Is the STRAFE RGB good? (for anyone that has used it)

I'm just curious if:

1. RGB lights work exactly as advertised unlike every other RGB keyboard by Corsair.

2. The software does not lag with the STRAFE and works at the current market quality standard of L,R,S,etc brands.

3. There are no issues that require hard resets of the keyboard or losing the profile mysteriously while launching any application.

4. The overall build surpasses the cheaper competitor's keyboard that actually has macros albeit it with knockoff switches.

Basically, is this keyboard good and a step forward? Despite it not being aluminum I actually like the way the STRAFE looks and like this kb. The lack of macros sucks but meh, CUE lets u make anything a macro. Thanks for anyone that has a mysterious early unit, since I've seen reviews popping up on various sites.

bought it a few days ago. Returned it and went for the strafe RED LED instead. I also had the silent switches, which were a bit too mushy for me. I loved the fact that the reds had a clack to it, but not annoying like the Cherry MX blues. So I dont know. I definitely dig the board and design. The white sides accompanied my white computer case and mouse really well. The light on the side was a great touch Too bad you cant change the color. The RGB kinda sucks because the color I want is never the color I get. meaning different shades of the same color will show as the same color on the keyboard. Its like this on most RGB keyboard, but still its not excuse at this price. Its a bit cheaper than the K70 RGB but without the alluminium, braided cable, and additional multimedia buttons. I dont see why I want to shell out so much money into this board. I went back and got the strafe RED LED board, and LOVED IT. Simple yet so satisfying the design and the way it types. I think what could have sealed the deal would be if they included also a wrist rest for the RED LED strafe version.

The final word is, Strafe RGB isnt the cheapest, and others competitors have great pricing as well as great quality as well. The poseidon RGB has the best RGB lighting I have ever seen in a RGB KB so I really dont know. But one thing is for sure the cheap knock off switches made me ultimately return the Poseidon with each key press feel and sound different was just super annoying to me. STRAFE RED LED is literally one of the cheapest cherry switches avalaible. Dont think other brands, go with corsair. Maybe you should go with the corsair k70 Red led, which is also what I have. I love both of them in different switches, blue and red.

bought it a few days ago. Returned it and went for the strafe RED LED instead. I also had the silent switches, which were a bit too mushy for me. I loved the fact that the reds had a clack to it, but not annoying like the Cherry MX blues. So I dont know. I definitely dig the board and design. The white sides accompanied my white computer case and mouse really well. The light on the side was a great touch Too bad you cant change the color. The RGB kinda sucks because the color I want is never the color I get. meaning different shades of the same color will show as the same color on the keyboard. Its like this on most RGB keyboard, but still its not excuse at this price. Its a bit cheaper than the K70 RGB but without the alluminium, braided cable, and additional multimedia buttons. I dont see why I want to shell out so much money into this board. I went back and got the strafe RED LED board, and LOVED IT. Simple yet so satisfying the design and the way it types. I think what could have sealed the deal would be if they included also a wrist rest for the RED LED strafe version.

 

The final word is, Strafe RGB isnt the cheapest, and others competitors have great pricing as well as great quality as well. The poseidon RGB has the best RGB lighting I have ever seen in a RGB KB so I really dont know. But one thing is for sure the cheap knock off switches made me ultimately return the Poseidon with each key press feel and sound different was just super annoying to me. STRAFE RED LED is literally one of the cheapest cherry switches avalaible. Dont think other brands, go with corsair. Maybe you should go with the corsair k70 Red led, which is also what I have. I love both of them in different switches, blue and red.

No thanks. RGB only :D (as the title suggests).

If the STRAFE RGB is a dud then the other guys have better software but less options, I hope that Corsair are done messing around and make a solid rgb this time :)

the thing is the failure rate is so high with these things. Not just with Corsair, but with all the brands out there. Its not like I dont want an RGB, but I am waiting till they can make these without issues. IE: Longevity. I dont wanna love a keyboard then having to RMA it like 4 times with the same problems. Its very stressful. but I can respect that :)

The problems are different with different brands. With Corsair the problems are due to bad programmers (I can only guess) and engineers that chose the wrong components. LED failure is not the big issue with the K-Series, its basically everything. The competitor's primary problem is going with the Cherry-knockoff. If their keyboard had cherry-browns I wouldn't even be looking at the STRAFE.

