Price: $149.99



Corsair Strafe RGB Mechanical Keyboard Introduction:

Corsair has been branching out now for many years after its origins were in the memory business. The company's product lines have grown to include power supplies, cases, cooling products, and SSDs, with 2014 seeing the addition of gaming keyboards, mice and mouse pads, and headsets.

Today we will be taking a look at the Corsair Strafe RGB MX Silent mechanical keyboard. This keyboard features the all new Cherry MX Silent RGB Red key switches. These key switches are similar to the original Cherry MX Red, but have been improved with the clear Cherry Refract Technology housing to help with light transfer from the RGB LEDs. The LEDs can produce up to 16.7 million colors. The noise reduction technology in the Silent series will greatly reduce keyboard noise, with prior Cherry key switches known for their "clackity" sound characteristics. The sound is comparable to adding o-rings to the prior generation of switches, which you can still add, but won't have any noticeable improvement in noise reduction. With all this technology provided in the key switches, this keyboard should perform very well. Let's find out!

Corsair Strafe RGB Mechanical Keyboard Closer Look:

The Corsair Strafe RGB MX Silent mechanical keyboard is shown prominently on the box cover, in an isometric view. All the keys are lit up with varying colors of the visible spectrum. It might not be obvious at first, but the side of the keyboard is also lit up with a small white strip. The larger white area does not light up however. The top has the Corsair Gaming logo, along with this sentence in both English and French: "World's Leading Mechanical Key Switch Technology And Advanced Noise Reduction". Under those sentences are four squares highlighting features: Multi Color Per Key Backlighting, Corsair Utility Engine CUE Software, and two squares for the Cherry MX Red mechanical key switches. Along the bottom are three more sentences in both English and French: "Designed for pro performance tournament gaming. 100% Cherry MX key switches with gold contacts for fast, precise key presses. Dynamic, interactive multicolor backlighting for unmatched game customization". To the right of this is the keyboard model (Strafe RGB MX Silent Mechanical Keyboard), with a picture of a Cherry MX Silent key switch and the words "Fast, Accurate Linear Response" below.

Flipping the box over shows the keyboard with the same color scheme, this time from a top-down view. The top left corner has the Corsair logo; its newest logo design being similar to the original. Features are listed all around the keyboard image in English, French, and Spanish. Starting at the top is the mention of the USB pass-through port. Next is the mention that this keyboard is fully programmable, with users able to assign macros to any key. Along the left side are three more features: enhanced easy-access multimedia controls; textured and contoured FPS/MOBA keycap sets; and 100% anti-ghosting with full key rollover on USB. At the bottom, the wrist pad is described as an ultra durable detachable soft touch wrist rest. There are pictures showing the FPS and MOBA keycaps installed, along with the arrow keys, with the label Lighting Modes. To the right of the keyboard, CUE is described, which stands for Corsair Utility Engine. New Corsair products supporting Corsair CUE Link allow multiple devices to work together for their lighting schemes. This feature is described as: "Multiple Gaming Devices. Full Spectrum Color. One Amazing Show. Spectro Syncing: Shift Colors with the rhythm of your play. Triple Rainbow: Three devices, three rainbows shifting in perfect sync. Ride The Wave: release vector lighting for brilliant light shows. Reactive Ripple: blast stunning color ripples over your entire gaming setup." Lastly, we have the Cherry MX Silent Key Switches described as: "Cherry MX gaming keys feature the worlds leading mechanical key switch technology. MX Silent enables whisper-quiet gaming through innovative noise reduction technology." There is a picture in the corner that says that the aforementioned switches are Engineered & Manufactured in Germany.

The long sides of the box have more information. Every side of the box has the Corsair Gaming logo and Strafe RGB MX Silent model information. Technical Specifications are listed as follows: 100% Cherry MX Silent mechanical gaming key switches; Textured and contoured FPS/MOBA keycaps; Advanced RGB display controller for responsive dynamic lighting; 100% anti-ghosting with 104-key rollover on USB; 32-bit ARM processor; Up to 1000Hz USB report rate; and Product Dimensions: 448mm x 170mm x 40mm / 17.6 in x 6.7 in x 1.6 in. Minimum System Requirements are listed as: PC with USB 3.0 Port; Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7; and an Internet connection is required to download the Corsair Utility Engine software. This information is repeated in French, Spanish, and Portuguese. The Barcode label is also located on this side. The opposite side follows the trend of four languages, listing four features: Customizable Multicolor per key backlighting; CUE Link synchronized cross-device lighting; Cherry key switch German engineering; and Ultra durable detachable soft touch wrist rest. The smaller sides have no important information.

Upon opening the box you are immediately greeted by the Corsair logo and keyboard model. The wrist pad is held in by a piece of cardboard. Underneath the same flap are the guide and warranty paperwork, FPS/MOBA key cap sets, and the keyboard further underneath. Six keys are provided for the MOBA layout, while four are provided for the FPS layout. A simple key puller tool is included to make it easy to change keys out. However, nothing is provided to hold these after opening. The paperwork is all bundled together in another bag. With everything out of the box, we can take a sneak peek at the keyboard. Immediately visible are the double USB connectors and normal layout on the keyboard.

Move on to the second page to get an in-depth view of the Corsair Strafe RGB MX Silent mechanical keyboard!