Price / Where to Buy:
US – US$169 – ASUS Strix Tactic Pro Mechanical Gaming Keyboard
PH – Approx. Php5600
Taken from the ancient Roman and Greek word for owl, Strix means the keenest hearing and sharpest eyesight. Strix means feeling your environment so that you detect and react to the slightest movement. Strix means survival on the very edge of instinct.
The Strix Product line debuted last Sep 2, 2014 with the release of the ASUS R9 285 STRIX. Strix is a new gaming brand from ASUS that targets performance-to-premium segment.For graphics cards it will both replace some standard DirectCU II models with additional features, as well as offer an alternative in both style and features to ROG’s pre-overclocked, or hybrid cooled graphics hardware. At the very high-end, as the premium brand ROG will remain king – with its Matrix, MARS and ARES graphics cards leading the performance crown.
FEATURES
Strix Tactic Pro is a mechanical gaming keyboard is engineered with Cherry MX Blue, Red, Brown and Black switches. The Strix Tactic Pro exhibits the N-Key Rollover(NKRO) technology to ensure every key press is registered, no matter how many keys you slam when you rage. It also has the 6-Key Rollover (6KRO) switch if you desire to make it behave like a traditional keyboard. The keyboard is also equipped with 13 dedicated macro keys with the ability to reassign F1-F8 as macro keys for a total of 21 keys available for your gaming needs. These macro keys come with an on-the-fly macro-recording key, so you can capture your high APM keystrokes without the need to interrupt your game.
SPECIFICATIONS
- Dimensions: 515.5 x 178.6 x 32.9 (mm)
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Connector: Single gold-plated USB
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Anti-ghosting: True NKRO (6KRO switch included)
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Switches: Fully mechanical Cherry MX type
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Switch lifecycle: 50-million keystrokes
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Backlit: Individually-backlit (orange) keys with 4-level settings
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Cable: Braided fiber 1.8m
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Key cap material: Tough ABS
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Media keys: Volume control, play/pause, previous track and next track
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Macro keys: Up to 21 customizable keys (13 dedicated macro keys + 8 switchable macro/function (F1-F8) keys)
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On-the-fly macro recording
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Dual modes: plug-and-play hardware mode and software mode
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Gaming mode (disables Windows® key); Macro mode (reassigns F1-F8 as macro keys)
PACKAGING
The front of the box is fairly simple with a picture of the keyboard itself together with the highlights of its features namely Full mechanical switches, N-Key Rollover(NKRO) over USB, 21 easy-to-reach macro keys & Software and plug and play hardware modes. It also has a graphic indicator on what type of Cherry MX switch does the keyboard use.
When the packaging is opened you’ll see the following:
- Quick-start guide
- VIP Member Warranty Notice
- Driver Installation CD
- 4 Additional key caps
- Key cap removal tool
- 3
The keyboard is fairly large having a dimension of 515.5 x 178.6 x 32.9 (mm) mainly because of the macro keys and the elegantly placed LED indicators. Be wary about the possible chance that this might not fit your desk or computer table.
Moving through the back you can see 8 quality rubber feet to ensure maximum stability. The 2 stands are equipped with rubber padding as well.
The keyboard shape isn’t quite standard mainly because of what I’ve stated earlier. This type of style provides a gamer-y look but its too bulky if you plan to bring it in LAN parties even if you desperately need those functionalities.
The keyboard has an orange LED lighting to highlight the Strix’s color scheme.The lighting is only limited to 4 levels of brightness which can by cycled by using the strix software. One minor disappointment of mine is that I was expecting the line running through the Insert, Home, Delete, End, PgUp & PgDn buttons to be illuminated as well.
Our review sample features the Cherry MX Blue switch. The key caps are of good quality and laser etched to help its orange back light illuminate beautifully.
Sadly, the 4 additional key caps are coated and not that textured but it still enough to distinguish by feel that your finger is on one of the 4 orange key caps. It would be pleasing if it was dedicated for WASD or QWER keys. But hey, its better to have some than none right?
