MSI's new Strike Alloy has almost every gaming keyboard buzzword thrown at it, with TMR, 8k, and rapid trigger, and you can even use it underwater
Overview & Key Takeaways
H2Oh, that's kinda neat.
The MSI STRIKE Alloy TMR Can Actually Be Used Underwater! #Computex2026 - YouTube
As gaming keyboards get more advanced, we have to learn new words just to understand them. We've had to learn what polling rates really mean and how much is too much for the average gamer (8k, btw), what the advantage of rapid trigger is, and why someone would want TMR. And not only has MSI thrown every single gaming keyboard buzzword at its new keyboard, but it dunked the keyboard underwater at this year's Computex to prove it will still work.
That's as shown off by We Do Tech, who saw MSI plunge the keyboard. Reportedly, the wired keyboard still works even when submerged (though the water resistance may cut down your reaction time).
That's a fun bit of marketing and a way of showing off how durable the keyboard is, though you are very unlikely to actually want to use the keyboard underwater. Still, at least I know if I spill water on it, it should be fine.
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The keyboard itself is pretty impressive, too. It has TMR switches, which offer super-low latency gameplay and very precise controls. Think Hall effect, but better. TMR (tunnelling magnetoresistance) also happens to be more power efficient, but that efficiency is lost on a wired keyboard.
You get 8,000 Hz polling here, too, which means it is sending data to your rig every 0.125 milliseconds. For context, 1,000 Hz polling is once every millisecond. Generally speaking, this is far too much for anyone but the highest-level gamer, but it's still a nice feature to have.
It has rapid trigger too, which means it will stop registering a key press the moment you let go, rather than after hitting an arbitrary threshold. This means you can stop moving or button-bash quicker, if that's your sort of thing.
Impressively, its switch beds are also hot-swappable between TMR and mechanical switches, which is a neat level of flexibility reminiscent of the Logitech G512 X. This is all topped off with a magnesium-aluminium alloy and a five-layer gasket mount for sound dampening.
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All of this is mighty impressive, but the most important question goes unanswered. We don't yet have a price point on this dunkable beast. We are also missing any sort of release date. Still, the likelihood is that if I'm going for any MSI gaming keyboard right now, it's the Frieren collab Forge TKL. That thing sure is purty.
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