The tools of work for a gamer are extremely important and can mean the difference between victory and defeat. Nobody knows better than ASUS and its extraordinary Republic of Gamer (ROG), which for years has continued to churn out accessories and devices designed specifically for the gamer. Today, ASUS wants to keep the name and value of its gaming division high with the new one ROG Strix Flare II Animate mechanical keyboard and this is his review.
As gamers and smartworkers, have a keyboard, comfortable, performing and with an attractive design it has always been (especially in recent years) an important prerogative. Has ASUS hit the spot this time too? Let’s find out!
Our review of the ROG Strix Flare II Animate keyboard
For this review, we put the ROG Strix Flare II Animate to the test and make it the everyday keyboard for work and gaming. Before telling you about our experience, let’s analyze it a little more closely.
Design
The new ROG Strix Flare II Animate boasts the style and class, now a hallmark of the ASUS ROG division. It looks like a solid keyboard from premium materials, plastic and metal. It has a size of 435mm x 165mm x 38mm which increases to 435mm x 85mm x 27mm in case you decide to use the palm rest, included in the package. A 2 meter USB cable completes the whole thing.
The keyboard has all the keys you’d expect to see in one QWERTY keyboard plus the very comfortable numeric keypad on the right. The particularities, in terms of buttons, are represented by one slot located at the top left of the front that includes two buttons, a wheel and a knob. It is a set designed specifically to better manage the media control. In fact, the knob allows you to select tracks of a playlist or pause and resume music or a video, pressing the outermost part. The wheel, on the other hand, allows you to increase and decrease the volume simply rotating it as well as mutating the audio, squeezing it. These two commands are placed two buttons on the right that have the function of lock the Windows key (to play undisturbed) or turn off any type of light effect.
That of llearn RGB, like any self-respecting gaming accessory, it is in fact a theme that is very close to ROG’s heart and this keyboard is no exception. The whole keyboard is in fact equipped with luci al LED RGB to customize with dozens of effects and many colors to adapt to our style of play or the type of work that is being done on the computer. To these, there is also the fantastic Anime Matrix LED Display positioned at the top left. This is a perforated section of the keyboard containing 312 customizable and programmable mini-LEDs to show lettering, drawings, computer specification indicators, time and much more.
Inside the package we find, as anticipated, the sponge wrist rest that attaches easily through the use of magnets. Thanks to a transparent plastic section, the base of the palm rest will also show the RGB color chosen for the keyboard. Included in the package we also find a quick guide, ASUS ROG stickers and two practical tools to remove the buttons, for cleaning or to insert the variants you prefer.
Technology
Right in the buttons lies another strength of the ROG Strix Flare II Animate. We are facing a latest generation mechanical keyboard which guarantees a practically instant response from the pressure of the keys. A 8000 Hz pooling rate which translates into eight times the input compared to other keyboardsreducing the feedback from 1 millisecond to 0.125 milliseconds. This is impressive speed that can make a difference in any match. In support of this we have the ROG NX mechanical switches with fast actuation that provide excellent typing feel.
To improve the feeling of pressing the keys we think the keycaps ROG PTB Doubleshot, the “keycaps” of ROG made with premium materials and designed to reduce the oscillation of the keys while pressing for a more complete and engaging user experience. Under the keyboard we find instead a layer of sound-absorbing sponge able to absorb noises and echoes for better acoustics.
There is also no lack of ANTI-Ghosting & N-KEY ROLLOVER technology to accurately record each keystroke regardless of speed, a USB Type 2.0 input on the upper part of the keyboard, and an integrated memory that allows the saving of 6 profiles to customize the keyboard.
The Power of Armory Crate
The ROG Strix Flare II Animate can be fully customized to show your unique style. In this regard, he comes to our rescue ASUS ROG’s Armory Crate software. This is a program that allows you to manage most of the ASUS devices connected to your computer and those that support AURA technology. Here it is possible customize every aesthetic element of the keyboard and more. Each button, including the wheel and knob set, can be customized to perform a certain function, be it opening a certain app, a website, matching another key, and so on.
A large section is obviously dedicated to RGB lights andAnime Matrix. In addition to customizing, color and intensity, you can choose from a set of basic effects and animations ranging from the classic static effect to a wave sequence that generates a wave of color with each press, from a slow rain effect to a radiant cycle. of alternating colors. To these are added the effects of AURA Sync which, as the name suggests, synchronize with all other ASUS ROG accessories that support this technology. Each effect can in turn be customized in terms of color, frequency, speed and so on.
Particularly interesting and fun it is the AniMe Matrix section, customizable with a content library offered by the app and expandable. This allows you to insert into that small section of the keyboard static or moving images and written: the ROG logo, a cat on the go or your name on the go, That section can also be very useful for providing data from your computer such as the audio or battery level (in case you are using a laptop). The only limit is your imagination.
Our test of the ROG Strix Flare II Animate
We’ve been testing the ROG Strix Flare II Animate mechanical keyboard for about three weeksduring which it replaced the integrated keyboard of our gaming laptop (now used as a secondary screen).
Before starting with our impressions, we cannot fail to mention the extraordinary presentation and packaging to which ASUS ROG has now accustomed us. In the same way the keyboard, from the first impact, gives a feeling of a premium device made with excellent materials which give a sense of solidity. The “plasticity” of the usual keyboards is a distant memory. This feeling also affects the key pressure, soft but at the same time robust and pleasant to the touch. The feedback it returns makes it an excellent keyboard for both gaming and computer work (or writing this review).
In terms of gaming, the feel of the keyboard and the speed of feedback translate into an overall more satisfying and engaging gaming experience. We will not be the ones to tell you that with this keyboard you will become a pro player at your favorite FPS, but certainly the speed of pressure is exceptional and useful for reacting quickly to the most unpredictable situations.
Finally, the support for the Armory Crate application is really well done, user-friendly and engaging. It will take a few clicks to see the colors and animations of your keyboard change to make it truly unique and in line with your personality.
The review of the ROG Strix Flare II Animate in… a few keys
The ROG Strix Flare II Animate won us over. Everything, from design to performance, from materials to the possibility of customization, make it a premium mechanical keyboard. Its ease of use and the support of the extra compartment of controls make it the ideal ally for heavier challenges, whether at work or in the game.
Customizing it is simple and fun and it is possible to make it a truly unique keyboard able to best represent your personality or the mood of the moment. A must for all lovers of video games and high quality products.
The ROG Strix Flare II Animate mechanical keyboard is now available for around € 240