In The Lab: Mad Catz S.T.R.I.K.E. 7 Keyboard - It's Not a Cyborg

Tharic-Nar · 09-17-2012, 04:00 PM

You may have seen this keyboard popping up over various sites a couple months ago, and it's truly an eye-catcher. Following on from the R.A.T. range, Mad Catz has released the S.T.R.I.K.E. 7 keyboard, and we were fortunate enough to get a sample in to review. To give you some idea as to what kind of keyboard this is, you need to read an assembly guide to put it together.

You can read the rest of our post and discuss here.

Optix · 09-17-2012, 04:11 PM

Which button launches the tactical nuclear warheads?

Tharic-Nar · 09-17-2012, 05:00 PM

That's programmable, so technically, any key. Now if only I could find the any key...

Optix · 09-17-2012, 05:55 PM

I see catarl, and pig up, but I don't see the any key.

Tharic-Nar · 09-17-2012, 06:24 PM

It's a German keyboard, so we are looking for the 'einige' key. Maybe it's a modifier combo with Strg or Fn.

I have found the 'Druck' key, think I'll be using that a lot. It's like a drunk guy couldn't type...

jparnell8839 · 02-10-2013, 12:35 AM

sorry for a little bit of forum necromancy...

I know this is kinda old, but can this be used on a Linux pc? Configured on windows, used on Linux perhaps? If not, I may go to the STRIKE 5, seems like the LCD screen is the only real debilitating factor...

Tharic-Nar · 02-10-2013, 05:02 AM

The application launcher and Macros will not work on a different system. While the program launchers are saved in hardware, they use absolute paths, which means they will have no effect on a system with a dissimilar setup. Macros are 100% dependant on software and are not saved to the keyboard at all, in fact, they won't even load by default on a configured system. So with no software drivers, there will be extremely limited functionality. None of the extra keys will do anything without being programmed first.

What should work though is the standard media keys for volume, pause/play, the stopwatch, lighting, notes and timer. These are either integrated into the KB hardware, or use standard media control signals.

I'll try it out with a Linux live distro later to confirm, but the majority of the KB is software bound.

09-17-2012, 04:00 PM	#1
Tharic-Nar Techgage Staff Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: UK Posts: 1,152	In The Lab: Mad Catz S.T.R.I.K.E. 7 Keyboard - It's Not a Cyborg You may have seen this keyboard popping up over various sites a couple months ago, and it's truly an eye-catcher. Following on from the R.A.T. range, Mad Catz has released the S.T.R.I.K.E. 7 keyboard, and we were fortunate enough to get a sample in to review. To give you some idea as to what kind of keyboard this is, you need to read an assembly guide to put it together. You can read the rest of our post and discuss here. __________________ PSU: Corsair 1000HX - Case: Thermaltake Xaser VI Full Tower - CPU: Intel Core i7 2600 @3.8GHz - Cooler: Thermaltake FRIO - Motherboard: ASUS P67 Sabertooth - Memory: 16GB Corsair Vengeance LP Arctic 1600 - GPU: 2x AMD Radeon HD 5870 - HDD: WD Caviar Black 1TB 6Gb/s - Audio: ASUS Xonar DX + Corsair HS1 USB Headset K/B: Corsair K90 - Mouse: Corsair M60 - Monitor: DELL U2410 - Speakers: Corsair SP2500 - Headset: Corsair HS1A - Mic: Blue Yeti USB Microphone - I need Fiber to fix my Irregular Bandwidth Syndrome -

09-17-2012, 04:11 PM	#2
Optix Basket Chassis Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: New Brunswick, Canada Posts: 1,653	Which button launches the tactical nuclear warheads? __________________ Intel i5 3570K, MSI Z77Z-GD55, 4x2GB Kingston Genesis 2133mhz, 120GB Mushkin Chronos SSD, 1TB Western Digital Caviar Blue, Intel 210 cache drive, MSI 7850 Power Edition OC, Corsair H100, Silverstone Strider 750w Gold, Killer2100 NIC, Corsair 600T SE White, LG W2242, ROCCAT Kone+, Isku & Kave, 200GB Western Digital Scorpio Black external drive

