Belief is priceless! The long-delayed ASUS ROG Claymore RGB mechanical keyboard is still worth buying

God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God said, "Let there be faith," and there was the Republic of Gamers. When it comes to ASUS ROG Claymore, this RGB mechanical keyboard was actually first released at Computex 2015, Taipei Computer Show. At that time, it attracted the attention of many gamers, who were eager to buy it. Although it was later shown at CES 2016 and Computex 2016, there has been no official news of mass production and sales. Now, after 15 months of delay, this long-awaited flagship keyboard has finally been officially mass-produced.

In fact, the reason why the ASUS ROG Claymore RGB mechanical keyboard was late to release is not only because ASUS has been constantly improving the ROG Claymore RGB mechanical keyboard, but also because it uses Cherry MX RGB switches, because Corsair, as Cherry's top partner, has signed a one-year exclusive RGB switch agreement.

ASUS has announced the details of the ROG Claymore RGB mechanical keyboard: it offers four different Cherry MX RGB mechanical axis options (red axis, brown axis, blue axis, black axis), as well as detachable numeric keys with macro functions, and uses RGB lighting, allowing users to customize the 16.7 million color backlight as they wish. The frame is made of aluminum alloy, adding Mayan style decorations. The keyboard can also be synchronized with the ROG motherboard, and with the hotkey function, it allows users to directly control fan speed, power on, CPU, memory overclocking, and BIOS access. Seeing this, it is estimated that many players can no longer hold back. Now let's take you to appreciate the flagship style of this high-priced and full-of-faith ROG Claymore RGB mechanical keyboard.  

In terms of packaging, this keyboard adopts the packaging style commonly used by ASUS peripheral products, which is also the traditional Taiwanese packaging style. In addition to the promotional effect picture of the keyboard, there are also introductions to the model name and some main selling points. The overall packaging is made of sufficient materials and is relatively thick. At the same time, there is a huge foam mold inside to provide excellent protection.

The overall design of the ASUS ROG Claymore mechanical keyboard is hard-core, with suspended key switches, irregular frames, and anodized aluminum alloy plates with the entire surface engraved with the Republic of Gamers' unique Mayan-shaped texture. The switches finally use the latest Cherry MXRGB switches, and the ROG faith light that players value is also very dazzling.

The biggest selling point of ROG Claymore RGB is the split numeric keypad design. The main purpose is to allow players to configure the position of the numeric keypad by themselves. The full-size keyboard is suitable for daily use, while the 80% size saves more space to better meet the requirements of game operations. This also solves the problem of many players hesitating between the 104 keyboard and the 87 keyboard.

In order to facilitate players to disassemble and assemble the small keypad, the interface of the numeric keypad adopts 6 metal contact connections, which improves convenience and reliability. At the same time, there is a rubber cover on both sides of the keyboard and the numeric keypad to protect the metal connection points of the keyboard.

Remove the keycaps and you can see the Cherry MX RGB blue switches exposed. The keyboard backlight uses SMD LED, so the LED is not visible on the switches. The keycaps are still the same ABS and laser engraved keycaps. The coating is thick and feels delicate, but the disadvantage of ABS keycaps is also obvious: "greasy, greasy, greasy". It is recommended that players replace them by themselves.

For the large keys, a balance bar design is adopted and blackened, which is worthy of praise. After all, although the satellite axis is easy to disassemble, it still feels too fleshy, especially the red axis.

In addition to the tough and righteous front, the bottom of the Claymore keyboard also has a domineering design that is not inferior to the front. The design of the back panel is very unique, with uneven edges and corners. Whether it is the central microUSB connection hole, wiring groove, anti-slip pad and height difference design, they can highlight the domineering nature of the keyboard; at the same time, the main keyboard and the numeric keypad are designed with separate support feet and anti-slip feet, whether the keyboard is used alone or in combination, the stability of the keyboard can be guaranteed.

The keyboard adopts a separate key-wire design for easy carrying, and there is a 3-way wire groove on the top of the back panel. Unlike the common 3-way wire grooves, the wire groove design of this keyboard is very unique and beautiful.

Let's take a look at this detachable numeric keypad, which uses a standard 17-key layout and has a built-in volume adjustment wheel on the top. It uses brushed metal material, with light damping and a weak sense of scale. We have seen keyboards with built-in volume wheels on Corsair K70 and ASUS's own Raptor series keyboards, but Claymore also hides a microswitch under the wheel, which can achieve the effect of muting the system after pressing the wheel, which is very convenient.

Since it is an RGB keyboard, players are concerned about the lighting, and it will not disappoint. Several backlight effects are preset in the keyboard driver, and the lighting effects can also be synchronized to Aura compatible keyboards and mice. In addition, in the custom backlight mode, the color of each key can be set individually. There is a color palette below, which can truly achieve 16 million colors per key. And it can also be set in different areas, so the playability is still quite high. The most important LOGO faith light can also adjust the color at will.      

As a flagship keyboard, the accessories are not very rich. In addition to two carrying bags, instruction manual and warranty card, there are also two metal LOGO stickers of the Eye of the Prodigal Son, one silver and one red. The workmanship is quite exquisite. It is suggested that accessories such as wire key pullers and replacement keycaps can be added in the future. The cost is not high, but it is enough to please players.

As for the price, which is what players are most concerned about, ROG Claymore (standard version with detachable numeric keypad) is 1799RMB, and ROG Claymore Core (87 keys) is 1399RMB. It seems that the nickname of "Eye of Prodigal Son" is well-deserved.

Finally, let’s talk about the origin of the name Claymore. From the apparent meaning of this English name alone, it has two meanings. One is the name of a classic Japanese comic work, and the other is the broadsword mine that often appears in FPS games. Compared to ASUS, the reason why this keyboard was named Claymore is that it is hoped that it will become a "killer weapon" in the player kingdom after it is launched on the market with its excellent performance configuration.

In general, this ASUS ROG Claymore RGB mechanical keyboard, which players have been looking forward to for a long time, is obviously competing with the K70 RGB from Pirate Ship and the Black Widow RGB from Light Factory. As the flagship model of the current Republic of Gamers series, the keyboard's shape, design, materials, lighting, axis, workmanship, etc. are all quite satisfactory. The price of 1799 is also reasonable. After all, faith is priceless.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.