I have no interest in the silents, I just want Corsair to have minimally acceptable software (just works) and minimally acceptable hardware (no crashes). If this means the case is no longer aluminum its okay, just so that I am not a statistic posting here about hard resets, keys going haywire, or flickering. I want the competitor's software/light quality with Corsair's sweetheart deal with cherry, thats all. If they can just provide this it will be huge.

bought it a few days ago. Returned it and went for the strafe RED LED instead. I also had the silent switches, which were a bit too mushy for me. I loved the fact that the reds had a clack to it, but not annoying like the Cherry MX blues. So I dont know. I definitely dig the board and design. The white sides accompanied my white computer case and mouse really well. The light on the side was a great touch Too bad you cant change the color. The RGB kinda sucks because the color I want is never the color I get. meaning different shades of the same color will show as the same color on the keyboard. Its like this on most RGB keyboard, but still its not excuse at this price. Its a bit cheaper than the K70 RGB but without the alluminium, braided cable, and additional multimedia buttons. I dont see why I want to shell out so much money into this board. I went back and got the strafe RED LED board, and LOVED IT. Simple yet so satisfying the design and the way it types. I think what could have sealed the deal would be if they included also a wrist rest for the RED LED strafe version.

 

The final word is, Strafe RGB isnt the cheapest, and others competitors have great pricing as well as great quality as well. The poseidon RGB has the best RGB lighting I have ever seen in a RGB KB so I really dont know. But one thing is for sure the cheap knock off switches made me ultimately return the Poseidon with each key press feel and sound different was just super annoying to me. STRAFE RED LED is literally one of the cheapest cherry switches available. Dont think other brands, go with corsair. Maybe you should go with the corsair k70 Red led, which is also what I have. I love both of them in different switches, blue and red.

I bought the strafe silent and i have to say i like this keyboard. I've upgraded from a G510. So far it has met all my expectations. The only complaint i have is that im not able to use text macros on a VDI. Not a deal breaker as i'm able to use a work around by programming an actual macro vs using a standard text. I'm sure its more of a software issue and will be fixed soon.. i personally love the silent keys. In fact this is the primary reason why i bought the strafe silent instead of the cherry red, blue or any other keyboard bestbuy had on display. They meet the sweet spot between clacky and membrane.. It is still clacky never the less. IMO if feels feels high end. The RGB lights are great. Not annoyingly bright that would distract you in a dark room. But way brighter then my G510. I have to disagree with you about the lights. Personally i think the bulbs used on the Strafe are top notch.

I've uploaded a vid of the strafe silent.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2rDqqGS0Go[/ame]

Notice there are no flickering. The color and brightness is uniformed through out all the keys. That is a lot more that can be said about some of the new RGB keyboards out. I've only had this keyboard for a week. I'll wait till the end of next month to give it a full review. So far i'm really impressed with the quality of the strafe.

The K series LED issues had to do with the way they were mounted. They've changed that since the RGB Series came out. I'm assuming it's the same for both version of the STRAFE.

I've owned a K95 RGB for over a year, and I haven't had an LED failure. I have 2 cats so it's not like there is no dust/hair flying around. Having the LED in the switch was a smart move.

I bought the strafe silent and i have to say i like this keyboard. I've upgraded from a G510. So far it has met all my expectations. The only complaint i have is that im not able to use text macros on a VDI. Not a deal breaker as i'm able to use a work around by programming an actual macro vs using a standard text. I'm sure its more of a software issue and will be fixed soon.. i personally love the silent keys. In fact this is the primary reason why i bought the strafe silent instead of the cherry red, blue or any other keyboard bestbuy had on display. They meet the sweet spot between clacky and membrane.. It is still clacky never the less. IMO if feels feels high end. The RGB lights are great. Not annoyingly bright that would distract you in a dark room. But way brighter then my G510. I have to disagree with you about the lights. Personally i think the bulbs used on the Strafe are top notch.

