At first we would like to thank ROCCAT for offering us a sample of the RYOS MK FX Gaming Keyboard for testing and reviewing.

 

 

 

About ROCCAT:

 

“ROCCAT designs the best gaming products in the world. We combine detail-loving German innovation with a genuine passion for what we do. The result is a forward-looking product portfolio adaptable to the gaming trends of tomorrow. The industry-leading experiences we develop are born of a deep affinity with gaming community that we ourselves are very much a part of.

 

We achieve this by having an outstandingly talented team comprised of gamers, visionaries and industry experts. Working at ROCCAT is fun, challenging and fast-paced, with no two days ever the same. Our background in gaming reflects itself in how we work, with a strong emphasis on teamwork, communication and mutual trust. We’re all on the same mission. Are you in?”

 

Product Features:

 

RGB PER-KEY ILLUMINATION

for endless options in 16.8 million colors

 

EASY-SHIFT[+]™ BECOMES EASY-KEYBOARD

for completely re-mappable customization

 

ADVANCED ANTI-GHOSTING

thanks to n-key rollover (30 keys plus 8 modifier keys)

 

PURE PROCESSING POWER

via 2 × 32-bit ARM Cortex processors plus 2MB flash memory

 

CHERRY® MX KEY SWITCHES

with 50 million key stroke durability

 

SMUDGE-PROOF, GLOSSY LOOK

means style isn’t sacrificed for substance

 

ALIENFX™ SUPPORT

for colored lighting effects in your favorite games

 

ROCK SOLID SUPPORT

high-comfort, jumbo-size + headset ports

 

SUPER STABLE, CLUTTER-FREE

five rubber feet and integrated cable-channel

 

ROCCAT® TALK® – SET BONUS

get more out of your ROCCAT® devices by combining their functions

 

OVER 500 PROGRAMMABLE MACROS

meaning you can get the most out of each key

 

Product Specifications:

 

RGB Per-Key illuminated mechanical keyboard

Advanced anti-ghosting with N-key rollover

CHERRY MX key switches

3 programmable thumbster keys

5 programmable macro keys

94 total programmable keys

1000Hz polling rate

1ms response time

1.8m braided USB cable

1 x audio in, 1 x audio out

2 × 32-bit ARM Cortex processors + 2MB flash memory

 

Dimensions / Weight

 

Width 50.8 cm , Height 4.4 cm , Length 23.4 cm , Weight 1600 g

 

System requirements

 

Windows® 7 32 Bit, Windows® 7 64 Bit, Windows® 8, Windows® 10

Internet connection for driver installation

2 x USB 2.0 Ports

1 x 3.5mm jack (sound)

1 x 3.5mm jack (mic)

 

Quite some time has passed since we have reviewed a keyboard from ROCCAT, so now time has come to check out one of their latest additions to the market from this segment and to be more exact the Ryos MK FX. The product is fully loaded with all bells and whistles we have seen along with their gaming mice and for additional durability it features Cherry MX switches which are widely known on the mechanical keyboard market. The cardboard enclosure this product is shipped in is quite large and right from the frontal area ROCCAT saw fit to describe the main keyboard components:

 

 

 

The main product features are also highlighted all-around:

 

 

 

 

 

The sample which we have received do feature Cherry MX Brown switches, which are excellent for typing, good for gaming, tactile and also come with a low actuation force:

 

 

 

If we need more details on the product in multiple languages, we can also check out the bottom area of the enclosure:

 

 

 

After removing the top packaging layer, we will end up with another all-black box which sports the product logo on top:

 

 

 

If we do lift the top box cover we will get to see the main product which features one very-useful transparent plastic cover and is also surrounded by an additional layer of cardboard:

 

 

 

On the bottom layer, the manufacturer has included the documentation:

 

 

 

The keyboard is solid and large at the same time; as we have seen at the previous models from the same manufacturer, ROCCAT likes to combine the keyboard with the wrist rest and this one is non-removable; because of this, Ryos MK FX will take quite a bit of space on our desk and people which like their keyboards more compact will simply steer off and purchase a model from other manufacturers, which is a pity; in order to avoid scratches to the shiny black plastic textures, ROCCAT did place some protective tapes in those areas:

 

 

 

Their removal can be done in a snap and do not leave residues:

 

 

 

Let’s take a closer look at the keyboard from the top left side where we will get to see the microphone and headphone jacks; a micro-dotted anti-smudge surface can be spotted on top of the Ryos MK FX:

 

 

 

Function keys do have additional functions, so from left to right we have Mute, Volume Up, Volume Down, Calculator:

 

 

 

Audio player Play/Pause, Stop, Prev/Next can be accessed between F5 and F8:

 

 

 

We can access My Computer Explorer window with F9, the Internet browser with F10, adjust the LED light with F11 or record on-the-fly macros with F12:

 

 

 

M1 to M5 are dedicated macro keys and these can be found on the left side:

 

 

 

The product logo can be spotted on top of the numeric pad, where the LEDs of the Lock functions should have been on most keyboards:

 

 

 

These have been shifted between the Del/End/Pg Down and the directional keys:

 

 

 

Under the Spacebar key we will find three extra buttons which can be remapped (as called by ROCCAT “thumbster keys”):

 

 

 

Further down we do have one shiny black plastic frame, which is followed by one large ROCCAT logo placed onto the wrist rest:

