MAdcatz Strike 7 windows 8.1 support?

[g1abhi]

I want to buy a rgb back lighting keyboard and want to know if the madcatz STrike 7 support windows 8.1 especially their engine for macros and lighting ?
Any idea about windows 10 compatibility will be a bonus.

 

[Emanuel Elmo]

I want to buy a rgb back lighting keyboard and want to know if the madcatz STrike 7 support windows 8.1 especially their engine for macros and lighting ?
Any idea about windows 10 compatibility will be a bonus.

I can personally say that Madcatz Strike 7 has support for windows 8.1 and I am pretty sure it will work for windows 10.

Also the keyboard is more hype than anything else. Get a proper mechanical keyboard. I can tell you that it is not great for gaming. There is a very noticeable lag between keystroke and the time you see the actin happen on screen. This is because the software is processing what is going on before sending the information. You can not do anything with the keyboard without the software.

If you get one without the updated firmware.. good luck trying to get it to work as per the instruction that come with the keyboard. I am pretty computer savy and it still took me about 30-35 minutes to find the right combination of things to do to get the keyboard upgraded before I can use it. Yes, you can not use the keyboard or the software unless the firmware is upgraded first.

I can tell you many more pit falls for this keyboard. Not worth the money. Looks great, feels ok but it just doesn't cut if. After having the keyboard for about one year, I am looking to replace it with something much better.

Oh and one more thing. Power is delivered to the keyboard via the screen. Without the screen working, you get no functionality from the keyboard. Not even typing.

Cheers!!!!!

 

[g1abhi]

I want to buy a rgb back lighting keyboard and want to know if the madcatz STrike 7 support windows 8.1 especially their engine for macros and lighting ?
Any idea about windows 10 compatibility will be a bonus.

I can personally say that Madcatz Strike 7 has support for windows 8.1 and I am pretty sure it will work for windows 10.

Also the keyboard is more hype than anything else. Get a proper mechanical keyboard. I can tell you that it is not great for gaming. There is a very noticeable lag between keystroke and the time you see the actin happen on screen. This is because the software is processing what is going on before sending the information. You can not do anything with the keyboard without the software.

If you get one without the updated firmware.. good luck trying to get it to work as per the instruction that come with the keyboard. I am pretty computer savy and it still took me about 30-35 minutes to find the right combination of things to do to get the keyboard upgraded before I can use it. Yes, you can not use the keyboard or the software unless the firmware is upgraded first.

I can tell you many more pit falls for this keyboard. Not worth the money. Looks great, feels ok but it just doesn't cut if. After having the keyboard for about one year, I am looking to replace it with something much better.

Oh and one more thing. Power is delivered to the keyboard via the screen. Without the screen working, you get no functionality from the keyboard. Not even typing.

Cheers!!!!!

I am getting it for 150$ in Canada , so was pretty excited about it since no keyboard till now matches its looks. But read about some issues of compatibility and too much software dependency. Thanks for confirming . Wish there was a keyboard possessing even 60% of its looks and design. I am so confused what to buy now. I don't trust razer build quality , and i don't trust corsair software quality. The only feasible option seems the g910 Logitech but its back-lighting seems dim. Can you suggest a good mechanical with backlighting below 150$ . Longevity is an essential factor.

 

[Emanuel Elmo]

I want to buy a rgb back lighting keyboard and want to know if the madcatz STrike 7 support windows 8.1 especially their engine for macros and lighting ?
Any idea about windows 10 compatibility will be a bonus.

I can personally say that Madcatz Strike 7 has support for windows 8.1 and I am pretty sure it will work for windows 10.

Also the keyboard is more hype than anything else. Get a proper mechanical keyboard. I can tell you that it is not great for gaming. There is a very noticeable lag between keystroke and the time you see the actin happen on screen. This is because the software is processing what is going on before sending the information. You can not do anything with the keyboard without the software.

If you get one without the updated firmware.. good luck trying to get it to work as per the instruction that come with the keyboard. I am pretty computer savy and it still took me about 30-35 minutes to find the right combination of things to do to get the keyboard upgraded before I can use it. Yes, you can not use the keyboard or the software unless the firmware is upgraded first.

I can tell you many more pit falls for this keyboard. Not worth the money. Looks great, feels ok but it just doesn't cut if. After having the keyboard for about one year, I am looking to replace it with something much better.

Oh and one more thing. Power is delivered to the keyboard via the screen. Without the screen working, you get no functionality from the keyboard. Not even typing.

Cheers!!!!!

