just have those keys lit, and in the colours of your choice. The lighting options also give you the option to create lighting effects, giving you the opportunity to have a swirling rainbow or rippling mix of colours flowing smoothly across your keyboard if you so wish. You can even assign a different colour or effect to a specific key and keystroke, and whether you want to activate that colour/effect on key press, key hold or key release. If you plan to use this keyboard in a dark environment, you'll find that the lowest key brightness level will be more than adequate, especially if you have your entire keyboard lit up in white, as I do during the day for regular tasks. The lighting options really are so vast and extensive, that I could write a review on those alone! For this reason, I will move on to the next point. If you want to learn more about key lighting, check out some of the epic YouTube videos. While setting up a profile with amazing lights and lighting effects, you may forget to check out the other options available to you, such as the ability to remap keys, create macros and assign them to a single key press, and even link your profile of choice to your favourite game or application, so your profile loads with that application. This allows you to switch seamlessly between, say, a profile setup for regular typing tasks (as I have now), and launching a game, whereby your customised keyboard profile will be loaded and ready for action. You can also view and download profiles that other people have created by using the options in CUE 2. Some of these are fantastic creations, and downloading them and examining their layout will help you to understand how the options work, and how to lay them out as you create them. Corsair have done an outstanding job producing this software, and it really comes into it's own when setting up your profiles. Additionally, You have options to customise the CUE 2 interface with your own background picture, as well as using the available options to tweak the look of your interface. If you want to go a stage further, you can assign images to your created keyboard profile. There are two keys to the top right of the keyboard. These are Keyboard Brightness and Windows Lock respectively. They can both be assigned their own colours, as can the "invisible when off" Corsair logo to the top left of the keyboard. The Windows Lock key can be assigned two different colours so that you know when it's active and when it's not. In it's default mode, it's set to disable the Windows key when active, removing the occasional but incredibly frustrating accidental key press that gets you killed in the heat of battle. You can, however, choose it's function from a predetermined list of associated functions under the Performance tab of CUE 2. When you launch CUE 2, you'll be presented with a screen showing a small selection of Corsair's other RGB products. You can choose to see these every time you open the program, or have it set to just display your connected devices. If you happen to own more than just the keyboard, you can use CUE 2's Lighting Link to synchronise the lighting profiles created for your keyboard, so that all your compatible Corsair RGB products show the same effect, pattern or static lighting scheme. One feature I love about this keyboard is the USB pass-through. You'll immediately notice that the keyboard has an unusually chunky cable coming out of it. Presumably this is to accommodate additional wiring for the RGB functions, but also because there are TWO USB plugs on the end. You only need to use the one marked with the keyboard symbol for the keyboard to work standalone, but the other one is used if you decide to plug something into the USB socket on the rear of the keyboard itself. I've plugged my mouse into the back of the keyboard to reduce the number of trailing cables to my computer, and along my desk. The keyboard comes with a textured plastic, yet very comfortable wrist rest; two additional sets of keycaps for your primary gaming keys; and a keycap puller. The keyboard itself is very heavy, of solid construction, and no doubt will last longer than an old-skool Volvo in a collector's garage. Last but not least, the key font is classic, bold, easy to read Eurostile. This really enhances the look of the keyboard. CRITICISMS: I only have ONE criticism, and that is with the lighting layout. The keyboard features "sidelights." As the name suggests, these are lights which are emitted from the extreme left and right edges of the keyboard. They are great in that they will give your mouse/other peripherals a nice subtle glow, without being distracting. They can even be turned off if so required. But they are only able to show WHITE light. You CANNOT choose colours for these lights, nor the Caps Lock/Num Lock/Scroll Lock status indicators at the top of the keyboard. These lights are white only. As I say, they are not distracting an any way, but being able to choose a colour for them would have been nice, especially if i'm using an application where Num Lock is turned on. The white glow from the status light looks a little out of place unless i'm using an all-white lighting setup. CONCLUSION: This product is by far the best keyboard I have used/owned to date. It feels solid, rugged and gives positive feedback with each keystroke. It's not only great for the RGB junkies among us, but is a substantially practical solution for those of us who want to feel positive, precise key presses, whether we are typing an email, or taking down an army of zombies. The CUE 2 software appears to work flawlessly with it and makes it simple to set up the keyboard just how I want it for any given application. Only had it a couple of days, but as always, if I experience any issues at a later date, I will edit this review accordingly. My keyboard arrived a day later than scheduled, but it was definitely worth the wait. I highly recommend it, and I further recommend buying it here, especially since they are currently on sale in high street stores for £150+! Get one! You won't regret it!

