MadCatz S.T.R.I.K.E.5 PC Keyboard Review

This is what I will call the “primary” configuration, it’s the one that seems most common for the day to day user. I have the number pad on the right, hot keys on the left, the wrist rests in practical places (including the scroll rest on the left) and the control panel at the top left. It took me around 20 minutes to assemble the keyboard the first time, which is of course a long time for a keyboard, especially given I can build an entire PC in roughly the same amount of time. But the end result was definitely worth it as the keyboard does look fantastic.

Each of the main sections of the board are connected by high quality braided cables, although the rear control panel (the one with the OLED screen) features the main connection to your system, with a gold plated USB, Headset and Microphone connection on the far end.

One of the more unique features of the Strike5 is its wrist rest system, which comes in 3 parts. This one comes with a single button and horizontal scroll wheel that can be operated with your thumb with ease. Behind that you will find a great button labelled “lock” that allows you to change the elevation of the rest, or you can push/pull the rest to change its distance from the keyboard. It’s simple to use and is easy enough that you can change the angle and length on the fly while gaming should you feel the need.

The other two rests are a little more simplistic in design, but can also be extended or retracted from the keyboard to find that optimal resting position. All three rests are of course removable and can be placed in different orders to suit your needs, a feature we will take a look at in a moment.

The over sized hot keys can be clipped onto either the main keyboard body or the side of the number pad block, or not at all should you wish. Their chunky design makes them easy to use while in the heat of battle,  no fumbling around for buttons here.

The control panel is packed with features (and my reflection, hello world!) -4 directional control switches on the left and an OLED screen with a rotating dial control around its edge. Multimedia control buttons, profile switches, numbered control buttons, back light control and windows key controller make this one seriously versatile tool.

Here you can see the back of the control panel features its own fold out stand to make sure its nice and stable when your jabbing it with your finger. It also has easy to access headphone and microphone ports which means you’ll be spending less time around the back of your PC trying to get things connected.

Along the back of the keyboard you can see the numerous braided cables that hook everything together, the modular cables allow you to configure the keyboard however you like and all you have to do is connect the cables to the correct ports, luckily they are clearly labelled and this is a quick and easy job to perform. There are also a couple of clips that help keep extra cable in place and keep things looking neat and tidy.

The underside of the keyboard has been given just as much attention too, with a reinforced structure that should help the Strike5 survive those hardcore gaming sessions for years to come as well as 4 high quality flip up feet at the back. These feet are of course in a 2 x 2 format since the keyboard can be separated and section would then require their own stands.

As I said, this keyboard can be arranged in a number of strange configuration. Here you can see the number and arrow keypad can be operated independent of the main part of the keyboard. I’ve also attached the OLED control panel and the hot key panel, but I could have gone one further and added the scroll wheel wrist rest too, but lets not get too carried away! I’m not sure what use this is to me, but its nice to have the option to tailor it to my needs.