Asus ROG Strix Scope RX

A solid board that shines without too many bells and whistles.

$TBC

Irog. asus.com

’m very picky when it comes to keyboards, and it takes a for a new design to ween me off my years long addiction to Corsair’s K-series of boards. And I’m not saying that Asus has done that – at least… not yet. But it must be said that this is one of the very best keyboards Asus has produced, and I was more than pleasantly surprised by just how sturdy the new ROG Strix Scope RX is. Even more surprising is just how good Asus’ new in-house switches are, especially as they’re not the now-standard mechanical switches, but optical mechanical instead!

Asus has tended to add all kinds of odd gimmicks to its peripherals, but the Scope RX is pleasantly free from any such guff. It’s a frameless board, so should be super easy to keep clean, and a solid alloy top plate helps it withstand a tonne of gaming punishment. There’s very little if any flex to the keyboard, and the sound of the key action is nice and solid - there’s no tinny echo that you might find from a lighter construction method. The function keys do double duty as media keys, and while dedicated media keys are nice, it does lead to a very clean, no-nonsense aesthetic. The thick cable – thanks to a USB2 passthrough is – unbraided and quite flexible, and two flipdown feet let you adjust keyboard height.

The big star of the show are Asus’ new switches, and for what is basically a fancy scissor switch, they really are very good. The ROG RX optical mechanical ‘red’ switches aim to mimic the feel of the similar Cherry Red switches, and they do the job admirably. The fast 1ms response and 1.5mm actuation point make for responsive gaming and typing, and a slightly heavier key-press keeps mis-keys at bay. That heaviness of actuation – about 45gf – does take some getting used to, but not much. Personally, I think I still prefer Cherry Reds, but that is fast feeling like I’m being loyal to a brand, rather than picking the best switch on the market. I’m