Corsair Strafe RGB Keyboard

STRAFE MK II is my first gaming keyboard after literally 2 months of research – After using a laptop keyboard for a long time, and decided to get a full size gaming keyboard so I could sit with the laptop screen further away from me on the table so as to protect my eyesight. My _minimum_ requirements were as follows: 1) individual per-key RGB lights so I could sit in a softly lit atmosphere 2) USB and Audio pass through 3)… Read more

multimedia and volume controls 4) easy, or at least intuitive software

Let me tell you if you get serious about researching keyboards, you will go down a deep rabbit hole with what's on offer and the various abilities.

In a nutshell, the Corsair Strafe MKII wasn't my first choice until I trade the Corsair 70 keyboard in a JBHIFI. They are essentially the same keyboards with a few minor differences.

As of this review, I've been using the keyboard now for over 6 weeks.

This keyboard was well packaged. I felt the rush of excitement when it arrived and just pulling the various items out of the box.

The cable is thick, but appears to be of good quality. The cable is thick because it contains a secondary cable for the "USB Pass through". Unfortunately, the USB pass through is only 2.0. In 2021, USB 2.0 is almost unacceptable to have. However, this keyboard model is from 2018, so I let it slide. You can still use it for a mouse or other items, but if you want to plug in an SSD drive or something, don't expect those high USB 3+ transfer speeds.

When I plugged them in, my Windows 10 laptop picked up them immediately and BOOM! The lights came on.

Downloading the software to configure the keyboard was a breeze. It didn't take long to install, and thus far has never crashed and doesn't appear to slow down my computer at all. Maybe it does, but if so, it's not noticeable when I'm doing what I have to do.

The lights are brilliant. They're not superbright that you're going to feel like the sun is inside your room; but they are definitely bright enough to be noticed when my room's lights are on. What makes the colors pop out a bit more is on the STRAFE MKII, Corsair has the keys on a more "white" background as opposed to their 70 keyboard which is the lights are on a black backing.

I've used the volume keys and mute button. Be warned though - the mute button DOES NOT mute any microphones you may have! Only the sound. So don't get on a ZOOM call, hit the mute button, and expect the people to not be able to hear you. Ironically, it'll be the opposite - they'll be able to hear you but you won't hear them.

The wrist rest I haven't honestly had a need for. It's hard plastic, but seems nice enough being textured. It's probably nowhere near as nice as those plush soft ones that come with some Razer keyboards. I find though I don't need a wrist rest though to use the keyboard, even when spending lots of time typing away.

The iCue software from Corsair I find easier to use than the Razer Synapse software. There have been no issues from me using the software. I haven't had a need to Google any "how to" YouTube videos on how to configure this or that. I'm a bit tech savvy though. Non techies may need some guidance here and there, but I think for the most part they'll be able to figure everything out. The most confusing part will be if they try to tie together multiple Corsair devices (like a mouse and keyboard) to sync their lighting effects across both.

There are lots of actions of macros and reprogramming other keys. I don't know how complicated you can get because I haven't had a need to be with any key remapping.

The quality of the keyboard build itself seems almost first rate to me. I mean, here it is now, sitting on my desk, and the top feels like metal in a lot of places; I push down slightly and nothing bends. It just feels solid. I'm not a YouTube reviewer that's going to sit here and try to bend it right-side up, upside down, or any other way. I'm just using it like a "normal" person would. It's solid. You won't have any worries about the build quality.

I also wanted this keyboard because my default, it came with the Cherry MX Red Silent switches. They are a total joy to type on. They do have some noise, but nothing obscene like all the "clickity clicks" you'll get with other switches.

The keycaps are ABS plastic and not the super-duper double-shot. But after 6 weeks or constant typing and using, I haven't had a need to clean any of the keys thus far. Eg, there's no finger prints, no "oil" patches, no dirt gathering on the keys, none of that. If I had a time-lapse camera taking a picture every week, you honestly wouldn't know if this was still brand new out of the box or not.

After having purchased my keyboard, a friend of mine who is a gamer and needed a new keyboard, immediately fell in love with it (after trying it), and also purchased one for himself. Two other people have also said how nice it looks, so if Corsair were offering commissions, at this point I'd sign up for such a program because this would be easy money.

The downsides I have about the keyboard: 1) the secondary key functions aren't as well lit as the primary ones. Eg, the "+" sign is under the "=" sign. The "=" is brightly lit when the light passes under; the "+" is probably half the brightness. This is true of all those "secondary" characters 2) you can save lighting profiles to the keyboard so you don't need the software running on the computer you're plugged into. Unfortunately, any lighting profiles you save to the keyboard can only have 1 effect. Like what's the point? So for example, you can't have a "rainbow" effect going and a "ripple" happen when you type. You get one or the other, but not both. You can only have such complex effects if the keyboartd is plugged in and the iCue software is running. 3) no audio pass through. To me, since I'm on ZOOM calls all the time, this absolutely is a down side. I have to have an extender audio cable to reach to my computer now whereas it would be soooooooo much easier to just plug it into the keyboard. I think there's only 1 or 2 keyboards that have that now. 4) it is slightly larger than a normal size keyboard with the top row of controls. Nothing too serious if you have desk space, but if you do have a confined area in which to work, you may want to look at an alternative.

Overall, for less than $200, it's a great first gaming style keyboard and should meet the needs of almost every casual computer user who wants something a bit more fancy than your cheap no-thrills $25 keyboard.

What I'd like to see in the next model's release (if there is one) are: 1) USB 3.0 pass through! 2) SINGLE, detachable USB cable for both the keyboard and pass through. USB 3.2 is powerful enough to drive both 3) audio pass through 4) a button that can actually mute the mic and not just the audio 5) the ability to save lighting profiles to the keyboard with multiple layers of effects 6) standard bottom row of keycaps

You probably don't care about any of those if you're a regular, casual user.

Other than that, I would recommend that this keyboard be considered if you're ever going to get an external full side keyboard.