ROCCAT Vulcan TKL Compact Mechanical Gaming Keyboard

Details: Category: Hardware; By Aaron Gress; 26.Dec; Hits: 1953

Hardware Info:

ROCCAT Vulcan TKL Compact Mechanical Gaming Keyboard
Specifications:
ROCCAT Titan Switch Tactile
1.4mm actuation, linear; 1.8mm actuation, tactile; tactile reviewed
50 million keystroke life-cycle
Compact TKL form factor
Integrated settings memory
ROCCAT Easy-Shift[+]™ technology
32-bit ARM Cortex-M0 based processor
1000Hz polling rate
ROCCAT Swarm software suite
Price: $129.99
(Amazon Affiliate Link)

Thank you Turtle Beach/ROCCAT for sending us this to review!

The ROCCAT Vulcan TKL is a compact, useful keyboard with lost of cool RGB light customization settings you can use with ROCCAT Swarm, satisfying switches, and more.

Since this keyboard is the tenkeyless (TKL) version of the ROCCAT Vulcan, it doesn’t have a number pad. Because of this, it needs to have some extra keybindings to help you do things that you cannot do without the ten keys. It does have the INS, HOME, DEL, END, PGUP, and PGDOWN keys, but they were given extra functionalities as a result of the lack of unnecessary buttons. There is no Print Screen, Pause, or Scroll key, so if you hold the FN key, it will replace the functionalities of the INS, HOME, and PGUP with those. The DEL keys’ extra function is to replace the F9, F10, F11, and F12 keys with media keys, which I found to be really useful. The END key can swap the positions of the Windows key and the FN key. PGDOWN enables game mode, which removes the capabilities of the Windows key. Also, when one of these modes are on, the corresponding key will turn to the color white, so that you know if it's enabled or not. (This also applies to the caps lock key)

Highlights:

Strong Points: Useful features; nice feel; compact
Weak Points: You might miss the number pad

There also is a volume knob and mute button above the keys I just spoke about, as it replaces the Scroll, Print Screen, and Pause keys. I hate manually adjusting the volume on my computer, so I appreciate any sort of volume knob or slider.

In the ROCCAT Swarm app, you can customize the macros, lighting, and more. This keyboard also happens to support AIMO, so you can enable that in Swarm. AIMO is a setting that makes your keyboard react to how you are using it. It will change colors like normal, but when you press a key, it will make that key light up in a different color than the rest of the keyboard. If you hold down a key, the keys around it will start to light up in that color as well. I’m a teenager, so of course I really appreciate the cool lighting effects.

As I mentioned before, it’s actually really satisfying to type on this board. I really like tactile switches, and even the sound it makes when you type is very nice. It has Brown switches, so it isn’t too loud, but it definitely isn’t quiet.

ROCCAT Vulcan TKL Compact Mechanical Gaming Keyboard

I also tried using it for a few games, and I’ll say, it is very pleasant. It is very good for playing four-key rhythm games, as there isn’t much resistance when you tap the keys, and it’s instant activation time is very useful in just about every situation.

Another thing that’s nice about the Vulcan TKL is that it has very conveniently shaped keycaps. They have a slight bend inwards, so that your fingers fit very nicely onto them. This makes it very comfortable to simply rest your hands on top of them. It also has, like a normal keyboard, a bump on both the F and J keys, but they also added one on the W key, making it easy to find where you need to place your hands when you are about to play a game.

The ROCCAT Vulcan TKL is a keyboard that I would definitely recommend to anyone who likes smaller boards, as well as cool light illumination, satisfying keys, and many other cool features that I'm sure you'll love.