Amazon.com: Customer reviews: CORSAIR STRAFE RGB MK.2 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard - USB Passthrough - Linear and Quiet - Cherry MX Red Switch - RGB LED Backlit-17.6 x 6.61 x 1.57 inches

Erika Frank

Perfect!

Reviewed in the United States on February 29, 2024

I just had a nightmare scenario with another seller, finally got a credit and turned around and bought from this seller. I got it in 2 days and it was the real deal and not a knock off. This company seems to have it together and I would definitely buy from them again.

Great Cherry MX Red keys, not so great on everything else

Z8

Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2017

Cons:

1. Flakey, slow Corsair software.

2. Only three manual brightness levels. They say 4, but one of those is off.

3. Space bar has wear through the black paint after a few months of use (see photo). The spacebar is the only key thats textured, oddly.

4. Plastic kb casing face comes close to the outer key boundary, so pulling the outer key caps is interfered with by the casing.

5. Caps Lock key is always lit, the on/off indicator is an LED bar on the upper right. There are three similar lit indicator bars (num-lock and scroll-lock) so there is no way to know which of the three are lit up.

Pros:

1. Although plastic, the kb has a sturdy feel. I would guess there is a metal plate inside. The long keys--return, shift, etc.--have good feel and sound to them, other manufacturers use cheaper supplemental key guides, giving the long keys a cheap feel. The space bar does sound and feel cheap.

2. This paragraph applies to any Cherry MX kb. This kb has that silky smooth, very solid Cherry MX Red feel. I love linear Cherry MX Red keys, but some find them too soft at only 45g actuation. The disadvantage of the soft touch is a higher rate of typos. You'll get more accurate over time as a result. If you like a smooth, non-tactile feel (= no stroke bump/notch and no audible click at the beginning of each keystroke) Cherry MX Black keys are 60g non-tactile linear keys, and the just released "Nature White" keys have a 55g non-tactile stroke. To me, black is too heavy, so I live with a little higher typo rate. Nature White keys availability remains limited. Red keys are on the quiet side of the mechanical spectrum, because there is no notch and no audible click. The only sound comes from bouncing off the back-plate. All tactile key options are louder than Red, including Brown, which is a similarly soft 45g version of tactile key variants. To make choices even more complicated, rubber O ring kits only cost a few bucks and are easy to install for those who want to quiet the board a little, or to slightly reduce the length of the stoke. In either case, try Nature-White or Black before installing O rings to Red, since it make the keys even easier to press down to the bottom.

3. Has a USB port. The downside is it takes a second USB connection to use, so it is effectively useless.

4. Nice clear professional font is large and easy to read. Too many Cherry MX Red kbs are targeted at young gamers who like spaceaged fonts that suck for typing.

5. The non-shifted key options are also backlit, though less brightly. Because Cherry keys each have their own LED near the top of each key mechanism, the top half of each key is more brightly lit than the bottom half. Most keyboards take the cheap way out, and paint the shifted-key symbols on without light pass though - so you can't see the shift options at night. This kb lights the top half of every key directly, while the shifted characters are also transparent so they are lit indirectly. This is great at night. One downside of modern mechanical lighting is the LED is at the top of each key. This leads most manufacturers to invert the shift character position compared to "old fashioned" keyboards, so the shift function actually selects the bottom symbol on each key. At least Corsair is consistent, always shifting to select the bottom key symbol. Many manufacturers allow shift to choose the bottom of some keys while shift still chooses the tops of some lesser used keys, even within the same keyboard layout. Others choose to lay the shift options keys out on the left-right instead of top-bottom. I like this kb's layout the best.

Overall - the board is priced well and the Cherry MX Red keys are great for non-tactile heavy duty gamers who need soft keys to survive intense sessions, and maybe even better for typists who prefer a silky smooth linear stroke where the only sound is a bounce off the back-plate.

8 people found this helpful

13x31

Mainly for Linux

Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2016

I haven't had or used the keyboard very long, but I'll share what I've found and my experience so far. I bought this keyboard to replace my Cherry MX-Board 3.0 keyboard since a thick cable is a bit more durable if dropped directly onto it (the Cherry keyboard survived the fall, and I just had to heat the solder of the metal USB Mini B housing to fix it) and I wanted some backlighting to see the keys a bit better when the situation arises.

Anyway, I'm using Manjaro (based on Arch Linux), and it took a while for the keyboard to register, though it didn't seem to want to register properly until I plugged my Cherry keyboard in and spammed a few keys (if that made any actual difference). Pressing the brightness and/or "super" (a.k.a. Windows key) disable key would cause the keyboard to stop working.