 

I've uploaded a vid of the strafe silent.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2rDqqGS0Go

 

Notice there are no flickering. The color and brightness is uniformed through out all the keys. That is a lot more that can be said about some of the new RGB keyboards out. I've only had this keyboard for a week. I'll wait till the end of next month to give it a full review. So far i'm really impressed with the quality of the strafe.

In terms if the switch its personal prefernce really, it felt like a membrane keyboard to me. But for the Led its pitch dark thats why the colors looks ok. I cant see the lights very well during the day. Either way glad you liked the board, I am still looking for my ideal board.

In terms if the switch its personal prefernce really, it felt like a membrane keyboard to me. But for the Led its pitch dark thats why the colors looks ok. I cant see the lights very well during the day. Either way glad you liked the board, I am still looking for my ideal board.

This is a good point. Can someone post the STRAFE RGB keyboard with average room lighting? I want to see how Corsair competes with the older tech by their competitor who they claim copies them in their recent ad. Surely they defeat them in every way with statements like that.

The most important thing to know is if the LEDs actually work right now? Also, I wonder if they are using a dual layer PCB now like the Ducky Shine 5?

I hope they have learned from their competition. Now what I want to know is if Corsair is going to give my money to Razer or if they actually want it. I don't like Razer, so I hope that they can at bare minimum surpass a keyboard that is so old as the BW chroma in lights and software. Thats basically what any tech company needs to do, surpass previous generation hardware.

The RGB kinda sucks because the color I want is never the color I get. meaning different shades of the same color will show as the same color on the keyboard.

Please tell me that the Corsair Strafe is on minimum brightness. You had ONE job for an RGB keyboard Corsair, please tell me this reviewer just had it on low settings.

[ame]

Everyone please note. IF you have a RGB Strafe you have to enable 16.8 mill colors under Settings to get 16.8 mill colors.

Im not talking about the color range, I mean the sharpness/brightness. Why is this late 2015 RGB looking dimmer than the now ancient chroma. Did the reviewer on the video I posted have it set low or something? Please tell me that Corsair did not make the same heavily reported mistake twice. The RGB needs to be vivid, what I saw in that video was far from vivid. Can someone post a video in basic room lighting with the keyboard on max?

Im not talking about the color range, I mean the sharpness/brightness. Why is this late 2015 RGB looking dimmer than the now ancient chroma. Did the reviewer on the video I posted have it set low or something? Please tell me that Corsair did not make the same heavily reported mistake twice. The RGB needs to be vivid, what I saw in that video was far from vivid. Can someone post a video in basic room lighting with the keyboard on max?

Here is a good quality video of the STRAFE RGB in-use, the colors look a bit better in real life.

[ame]

Here is a good quality video of the STRAFE RGB in uise.

 

Its dark in that video. I need to see how it compares with the Chroma in room lighting. What if I don't want to be a vampire with all lights off? I want to vividly see the LEDs on my keyboard in basic lighting as well for when I'm using productivity software. The chroma does this fine, so obviously the Corsair STRAFE RGB must as well, but I've only seen one video with the STRAFE RGB in room lighting and it was inferior. I'm giving Corsair the benefit of the doubt and guessing the YouTuber just didn't throttle the brightness up, surely Corsair knows how to analyze their competition.

Its dark in that video. I need to see how it compares with the Chroma in room lighting. What if I don't want to be a vampire with all lights off? I want to vividly see the LEDs on my keyboard in basic lighting as well for when I'm using productivity software. The chroma does this fine, so obviously the Corsair STRAFE RGB must as well, but I've only seen one video with the STRAFE RGB in room lighting and it was inferior. I'm giving Corsair the benefit of the doubt and guessing the YouTuber just didn't throttle the brightness up, surely Corsair knows how to analyze their competition.

Even with my LED lights at max the colors are vivid and bright, the quality/brightness of the lights are the last thing you need to worry about.

