ASUS ROG STRIX SCOPE RX Gaming Keyboard Review

TweakTown’s Ranking: 96%

The Backside Line

Whereas the ASUS ROG Strix Scope RX may need been designed for people who dabble in FPS gaming at the start, ASUS’s wonderful linear switches impress for almost any activity. Fashionable and nice worth for cash.

Professionals

• + ASUS’ ROG RX RED Optical Mechanical Switches are quick and responsive
• + 100-million-keystroke lifespan, water and dirt resistant
• + Nice construct high quality and weighty really feel
• + Armoury Crate integration and ease of customization
• + Macros made simple

Cons

• – Chunky USB cable
• – USB 2.0 pass-through is unneeded
• – No wrist relaxation or replaceable keycaps
• – The linear change model is likely to be a bit stiff for some

Must you purchase it?

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Introduction & Specification Particulars and Shut-up

The rise of the mechanical keyboard over the previous decade owes so much to the one style within the PC gaming house that kicked off the twin mouse and keyboard setup – the first-person shooter. A style that got here to prominence within the Nineteen Nineties with the likes of Doom and Quake, when all keyboards had been that bizarre beige shade and created utilizing the comparatively mass-market and low-cost membrane model of change.

Smash minimize to 2022, and in the event you’re getting a good keyboard to your gaming wants, odds are it should be mechanical and have a set of customization choices alongside a dose of RGB lighting. ASUS’s new ROG Strix Scope RX ticks all these containers as the newest mechanical gaming keyboard from the {hardware} maker, however it’s additionally one which has been created particularly for followers of the first-person shooter.

A design choice that informs the model of mechanical change deployed, the general feel and look of the Republic of Avid gamers aesthetic, and even the scale of the left-side Management key. Which is bigger than regular right here on the account of it being a useful key for FPS titles – so why not make it greater? The ROG RX Crimson Optical Mechanical Switches, created by ASUS, sit on the linear, quick, and responsive facet and are spectacular in each accuracy and tactile really feel.

Talking of really feel, there’s additionally the sturdy alloy prime and IP56 water and dirt resistance keys rounding out the construct, which leads to a clean keyboard expertise that is nice for on a regular basis productiveness.

Specs & Shut Up

• Product Sort: Mechanical Gaming Keyboard
• Measurement (Full/TKL): Full
• Interface: Wired/USB 2.0
• Swap: ROG RX RED Optical Mechanical Swap
• Lighting: Per-Key RGB LEDs
• Poling Charge: (USB Report fee) 1000 Hz
• Options: 100% Anti-Ghosting, All Keys Programmable, On-the-Fly Recording Assist, and USB Cross-By
• Dimensions: 440x137x39 mm
• Weight: 1.07kg

Kosta’s Take a look at System Specs

• Motherboard: MSI MEG X570 UNIFY
• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3800X
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Founders Version
• Cooler: Cooler Grasp MasterLiquid ML240R RGB AIO CPU Cooler
• RAM: 32GB (4x8GB) HyperX FURY DDR4 3200MHz
• SSD: Seagate FireCuda 520 SSD 2TB
• Energy Provide: Cooler Grasp V 850W Gold SFX Energy Provide
• Case: MPG SEKIRA 500P
• OS: Microsoft Home windows 10 Professional 64-bit

ASUS ROG STRIX SCOPE RX Gaming Keyboard (Crimson Optical)

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Design & Software program

Design

There was a time when mechanical keyboards featured switches from one or two totally different suppliers, and that was it. The colour and ‘clicky’-ness decided what kind of efficiency you bought from every keystroke, regardless that the choice finally actually got here down as to whether you needed a ‘clicky’ sound or not.

ASUS, like many different peripheral makers, has determined to put money into creating its personal line of switches, with the ROG RX RED Optical Mechanical Switches discovered within the ASUS ROG Strix Scope RX sporting the same design method to different silent Linear switches on the market. It is all about that lightning-quick response and preserving a low and quick actuation level, interesting to those who press lots of keys over a short while. Avid gamers.

Right here you have acquired 4mm of journey, with a 1.5mm actuation level requiring 40g of power. ASUS notes that 55g of power is required for good suggestions, so they don’t seem to be essentially the most delicate switches we have seen – however that is one other design function you may chalk as much as the FPS method, the place unintentional keystrokes ought to be prevented the place potential.

The ROG RX Optical Mechanical Switches sit on the coronary heart of the ASUS ROG Strix Scope RX keyboard, and with their 1ms response occasions and 100-million-keystroke lifespan, they’re definitely spectacular. This paints the same image for the remainder of the design, which incorporates sturdy ROG keycaps which have an incredible really feel and classy translucent ROG look to match the tactile nature of the switches. The minimal floating key look is strong due to the sturdy alloy prime, water, and dirt resistance, and the good and hefty 1.07kg weight.

There is a sure ASUS ROG-ness to the look, too, with the font used on the keycaps being ROG – to not point out the standard of the per-key Aura lighting being among the finest obtainable. Weirdly although, the USB cable is one thing of an outlier, in that it is thick and stiff, and never removable.

