Join The Club
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.
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.
COMPUTEXのMSIブースでちょっと面白いゲーミングキーボードのデモ機が展開されていました。防滴仕様の「STRIKE ALLOY TMR & STRIKE NEXUS」の基板部分を半分水に沈め、動作に問題がないことを視覚的にアピール。防水になっている部分が本当に水に強いのかこう見るとわかりやすいですね。 pic.twitter.com/hcoTIwpAHOJune 5, 2026
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.
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.
1. Best overall:
Wooting 80HE
2. Best budget:
Gamakay x Naughshark NS68
3. Best 60%:
Wooting 60HE v2
4. Best 75%:
Keychron K2 HE
5. Best mechanical:
Asus ROG Strix Scope II 96 Wireless
6. Best silent:
Be Quiet! Light Mount
7. Best ergonomic:
Kinesis Freestyle Edge RGB
8. Best membrane:
Glorious GMBK 75%
