kennethtyler Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 I'm guessing most people that come here are here to complain about bad things related to the keyboard or software. Should I buy this keyboard or not? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenpie233 Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Hey I am a user of the Razer Blackwidow/Deathstalker and recently switched over to Corsair to the first time. I absolutely love this keyboard as I wanted a mechanical feel to it with silent switches since I hate loud noises. You can read up basic info on websites and stuff but I'll give you some personal tips which they don't mention. 1. The keyboard is slightly harder to press than the K70, I think it's due to the plastic molding design 2. The keyboard is 100% plastic (Made in China) and feels cheaper than the K70 3. You may have USB 3.0 connection issues, if you have a Hero VII motherboard, the keyboard hangs on Bios occasionally 4. You have to keep the software up 24/7 if you want an Active Lighting effect on, meaning if you want animations on your keyboard with spinning or raining colors, you need the CUE to be up at all times. If you just plug and play, the colors will be static and not move. This was a huge disappointment to me as I hate relying on drivers and software to keep up colors. Razer does not need the software to be up and it is just plug and play, so this switch was definitely something I did not like. The only reason I am keeping is reason number 5. 5. This keyboard is VERY silent, you can use it in a library and it would blend in with the other keyboards that people are using. Because the keyboard is plastic and cheaper made, I had several problems with my first 3 copies and will be exchanging for a 4th. The 1st one had registry problems, the A and 1 button would be entered twice. The 2nd one had a huge crack on the side, but this is shipping people's fault. The 3rd one which I currently have has one of the buttons, A, slightly harder to press than the other buttons but this severely bothers me as if I'm paying $160 for a keyboard, it must be absolutely perfect. Hopefully the 4th keyboard is the charm. Nonetheless, I know this is the perfect keyboard for me so I will be switching until I can actually get the perfect version :) I mainly play CSGO and SC2 at high competitive levels, so I need a pristine keyboard with no errors at all. Also, it would help to know what keyboard you are currently using so I can give you my opinion on whether or not you should make the switch. For me, it was from a mechanical to a membrane and back to a mechanical, but a silent one which was the selling point for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennethtyler Posted February 10, 2016 Author Share Posted February 10, 2016 chickenpie233, Thanks for all the great details! I use membrane so it's a full press every key register but then I don't have anything mechanical to compares it to. As far as feeling cheap I currently use the Mad Catz V.5 which works great but does not feel like a mechanical board and also has noise when using the keys, obviously some keys thud from the requirement of bottoming out and others clack since it's cheap and all plastic. I've used this keyboard for over a year and never had a problem and before that the Saitek Eclipse for over 5 years heavy use every day, it never stopped working but had the paint missing off half the keys and had a blue backlight which didn't look too cool with my Asus GX1000 that had no blue color option.. I have the RVE so idk if there will be bios issues though I use a UEFI boot. I've always missed the accuracy of the old AT keyboards from back in the 80's that had the annoying keyclick but you could throw down the stairs and know it's good to go when you plugged it back in. As far as CUE goes, I could take it or leave it because I am only interested in a quiet accurate keyboard but sure I may use it but I won't depend on it. I was going to order the keyboard from Corsair because of the no tax and free shipping but it sounds like it'd be worth the 20-30bucks to be able to return it to Best Buy if there are quality issues like you mentioned rather than wait for replacement shipment. I have had great success with Corsair RMA advance shipping don't get me wrong but for the option of same day replacement I will go to BB. I don't play games but I do use the keyboard all day long for work so it's important to have all keys work properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenpie233 Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 I have never used Mad Catz but from my experience with basic keyboards/membranes, the mechanical is definitely a great feel and improves my WPM drastically. I normally type 110 on a regular cheap $10 stock and can hit 150 on a mechanical. So for work purposes, yes I definitely recommend it as it saves a lot of time. I would, however, opt for a keyboard that is less expensive if you don't care about colors or for games. If it is for work purposes, I read there are keyboards designed specifically for typing and work purposes, so that is just the basic premise. If you do not use CUE, the default lighting is all RED with White on the WASD + Arrow keys. It definitely has that gamer look to it. I highly recommend you pay the extra tax and go to a retail store because I have already had problems within 2 weeks of the keyboard and have had to constantly switch it based on various errors mentioned in the previous post (Best Buy lets you return within 15 days no questions asked or exchange). I also highly recommend that since you have never used Corsair's boards, I would go to Best Buy and try out their on display keyboards they have. Their standards ones are the K65 and K70 with Red switches, which will have almost a 90% exact same feel to the Strafe Silent (except for noise). If you end up really disliking their on display keyboards, DO NOT get this silent MX as it will have a very similar feeling to what you tried out at the store. The only significant difference is the noise level, which is drastically reduced. Another unique aspect about