I was a bit frightened that I would have to return the keyboard and find some other mechanical keyboard that didn't have an ARM 32 controller in it, but a quick search on Google lead me to a thread on Corsair's forum with an open-source driver not written by Corsair. The driver's (and software) is called "CKB" (might be all lower case, but I don't think it matters much), and may require some compiling (I didn't really look too well at the GitHub page), but for Arch (and Manjaro) and Gentoo users, there are pre-made packages, making it quite easy to install. After enabling and starting the daemon, I haven't had any problems with the keyboard. The CKB software has limitations, but has features that most people might be looking for; it can also update the firmware, but it is highly recommended that the firmware is updated in Windows with Corsair's official CUE software. If you have a custom lighting scheme, the CKB software must be running in the background, otherwise, the firmware profiles take over (from what I've seen). The keyboard still took a bit of time to register after plugging it back in once I updated the firmware with Windows, but I can't say how fast it will register after a reboot.

Anyway, this keyboard DOES work with Linux, but requires a bit of work (depending on the system). Stop by the GitHub page ([...]) and read thoroughly after upgrading the firmware with Windows. I'll try to remember to update this review if I run into any other problems.

As far as the keyboard itself, it was much more functional than I expected, and though I won't be using the entirety of the available features that CKB offers, I'm sure it'll work just fine as a backlit keyboard for typing. The keyboard is quite weighty, more than likely because the backplate is steel and not aluminium (or aluminium alloy), and with a low-profile bezel, it seems like it would be fairly easy to keep clean (I'd still be careful with any liquids, however).

I plan on adding damping O-rings, but that will be when I'm not staying past by usual sleep time to get this review out. Hope this helps out some Linux users that are planning on purchasing this keyboard. Cheerio!

2 people found this helpful

Amazing keyboard for a great price.

Sera

Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2017

I'm writing a review on the Corsair STRAFE mechanical Red Cherry MX keyboard

After updating my old motherboard I found out that my Steel Series (never by from that company, their FAQ for trouble shooting is worthless) APEX keyboard refused to work with my new ASUS mobo. Half of my custom built computer is Corsair (Ram, CPU color, power supply) so I decided to add another great Corsair item to the rest.

This keyboard is amazing! The cherry switches are great for FPS like Corsair says and the fact that they give you gripped keys to replace the WASD keys or if your into MOBAS they give you an additional Q and R keys. They are very easy to remove and a key cap remover comes with the keyboard. The key response in game is great, after testing it for twenty minutes I didn't find a problem with the keys contacting and my character moving like they are supposed to.

The gripped keys are wonderful added accessory, I play a lot of Overwatch and it helps me find my keys since I did not keep them at the default keys the game sets. The gripped keys have raised angled ends (W on top, S on left side, D on right side) so it is easy to tell when you are on the correct key if you aren't paying attention to the grip feeling. The raised edges don't get in the way if you are typing also which is wonderful since I type pretty fast.

The keyboard has the option to turn the red back lighting complete off and if you chose to turn it back on it give you three degrees of lighting from dim to super bright if you play in the dark.

If you are unsure on what keyboard to get or if you don't want to buy one of the more expensive keyboards from Corsair or any other brand out there I would recommend this one. No matter what keyboard you buy from Corsair its going live up to your expectations hands down. Corsair is a great gaming brand and I won't buy anything outside of their brand ever again. My next purchase will be one of their gaming mice if mine ever quits out on me.

The only draw back that I could find was that because it is a mechanical keyboard with raise keys when you type it can be rather loud but if that doesn't bother you, I could care less, then you will love this keyboard.

I LOVE this awesome keyboard

Blackbolt

Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2019

This thing is AWESOME. iQue software is well developed, every key can be RGB programmed, you can program macros and other events for each key, you can design your own lighting effects or roll with the prebuilt ones. If you have a Corsair mouse as well with RGB you can even used "linked" lighting effects across the devices. The Cherry MX Reds are perfect. You get the clickiness you want from a mechanical keyboard but it's not insanely loud unless you are someone who pounds on a keyboard. It DOESN'T have the tactile click though so if you are looking for that feel (as I recall the models Ms felt that way but it's been a long time) you will need to find a keyboard with a different switch. The keys do feel great thought. Super responsive, has USB3 pass through in the back which I found handy to plug in my mouse. It is all plastic construction with only a small stripe of aluminum at the top. I know there are nicer more sturdy keyboards out there but this had a nice price point and delivered everything that I expected and more. I was very happy with my purchase and it paired perfectly with my Corsair RGB gaming mouse as well. This is my first "gaming" keyboard and I am happy with the purchase. Its the nicest keyboard I have owned. Im not normally picky about keyboards but now after having this I find myself a tad bit annoyed with my Dell laptop keyboard for work. Buy this keyboard you wont be sorry.

Great Overall Gaming Keyboard

Margaret

Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2024

Overall, pretty much no complaints. Lasted about 6 years before I needed a new one due to some switches being less responsive. Love the ability to pause and skip songs with a simple button press. Only real issues is it is a bit on the harder side to clean.