Because the ASUS ROG Strix Scope RX helps USB-passthrough it requires two USB ports on the PC facet for that, so the result’s a chunky cable on the keyboard facet. We’re speaking about USB 2.0, too, so we might have most well-liked a single port versatile cable that tucked away neatly – versus the desk anaconda you have acquired right here.

Software program

In our latest evaluation of the ASUS ROG Delta S Wi-fi Gaming Headset, there was some shade thrown within the course of the native ASUS Home windows 10/11 app Armoury Crate. The software program suite used to customise, configure, and handle all of the ASUS-related bits of plastic and silicon discovered inside and outdoors of your rig. Lengthy story brief, it may be temperamental.

Within the case of the ASUS ROG Strix Scope RX keyboard although, the outcomes had been, nicely, totally different. The expertise was largely secure and issue-free, however that goodwill prolonged to the keyboard’s customization options that are exceptionally well-realized and laid out.

The flexibility to report Macros on-the-fly after which edit every of the keystrokes and timings shouldn’t be solely intuitive however inviting. This facet of keyboard customization is usually put aside by most players, so in the event you’re of the type that performs a handful of particular video games or makes use of a particular set of productiveness apps, then Armoury Crates’ Macros software is fantastic. This ease of use carries over to the per-key customization, the place you may regulate performance and create onboard profiles. Lighting changes are additionally intuitive, and because of ASUS’s Aura tech, there’s so much to select from.

Gaming Efficiency and Productiveness

Gaming Efficiency

As a keyboard designed for first-person shooters, it is solely pure to fireside up a bunch of them to see the way it performs. For that, we selected DOOM Everlasting, Apex Legends, DEATHLOOP, and even a little bit of Quake II RTX. Regardless that the ROG RX RED Optical Mechanical Switches require a bit extra power than some Linear switches, they really feel nice in motion.

From slaying demons in DOOM via to the extra tactical stealth-based motion of DEATHLOOP, it was there the place the subtlety of getting a bigger Management key made sense. Keystrokes had been all triggered and not using a hitch, with circle strafing and firing off rockets in DOOM feeling seamless. Then there’s the additional advantage of gaming mode options that disable Alt-TAB and different doubtlessly spherical or stage-destroying performance to maintain you within the sport.

As one thing designed for FPS titles, it is protected to say that ASUS has executed an incredible job when it comes to efficiency and really feel with the ASUS ROG Strix Scope RX. The model and tuning of the switches are nice – with the actuation and power necessities hitting a candy spot for the titles we performed. For the extra aggressive players on the market, the Linear model right here could possibly be just a little stiff, however that may come down to non-public choice.

Though it is easy sufficient to cut and alter between profiles, Armoury Crate allows you to arrange profiles on a per-game foundation which could be very cool. Although honest warning, in the event you let it add a whole bunch of Steam video games, the software program does not deal with it very nicely, so it is best to maintain it to video games the place you desire a particular structure and lighting setup. Having lighting, shortcuts, and profiles change relying on the sport being loaded is a superb function.

Productiveness

In the event you spend as a lot time doing work stuff or just chatting on Discord as you do taking part in video games, then the ASUS ROG Strix Scope RX nonetheless impresses and has an incredible really feel. The ROG RX RED switches are a bit stiffer than different equally quick Linear switches, however the end result is an efficient match for typing.

It is also right here the place we see some cool onboard options like rapidly switching between the F5-F12 keys doing their common F-style features versus changing into devoted media controls. There’s additionally a ‘Stealth’ key that minimizes all apps and mutes all sound, which is type of like a ‘fast the boss is coming’ key, and it really works. The benefit of setup and talent to report Macros additionally add to the productiveness chops.

Keyboard Click on Sound Stage

To check the general sound degree of a keyboard, we use the Ozito Digital Sound Stage Meter capturing the sentence “the fast brown fox jumps over the lazy canine” a number of occasions and recording the utmost dB degree. That is to offer a sign of how “loud” the switches used are for on a regular basis utilization.

The next chart showcases the place the ASUS ROG Strix Scope RX sits.

Closing Ideas

The ASUS ROG Strix Scope RX delivers, and ASUS’s personal ROG RX Optical Mechanical Switches are quick, responsive, and correct. As a gaming keyboard designed particularly for FPS gamers, the ROG feel and look definitely has that gamer model that’s synonymous with the ROG model. The construct high quality is nice, not solely when it comes to the elements used however little fashionable touches like seeing the switches do their factor and the glossy rounded angular edges on the alloy top-plate.

Finally, private choice comes into play if you’re speaking a couple of model of the mechanical change and issues like actuation factors and so forth. That mentioned, ASUS ROG Strix Scope RX is difficult to fault. The one actual downsides include the general bodily design, a chunky USB cable that is not removable, two USB ports on the PC facet for pass-through, and the dearth of any bonus niceties like replaceable keycaps or perhaps a wrist relaxation.

The excellent news is that the ASUS ROG Strix Scope RX is not strictly an FPS keyboard, and by particularly tuning the actuation and power to ship a extra tactile really feel in comparison with some super-fast Linear keyboards, ASUS has delivered an incredible all-rounder.

The customization choices and controls on board and inside ASUS’s Armoury Crate software program are as nice for productiveness and non-game-related apps as they’re to be used in-game. And because of ASUS Aura, it has among the finest lighting within the sport.