Mice & Keyboards by stefan @ 2016-12-28
The Suora FX Gaming Keyboard from ROCCAT features the same compact, frameless chassis design as the original Suora, TTC brown mechanical switches which are very similar to the original Cherry MX Browns and are rated for 50 million key strokes, six macro keys, five different profiles but also RGB lighting which can be configured via the unified ROCCAT SWARM software.
At first we would like to thank ROCCAT for offering us a sample of the Suora FX Gaming Keyboard for testing and reviewing.
“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?”
16.8m color illumination
Configure the theme of your Suora FX in a style totally unique to you thanks to its illumination system with next-level configuration possibilities. What’s your poison? Choose from 16.8 million vivid colors and a plethora of stunning visual effects to suit your mood. Use the F1-F4 keys to quick toggle through a variety of inbuilt lighting FX presets, including wave, breathing, ripple and solidly lit. A raw-performance keyboard with style.
Compact & frameless
The Suora FX features a unique build in that its design is entirely frameless. No palm rest, no thick border and no thumb keys – just high-quality, durable mechanical keys mounted on a durable plate. This raw design lets you get closer in touch with the action, for lightning-fast and distraction-free gameplay. While your enemies are tying their fingers in a knot while they’re lost in a sea of keys, you’ll be one step ahead with your instinctive control.
Anti-ghosting
It isn’t much good having an intuitively designed keyboard built for speed if the keys can’t keep up with your hot action. But you won’t have that problem with the Suora FX. It rocks an advanced anti-ghosting matrix that ensures every key stroke will be registered, time and time again. With its 1000Hz (1ms) polling rate will be with you every key stroke of the way, each and every time.
Solid & durable
If you play hard, you might be worried that your devices won’t be able to last the distance. No need to worry about that with the Suora FX. It might have a compact and frameless build, but make no mistake – this is a keyboard that’ll safely see you through war after war. It features a robust aluminum housing that provides a consistent gaming platform. Its solid construction is complemented by tough mechanical keys with a staggering 50 million key stroke lifecycle.
Advanced anti-ghosting with N-key rollover
1000Hz polling rate
50 million keystroke lifecycle
Multimedia functions
6 programmable macro keys
Dimensions / Weight
Width 12.5 cm , Height 43.0 cm
System requirements
Windows® 10, Windows® 8, Windows® 7 64 Bit, Windows® 7 32 Bit
Internet connection for driver installation
USB 1.1 Port
After quite a bit of time, we are looking again at another gaming keyboard from ROCCAT, the Suora FX which does promote a sleek, compact and frameless built along with TTC (Trantek Co) mechanical switches. Our sample was equipped with the TTC Brown mechanical switch, which does sport a tactile, non-clicky key response as the original Cherry MX Browns do.
The product is shipped in a compact cardboard enclosure, which highlights the main product features on the top layer:
ROCCAT is advertising this keyboard as suitable for most game types:
Some other product features are listed on the side as: Game Mode Button which allows activating 6 programmable macro keys, LED Breathing mode, Per-key illumination, 1000Hz polling rate or the Anti-ghosting capability:
Even more details are available on the back side of the box:
The inside contents are covered by foam material, for additional protection:
The Suora FX is additionally wrapped inside a transparent plastic bag:
The keyboard is also supplied with additional documentation:
We will find a “Product Disposal Information” leaflet, along with a Quick-Installation Guide:
Besides a more detailed product description, we will also get explanations on how to remap the keys via Swarm unified software:
The keyboard comes with a 1.85m USB cable and is quite compact (width of 125mm and a height of 43mm) but also light for a mechanical peripheral thanks to the frameless design:
Many of the keys on the Suora FX have double functions; in the area where the NumLock, ScrollLock and CapsLock LEDs usually reside on regular keyboards, ROCCAT has placed four more buttons, which we will shortly describe:
First we have the F1 to F4 set of keys, which allow switching between different LED lighting modes (wave, ripple, breathing or solid):
Next, we do have a useful shortcut to “This PC”, default Internet Browser, default Mail client but also the Calculator application:
Moving on, we do have media keys for previous track, stop, play/pause and next track:
The Print Screen key can be used for adjusting the LED brightness:
