Asus’ latest boasts an 8,000 Hz polling rate providing a 0.125ms response time alongside swappable ROG NX mechanical switches, PBT doubleshot keycaps with a mid-height profile and shorter stem to reduce key wobble, and switch stabilizer mechanisms to ensure smooth strokes.
Asus has also added sound-dampening foam to reduce pinging for improved typing acoustics, and of course there is RGB lighting. Elsewhere, you’ll find metal media keys and volume controls as well as a detachable wrist wrest with an integrated light diffuser and a USB pass-through port for connecting other devices. There’s also a standard Strix Flare II gaming keyboard that doesn’t include the AniMe Matrix LED display, swappable switches and wrist rest-mounted light diffuser should you not require those extras.
A word of warning: Asus’ new boards are expensive, even by mechanical keyboard standards. The ROG Strix Flare Animate II gaming keyboard is set to arrive later this month priced at $220. The model without all the bells and whistles will command $180.
