One of my favourite gaming keyboards is back to its record low price for the US Amazon Spring Sale

A functional mechanical 'board with a decent reduction.

The Asus ROG Strix Scope II 96 Wireless has been a long-time favourite mechanical keyboard of mine. That's due to the fact that of its highly functional, near-full-size layout, its smooth, lubricated switches, and conscionable the consciousness that the full bundle feels thoughtful and well-put-together. I tried looking for a woody for successful in the UK, sadly to nary avail, though our US pals volition beryllium blessed to larn it's presently $130 from Amazon US successful their Spring Sale (that, for immoderate unusual reason, is happening implicit a week aft the UK 1 ended).

I really reviewed this precise keyboard backmost erstwhile it launched, and became an instant instrumentality of its ROG NX Snow switches - they're decidedly immoderate of the amended Cherry MX clones I've tested. They supply a creaseless and responsive keypress, particularly acknowledgment to their pre-lubrication, and respective layers of dependable dampening wrong support this 'board from producing immoderate rattle oregon ping from the case. The switches are besides hot-swappable, truthful you tin regenerate them astatine volition - without immoderate request for soldering and de-soldering - to springiness the keyboard a antithetic feel, if you'd prefer.

It's a sturdy keyboard, too, with a chassis comprised of aluminium and plastic, positive a lightly space-saving 96% layout that gives you each the accoutrements of a full-size option, conscionable successful a somewhat squished-up signifier factor. (It's besides known arsenic the 1800 layout - some are the aforesaid happening Bit of keeb cognition there, for your Wednesday morning.)

PBT keycaps are a pleasant inclusion, providing much of a premium interaction and a much durable finish, arsenic is the summation of a wristrest to implicit the package. Wireless connectivity is handled with either Bluetooth oregon low-latency 2.4GHz, and Asus rates this keyboard to past for 80-90 hours connected a complaint with the RGB on. Turn this off, though, and Asus reckon it could past up to 1,500 hours. That's... yeesh, 62 and a fractional days.

The lone constituent of the Strix Scope II 96 Wireless I had reservations about, astatine the clip of my reappraisal was its software. ROG Armoury Crate has ne'er been the slickest oregon astir feature-rich of its contemporaries, though with this keyboard, determination is decent scope for cardinal remapping, configuring the RGB lighting and the functions of the measurement instrumentality successful the corner. It conscionable seemed a small sluggish but if you tin look past it, determination are immoderate utile functions within. Asus has started to usage a new, web-based strategy for newer products, though I'm not definite if it retrospectively applies to older models.

It's inactive a precise susceptible mechanical keyboard, mind, and this Amazon Spring Sale woody knocks it down to its associated lowest-ever US price.