![]() The four controls above the numpad - stop, back, play, forward - feel very nice and exhibit a similar amount of travel as the other keys, however the smooth volume roller is a tad cramped and scrolling down inevitably results in your finger hitting the heightened multimedia controls. This time around the multimedia keys are present and on par with pricier models in the range. In the past, Strafe solutions tended to omit the palm rest and dedicated multimedia keys in order to meet a more attractive price point. Looking past the aesthetics, it's interesting to find that the lines between K70 and Strafe have been blurred for the MK.2 generation. It reminds of those phones designed for OAPs, with huge letters you just can't miss, and while rivals appear more elegant, the Strafe RGB MK.2 comes across as relatively cluttered. The textured spacebar is an acquired taste, I prefer a standard-sized Windows key when I'm not gaming, and though keycap fonts are a personal preference, I'm really not a fan of Corsair's chunky lettering. RGB enthusiasts will feel right at home, and Corsair's software makes light work of synchronisation between devices (more on that later), however there are some design elements that will divide audiences. The MK.2 Strafe has premium elements such as an RGB-backlit Corsair logo on the top strip of aluminium trim, and the per-key illumination is particularly vivid thanks to a white underlying tray that looks out of place when the lights are turned off but otherwise does a good job of amplifying the effects. One of the nice things about a Corsair keyboard is that they all tend to maintain a familiar design aesthetic there's no visual penalty for choosing a lower-end model. The latter will be of particular interest to those seeking an affordable path into Corsair's mechanical keyboard ecosystem, so let's see what's what by taking a closer look at the 2018 Strafe RGB MK.2 in Cherry MX Silent flavour. Appreciating that most users' budgets don't stretch quite that far, Corsair has been busy refreshing its second-tier offerings with MK.2 versions of the popular K70 RGB and Strafe RGB. They have a typing experience similar to the massively popular Red switches - 45nm actuation pressure, linear response, short throw - with a lot less noise than even the Reds bring to the table, nevermind something deliberately loud like the MX Blues.Enthusiast gamers may set their sights on Corsair's flagship mechanical keyboard, the venerable K95 RGB Platinum, but the premium price tag can serve as a sizeable obstacle. Our review sample came equipped with the Cherry MX Silent switches and we think these might make anyone who is sitting on the fence about a mechanical keyboard due to the somewhat higher noise level in use, take a good long look at the Strafe Mk.2. The Strafe Mk.2 has two different Cherry MX switches available, the always popular MX Red switch and the fabulous MX Silent. In the extremely competitive mechanical keyboard market is it enough to make the Strafe RGB Mk.2 stand out? As well as adding dedicated media keys - always a nice alternative to the Fn+F key solution - and the famous Corsair roller volume control they have also equipped the Strafe Mk.2 with onboard hardware profile retention and processing and upped the ante on the build quality. Enough in fact to necessitate the launch of a Mk.2 model, and that's the keyboard we have on test today. The Corsair design team have taken the Strafe back to their R&D lab and, looking at all the user feedback, improved it in all the key areas. It was a keyboard that had an awful lot to recommend it and was just, perhaps, missing a couple of ingredients that would have made it really stand out as a genuine alternative to, well almost anything on the market. ![]() The vast size of the range also means that there is a model to suit almost every pocket, from the low end all the way up to the K95 Platinum.Ī model which didn't quite fall into the Kx range was the Strafe. A combination of fantastic build quality, juicy component choices and a carefully selected set of features mean that you can buy almost any of them and know you're getting a product which will keep you happy for a long time. The Corsair range of keyboards has long been one of the most consistent performers around. ![]()
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