Asus Strix Tactic Pro Review

DH Anonim

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Asus Strix Tactic Pro Review

At £100, the Asus Strix Tactic Pro has midway pricing in this group test. It offers the full set of keys, plus 13 dedicated macro keys and eight more through F1-F8 when you activate its macro mode. Couple this setup with the ability to have three active profiles, which can be saved to the on-board memory, and you have a highly customisable keyboard. Of course, one downside to this design is that the Tactic Pro is very wide.

Another downside is the software. It’s easy to use and navigate, but it’s basic in terms functions and it lacks polish. You’re unable to remap any keys except the macro ones (which is fair enough given there are so many of them), but you can only assign macros, program launching and mouse/keyboard functions to those keys, which is limited compared with other software. Annoyingly, you also can’t change the buttons to which you assign your three profiles; they’re selected via the hardto-reach Print Screen, Scroll Lock and Pause Break keys (via the FN button). That said, you can tie profiles to specific programs (such as Photoshop), so they activate when the application is launched.

Layout on the whole is good – the dedicated media keys and volume wheel are good inclusions, and they’re also low-profile and non-intrusive. Some macro keys require a stretch, but that’s standard fare. However, the thumb-accessible macro keys beneath the spacebar sit too far to the right, which spoils their utility in the heat of battle. Build quality isn’t as good as the Asus name and price tag would suggest either. The non-mechanical keys and volume wheel feel very plasticky and cheap. Likewise, while the chassis is solid, it doesn’t have a premium look or feel. There’s no wrist rest either – a shame since many cheaper boards include one. Still, a key removal tool is supplied for easy cleaning and installing the four solid orange replacement keycaps.

Of course, the main driver of price is the Cherry MX switches. Our sample uses the linear, light, non-tactile Red variety, but Asus pleasingly offers Blue, Black and Brown alternatives too. The typing experience is of course very pleasant, and the high levels of grip, both on the base of the keyboard and the rear feet (there are no front feet) makes the keyboard feel weighty and satisfying. N-key rollover is also present, and a toggle via FN-Page Up disables this feature for compatibility with legacy applications.

The Strix’s backlighting is orange, and offers brightness control as well as the ability to turn it off or set it to a ‘breathing’ effect. The keyboard’s indicators have a silly design, however. They’re used to tell you information such as your current profile and when Caps Lock is active, for example, via a series of orange lights along the top edge with the corresponding text printed on the plastic beside them. However, you can’t see this text in the dark, so you have no idea what the lights mean. It would have been much better to have the text itself backlit. The Tactic Pro sadly offers no pass-through ports either, but a Windows Key lock function and on-the-fly macro recording are present, again via the all-powerful FN key.

Conclusion Asus has focused heavily on key customisation with the Strix Tactic Pro keyboard . However, the software backing could use some tweaks (although setting up your macros isn’t too difficult), and it’s a shame the buttons, especially the thumb ones, aren’t optimally positioned. Build quality is a touch underwhelming too. As such, there are better all-rounders, but die-hard MMO or RTS fans who need lots of macro keys will still enjoy this keyboard if the orange backlighting appeals.

/SPECIFICATIONS Connection Wired, USB Cable 1.8m, braided Material Plastic Switchtype Cherry MX Red (Black, Blue, Brown available) Backlighting Orange USB ports No Wristrest No Extras 21 x macro keys, n-key rollover, Windows lock, media keys, on-the-fly macro record, key removal tool, 4 x replacement keys

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