Asus ROG Strix Flare Review
When most tech shoppers think of Asus and its gaming sub-brand, Republic of Gamers, they tend to think first of gaming desktops, laptops, and monitors, not input peripherals. But Asus does, in fact, have a whole input-device line, and makes a decent gaming keyboard in the ROG Strix Flare ($179.99). Cherry switches give it enthusiast cred, but the Flare falls a little short of the very best full-size gaming keyboards, when you take a close look at its feature set, and particularly its configuration software. Even so, it’s a solid pick for typing and for most game genres.
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A Flare With Fair Flair
In many ways, until you fire it up, the Strix Flare comes across as nondescript among full-size (104-key) keyboards. At 1.2 by 17.9 by 6.1 inches (HWD) and 2.8 pounds, it’s standard height and weight for its class. Its graphite-colored ABS polymer case gives it a sort of futuristic feel, which is, ironically, very “now” among gaming keyboards.
I find that the ROG Strix Flare looks a bit slimmer with the detachable wrist rest on. The rest is very low-profile, a clean polymer slab that lets your wrists hang right where they need to if you’ve raised the keyboard’s rear tabs. Unfortunately, there’s no padding on the wrist rest, so it isn’t especially comfortable.
The typing, however, is quite finger-pleasing. The Strix Flare uses Cherry MX RGB switches, which work like Cherry’s MX switches, but the mechanism is made of clear plastic to let the keyboard’s RGB lighting shine through. You can get the switches in your choice of Red (twitch-touch), Blue (very clicky), Speed Silver (less travel), Brown (a good compromise), or Silent Red switches, which is nice for those of us who have strong preferences around the travel and clickiness of our keys.
The keycaps, made from ABS polymer, feel slightly hollow relative to other mechanical and hybrid keyboards I’ve used, but they did not feel cheap or unstable by any means. (That said, it didn’t help that my review unit had Red Switches, which move a little quicker than I’m used to, particularly for typing.) They’re not the beefy-feeling “double-shot” keycaps of a board like the Topre Realforce RGB TKL, but the need to allow for light to shine through has to factor into the design.
Above the function keys, you’ll find some convenient media controls, including a nicely textured volume roller, as well as buttons to lock the Windows key and kill the keyboard’s lighting…
At the top right of the keyboard, there’s a USB passthrough, as well as a removable clear acrylic slide with the ROG logo. The keyboard comes packed with a second, unmarked slide that you can customize yourself with paint or stickers. Most of the lighting settings tend to glide over the logo in pleasing ways. Myself, I’m not one to take the time to customize a logo and paint or stick it on a keyboard, but if you’re so inclined, it can be a nifty, elegant way to add a personal touch.
In general, the Strix Flare’s aesthetic sensibility is its defining quality. The brushed-aluminum-looking “Hybrid” paneling and keycaps are subdued, but countered by the robotic ROG font, and a heavy dose of RGB lighting under the keys and as “underglow” that projects on the desk underneath the board’s sides. All of these elements tie together to give the Flare a very distinct “gamer” look. Not everyone wants that aesthetic, but if you’re looking to lean into it, or simply don’t mind it, it’s handsome hardware.
Like many gaming keyboards these days, the Flare’s braided USB cable ends with two USB plugs: one for the keyboard’s data connection, and a second for whatever you plug into the USB passthrough port. I’m always going to take advantage of passthrough when it’s available, but having the option to free up a port on your PC if you leave it empty is a plus. There’s technically a groove in the underside of the keyboard for cord management, but it’s barely large enough for a single cord, just serving to eat up some of the cable run for the main Flare cable. (The braided cable for Asus’ own Gladius II Origin ($89.00 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) mouse doesn’t fit.)
What’s Missing in the Armoury?
As I noted when reviewing the Gladius II Origin, the Strix Flare’s configuration software holds it back. ROG Armoury II, the software that manages the keyboard’s lighting, customizable profiles, and recording macros, looks barebones and doesn’t work as consistently as it should. Compared to Razer’s Synapse and Corsair’s Corsair Utility Engine (CUE) configuration programs, Armoury doesn’t feel like it is quite up to the mark for a premium keyboard.
Aura Sync, the lighting feature that allows you to set a single lighting routine for multiple ROG peripherals, is a perfect example of these issues. When activated, you cannot adjust any features on either peripheral, including your keyboard’s profiles. The problem is less of an issue on the keyboard than for other peripherals that have more settings to tweak, but it’s still a nuisance and holds the Flare back.
The Flare can store up to six profiles, which will be a fairly limited number for some gamers who want to create custom setups for every game they are playing at the moment. Remapping is generally pretty easy, and you can set keys to cover mouse functions, macros, and Windows shortcuts, in addition to simply moving keyboard actions around.
You do get a fairly wide range of lighting options: 13 presets, plus the ability to create a key-by-key custom lighting arrangement. You can save only one custom lighting show per profile, however, which is a bummer if you like designing your own elaborate lighting arrays, or want to use your profiles to store configurations for specific games or apps.
Those options are all hamstrung, however, by Armoury’s performance. In my time with the software, it was prone to greying out buttons for no clear reason, and the occasional crash.
Send Up a Flare?
The Asus ROG Strix Flare has a lot of the things you’d expect to see in a top-tier keyboard: keys with great switches, rollover protection and other software to help you minimize misfires, cool lighting, USB passthrough. In many cases, though, those features lack the nuance and definition that would make it stand out from the rest of the pack. The lighting coverage and options are nice, but any Razer keyboard will give you more nuanced customization. The media controls are nice, but standard fare for a gaming keyboard. The wrist rest looks better than it feels, which is a disappointment since you almost never see it underneath your forearms.
The Strix Flare feels like a high-quality keyboard, and if you use it I doubt you’ll be disappointed, but in the same price zone you can find more impressive options, such as the Corsair K95 RGB Platinum ( at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) and Das Keyboard 4. For a similar price, they offer the same great typing experience, but with more, and more distinctive, features. In the case of the Corsair software, you’ll also find it a clear step up.
If Asus can sort out its Armoury software issues, it will be capable of producing some of the best all-around keyboards in town. Right now, though, the Flare is a good keyboard vying for greatness.
Asus ROG Strix Flare
3.5
(Opens in a new window)
See It
$117.98
at Amazon
(Opens in a new window)
MSRP $179.00
Pros
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Cons
The Bottom Line
The Cherry-switch-based Asus ROG Strix Flare is well-made and has solid gaming and writing chops, but a few software quibbles keep it from joining the pantheon of today’s gaming keyboards.
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