On the top area of the numeric pad, we do have a Mute key, volume down/up but also the Game Mode key which allows accessing the programmable macro keys:
Speaking of the macro keys, these are located in the positions of the Insert/Home/PageUp/Delete/End/PageDn keys:
Between the arrow keys and the macro keys, we will see a ROCCAT logo printed on the chassis:
Between the left CTRL and ALT keys we do have the ROCCAT button which allows accessing the additional key functionality:
The USB cable is braided for additional durability, as we have seen with many high-end peripherals:
It does end with a custom USB connector, which does also sport a ROCCAT logo:
The keyboard bezel is considerably smaller than the one we have seen on similar products, as it can be also spotted from the side:
In the frontal keyboard area, we can check out some additional inscriptions, along with three cable routing channels:
In order to check out these channels in greater detail, we had to switch the Suora FX on its back; a central sticker is also present here which lists the serial number, along with the power rating of the product:
Besides the kickstands, the keyboard is also equipped with multiple small rubber feet:
The kickstands do also have a rubber tip, so they won’t scratch the surface they will stay on and are also meant to provide a better grip:
After connecting the keyboard to a spare USB port, the LED light show will begin:
After downloading the SWARM unified software from the ROCCAT website, we were asked to install the Swarm Connect Module from inside the GUI:
Two successive updates were performed:
The second update step also included the software module for the Suora FX:
Besides the drivers/GUI components, SWARM also prompted for a firmware update of the ROCCAT Suora FX:
The interface is very similar to the one we have seen along with the Ryos MK FX Gaming Keyboard and the first “pinned” tab can be configured by the user, which can bring here the features used the most for easy access:
Next, we do have the Settings area, from where we can select a sound feedback for typing, adjust the key reaction time, character repeat feature but also reset the settings to default when needed:
The Key Assignment tab allows us to define different functions for the six macro keys, but also remap, if needed the other keys:
Here are some of the preset functions we can work with right away:
System & OS
Internet
Multimedia
Open
For the regular keys, we can first press the desired key for remapping, then press on the “Remap” button to perform the action:
The available Macro keys can be remapped even easier, with a drag-and-drop action from the left menu:
We do also have macro preset collections available from the manufacturer:
If we would like to define our own macros, we will have to go into the Macro Manager, which has its own window:
First we will create a group and there we will define our macros:
The macro recording feature is similar to what we have seen in the past from other manufacturers; the mouse buttons though can be placed by using the “Insert Mouse Event” menu which is a little bit awkward:
Moving forward to the Key Illumination tab, we have two modes we can work with: Preset mode, which gives us some easy to use pre-defined effects or Custom mode where we can add effects per keys or sets of keys:
For testing the Suora FX, we have ran a few games like GTA V, Star Wars The Old Republic, Mafia III, Paladins, Metal Gear Solid Phantom Pain but also DOOM. The keys have proven as being responsive and not mushy at all as the original Cherry MX Browns; some of the larger keys as the Spacebar are a bit noisier, because of the usage of metal bars underneath, same system as we have seen with some Filco and Corsair keyboards. We did really enjoy the compact chassis and thanks to the top layer construction, removing dirt between the switches should be a breeze without even removing the keycaps, but just by blowing compressed air in-between.
The keyboard supports macro programming only on the dedicated keys and not the full layout but we have five profiles we can work with so the total number macros we can record should be sufficient.
As with the Ryos MK FX Gaming Keyboard, the LED lighting can be easily configured by using the presets but also comes with a custom feature for those which enjoy in-depth customization.
Certain features which are not included with the design are the USB pass-through, audio jacks or a removable wrist rest.
The ROCCAT Suora FX keyboard can be found online for about 155 Euros, while the Suora which features blue LEDs can be had for about 101 Euros. We do find the price increase for having the RGB experience a bit high for the mainstream segment, but if it will drop around 130 Euros in the near future, the Suora FX will be a much more attractive choice.
We would like to thank again to ROCCAT for making this review possible!