The only issue is that RGB lights (any brand) seem to die after some time, hopefully this issue is fixed.

Even with my LED lights at max the colors are vivid and bright.

Thats the point of being at max? To be vivid and bright. But I mean vivid and bright with respect to the other $150 keyboard out there and not to one of the Chinese brands. I'm holding out to see these lights performing with natural room lighting. The Chroma was so bright it was piercing with lights on, thats what I expect of Corsair as well. I would go to BestBuy to check it out but there is no location near me :(

You edited your comment.

Even with my LED lights at max the colors are vivid and bright, the quality/brightness of the lights are the last thing you need to worry about.

The only issue is that RGB lights (any brand) seem to die after some time, hopefully this issue is fixed.

No. I spend $150 on a keyboard I expect it to be spectacular. No reason that Corsair should lose this battle. Quality is what you pay for with a $150 product, if I don't want quality I'll go with a cheap KKMOON or something. I want a nice looking experience, not just paying for the "idea" of a rgb kb. I want the benefits of one. Still holding out for that video, I have a bad feeling about the STRAFE now. Come on Corsair please tell us you kept quality of light in mind.

Im not talking about the color range, I mean the sharpness/brightness. Why is this late 2015 RGB looking dimmer than the now ancient chroma. Did the reviewer on the video I posted have it set low or something? Please tell me that Corsair did not make the same heavily reported mistake twice. The RGB needs to be vivid, what I saw in that video was far from vivid. Can someone post a video in basic room lighting with the keyboard on max?

its not a mistake. Its a a choice to house the LED inside the switch to reduce the chance of dead LED, and to use lower power LEDs. the Chroma has very bright leds that are a lot closer to the keycap. if you want vivid RGB colors you can always buy a Chroma or a 910. They have very bright LEDs.

If you expecet bright LEDs and demand bright LEDs the Strafe adn K RGB series is the wrong choice. Just because your spending 150$ doesnt mean you get to expect anything. If you expect high build quality then Corsair is the choice. If you want bright LEDs Corsair isnt.

its not a mistake. Its a a choice to house the LED inside the switch to reduce the chance of dead LED, and to use lower power LEDs. the Chroma has very bright leds that are a lot closer to the keycap. if you want vivid RGB colors you can always buy a Chroma or a 910. They have very bright LEDs.

Thank you for confirming. The RGB market is pretty limited atm, hard to get quality switches and lighting at the same time. I guess I'll have to wait up to hear that CUE is 1:1 with synapse now (in terms of crashing/freezing/etc) before I make a final choice :[pouts:

No. I spend $150 on a keyboard I expect it to be spectacular.

I'm not exactly sure what you want to know, before you said "Im not talking about the color range, I mean the sharpness/brightness".

Also don't forget what you see in the videos is not exactly how they look in real life.

I feel like the quality of this keyboard is above the rest of the market, and I happily spent $150 for the keyboard and $80 on the mouse.

I'm not exactly sure what you want to know, before you said "Im not talking about the color range, I mean the sharpness/brightness" and now i'm not sure what you want.

 

I feel like the quality of this keyboard is above the rest of the market, and I happily spent $150 for the keyboard and $80 on the mouse.

I have stated clearly multiple times, I mean that the colors are sharp even when its not pitch black in the room. That is literally all I am asking lol. If its dim then thats fine, I just wanted to be sure it wasn't YouTuber error.

If you expecet bright LEDs and demand bright LEDs the Strafe adn K RGB series is the wrong choice. Just because your spending 150$ doesnt mean you get to expect anything. If you expect high build quality then Corsair is the choice. If you want bright LEDs Corsair isnt.

You edited your post.

I disagree, I think its possible to have sharp and vivid with the proprietary Cherry MX deals that Corsair gets. I think this one just does not have it, its not a black or white fallacy, I'm sure its possible to have ESD protection and bright LEDs. And thats okay, if you are happy with a $150 keyboard that isn't as bright as others then that is perfect, its just how the market works. I just wanted to be an informed consumer :) no worries.