Touchscreen and Software
We mentioned the “V.E.N.O.M” panel earlier –
the keyboard’s brain, touchscreen and USB hub. Almost every piece of the
S.T.R.I.K.E.7 snakes its way to this touchable control center, making it an
essential piece of greater setup. The unit looks like a mid-90s sci-fi device,
with levers protruding outside the body and PC’s audio control buttons, switch
between programmable profiles and home screen. Twelve toggles dance around
V.E.N.O.M.’s small screen – two for additional volume and media control, 3
time-counting apps (a clock, a stopwatch and a page with three countdown
timers), a toggle to disable the keyboard’s Windows key, a backlight control
page, a journal, a TeamSpeak menu, an app launcher and a macro screen.
It quickly becomes apparent that only a
handful of these channels will get much use. Touchscreen lag, for instance,
makes believing in stopwatch and timer tools a tall order, and memo app only
saves user’s note locally to the device, offering no way to export data to the
PC if one want to save their mid-game musings. However, media and volume
controls on the screen fare better, allowing users to see and adjust levels for
microphones, web browsers and general volume options directly on the keyboard
itself.
The screen works well when properly calibrated,
but V.E.N.O.M. is still a resistive, single-touch experience and doesn’t
responsive as we expected. The hub also adds some stylish flair, allowing users
to customize the keyboard’s backlighting with 16 million colorful hues.
V.E.N.O.M.’s macro menu stands out with its best quality thanks to its emphasis
- like that of its host software - on customization. Combine with
S.T.R.I.K.E.7’s companion software, V.E.N.O.N..M.’s macro app offers 36
touchscreen toggles across three customizable profiles. Each macro can play
back delayed and timed key presses, limited mouse actions and can be
personalized with a custom icon. The utility is only limited by the time and effort
a user wants to put into it.
S.T.R.I.K.E.7’s
touchscreen
Unfortunately, compressing complex commands
into a one-touch macro is not easy. Mad Catz tries to mitigate effort with
standard profile editor, but the S.T.R.I.K.E.7’s myriad of sub-menus, icon
editor and programmable modes overwhelms the obsolete software. It’s a shame
when paired with Mad Catz’s Rat mousing peripherals, the profile shines.
Despite sharing similar design language, S.T.R.I.K.E.7’s editor only offers
more options than the program can handle, complicating what was once simple and
intuitive software.
However, worse, the program’s potential is
still unrealized. Profile editor can only reprogram macro keys that Mad Catz
added into standard keyboard layout - 36 touchscreen macros, 4 function bar
buttons and 5 toggles that surround the arrow keys.
It is good but all these arrow-adjacent
buttons tease at a possibility that is blocked by a lack of software support:
one-handed WASD gamepad. By increasing S.T.R.I.K.E.7’s detachable numbad with
the V.E.N.O.M., control unit, four-toggled function strip and active palm rest,
users can build a standalone left-hand control unit that could have acted as a
substitute for the standard WASD gaming setup - the only problem is that the
arrow keys cannot be reprogrammed to represent their alphabetic counterparts.
On the other hand, C1-C5 buttons
surrounding can easily be changed to represent WASD’s adjacent keys as well as
buttons on the slide par and the active palm rest. This software’s configuration
is so obvious that the absence of software support is also shocking. Tenacious
gamers could of course go through the trouble of manually reprogramming in-game
control to use the arrow keys, but the exclusion of a simple software solution
on Mad Catz’s part baffles us.
The competition
Gamers looking for a new keyboard won’t
find themselves wanting for options, but products boasting the S.T.R.I.K.E.7’s
unique feature set can be harder to come by. However, there’re still other options.
Razer’s DeathStalker keyboard at $250 is an attractive option for V.E.N.O.M.
control units, offering a gesture-friendly keyboard, strong interface and 10
macro buttons, each has its own LED screen. It also offers a more evolved
software solution, allowing gamers to reassign any key onboard to whatever
function they choose. On the other hand, players who are picky might be turned
off the DeathStalker’s chiclet keyboard.
DeathStalker’s
chiclet keyboard
Mad Catz also offers S.T.R.I.K.E. 5 at
$200, quite similar to S.T.I.K.E.7, except for lacking touchscreen. The “E.Y.E
command module” that replaces it offers a built-in timer, media buttons, 3 game
modes and 9 physical macro keys – and it could be just the right compromise for
gamers who don’t need touch support on every single device at home.
Conclusion
Hardcore gamers know the hard facts that:
picking out a premium piece of kit can cost a pretty penny, and S.T.R.I.K.E.7
is not an exception. If you are convinced by a strong metal frame and a unique
touchscreen, your wallet will be $300 lighter. It is quite expensive – even
with a senior gaming keyboard - and it’s hard to say whether it is worth or
not. It’s clearly that S.T.R.I.K.E.7 has excellent build quality, fancy modular
part-switching and membrane keys that are among the best non-mechanical
actuators we’ve touched, but the touch screen hub the unit positions as its
selling point isn’t worth $100 premium it commands. Despite a small handful of
apps, a program launcher, and configurable macro settings, we found V.E..N.O.M.’s
touch-based experience was just a little inconvenient, and slow in our gaming
routine. Unless you have a particular infatuation with those touchscreen macro
toggles, try S.T.R.I.K.E.5 – it has all best features of 7 and costs a third
less.
Info
·
Price: $300
Pros
·
Excellent build quality
·
Module designed, components are swappable
·
Touch capability is good with a membrane
keyboard
Cons
·
Bad accompanying software
·
Unimpressive touchscreen
·
Restrictions of reprogramming hinder the
potential.
Touch
capability is good with a membrane keyboard
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Mad Catz
S.T.R.I.K.E.7 technical specs
·
Size: 9.33x7.52x15.08 inches
·
Weight: 7.28 lbs
·
Compatibility: Windows XP/Vista/7/8
·
Ports: 2x USB 2.0 ports
·
Main keyboard module
·
Control Module TFT-LCD with 2 High-Speed USB
ports
·
Macro key (function strip) module
·
Number pad module
·
3 Palm/Wrist rests
·
Additional key caps with removal tool
·
Adjustment Tool
·
3 Keyboard link cables
·
AC adapter
·
6 connector screws
·
Internet connection required for driver
download
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