The second I took this out of the box, it felt like a chunk of metal. It is superbly build and is very heavy! I bought the brown switches, which I found to be my favourite switch from the sound/feel. The looks of this keyboard is just amazing. The software that is a free download is a little temprimental (doesn't always recognise a keyboard being plugged in - have to unplug then plug back in again) but most of the time it works. I downloaded many different profiles for the software which gave me a range of different colour patterns. The options on the software is almsot infinit! The keyboard is relitevly loud due to the switches, but I don't mind it at all. It is loud, but not loud enough to annoy anyone in the room next to you. The brightness of this keyboard is amazing. It has 3 levels of brightness, controlled by the top right button. Due to the white sheet behind the keys, the colours are very vibrant and bright!!! I haven't had the need to use the windows lock button in the top right, but it will be handy to most gamers! This keyboard also comes with a packet of textured keys. The keys these come in are W, A, S, D, R, F, E. Pros: - Very very well built - Looks amazing, the design and the colours - Feels nice - Sounds nice Cons - The software!! Tempramental and doesn't always play ball... - The wire is very thick, making it a bit tricky to hide away I can't stop staring at it...! The colours are so vibrant!! All in all, would 100% reccomend!

Having used the SteelSeries Apex RAW as my keyboard for many years, I decided that I wasn’t a fan of the amount of noise it made. Sure, it was a chiclet keyboard, but it was still way too loud for my tastes and I wanted to try using a mechanical keyboard for the first time. After doing some hunting around, I came across the Corsair Strafe RGB keyboard with Cherry MX Silent switches. Obviously, I had to try it out, so I went to a local electronics store and was immediately impressed by the build quality of the keyboard. After pressing a few keys on the display model I asked about buying one. They weren’t in stock. All was not lost as I bought one on Amazon the same evening and it arrived a couple of days later. I opened the box and before even plugging it into my PC I switched the standard WASD keys for the textured, sloped ones meant for FPS gaming. The keyboard also came with another set of keys for MOBA games. Features Unlike my Apex RAW, the Strafe doesn’t have any dedicated macro keys. I didn’t mind this because I rarely used the macro keys on the Apex RAW. All the normal keys are there and some of the function keys act as multimedia controls. It has a nice wrist-rest and the spacebar is textured in a similar way to the FPS and MOBA keys. Of course, the keyboard is backlit and has support for 16.8 million colours with individual colour settings for each key, but I’ll cover that later when going over the aesthetics. At the back, the keyboard has a USB 3.0 pass-through port which you can use for your mouse, memory stick (flash drive…) or even USB headphones. Unfortunately, this means the keyboard takes up two USB ports on your PC, but those ports would be taken up anyway and the keyboard acts as an extension cable for you. On the bottom of the keyboard, you’ll notice it has standard “flippy feet” to adjust the angle at which you’re typing. To me, it doesn’t make much of a difference but it might be the decision-maker for some of you out there. Silent? Of course, being a mechanical keyboard, the Strafe isn’t going to be perfectly quiet. It just can’t. It’s definitely the quietest keyboard I have, and if you press really softly it is pretty inaudible. You can buy O-Ring dampeners to put on the switches, but I really don’t think it’s necessary. The Strafe is a massive improvement on my old Apex RAW and I definitely recommend it if you’re the type for late-night gaming sessions. Aesthetics Ah, the fun part. This is where the “RGB” part of the name comes in. However, before I get into that, I just want to talk a little about the build of the keyboard. It looks striking, even when the lights are off. It has LEDs on the sides as well as the keys, and I absolutely love the typeface used for the keys themselves. The shiny black brand name in the top right is wonderful, and I think the shape and size of the keys are just right. But, of course, you want the lights. Everybody wants the lights. Let’s be honest, if you didn’t buy this keyboard for the silent switches, you bought it just so you can have a fancy light show on your desk. You’ll have to download the Corsair Utility Engine. This is a piece of software that lets you control all aspects of most Corsair peripherals (I have the Void RGB headphones so I already had the CUE). It’s remarkably simple to use and lets you adjust about every aspect of your keyboard, from adding custom macros and changing the lights to modifying your Win Lock key and disabling the sidelights. The picture above shows how I have my colours set up. It might not be what you like but I love the visor effect. If you have the advanced switch turned off as I do, you have many predefined options and effects to choose from and layer over each other. If you turn it on, there are fewer options but you have a lot more freedom to create your own effects, including adjusting the opacity. If you have any questions about this, leave them in the comments. Conclusion I must say, this keyboard is impressive. It’s not the best if you’re a League player who needs loads of space for macros, but if you’re someone who plays games on a casual level and despairs at the decibels of noise produced by your current keyboard, this is definitely something I would look at getting. Corsair really has done well on the Strafe RGB MX Silent and I really look forwards to seeing what they’ll come up with in the future. ~Isaac

Great mechanical keyboard for gaming.

Me encanta lo mejor teclado de MX Silent en lo mercado.. Los RBGS soy muy buenos y puedes controlar la luz