the keyboard is that there is is no bottoming out sound. As most membranes and cheap keyboards have that tactical feedback to ensure you hit that key, this keyboard registers a character about halfway of punching the keycap, so it'll feel very weird in the beginning. There is a slight sound when you punch it in all the way, but the bottom of the keycap is plastic, so you're hitting a lot of air in between which is what essentially makes the keyboard silent. It was a weird feeling for me to have no tactical feedback and wondering if I hit a key, but in a short span of time I pretty much realized this is the keyboard I need for my purposes. Lastly, I have long piano fingers and sometimes have difficulty reaching certain keys since the keycaps are slightly curved inwards. It's a great feel, but I would not recommend this to someone who has short stubby fingers. Other than that I wish you good luck in your purchase, this is the best mechanical keyboard I can find on the market so far that is worth the $160. The best part and of course I hope that Corsair admins read this, is the Silent noise. Otherwise I wouldn't even think about dishing $160 for this. Perhaps they will make all their keyboards in the future have optional silent switches available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennethtyler Posted February 10, 2016 Author Share Posted February 10, 2016 chickenpie233, As far as price goes I don't really care about that because I use it enough to justify any cost that I'd spend on it. Thanks I will for sure buy one then and hope that I don't need to take many trips to BB. Perhaps I'll bring the laptop and test it in the car before I go home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employee Corsair Henry Posted February 10, 2016 Corsair Employee Share Posted February 10, 2016 The best part and of course I hope that Corsair admins read this, is the Silent noise. Otherwise I wouldn't even think about dishing $160 for this. Perhaps they will make all their keyboards in the future have optional silent switches available. We listen to our end users :D: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennethtyler Posted February 10, 2016 Author Share Posted February 10, 2016 I heard there is a way without keeping CUE active to make it all red or one color. Is this true? The all white on the WASD + Arrow keys may bother me and I'd end up using CUE anyhow if so.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terabyte Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 I heard there is a way without keeping CUE active to make it all red or one color. Is this true? The all white on the WASD + Arrow keys may bother me and I'd end up using CUE anyhow if so.. You can save a STATIC lighting profile on the on-board memory of the keyboard, and it will always use that unless CUE is active and has a different profile selected as default. So, if you want only some static color, then the answer is "yes you can do it without having to keep CUE open". If you need to use macros, or want to use lighting effects/animations then you need to keep CUE active in the background instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennethtyler Posted February 10, 2016 Author Share Posted February 10, 2016 terabyte, Thanks! I'll set one up and save it to the board for daily use. I'm sure I'll end up using CUE now and then but not keep it active. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terabyte Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 terabyte, Thanks! I'll set one up and save it to the board for daily use. I'm sure I'll end up using CUE now and then but not keep it active. You're welcome :): Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nurseshelly Posted February 12, 2016 Share Posted February 12, 2016 I just got mine a few days ago and I love it! I also missed the keyboards of old and this is even better. Mine is the cherry brown though. It's a little noisier than I expected but I type like mad on it! I use it for research papers as well as games and it's amazing for everything. Mine arrived perfect in all aspects. Once you type on it you will hate any other keyboard you have to use (like at work). They will make you sad! The noise doesn't bother me ... but if you were in a dorm room typing on it without any background noise while your roommate was trying to sleep they might try to strangle you. If you own a home or are the only one in the room at night on it there are no issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Febronia Posted February 12, 2016 Share Posted February 12, 2016 I've actually just bought mine, and i'm here for tech support on it within 24 hours. It does not play well with certain system setups and slows everything down to a stop within an hour. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nurseshelly Posted February 12, 2016 Share Posted February 12, 2016 Febronia, What kind of issues are you having? That is really odd. Mine has no issues whatsoever. I have only played a few games so far though because I just finished a master's class. Still, I've spent probably 6 or 7 hours gaming without any issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Febronia Posted February 12, 2016 Share Posted February 12, 2016 I made a separate thread about it with the details. Had to go back to my old keyboard just to continue working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wulfster Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 I got the Strafe rgb silent and absolutely love it. The profiles and community support behind it really makes a difference. It does look much more attractive with White keycaps on though :biggrin: Cobbled a set together from ducky abs white shine 4 keycaps and a custom set (including 6.5 unit space bar) from max keyboards. Hopefully corsairs double shot keycaps will gain traction and we can have a tailor made set that look great :D: Best Wulf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celt1 Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 I've overall been pleased with mine, and would purchase it again, despite a couple of issues. The first