 

 

 

Besides the headphone and microphone jacks we have mentioned before, the left and right sides of the keyboard do not feature additional interfaces; we think that the jacks could have been color-coded differently and not with standard code as we do see on older sound cards. One suggestion would have been to have these both blue with a small pictogram on top which would explain which is which or could have been gold plated for a premium look:

 

 

 

 

 

In the back area we will get to see the 1.8m braided cable:

 

 

 

The large footprint of the keyboard can be also observed when looking at the bottom layer; the manufacturer has made us available multiple channels for cable routing and in the center we do have a sticker fitted with the product serial numbers:

 

 

 

 

Some large rubber feet can be spotted in each corner:

 

 

 

 

One thin rubber foot can be also found under the wrist rest:

 

 

 

Two extra feet are available for placing the keyboard at an angle and we do really appreciate that the tip of these feet are made of rubber so the product won’t move on the table when in use:

 

 

 

The braided cable is wrapped with an included cable tie:

 

 

 

As interfaces we do have the microphone/headphone jack, together with two USB connectors:

 

 

 

 

Right after connecting the keyboard to two spare USB ports, its software will boot up and display the iconic ROCCAT color scheme; Num Lock/Caps Lock/Scroll Lock keys along with the thumbster ones have white LEDs and these cannot be changed via software:

 

 

 

In order to use all the keyboard capabilities, we will have to navigate to the ROCCAT web page and download ROCCAT Swarm modular software; we will be prompted afterwards to perform some incremental updates:

 

 

 

 

After the keyboard has been detected, Swarm did also prompt for a firmware update:

 

 

 

The interface is very similar to the one we have seen along with the Kova mouse and the first “pinned” tab can be configured by the user, which can bring here the features used the most for easy access:

 

 

 

Inside the Settings tab we can customize the functionality of the Caps Lock Key, FN key, deactivate certain keys, Reset current settings, receive LED feedback for different actions, customize the Character Repeat function, establish which action the keyboard LEDs will perform when in Timeout mode but also enable and work with Sound Feedback function:

 

 

 

As the FN key, the Caps Lock key can be pre-programmed as Easy-Shift (which practically doubles the number of pre-programmed keys), use it for ROCCAT Talk, as a standard key or disable it completely:

 

 

 

Key assignment area does permit us to view the keyboard functions in two different ways, “Keyboard view” and “List view”. On the left side we do have a list of functions which can be assigned to keys, choose from the pre-defined macros or open the “Preset Collection” folder:

 

 

 

 

In order to remap a key we only have to select it and then work with the bottom menu in order to choose a primary function and also an Easy-Shift[+] function:

 

 

 

All this can be done by dragging from the left side and dropping to the “Selected key” area:

 

 

 

Here is how the Preset Collection does look like; we have plenty of popular games profiles already set up by ROCCAT team:

 

 

 

The Illumination tab is in charge of LED lighting effects; this keyboard as many high-end others does support per-key backlighting customization and we do have a “Preset mode” but also a “Custom” mode available. Preset mode is easy to work with because it features some pre-defined effects on the left side and for each of them we can configure brightness of the LEDs, color, effect speed and so on:

 

 

 

Custom mode is more complex since we can establish different zones, choose from different presets and more:

 

 

 

 

Thanks to the Profile Manager area, we can modify the name, assign to specific programs or to a slot, delete the current profile and so on:

 

 

 

Macros can be defined from the specific section baptized “Macro Manager”; here we can choose from the pre-programmed ones or define new ones:

 

 

 

 

On the bottom Profile area, we can perform different actions:

 

 

 

ROCCAT and Alienware lighting effects can be joined together thanks to the ALIENFX feature:

 

 

 

Talk FX is another intelligent mode which takes events which happen on-screen and translates them into exciting sensory effects on our hardware:

 

 

 

The Ryos MK FX mechanical gaming keyboard from ROCCAT is massive, features the well-known Cherry MX switches and can be fully customized in terms of key LED backlighting and macros. Easy-Shift[+] available for doubling the functions of the keys and built-in headset/microphone jacks are available on the left side for easy access. What we did not feel really comfortable with is the non-removable wrist rest, so the keyboard needs quite a bit of space on the desk compared to other models.

 

Besides the previously mentioned Cherry MX switches (our sample was fitted with Browns which feature a low actuation force, making them great for typing and also good for gaming), the top surface layer is micro-dotted against smudges. We do also get extra programmable buttons on the left side, F-keys with double functions and also “thumbster keys” which we have first seen at the ROCCAT Arvo.

 

While the macro programming area is easy to work with and complete, we still feel that there is still a bit of work to be done in the LED lighting programming area; with the keyboards and software from Corsair or SteelSeries we have seen much more flexibility and the LED lighting effects were really stunning.

 

The ROCCAT Ryos MK FX keyboard can be picked up online for about 170 Euros, so it goes head-to-head with the flagship Apex M800, while the Corsair Strafe RGB Silent is only 10 Euros more. In order for this keyboard to become more attractive, a drop in price should be in order. These being said, we can still consider the Ryos MK FX as a keyboard from the high-end segment, so an award would be in order.

 

ROCCAT Ryos MK FX Gaming Keyboard is Recommended For:

 

 

 

We would like to thank again to ROCCAT for making this review possible!