ASUS TUF Gaming K7 IP56 Gaming Keyboard Review

ASUS TUF Gaming K7

We get a lot of impressive mechanical keyboards through the eTeknix office. However, short of a few macro buttons and some slightly different RGB, they’re all pretty much the same. Take the ASUS RoG STRIX Scope RGB we reviewed last week, it’s phenomenal, but it’s not exactly innovative either. However, the ASUS TUF Gaming K7 is different, very different in fact, and that’s got me seriously hyped to test it out!

Features

Operating at the speed of light…ish, thanks to the new optical-mechanical switches, which are said to have an actuation that’s 25x faster than mechanical switches. Now, I don’t know if I’ll be able to tell, but we shall see. Then we’ve got full IP56 dust and water resistance, foam padding wrist rest, RGB lighting, and on-the-fly controls. Overall, that’s pretty well equipped, but it’s those switches that have me the most excited.

• Engineered with innovative optical-mechanical switches for precise actuation that’s 25X faster than a standard mechanical keyboard, and supplied with both tactile and linear switches
• IP56 resistance to dust and water ingress, aircraft-grade aluminium faceplate and up to twice the lifespan of traditional mechanical switches for long-term reliability
• Broad, deep memory-foam pad for comfortable, and integrated magnets for fast attachment or removal.
• Individually-backlit keys with Aura Sync RGB LED technology for unlimited personalization options
• Map macros on-the-fly to our fully programmable keys, adjust settings with enhanced Armoury II software, and store profiles on the keyboard’s onboard memory

What ASUS Had to Say

“Battlefield domination beckons with the light-speed actuation of TUF Gaming K7’s Optical-Mech switches. Choose linear or tactile to match your play style, and exploit the compact design to stay in command. K7 is water and dust resistant, topped with aircraft-grade aluminium, comes with a detachable wrist rest, and has per-key Aura Sync illumination – for a fast and fun way to light up your gaming world.” – ASUS

TUF Optical-Mech Switches

“Each TUF Optical-Mech switch casts a beam of infrared light. Pressing a key causes the shaft to break the beam for near-instant actuation. This unique design eliminates the 5ms debounce delay intrinsic to traditional metal contacts, slashing total actuation time to just 0.2ms – so it’s quicker than the blink of an eye!”