I am getting it for 150$ in Canada , so was pretty excited about it since no keyboard till now matches its looks. But read about some issues of compatibility and too much software dependency. Thanks for confirming . Wish there was a keyboard possessing even 60% of its looks and design. I am so confused what to buy now. I don't trust razer build quality , and i don't trust corsair software quality. The only feasible option seems the g910 Logitech but its back-lighting seems dim. Can you suggest a good mechanical with backlighting below 150$ . Longevity is an essential factor.

I myself am having a bit of trouble finding a good mechanical keyboard. I am very torn but am really leading towards Logitech g710+. As as awesome as the g910 is, I am not crazy about the design.

But here are two articles from Toms that may help you.
http://www.tomsguide.com/us/best-gaming-keyboards,review-2009.html (this is recent)
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/mechanical-keyboard-razer-logitech-gigabyte,3505.html (two years old)

I would also suggest that before pulling the trigger on a mechanical keyboard, if you have a store that has it on display, go and try it out and see if you like the way it feels.

Cheers and good luck

 

[Rapier_RO]

I want to buy a rgb back lighting keyboard and want to know if the madcatz STrike 7 support windows 8.1 especially their engine for macros and lighting ?
Any idea about windows 10 compatibility will be a bonus.

Sorry to say that but I will never ever buy a MadCatz product. I was also excited about the looks but in the end it was just the looks. I bought a STRIKE 7 and a MMO mouse, both having HUGE hardware issues. Mouse had 3 buttons broken in the first three months (the small plastic ones from the left side thumb) and after six months it started to double click instead of a single click on the left mouse button. And I can tell you IT IS frustrating to select 10 files in windows explorer to add them to a zip (for ex) and when selecting the last one have all OPENED cause the mouse made a double click instead...or trying to drag a window by it's bar and have it maximized.

Now to the STRIKE 7 Keyboard...as I said I was excited...for the first three months or so...until the left plastic pin under the space bar got broken. I'm in no way striking the keyboard or let it felt down or things like that. I was every day cleaning it from dust, touch it as any normal person will do with a keyboard. I'm not a heavy gamer, don't play CS or shooters, I bought the keyboard more for it looks than for functionality. And that plastic pin under space bar broke...you know which one, the one that holds in place the metal frame that makes you able to press the space bar anywhere not only on it's center. If one of those plastic pins are broken, pressing the space bar on the other side will make it bend but not actuating the center switch. So you won't type any space while writing. It became very frustrating for me especially cause I use my right hand often to insert a space and I usually press on it's right side. When I looked to see why it was broken I saw it...it is a design flaw. It is something that nobody at that MadCatz company didn't think. The status bar has inside something like a plastic edge that when space bar is depressed, falls exactly on top of those 2 plastic pins. Of course that after some time one will broke. How hard would've be to THINK and have that edge not sitting on those pins? You can check this, it's in all STRIKE keyboards, 5 and 7 the same. I am a computer professional, I worked with hundreds of keyboards before, NONE of them had that pin broken. Of course, service center said it is not covered by warranty and it's "improper usage". Hard to argue with that, I'm in fact a masochist that likes to buy a 300 EURO keyboard just to hit it with a hammer or my fists. Anyway, the solution was to put there a plastic pin that I've actually inserted IN THE plastic white base. I thought even to make a how-to for this as it might help other users as me. For now I got the space bar working and for sure I did a better job then the design department of MadCatz cause it's still holding after 1 year.

Six months passed then some keys start to get washed. The black coating was starting to go away while the transparent plastic underneath showed more and more. Of course that meant I had the light of the keys going through also. The service replaced the keys. Then the thing repeated after other 4 months. That's even more unusual as some of those keys are not even some that are frequently used. I got wiped the A (ok that's an used one for gaming in the WASD cluster) but W, S and D are perfect, like new. I got also I, SHIFT, M, N, O and C...now someone couldn't tell me that I use the O or M keys more than W, S and D. If anyone would like a picture of how it looks like...you'd better not, you'll never buy it.

So guys, forgive me about this long post but someone has to say it. Dunno if you had the same or similar, but at leas for some regions the manufacturing quality is FAR from what you'd expect from a GAMING keyboard, especially one so expensive. I am extremely disappointed about these products and I'll never ever recommend MadCatz to anyone. I just bought a Razer Ouroboros mice to replace that MMO and I'll buy a Razer keyboard most probably. That's what happens when you like more the design and choose based on the looks instead of previous experience (I had Razer before and never let me down, should've been buying one instead). Don't get me wrong, I don't advertise Razer or anything else, just DON'T BUY MadCatz unless they change radically their design and quality. This does not worth the money

Related to compatibility with Windows 10...at least for me it was a pain...it works (sort of), like the macros and on screen commands are recognized, but I don't have the custom icons shown on the Venom Panel and also the install was a total mess. Installation cannot finish, it halts forever at the step where you are asked to insert the keyboard in the USB port...no matter what it won't recognize it. I had to manually unpack and install the drivers via inf files, mess with rights and compatibility modes to make it work. Don't know how it does in Windows 8/8.1, it was working perfect in Windows 7 then I went straight to Windows 10

 

[g1abhi]

I want to buy a rgb back lighting keyboard and want to know if the madcatz STrike 7 support windows 8.1 especially their engine for macros and lighting ?
Any idea about windows 10 compatibility will be a bonus.

