Corsair Gaming STRAFE Mechanical Keyboard Review

Peter Donnell / 9 years ago

Final Thoughts

Price

The Corsair STRAFE is available directly from the Corsair webstore for $100.98 inc VAT and £109.98 from their UK store. This isn’t particularly cheap, but it’s easily comparable with other similar specification gaming keyboards and you do get a lot of quality in return for your investment. The keyboard is available from some major webstores as a pre-order, such as Overclockers UK who are already listing it cheaper than Corsairs own website at just £99.95 with a pre-order release date of 28/9/15.

Overview

Corsair have been sitting tight on a new keyboard design for years now, but with their K-series keyboards dominating the market with legendary build quality, design and superb performance, that’s hardly surprising. The STRAFE is a great new addition to the Corsair Gaming range and its competitive approach means it’ll be a big hit with pro gamers right down to everyday users who just want something a little special for working in the office.

The STRAFE is designed to be a gaming keyboard at heart, but in terms of design, it’s really nothing crazy and is just a well made and relatively standard desktop keyboard. Working on emails, browsing Facebook or updating your blog, whatever it is you do, the STRAFE will be a great addition to your setup. The ways it defines its self as a gaming keyboard are subtle, but they do add up in a big way. There are premium grade Cherry mechanical keys, which are great for work, but even better when it comes to taking your gaming serious; the responsive action is a joy for any scenario.

There’s plenty of other “gaming” features too, such as the LED backlighting, which is nice for adding some flair to your desktop, but by configuring zones to the lighting, you can highlight your important gaming keys to help better define each gaming experience. Then you’ve got the custom key-caps which are clearly focused on gaming and having a separate set for MOBA and FPS style gaming means you can quickly put your own custom touch on the keyboards design and performance.

The addition of a USB pass-through is certainly handy too, as are the multimedia shortcut keys and the Windows lock key. All totalled, the STRAFE is a well-rounded keyboard. It doesn’t have a huge amount of features, but it does have enough to satisfy a wide range of users through a wide range of usage scenarios.

Pros

High-quality mechanical switches
Red, Blue or Brown MX switches available
LED backlighting with customisable effects
Multimedia control
Custom key-caps
Great build quality
USB passthrough

Cons

Noisy keys (although that’s not uncommon for mechanical keyboards)
No dedicated macro keys

“The Corsair STRAFE doesn’t offer much in the way of innovation, but it does give you all the features you’re likely to need, all wrapped up in a nice design, great build quality and a competitive price and you really couldn’t ask for much more from your new keyboard.”