Not everyone wants that aesthetic, but if you're looking to lean into it, or simply don't mind it, it's handsome hardware. All of these elements tie together to give the Flare a very distinct "gamer" look. The brushed-aluminum-looking "Hybrid" paneling and keycaps are subdued, but countered by the robotic ROG font, and a heavy dose of RGB lighting under the keys and as "underglow" that projects on the desk underneath the board's sides. In general, the Strix Flare's aesthetic sensibility is its defining quality. Myself, I'm not one to take the time to customize a logo and paint or stick it on a keyboard, but if you're so inclined, it can be a nifty, elegant way to add a personal touch. Most of the lighting settings tend to glide over the logo in pleasing ways. The keyboard comes packed with a second, unmarked slide that you can customize yourself with paint or stickers. (That said, it didn't help that my review unit had Red Switches, which move a little quicker than I'm used to, particularly for typing.) They're not the beefy-feeling "double-shot" keycaps of a board like the Topre Realforce RGB TKL, but the need to allow for light to shine through has to factor into the design.Ībove the function keys, you'll find some convenient media controls, including a nicely textured volume roller, as well as buttons to lock the Windows key and kill the keyboard's lighting.Īt the top right of the keyboard, there's a USB passthrough, as well as a removable clear acrylic slide with the ROG logo. The keycaps, made from ABS polymer, feel slightly hollow relative to other mechanical and hybrid keyboards I've used, but they did not feel cheap or unstable by any means. You can get the switches in your choice of Red (twitch-touch), Blue (very clicky), Speed Silver (less travel), Brown (a good compromise), or Silent Red switches, which is nice for those of us who have strong preferences around the travel and clickiness of our keys. The Strix Flare uses Cherry MX RGB switches, which work like Cherry's MX switches, but the mechanism is made of clear plastic to let the keyboard's RGB lighting shine through. The typing, however, is quite finger-pleasing. Unfortunately, there's no padding on the wrist rest, so it isn't especially comfortable. The rest is very low-profile, a clean polymer slab that lets your wrists hang right where they need to if you've raised the keyboard's rear tabs. I find that the ROG Strix Flare looks a bit slimmer with the detachable wrist rest on. (Opens in a new window) Read Our Acer Predator Aethon 500 Review Its graphite-colored ABS polymer case gives it a sort of futuristic feel, which is, ironically, very "now" among gaming keyboards. At 1.2 by 17.9 by 6.1 inches (HWD) and 2.8 pounds, it's standard height and weight for its class. In many ways, until you fire it up, the Strix Flare comes across as nondescript among full-size (104-key) keyboards. Even so, it's a solid pick for typing and for most game genres. Cherry switches give it enthusiast cred, but the Flare falls a little short of the very best full-size gaming keyboards, when you take a close look at its feature set, and particularly its configuration software. But Asus does, in fact, have a whole input-device line, and makes a decent gaming keyboard in the ROG Strix Flare ($179.99). When most tech shoppers think of Asus and its gaming sub-brand, Republic of Gamers, they tend to think first of gaming desktops, laptops, and monitors, not input peripherals.
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