Is there really such a thing as an ASUS ROG tax? I went in expecting a price point closer to $200, and the $175–$180 prices I see online for the various switch options are in line with or even lower than flagship keyboards from other competing companies. It is so hard to break into the mechanical keyboard market today, especially when tackling the more mainstream market, and yet ASUS has managed to bring up both an ROG and a TUF lineup, akin to their other product areas. The current flagship, the ROG Strix Flare, checks off a lot of boxes on the feature list of a keyboard at the $150+ price point today, and has added some neat touches all the same. There is a lot of ROG branding on the keyboard, in case that is an issue, but it allows ASUS to add a customizable, lit badge that defaults to an ROG eye logo out of the box and offers a blank one for you to go creative on.

The details on the design are admirable, be it the subtle ROG slash on the front, engraving on the back, or channel for cable routing that is consistent with or without the wrist rest in place (as is the ROG slash design itself). Moving the dedicated media/volume/brightness/Win lock keys to the left is also handy for most gamers (read right-handed users), and the USB pass-through port helps as well. There is a section where this detail is lacking, however, and I am not talking about the use of USB 2.0 on the pass-through. The cable-routing channel just isn't big enough to use a typical mouse/headset connected to said USB pass-through port, which limits its use.

Not limited, however, is the programmability, be it via onboard controls or ROG Armoury, the software driver. I have read accounts of how ASUS's first mechanical keyboard entries were let down by software driver bugs and a consequently poor user experience, and I am glad to say that the current state of ROG Armoury makes for a positive first impression. It is no CORSAIR iCUE, but then again, nothing is. Lighting options are aplenty, although having control over the side and underglow lighting by itself would have been nice. There is a lot here to please an ASUS ROG fanboy, and enough still even if you are not one yet.