ASUS Strix Tactic Pro
A ‘board with a plethora of extras.
If you’re looking for a keyboard with extras, look no further — this beast has it all. There’s a whopping 21 extra macro keys, with a bank of eight on the left, another three under the space bar, while the remaining are normal keys that can double as macros. Recording actions to these is relatively simple using the included software, though the sheer number of them makes remembering what each one does a little tricky. Add to this the ability to record different functions for the macros on different profiles and you’re going to need to become a memory master to remember what each one does. We’re not complaining, though — having so many macro options is excellent.
ASUS has included four removable bright orange WASD keys for FPS players, while there’s a full multimedia control pad above the numpad, with a rolling volume control and the usual playback buttons. Unfortunately, our sample came with Cherry MX Black keys, which require a lot of force compared to the Speed switches we’re accustomed to, but ASUS offers this ‘ board with four different Cherry options. There’s no wrist support included, which can make it a little rough after a few hours of use. It can handle up to 100 keys being pressed simultaneously, though we can’t imagine that feature ever being used.
With an excellent price and feature set, this is one of the best value gaming boards on the market. We’d suggest you try the different key types before buying one, though, as switching to Black after using the Speed switch was a finger-straining affair.