Gadgetory

this video is brought to you by NCI XCOM great technology selection and service hey guys eva here with her broken axe and the keyboard market is almost at full saturation in terms of variety of switches and gaming features so companies are now shifting focus to design the best looking keyboard to satisfy our growing desires for something different so today we're taking a look at the Asus Strix tactic pro mechanical gaming keyboard priced at 170 dollars this is an expensive piece of tech especially with much cheaper alternatives easily available for example the g9 10 from Logitech that offers full RGB backlit different wrist rest places and an app as an extra value added all for that same price or the non RGB k95 from Corsair has all the same specs as a tactic pro for less cash so the Strix line is aimed at those with extreme gaming appetites the build quality on the tactic Pro is outstanding the thick hard plastic unibody design barely flexes when forces applied on both ends it really defines how robust keyboard should be and it can definitely take some serious abuse the design is quite striking at first glance thanks to that unique shade that follows the Strix theme the edges are rounded but looks pointed at different angles you'll also find a thin orange line that separates the media buttons and the control pad keys there are also four blank orange key caps with a key cap removal tool that you can use to replace your WASD zone the extra key caps are not textured differently so this is purely for aesthetics notice how narrow the structure is with a slight extension in the center but without a proper wrist rest that is unfortunate to see for this price there are a total of 21 programmable macros with 10 dedicated buttons on the left side we've seen this layout from time to time again so if macro gameplay is your thing the tactic Pro should suit you fine there are eight more alternative macro keys on the F keys plus dedicated thumb buttons below the spacebar that are easy to reach you have larger hands but a slight offset to the left would complement a more comfortable reach they are shaped differently though for easier distinction on the far right side you'll find the dedicated media control keys that offer play pause mute and forward and backward skip function there's also a scroll wheel for volume control and I love how companies implement them on high-end gaming keyboards well done asus at the bottom you'll find small anti skip pads and appropriate razors to an angle the keyboard at your convenience the cable is braided and comes with a gold plated USB tip with a unique looking header that complements for easier differentiation between other cables which is always a welcome feature the LED lighting on the Strix tactic Pro looks fantastic with unique Orange system the aggressive Strix logo stands out in the dark as well there is a built-in special hotkeys that perform various tasks for example adjusting brightness with the function key and number eight with three levels of illumination and off plus a briefing effect is built in the tactic pro version we have here comes with MX trade brown switches and other cherries switch options are available as well it feels a lot like typing on Cherry MX red switches the keys don't really require a lot of pressure to press so you won't really feel actuations that you get which typing on MX blue switches offers the function key plus f12 disables the windows key to prevent accidental usage during gaming sessions the function key + f11 enables Keys f12 f8s Macker the function key plus print screen and screen lock and pause break allows you to switch between three hardware profiles that are built into the four megabyte memory you can add multiple profiles in the drivers software once the software mode is enabled which I'll get to in a moment lastly the function key + NK ro key allows you to turn on the extreme and key rollover anti-ghosting feature for all keys to be registered simultaneously the LED notification area right above the function key acts as the notification area for all these different scenarios the driver software from asus looks clean and intuitive the user is greeted with the option to set the tactic pro in hardware mode or after our mode Hardware mode limits you to three profiles while in software mode you can add as many as you like the physical layout helps you with the specific macro mappings with easy key selection and the macro tab is where you want to spend some serious time if you plan to utilize all the macro buttons on the tactic Pro so in conclusion Asus has brought a lot of features to the table with the Strix tactic Pro like the robust build quality and the excellent aggressive design the 21 programmable macro buttons offer more than enough commands for your gaming needs and the variety of MX choice which is always - must to lure in larger markets this at $170 is one pricey keyboard regardless of the features and we were disappointed to find no fun lighting effects or a proper wrist rest plus a thumb button below the spacebar are too far to the right to be commonly used for gaming it's a great keyboard but we have to come to expect more from the Strix brand with this price so thank you so much for watching our video and make sure to subscribe for more similar content and give us a like if you found this review helpful and as always we'll see you in the next one