Ethan

Good keyboard

Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2018

It's a good keyboard. It's noisy, but it's a mechanical keyboard, so that's to be expected. This is my first mechanical keyboard, and it's pretty great. The RGB lights can be activated for each individual key, which can lead to some cool stuff. The volume slider in the corner is smooth to use, too. And so far, cleaning is just me blowing off anything on it. I have a cat, and my old keyboard would get cat hair stuck under the keys. For this one, I just blow it off. My only complaint is that all the symbols that require shift to use are on the bottom instead of the top. For instance, the percent symbol is under the 5 instead of over it. But that does not effect anything besides looks. It's a bit thicker than any keyboard I've had in the past, so the wrist rest is definitely beneficial, too. It slightly swivels so it works well if the back stands are up or not. It also comes with a key remover and some keys for if you play games. The special keys have a different color and texture, and are curved to make playing easier. They're pretty chinsy though, and the different color is just a piece of plastic snapped onto the base of a regular key, and they can pop off pretty easily. So I don't use them. But otherwise, it's a great keyboard.

Fantastic Build Quality and Feel

MikeBNj

Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2018

So after owning a Corsair K70 Rapidfire RGB keyboard for my gaming, I fell in love with the feel of the keyboard. At work I had brought in the keyboard I replaced, a Logitech G710. The problem with the G710 is that the keys were so darn loud because it had the cherry blue's and they don't only bottom out producing a sound like every mechanical keyboard, but they actually click within the actuator of the key press. This causes quite some annoyance that will irritate over time. Thus, I had it in my office but not only did I get annoyed at work but some of my co-workers complaint.

Low and behold I figure why not purchase a similar, slightly cheaper version of what I love at home for work? I didn't need all the fancy lighting effects for work so the Corsair Strafe cherry red with Red backlit was perfect. Feels the same as the K70 but more for work. Not loud either. I love this keyboard and highly recommend it even for typing. It has a very solid build quality although not exactly as such as my home K70 Rapidfire. That one is built out of aluminum while this is definitely full plastic. It still has some weight to it though and feels sturdy.

My number one complaint with the keyboard however is the lack of wrist pad. It clearly has the connections for it if you look underneath. I thought, OK, I'll bring in the wrist pad from my Rapidfire at home. NOPE. Doesn't even fit or connect at all. Why? Doesn't make sense. Good luck trying to find it separately as well.

Lastly, Amazon shipping was a joke when it came to this aside from the speed at which it came. I ordered it and within a day gap, it arrived. However my first shipment was the wrong one. Oddly enough, it was left at my doorstep without an Amazon box. Just the full product, shown completely exposed and god for bit it rained that day, it would of been wrecked because the box has no protection for liquids.

So I returned this incorrect model that I ordered the next day and get this particular one that includes the numerical keys on the right, it arrives super quick again. Only this time, I get a straight up cardboard box with no Amazon logo or product box. It was just the keyboard sitting in a cardboard. I was like, whaaaaaat the hell are they doing??

Regardless, it was the product I ordered and looked perfect so I wasn't going to go through the return process again just for an official "Corsair" product package that I would end up recycling anyway.

So my 1 star from a perfect has to do with lack of wrist pad and Amazon's weird way of handling the packaging of the product.

19 people found this helpful

ChePanArt

Pretty spiffy!

Reviewed in the United States on September 5, 2016

I go through keyboards like a fiend, apparently. The only one to have lasted me is my keyboard from 2003, back when mechanical keyboards were becoming less and less the common board sold with computers. It's still in my closet and I could pull it out for use any time. Clearly, for me, mechanical is the way to go.

So my latest keyboard busted, and it was only the numbers 2 through 9, a ctrl and one other key I can't recall. Which the numbers were the most important thing lost. They are quite important in certain games with hot keys. I immediately popped on Amazon and started browsing keyboards. Since I really don't know much about them, I was having a hard time deciding, then I saw this one. Great price, the color matched my tower's lights, and it had great reviews. Plus the light control was spiffy sounding. I considered throwing in the extra for the RGB, but it was more important to me to just have a working board.

It finally arrive! I ordered on an odd day so my Prime 2 day shipping was in fact 4 days. Once I had the box in my hands, I was surprised at how heavy it was. Much heavier than my old school mechanical, but I liked that. Hooking up didn't take long, I have Windows 8.1 and for some reason the driver installation was funky. The keyboard worked so it was just a matter of going to the Corsair site and downloading it manually. Not painful.

The light control software takes a bit to get used to, but there are forums that will help clear up some of the biggest issues you may have. Mine was that I could not get it to stop pulsing! Haha! The manual is very extensive and is a good idea to at least glance through.

Love the way it types, love the clickiness of the buttons. They are quieter than most but still distinctive and I love it. It came with a key puller that works great and a few extra keys. What more can I say? If I wanted to by another keyboard, it would definitely be from Corsair!

If it ends up not living up to my standards, I will update the review accordingly.