The Asus ROG Strix Flare II Animate is a decent keyboard that offers great performance but suffers from a messy execution.
Strix Flare II: Two-minute review
In my experience, the best gaming keyboards tend to come in two flavors: a simple, modest keeb or a complicated, feature-packed device. The Asus ROG Strix Flare II Animate absolutely fits in the latter.
There’s nothing subtle about this keyboard. It’s a device that demands your attention, serving as the centerpiece of a PC setup second only to the rig or maybe the monitor. You can’t ignore it even if you wanted to. It’s a big boy too, measuring 435mm x 165mm x 38mm (about 17 x 6.5 x . 1.5 inches). It takes up a lot of space and unapologetic about it.
One aspect of its heft because it is a full-sized keyboard, so it was always going to take up a lot of room. The other half is what’s there apart from the keys. On the left you have media control buttons for consuming content. On the top right, you have a fully animated LED graphic; hence the word « Animate » in its name. Of course, the Flare II sports RGB lighting ready to bathe your room with a rainbow array.
Clearly this keyboard is talking the talk. All eyes on the Asus ROG Strix Flare II Animate. But the question can it walk the walk? Can this gaming keyboard perform at a high level? As a matter of fact, it can. Under the hood of my review unit, the Flare II came with ROG NX Red switches, delivering lighting fast performance performance and a smooth, linear feel. The lightest touch of your finger sends out an input.
Typing on the Asus ROG Strix Flare II Animate was a nice experience overall. It is a full-sized keyboard, which is my preferred layout. It offers the perfect amount of room for my hands.
As I said earlier, my review unit came with ROG NX Red switches. These have an actuation of 2mm and a total travel distance of 4mm. A light tap is all you need for the keyboard to register an input. You don’t have to mash buttons, and as a masher myself, I enjoy not having to do that. I expect and appreciate consistency with my keyboards. The NX Reds deliver great consistency. Plus, the Strix Flare II has anti-ghosting software ensuring the appropriate presses are sent and no phantom presses occur.
To give you some concrete examples, I won several games of Valorant, which I chalk up to this keeb. The response time is down to a millisecond, allowing me to juke my opponents before they knew what hit them. Thanks to their speed, I managed to break my bad habit of mashing buttons whenever I play Final Fantasy XIV. I was able to put my complete trust in these keys knowing my action or skill would come as intended.
I do have to say, had I been given the choice, I would actually go for the ROG NX Brown switches. Those are also an option. I prefer Brown-capped mechanical switches since those tend to be tactile – easier on my hands and, speaking as someone who does a lot of writing, can be a life saver.