Sorry to say that but I will never ever buy a MadCatz product. I was also excited about the looks but in the end it was just the looks. I bought a STRIKE 7 and a MMO mouse, both having HUGE hardware issues. Mouse had 3 buttons broken in the first three months (the small plastic ones from the left side thumb) and after six months it started to double click instead of a single click on the left mouse button. And I can tell you IT IS frustrating to select 10 files in windows explorer to add them to a zip (for ex) and when selecting the last one have all OPENED cause the mouse made a double click instead...or trying to drag a window by it's bar and have it maximized.

Now to the STRIKE 7 Keyboard...as I said I was excited...for the first three months or so...until the left plastic pin under the space bar got broken. I'm in no way striking the keyboard or let it felt down or things like that. I was every day cleaning it from dust, touch it as any normal person will do with a keyboard. I'm not a heavy gamer, don't play CS or shooters, I bought the keyboard more for it looks than for functionality. And that plastic pin under space bar broke...you know which one, the one that holds in place the metal frame that makes you able to press the space bar anywhere not only on it's center. If one of those plastic pins are broken, pressing the space bar on the other side will make it bend but not actuating the center switch. So you won't type any space while writing. It became very frustrating for me especially cause I use my right hand often to insert a space and I usually press on it's right side. When I looked to see why it was broken I saw it...it is a design flaw. It is something that nobody at that MadCatz company didn't think. The status bar has inside something like a plastic edge that when space bar is depressed, falls exactly on top of those 2 plastic pins. Of course that after some time one will broke. How hard would've be to THINK and have that edge not sitting on those pins? You can check this, it's in all STRIKE keyboards, 5 and 7 the same. I am a computer professional, I worked with hundreds of keyboards before, NONE of them had that pin broken. Of course, service center said it is not covered by warranty and it's "improper usage". Hard to argue with that, I'm in fact a masochist that likes to buy a 300 EURO keyboard just to hit it with a hammer or my fists. Anyway, the solution was to put there a plastic pin that I've actually inserted IN THE plastic white base. I thought even to make a how-to for this as it might help other users as me. For now I got the space bar working and for sure I did a better job then the design department of MadCatz cause it's still holding after 1 year.

Six months passed then some keys start to get washed. The black coating was starting to go away while the transparent plastic underneath showed more and more. Of course that meant I had the light of the keys going through also. The service replaced the keys. Then the thing repeated after other 4 months. That's even more unusual as some of those keys are not even some that are frequently used. I got wiped the A (ok that's an used one for gaming in the WASD cluster) but W, S and D are perfect, like new. I got also I, SHIFT, M, N, O and C...now someone couldn't tell me that I use the O or M keys more than W, S and D. If anyone would like a picture of how it looks like...you'd better not, you'll never buy it.

So guys, forgive me about this long post but someone has to say it. Dunno if you had the same or similar, but at leas for some regions the manufacturing quality is FAR from what you'd expect from a GAMING keyboard, especially one so expensive. I am extremely disappointed about these products and I'll never ever recommend MadCatz to anyone. I just bought a Razer Ouroboros mice to replace that MMO and I'll buy a Razer keyboard most probably. That's what happens when you like more the design and choose based on the looks instead of previous experience (I had Razer before and never let me down, should've been buying one instead). Don't get me wrong, I don't advertise Razer or anything else, just DON'T BUY MadCatz unless they change radically their design and quality. This does not worth the money

Related to compatibility with Windows 10...at least for me it was a pain...it works (sort of), like the macros and on screen commands are recognized, but I don't have the custom icons shown on the Venom Panel and also the install was a total mess. Installation cannot finish, it halts forever at the step where you are asked to insert the keyboard in the USB port...no matter what it won't recognize it. I had to manually unpack and install the drivers via inf files, mess with rights and compatibility modes to make it work. Don't know how it does in Windows 8/8.1, it was working perfect in Windows 7 then I went straight to Windows 10

thanks for the info , i read it all . I went for the steelseries apex now.