Compared to Asus’ ordinary crop of PC peripherals, the ROG Strix Flare is a refreshing sight. Unlike the ROG Claymore, the ROG Strix X470F-Gaming motherboard or certainly the rest bearing the ROG moniker, the Flare doesn’t have a single little bit of sci-fi / Aztec / cyber textual content sample anyplace on its gray plastic chassis – and appears all the higher for it. There is, admittedly, a tiny RGB ROG emblem peeking out of a small, triangular cut-out within the high proper nook (which might both be eliminated or swapped in your very personal 3D printed something-or-other, in keeping with Asus), however in any other case it is a decidedly plain – and dare I say even vaguely fashionable? – mechanical keyboard.
Okay, so that you’ve nonetheless acquired RGB LEDs up the wazoo, whether or not it’s the Cherry MX switches themselves, that aforementioned ROG emblem, or – look ahead to it – its pair of underfloor RGB strips (yep, you heard me). Not everybody will probably be on board with all of that. But as mechanical keyboards go, the Flare does a reasonably good job of creating all of it seem fairly tasteful – and extra importantly, doesn’t cost you additional for a quantity pad like its Claymore cousin.
As alluded to above, the ROG Strix Flare makes a superb first impression. The two-tone matt / brushed end that shears diagonally down the best hand aspect of the keyboard during to the removable wrist relaxation (which is nearly seen within the image above) offers it a wise, however refined look that not solely helps breaks up the remainder of its massive, gray, slab-like tray, but in addition gives the look its plastic chassis is made out of barely greater high quality supplies than it truly is.
The braided 2m USB cable is one other good contact, as is its USB passthrough assist, and I additionally like its clear, rounded corners and generously sized media keys – even when their left-sided placement leaves the remainder of the keyboard wanting a little bit empty.
I even have an excellent fondness for its pleasant quantity knob. The ends are possibly a bit too near Esc and F1 for my liking, however fortunately the hole between these two keys basically doubles up as a tailored runway in your center finger, making it lots simpler, to not point out extra snug, to roll throughout its rubbery, grooved floor as you please.
Out of the field, the RGB lighting isn’t so shouty that you just instantly wish to flip it off, both. You can customise the whole lot all the way down to a per-key stage by downloading Asus’ ROG Armoury software program, which additionally permits you to match your chosen respiration/rainbow/rainfall/no matter gentle scheme to every other Asus peripherals you might need utilizing their Aura Sync tech and file your individual set of macros to any key you want, however on its default settings, the whole lot (the keys, emblem and underglow strips) simply phases from one color to the following as a single, cohesive unit. It’s sensible, restrained and received’t instantly blind you as quickly as you plug it in.
You can all the time flip all of it off utilizing the devoted backlight key for those who want (which additionally provides 4 totally different ranges of brightness depth), however on the entire I discovered its measured, out-the-box settings fairly pleasing on the attention. I’m usually fairly averse to wild RGB antics, particularly when I’ve to spend ages making an attempt to tame it into one thing remotely acceptable, however even the underglow strips have been surprisingly subdued, offering a pleasant little additional one thing to the general look of the keyboard with out going completely bananas with it.
Indeed, they weren’t distracting within the slightest. I feared they’d be the keyboard equal of Philips’ Ambilight tech that you will have seen on their TVs and displays, which is supposed to assist ‘extend’ the image onscreen through the use of rear-facing LED lights to undertaking its most dominant colors onto the wall behind it. Personally, I’ve all the time discovered this immensely irritating in a show context, as I simply can’t get previous the thought of getting obscure clouds of color seem past a display screen’s massive, thick bezel.
On the ROG Strix Flare, nevertheless, it’s a way more tempered affair, with every strip possibly offering an additional 10mm of sunshine poking out both sides versus a number of ft. In truth, from a traditional seated place, I barely even seen the underglow on the best hand aspect of the Flare, because it was largely hidden by the remainder of the keyboard. Only the left aspect was actually seen to me, and even then it was pretty understated.
Typing on the ROG Strix Flare was completely nice as nicely. It’s obtainable with both crimson or brown Cherry MX switches, so the general really feel of the keyboard ought to be immediately acquainted to mechanical keyboard veterans. I had the crimson model in for overview, so every key had a a lot sharper, cleaner form of press motion than it could for those who opted for the extra tactile, bumpy brown switches.
Red switches are usually thought-about the very best for gaming attributable to their quick, easy keystrokes, however they have been nonetheless nice for typing on day-to-day, even when their general noise stage have been so excessive that they may very well be heard clacking away in all corners of my residence. Brown switches, in the meantime, are a fraction quieter and have a little bit bump whenever you press them down, supplying you with a extra tactile-feeling keystroke that’s a bit slower than crimson however is basically thought to offer the very best of each worlds in terms of gaming and normal typing.
I actually didn’t have an issue with Cherry’s brown MX switches once I used them in Fnatic’s Streak and miniStreak keyboards – the bump was so small I barely even seen it – however for those who’ve by no means used both earlier than then it should largely come down as to if you like a little bit of resistance whenever you sort (during which case go for brown), or whether or not you want your keystrokes to be as quick as attainable (during which case go for crimson).
The solely factor I wasn’t so eager on was the ROG Strix Flare’s wrist relaxation. Admittedly, I’ve most likely been a bit spoiled by the frankly unbelievable wrist rests on Fnatic’s Streak and miniStreak, however once they’re fingers down (sorry) the very best wrist rests on your complete planet, I can’t assist however need all different keyboards to comply with of their footsteps in terms of general consolation and suppleness.
For occasion, whilst you can theoretically detach it from the Flare and use it as a standalone wrist relaxation with out hooking it into the underside of the keyboard – a bit like MSI’s excellent Vigor GK80 – its 4 little ft simply aren’t fairly grippy sufficient to remain in a single place whenever you’re transferring your fingers up and down the keyboard.
Even the act of attaching it to the keyboard was somewhat fussy. Instead of snapping it into place just like the HyperX Alloy Elite or Corsair K70 Lux, the Flare has two little grooves on its underside that may merely be positioned over the remainder’s corresponding little blobs at both finish. This makes it simpler to placed on and take off, as you don’t want to fret about breaking something in comparison with its snappy rivals, however in follow the grooves are so shallow (and the ft so small) that you just usually suppose you’ve completed it correctly when truly you’ve missed the mark fully.
It’s a minor gripe, all informed, as when you’ve completed it unsuitable as soon as, you’ll know to not do it once more. Still, it simply doesn’t really feel fairly as safe, or as satisfying, as a superb old school snap mechanism, or certainly Fnatic’s extra pronounced multi-groove system.
Either method, the wrist relaxation actually shouldn’t deter you from contemplating the Asus ROG Strix Flare as your subsequent mechanical keyboard. Personally, I nonetheless want Fnatic’s Streak and miniStreak general, however the Flare’s clear, elegant design is unquestionably certainly one of my favourites in latest months, and the very fact it’s each cheaper and extra fully-featured than Asus’ ROG Claymore makes it a lot higher worth.
The Flare will nonetheless set you again a not insignificant sum of £140 / $180, however I’d positively select it over the £150 Corsair Ok70 Lux RGB, and I’d even be tempted to pay the additional over the £96 HyperX Alloy Elite as nicely. In the US, it’s a tougher promote, as there the Corsair Ok70 Lux RGB prices $130, whereas the Alloy Elite at present goes for simply $110. Still, for those who’re after a wise, elegant mechanical keyboard, it doesn’t get a lot better than the ROG Strix Flare.