09-17-2012, 05:00 PM	#3
Tharic-Nar Techgage Staff Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: UK Posts: 1,152	That's programmable, so technically, any key. Now if only I could find the any key... __________________ PSU: Corsair 1000HX - Case: Thermaltake Xaser VI Full Tower - CPU: Intel Core i7 2600 @3.8GHz - Cooler: Thermaltake FRIO - Motherboard: ASUS P67 Sabertooth - Memory: 16GB Corsair Vengeance LP Arctic 1600 - GPU: 2x AMD Radeon HD 5870 - HDD: WD Caviar Black 1TB 6Gb/s - Audio: ASUS Xonar DX + Corsair HS1 USB Headset K/B: Corsair K90 - Mouse: Corsair M60 - Monitor: DELL U2410 - Speakers: Corsair SP2500 - Headset: Corsair HS1A - Mic: Blue Yeti USB Microphone - I need Fiber to fix my Irregular Bandwidth Syndrome -

09-17-2012, 05:55 PM	#4
Optix Basket Chassis Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: New Brunswick, Canada Posts: 1,653	I see catarl, and pig up, but I don't see the any key. __________________ Intel i5 3570K, MSI Z77Z-GD55, 4x2GB Kingston Genesis 2133mhz, 120GB Mushkin Chronos SSD, 1TB Western Digital Caviar Blue, Intel 210 cache drive, MSI 7850 Power Edition OC, Corsair H100, Silverstone Strider 750w Gold, Killer2100 NIC, Corsair 600T SE White, LG W2242, ROCCAT Kone+, Isku & Kave, 200GB Western Digital Scorpio Black external drive

09-17-2012, 06:24 PM	#5
Tharic-Nar Techgage Staff Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: UK Posts: 1,152	It's a German keyboard, so we are looking for the 'einige' key. Maybe it's a modifier combo with Strg or Fn. I have found the 'Druck' key, think I'll be using that a lot. It's like a drunk guy couldn't type... __________________ PSU: Corsair 1000HX - Case: Thermaltake Xaser VI Full Tower - CPU: Intel Core i7 2600 @3.8GHz - Cooler: Thermaltake FRIO - Motherboard: ASUS P67 Sabertooth - Memory: 16GB Corsair Vengeance LP Arctic 1600 - GPU: 2x AMD Radeon HD 5870 - HDD: WD Caviar Black 1TB 6Gb/s - Audio: ASUS Xonar DX + Corsair HS1 USB Headset K/B: Corsair K90 - Mouse: Corsair M60 - Monitor: DELL U2410 - Speakers: Corsair SP2500 - Headset: Corsair HS1A - Mic: Blue Yeti USB Microphone - I need Fiber to fix my Irregular Bandwidth Syndrome -

02-10-2013, 12:35 AM	#6
jparnell8839 Obliviot Join Date: Feb 2013 Posts: 1	sorry for a little bit of forum necromancy... I know this is kinda old, but can this be used on a Linux pc? Configured on windows, used on Linux perhaps? If not, I may go to the STRIKE 5, seems like the LCD screen is the only real debilitating factor...

02-10-2013, 05:02 AM	#7
Tharic-Nar Techgage Staff Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: UK Posts: 1,152	The application launcher and Macros will not work on a different system. While the program launchers are saved in hardware, they use absolute paths, which means they will have no effect on a system with a dissimilar setup. Macros are 100% dependant on software and are not saved to the keyboard at all, in fact, they won't even load by default on a configured system. So with no software drivers, there will be extremely limited functionality. None of the extra keys will do anything without being programmed first. What should work though is the standard media keys for volume, pause/play, the stopwatch, lighting, notes and timer. These are either integrated into the KB hardware, or use standard media control signals. I'll try it out with a Linux live distro later to confirm, but the majority of the KB is software bound. __________________ PSU: Corsair 1000HX - Case: Thermaltake Xaser VI Full Tower - CPU: Intel Core i7 2600 @3.8GHz - Cooler: Thermaltake FRIO - Motherboard: ASUS P67 Sabertooth - Memory: 16GB Corsair Vengeance LP Arctic 1600 - GPU: 2x AMD Radeon HD 5870 - HDD: WD Caviar Black 1TB 6Gb/s - Audio: ASUS Xonar DX + Corsair HS1 USB Headset K/B: Corsair K90 - Mouse: Corsair M60 - Monitor: DELL U2410 - Speakers: Corsair SP2500 - Headset: Corsair HS1A - Mic: Blue Yeti USB Microphone - I need Fiber to fix my Irregular Bandwidth Syndrome -