Computex may be starting tomorrow, but Corsair is already opening the curtains on its new "Strafe" mechanical gaming keyboard. This is a more budget-oriented approach to a mechanical gaming keyboard compared to what Corsair has been working on over the past year or so, but don't let that make you think that this is "cheap."
The keyboard follows the same design cues as Corsair's Vengeance series (which has become "Corsair Gaming") keyboards, but it takes a small step back to basics. It still comes with the great Cherry MX mechanical keys, along with the floating key design and aluminum body. A couple of changes have been made in that the Corsair logo has been moved, and the media keys are shaped a little differently than before.
The biggest step back that Corsair takes with this keyboard is the backlighting (pun intended). Rather than full-fledged RGB backlighting, the board only comes with Red LED-backlighting. Not all keys have to be lit, however, and various effects are available; Corsair will provide six standard effects, and users will be able to create and share more lighting effects through Corsair's CUE (Corsair Utility Engine) software.
In the CUE software, users will also be able to assign and adjust macros for all of the keys. Additionally, the keyboard also has a 100 percent anti-ghosting algorithm built in, with a 104-key rollover, allowing you to press every key on the board without causing ghosting issues.
Corsair also equipped the keyboard with a USB-passthrough port, and some of the keys are contoured with a special texture to enhance FPS and MOBA gaming.
Pricing for the keyboard sits at $109.99, which as we mentioned isn't exactly what we'd call cheap. Even so, considering that the only thing this keyboard is missing compared to its hardcore competition (RGB mechanical keyboards), the price point isn't far from what we'd expect.
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