 Keyboards are like cell phones. We change them every 2 or 3 years or sometimes longer. But unlike cell phones, they aren't as expensive and it is tempting to change them especially since some premium keyboards sell for around 4,000. When I was younger, I had an obsession with having just wireless keyboards in mice, but that all changed when the unthinkable happened. I have used a Razer Black Widow Chroma version 2 that uses green switches the past 2 years and recently upgraded to a K70 Mark II with blue switches just 4 months ago. If you haven't yet watched our review of the ASUS M3 gaming mouse and P3 mousepad, please check out the link below. Today, we are reviewing the ASUS TUF Gaming K3 Keyboard. We would like to thank ASUS for providing us a review unit, but would like to emphasize that this is not a sponsored video nor was ASUS given any say on the review process. They are watching it for the first time alongside you. We have heavily used the K3 for 2 weeks now and to save myself the trouble from fixing my cable management, I have had my Corsair K70 and the ASUS K3 plugged in at the same time during the review process to remind myself that the Corsair costs double that of the K3 at a little bit above 8,000. Now the ASUS K3 is around only 4,000. First let's talk about the design of the chosen metal finish and the overall look of the K3. The aluminum chassis is a glossy black finish which is very attractive. This is different from my K70 which has brushed aluminum. That is a fancy way of saying that you can see a paintbrush streak across the metal. While the K3 doesn't have a matte finish which I usually prefer, I can tell you right now that I am a convert to this kind of glossy look and even if you aren't into glossy you probably won't even notice it unless you have an overhead light. A slight shimmer under the light draws attention to the keyboard and it looks amazing on my desk. If only I could say the same for the heavy branding of the wrist support and the ASUS logo. I am a fan of a more minimalist desk setup and any branding especially very large ones is a major turnoff to myself. However the magnetized and low profile wrist rest is genius. It essentially connects itself without any effort whatsoever and has never moved during use. The wrist rest comes with six rubber pre-installed pads so that you don't need to worry about it scratching your desk. This is a really nice feature especially if you like taking the wrist rest off every now and then and so then you can admire more of just the keyboard. Coming from a Corsair K70 which costs double that of the K3, the wrist rest takes more effort to remove and it always gathers dust in between where it snaps in place. So I've just gotten used to leaving it on permanently. The worst part is that the Corsair wrist rest slightly covers the sleek RGB lighting at the bottom of the keys. This isn't true with respect to the ASUS K3 which makes it really nice to look at even when you are looking at your desk from afar. If you have clammy hands you may find that your hands sweat more while using the flat K3 wrist rest which doesn't offer much breathing space as opposed to the textured grip of the Corsair K70 which does. A perfect blend of both would have been my preferred choice but no such thing exists and I am against all wrist rest which use leatherette because they will pulverize in Philippine weather in a year or two. A USB 2.0 slot exists at the back of the K3 and while this is always good to have I dislike that manufacturers keep placing at the back where you need to lean forward to guess where it is. Corsair also shares this problem and it is frustrating why several generations down the line we haven't seen more manufacturers move it to the side. This is something that Razer keyboards correctly nailed several generations ago already. It makes plugging stuff in and out effortless. The lack of dedicated media keys is a bit of a downer. I have grown fond of my Corsair's volume scroll wheel and the mute button. Although you can change the volume by pressing Alt plus F10 or Alt plus F11 on every keyboard that involves more steps and while I have memorized most of the keys on a keyboard already I rarely use the F keys and so I need to look before I can execute. I'm sure I'm not the only person who hasn't memorized these. Having a volume rocker or a wheel makes a much more pleasant experience and I have found myself reaching towards my Corsair keyboard which is usually 12 inches away each time I've wanted to adjust the volume rather than go through the hassle of pressing two buttons I haven't memorized. The ASUS K3 uses Aura Sync which is controlled by two software ASUS Creator and Armory Create. ASUS Creator is optional and if you don't want to complicate your lives don't get it. Armory Create is in charge of detecting all Aura Sync compatible devices and then tells them what colors should appear and how the colors should react on each hardware. You cannot design lighting effects here. Design can be done through the ASUS Creator. After making the design you go back to Armory Create in order to implement it. Personally I don't like having to use more than one program for one job. We already have too much stuff on our computers and one more thing is just clutter. Corsair and Razer understand this thus they have one program designed to do everything. However if you are like me you'll get tired of changing your lighting effects after a couple of days and end up with just one or three favorites. Armory Create allows you to select basic effects which will appease most of your RGB fantasies. I am happy to say that it detected my K3 and M3 right away and syncing was immediate. In short if you are RGB crazed and are very particular about your lighting there is a learning curve and an extra step to the process due to having to use two programs instead of just one. Typing on the ASUS K3 is a pleasure. It comes with the options of red, brown and blue switches like this review unit. The keys are responsive and wonderfully clicky and best of all the blue switches are loud and satisfying. As a writer I spend many hours on the keyboard rewriting articles or short stories and the K3 has been a wonderful companion. Two weeks however is too soon to tell how well these keys will hold up. However it is good enough. I am no stranger to defective keyboards out of the box. When I first bought my Razer Black Widow Chroma version 2 keyboard two years ago I discovered that after three days of use the Z key was no longer working. I documented this in an article I sent to business world newspaper. While I eventually got a replacement even the replacement began to fail me only after two years of use. The M key wasn't registering thus I haven't trusted Razer ever since. Nevertheless I'm impressed with the crisp clang of the ASUS K3 and conclude that it almost feels like my Corsair K70. However at the end of the day because of the somewhat sweat proof wrist pad and the ever so slightly more satisfying click of the Corsair K70 I would prefer it over the K3. But to be honest they both feel and sound premium and the blue switches on both brands are practically the same and due to the major price difference between the two if you are looking for a good and satisfying keyboard and don't want to spend an additional 4,000 on the media keys then I highly recommend the ASUS K3. Thank you to our real sponsors you guys. 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