With Claymore Mechanical Keyboard, Asus Mightily Swipes At Market
Asus has been showing its Claymore mechanical keyboard for some time now--at least as far back as Computex 2015--but the company announced that its long-awaited device is nearly available.
Although many companies have recently delved into making keyboards, often as a sort of “Hey, why not us” move, our past conversations with Asus lead us to believe that the company took the development of the Claymore quite seriously.
The key feature of the Claymore is the detachable numpad. You can easily stick it on either the right or left side of the keyboard, or you can remove it altogether. This gives users much-needed flexibility, and effectively gives you the option to use it as either a full-size or TKL keyboard.
Apparently acknowledging that not everyone wants the numpad option at all, Asus also has the Claymore Core, which is simply the Claymore without the numpad. Asus also said that the numpad will be sold separately, so you can always add it later if you so desire.
There are other keyboard makers working on detachable numpads. Ducky has its Pocket, Tesoro has its forthcoming Tizona Spectrum keyboard and Tizona Spectrum Numpad, and Epic Gear’s modular “Defiant” platform has one, as well.
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Asus did not skimp on any other features. The Claymore sports Cherry MX RGB Red, Brown, Blue, or Black switches, for example, and there are small but important details such as cable routing troughs underneath the keyboard. Further, the RGB lighting is tied to Asus’ Aura Sync software, which not only lets you synchronize lighting features across multiple Aura Sync-supporting devices (including motherboards, graphics cards, and case lighting strips), but it also lets you use the lighting for applications such as CPU temperature indication. Assuming it works as advertised, the Claymore’s lighting system would be the most advanced on the market.
Asus baked in numerous controls on-device, too. In addition to being able to enable nine different lighting presets, you can hit a key to turn on your PC, boot directly into the BIOS, clear CMOS, and even perform simple overclocks and adjust fan speeds. You can store up to six profiles with the Claymore’s onboard storage and program every key.
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The cable is detachable and uses a microUSB port to connect with the keyboard.
The look of the Claymore is perhaps Asus’ biggest (only?) risk. The aluminum top plate and bezel feature a pattern that’s sort of a cross between a circuit board and the diamond design you sometimes see on steel construction plates, and the front edge of the keyboard has a pronounced lip with a glowing Asus logo. To be frank, the look is a little much, but we can say that it’s actually more attractive in person than it is in photos.
Asus has not revealed availability nor pricing. We have reached out to Asus for that information and will update this article when we receive it.
| Header Cell - Column 0 | Asus Claymore |
|---|---|
| Type | Full-size or TKL |
| Switches | Cherry MX RGB Red, Brown, Blue, or Black |
| Onboard Storage | Yes, up to six profiles |
| Polling Rate | 1,000Hz |
| Lighting | RGB |
| KRO | NKRO |
| Software | Aura Sync |
| Cable | Detachable (microUSB to USB 2.0) 1.8m braided fiber |
| OS Support | Windows 7, 8.1, 10 |
| Dimensions | Claymore: 450 x 145 x 45mmClaymore Core: 360 x 145 x 45mm |
| Weight | Claymore: 943gClaymore Core: 770g |
| Misc. | -Detachable numpad (Claymore only)-Onboard lighting controls-Onboard PC function controls-Onboard BIOS, overclocking, and cooling controls-Aluminum construction |
| Price/Availability | Unknown |
Seth Colaner previously served as News Director at Tom's Hardware. He covered technology news, focusing on keyboards, virtual reality, and wearables.
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spacebro I always wanted a keyboard with the numpad on the left. With the numpad on the right, the hand to mouse distance is much greater. It does not make sense why the numpad is traditionally on the right.Reply -
lunyone Well it will all come down to the pricing. I would love a mechanical keyboard with LED lighting, but these types of keyboards are usually in the >$150 price range. Most people aren't usually willing to spend that kind of $ on just the keyboard, but these types of keyboards aren't usually marketed to the average user either. I like the idea of adding the 10 key in later, if you so desire. I personally don't use the 10 key part of a keyboard, but I don't do a lot of number entries when I'm on a computer at work or even at home. So this option of adding one in (my wife likes a 10 key) is great if you have different users with different requirements. I also don't use my desktop much any more, so I'm not as inclined to worry about all of these options.Reply -
spacebro Reply18848202 said:Well it will all come down to the pricing. I would love a mechanical keyboard with LED lighting, but these types of keyboards are usually in the >$150 price range. Most people aren't usually willing to spend that kind of $ on just the keyboard, but these types of keyboards aren't usually marketed to the average user either. I like the idea of adding the 10 key in later, if you so desire. I personally don't use the 10 key part of a keyboard, but I don't do a lot of number entries when I'm on a computer at work or even at home. So this option of adding one in (my wife likes a 10 key) is great if you have different users with different requirements. I also don't use my desktop much any more, so I'm not as inclined to worry about all of these options.
People spend thousands of dollars on a computer, but $150 is too much for the primary input device? I don't think people spend enough. All keyboards seem to be cheap and plastic with keys that wobble because they do not have tight tolerances. Other things that have a key interface feel nice to touch, like the pearl keys on a professional woodwind instrument, or a fine typewriter. Maybe people will start making quality keyboards once other computer advances slow down more.
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poochiepiano Reply18849655 said:People spend thousands of dollars on a computer, but $150 is too much for the primary input device? I don't think people spend enough. All keyboards seem to be cheap and plastic with keys that wobble because they do not have tight tolerances. Other things that have a key interface feel nice to touch, like the pearl keys on a professional woodwind instrument, or a fine typewriter. Maybe people will start making quality keyboards once other computer advances slow down more.
Yes. It's too much. I am still rocking the keyboard that came with my eMachines PC in ca. 2001. As the primary input device, it enters keystrokes just as well as any mechanical keyboard out there. You are paying extra for a sensory preference. Not everyone puts that much value on it.
But I guess since you qualified for people who spend thousands on their PCs, $150 is not as bad in comparison. -
mike7332 The design is the Aztec style engraving that is on other Asus products. My Asus monitor has it on the base and this will match it perfectly so i don't think it's a risk at all they've been doing it a while.Reply -
cl-justin This is awesome. I'd definitely try out this keyboard and compare it to my Razer's Blackwidow UltimateReply -
Defekter_Engel Not impressed by this, or many of the other keyboards being touted anymore. RGB this, customizable that, interchangable others....Reply
It's a keyboard. Function > form.