The left side features the first 10 dedicated Macro switches with a Strix Logo on top of it. I had a hard time adjusting the positioning of my hand when using this keyboard as my pinky naturally latches to the ctrl key which is naturally located at the lower right edge of keyboard.
The second set of macro keys are located just right at the bottom of the space bar. These 3 keys are what I find the most useful and has the best ergonomics among the 3 different sets of macro keys. Each key has a different layout and tactile feedback to easily distinguish which key is your thumb placed at. The area of the macro keys is spaced out conveniently enough to rest your palm on. A nice touch by ASUS.
The upper part of the keyboard sports tons of LED indicators for keyboard profiles, gamer mode, macro mode, recording, NKRO as well as Num, Caps and Scroll Lock.
On the right side you’ll see a cleverly placed scroll wheel and media buttons namely Play/Pause, Mute, Back and Next. A nice touch ASUS for implementing dedicated media keys instead of just using a FN bind function.
SOFTWARE
The software is pretty much easy to which and has similar layout & functional with other softwares such as the Razer synapse. In hardware mode you can create you own profile which will be saved in the keyboard’s built in 4MB memory for the convenience of not having to re-assign the macros everytime you plug the keyboard to another PC, not to mention the waiting time of downloading the software itself.
User Experience & Conclusion
Performance. The keyboard exhibited what it promises on its product packaging. ASUS stand firm on their claims and has never failed to deliver the performance that users crave. In all my experience with different keyboards, the Strix Tactic Pro took the longest time for me to comfortably adjust my self to its ergonomics. It may take sometime for you to adjust to this keyboard as well. Do keep in mind the desk space as this keyboard consumes a large chunk of it.
Build Quality. As for most keyboards, the Strix Tactic Pro is rigid and strong enough for gamers who go for a typing-spree on a kid who just trashtalks in game or commenting on a political related post on facebook. The keycaps are also of good quality for its tough ABS material.
Functionality. The keyboard is jam packed with features such as a decent volume wheel, dedicated media & macro buttons, and a hefty software. The thumb macro keys also serve as a wrist rest. The right side macro keys(M1-10) can serve the same purpose as a hotkey/shortcut keypad like the Razer Nostromo. With the bulkiness of the keyboard, I expected it to have a 3.5mm audio & mic pass through to go along with the media keys.
Bundle. The content of the keyboard is fairly conventional with the included 4 extra key caps and a key cap puller. One thing that made me curious is that there’s no Strix sticker included with the keyboard unlike the Strix Claw Gaming Mouse which we also reviewed last December together with the Strix Glide Control Mouse Pad.
Value. The Strix Tactic Pro has an SRP of PHP 5,550. Its on a tough spot because its just priced 500 pesos above the ever popular Corsair Strafe and 500 pesos below the Strafe RGB. For 500 pesos more than the Strafe you get the volume wheel instead of the volume buttons, tons of macro buttons, and dedicated media keys. And do bear in mind that for the price range of this keyboard, only the Strix Tactic Pro has a Cherry MX Black switch option(as of writing).
The Strix Tactic Pro is a great option for enthusiasts who want to make the most out of the keyboard’s features specially the 21 dedicated macro keys which is not just catered for gamers, but for media professionals as well. With a wide range of features added to this board, it will be the bang for your buck if you’re the type of person who doesn’t care about its color scheme and has enough desk or table space that the keyboard takes up. The 500 peso difference between the Strix Tactic Pro and other keyboards will really just boil down to personal preference & mostly aesthetics, but if we’re talking about its functionality, the Strix Claw will save you a couple of $$$ for its value-added features compared to buying standalone ones like the Razer Nostromo.
Price / Where to Buy:
US – US$169 – ASUS Strix Tactic Pro Mechanical Gaming Keyboard
PH – Approx. Php5600
Like most keyboards on the market, the Strix Tactic Pro is covered with ASUS’ 1-year product replacement warranty. We give the ASUS Strix Tactic Pro our Silver Award!
6 Comments
too outlandish
nothing beats the classic look eh
its ok if one intends to get it as a part of a set/theme.
User preference: Ducky is <3
ayyyy pato is (Y)
i will ask from distri sample products