Corsair Gaming Strafe Mechanical Keyboard Review

Introduction, Specifications, and Pricing

It was soon after the arrival of the Hydro series coolers that we had also been sent one of the later Corsair peripherals as well. It has been quite a long time since we have seen a keyboard from Corsair. Thinking about it takes us back to the days of the Vengeance K90, where all the rage in mechanical keyboards going mainstream seemed to have stemmed from. Considering that was back in 2012 when we visited their keyboards last, it will be good to see what sort of advances have been made in the past few years.

This keyboard is based on Cherry MX switches, specifically reds in this instance, but there is a version based on browns as well. Corsair kept the LED backlighting that seems to be a must with keyboards these days. They also kept with the open design and what appears to be raised key caps. But rather than a fully exposed plate on top of this design, they chose to go with a super low profile frame. We are also getting all of the tricks of the trade like anti-ghosting and NKRO support right out if the box, multimedia keys, and Windows lockouts. We see that Corsair has also been very busy with their software since we last looked, and what can be done here is almost more than you can wrap your mind around.

The product in question is the Strafe from the Corsair Gaming line of peripherals. While you can see the heritage from its grandfather K90, this is an all-new design, and one that we have not seen done before. No matter the switch choice, the LED option is red, and to bolster the lighting effect the steel plate is red as well. This, along with the cool side lighting and a sleek, slim frame, makes for a very decent choice when it comes to mechanical keyboard offerings. Especially if you like to tinker with LED schemes and modes of operation.

On the left side, they cover things like the two-year warranty and its 2.02 pounds of weight. We then move on to the Cherry MX Red mechanical switches before we see that this design is 448mm wide, 170mm deep, and stands 40mm tall. All of the keys on the 104 key layout can be used for Macros. There is a selectable repeat rate option with BIOS mode to make sure of no repeats used, and a mention of anti-ghosting and NKRO support at the bottom

The right column informs us that this is a standard size keyboard, and it does support onboard memory for profiles and Macros. There are multimedia keys, it uses the CUE software, it has a tangle free rubber cable, it offers a Windows lock key, and in our instance this is an English QWERTY layout. What we are not told though is that this is a plastic frame surrounding a steel plate. Outside of the materials used, they also do not mention in this chart that included along with the keyboard is a key cap puller, and a set of key caps for FPS gamers, and another set for MOBA gamers.

What do we do find even more interesting just so happens to be the pricing of this keyboard. The MSRP set by Corsair and what they will sell you one for on their website is $109.99. We are finding this pricing is holding steady no matter where you locate this red switch variant. Newegg and Amazon are both showing it at $109.99 as well, and both come with free shipping options as well. For those interested, there are also RBG variants of these boards, but that option comes with a $40 addition to the cost. Thinking back to that K90, we see a lot of places that Corsair could update things. So, let's get to taking the Corsair Gaming Strafe for a spin and see how well it stacks up in today's market.

Chad's Peripherals Test System Specifications

• Motherboard: ASUS X99-E WS - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• CPU: Intel Core i7 5930K - Buy from Amazon
• Cooler: Corsair H100i GTX - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• Memory: KLevv Cras DDR4 3000 - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• Video Card: ASUS GeForce GTX 980 Matrix Platinum - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• Storage: Intel 730 480GB - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• Case: SilverStone TJ11 - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• Power Supply: Corsair AX1200 - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Professional 64-bit - Buy from Amazon