was that the two keys were installed in the wrong locations out of the box. The second is that you have to ignore the instructions to use the USB port on the keyboard, you need to use both USB cables regardless of whether they are being plugged into 3.0 ports or not. The software is not very user friendly, but does the job for me once I figure out how to do things. I wish they had software as easy as Razer, but the trade off for the silent keys was worth it for me. As for actual use, it has been working well, and I love being able to have auto switching profiles for games. Customizing key colors really does make my games easier to use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nurseshelly Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 Mine works fine with just the one USB 3.0 plugged in ... but my mobo is designed for the 3.0 USB ports to be used for fast charging ... perhaps they have more power than some other 3.0 USB ports do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terabyte Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 No, Strafe RGB requires only the cable with the keyboard on it to be plugged in. You need to plug in the other cable only if you want to use the usb pass through on it. The recommended usb ports sticky thread is valid only for the K65, K70 and K95 RGB keyboards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennethtyler Posted February 18, 2016 Author Share Posted February 18, 2016 Thanks all! I picked one up on sale at best buy for $129.99 and got the $19.99 2yr plan from them so I don't have to deal with RMA in the event there are issues. Overall it will take a while to get into the groove with this board but it really feels soooo gooood! I did have a hard lockup saving my profile to the board but I hit the reset on the over clock panel then let it boot up and saved the profile to the board then disabled CUE from startup so it won't cause issues. IDK software from corsair kinda sucks, even link is really buggy and it's hard to understand why they can't test stuff fully before release. I guess I'm biased because I deal with open source software so much and the mindset of programming is totally different. Kinda like done out of love for good quality software and so nobody tries it and laughs at the lamer who crashes boxes.. Where wintendo is all about the loot and job security.. My 2c... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employee Corsair Henry Posted February 18, 2016 Corsair Employee Share Posted February 18, 2016 ^ Glad you like the feel of the Strafe RGB MX Silent. Corsair link is a whole new topic, so ill leave it at that. Although we are working towards making our CUE software more user friendly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennethtyler Posted February 18, 2016 Author Share Posted February 18, 2016 Henry, I'm glad someone is looking into it. I really like to break stuff and nothing I could do would crash my R5E for weeks but less than 4hrs and CUE hard locked it lol SO there is obviously something wrong. Thanks! Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennethtyler Posted February 18, 2016 Author Share Posted February 18, 2016 OH BTW. I gave up on Link and use SIV now so Link wasn't running when the box hung. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparxxx Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 Hi guys First of all Hi to all since this is my first post on this forum :). I am looking for a mechanical keyboard and considering: Corsair Strafe RGB Silent Logitech G810 Never had a mechanical keyboard before (well except the `90 when I got my first PC :) ). At the moment I use a Logitech K750 and MX800. As I noticed some issues with them when playing Heroes of the Storm (keys not beeing registered etc) I thought I should go for a mechanical one. What I want: - silent, silent, silent. I hate the sound those mechanical keys make :). Since the Strafe also has a pass through USB that makes it more attractive than the Logitech G810. Questions: 1. I don't care about RGB, could you shut them down forever without needing to run a software or do anything after a reboot? 2. how does it feel compared to a Logtiech K750 (I guess membrane). 3. any other keyboards out there that use mechanical silent switches? 4. Does this one only come with MX Red Silent or also MX Brown Silent (or even better Black). Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennethtyler Posted February 19, 2016 Author Share Posted February 19, 2016 Sparxxx, I'd would recommend getting the Strafe RGB Silent after using it only a couple days. It's really like the boards from the 90's without the clicking sound, the ones you could drop down the basement stairs and it'd be good to go when plugged it in. I didn't drop test it but.. The feeling of typing on it is relief from mashing membrane keys since the 90's. The keyboard comes with a gamer profile saved to it, you can run cue and turn off all leds or make it a solid or whatever profile then save it to the board and uninstall it like I did. How does it feel? Get one and use it for a day and you will feel like you did in the 90's typing. So far only Red but they are awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenpie233 Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 Take it from someone who had to switch the keyboard 4 times already and is still giving positive feedback, this is the best mechanical SILENT keyboard you will find out there. The logitech g810 you're looking at will make a lot of noise compared to this keyboard. I have tried logitech but these keyboards feel overly robotic in the sense that it's made for kids. Also Razer has failed me lately as their keyboards fall apart usually within 6 months to a year. This is my first time trying out Corsair and I loved the K70 when I tested in store but I hated the sound. I did love the aluminum backplate and really wished the Strafe had that clean finish but that would eliminate the silent aspect of the strafe. Also I noticed most pro gamers and streamers in the scene tend to use Corsair products. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.