Introduction

The ARVO from ROCCAT is a perfect keyboard for gamers on the go, because it is light and smaller thanks to its direction keys integrated into the Numeric Pad and it is also durable thanks to its robust metal base. The software application that comes with it allows us to set different functions, build macros or even disable some of the keys.



I want to thank ROCCAT for making this review of the ARVO Keyboard possible.

About ROCCAT

“ROCCAT™ is the snow storm to the gaming industry. Everything called gaming before needs to be redefined. You will enter a world in which three attributes will keep you on the right path: alliance, independence and truth.



"DO IT YOUR OWN WAY AND DON'T TALK SHIT"
– this is the statement ROCCAT follows.

The ROCCATEERS can be found all over the world. And it was a revelation which led them together to energize the crucial benefit. The lake Inari long kept the secret our ROCCAT scientists call "Aimo". With every ROCCAT tool you will more and more internalize its Energy. Become part of our alliance.”

Packaging:

The ROCCAT ARVO keyboard comes in a medium sized cardboard box, with lots of descriptions and photos; on its frontal part we can see some of the product features, the product name along with the blue ROCCAT logo, a large photo of the product, some icons that tell us what awards this keyboard won in the past and the “Compatible with Windows 7” logo:



On the bottom side of the box, some of the features are explained in detail on the left side, the full list of features is listed in center, along with the translations in many other languages; on the right side we can see the impressions of two pro gamers regarding this particular keyboard, the package contents, system requirements and tech specs. ROCCAT tells us that this keyboard is one of their SDMS components:



On one of the package sides, we can see what a ROCCAT scientist said regarding this keyboard, where the keyboard was designed and also where it is produced:



This keyboard comes in multiple layouts; the layout description of the reviewed keyboard can be also found on the external package:



The box is sealed on both sides, to avoid unauthorized persons messing with the inside contents:



Inside the external box, we can find another black cardboard box, for protection:



When first opening up the box, we can find the keyboard sitting in center, covered with a transparent plastic bag:



After removing the keyboard from the box, we can find on its bottom the rest of the bundle:



The bundle is composed of a “Case: Inari Confidential Document”, a Quick Installation Guide and a CD with software:



The “Confidential Document” contains a nice little interesting story and at the end of it we can find the ROCCAT registration card, with which we can register the product on the website:



The Quick Installation Guide contains everything we need to know to install the keyboard in a snap:

A Closer Look

The keyboard does have a very nice futuristic design, with some extra programmable thumb buttons and a multifunctional numeric pad:



The thumbster buttons can be easily accessed when playing shooters with WASD for example and clicking on them has the feeling of clicking some mouse buttons:



In the upper part of the numeric pad, we can find the ROCCAT logo, embossed and a “Mode” button, that acts like a Num Lock on regular keyboards:



On the bottom part of the keypad, we can see the name of the keyboard written with white fonts:



The keyboard has on the back some fixing screws, 2 feet that can be lifted in case we want to type at an angle and some rubber feet:



The sticker which we can find in the center holds the name of the keyboard, its code name along with some serial numbers:



The keyboards’ rubber feet are also nicely shaped, to fit the rest of the product design:



When lifted, we can see that the keyboard feet have rubber on top of them, to avoid product movement on the table and also scratches:



The USB connector is shaped the same way as we have seen on the other ROCCAT products:



When the “Mode” button is not lighted up, means we have Gaming Mode activated and we can access button functions that are written on the bottom part of each key (including the arrow keys). If the “Mode” button is lighted up, normal Numeric Pad functions can be accessed, like the numbers, or operations:



When pressed, the Caps Lock key does also have a LED, which lights up when it is activated:

The Software

When we first insert the ARVO DRIVER CD into the drive, we are welcome with the following interface; here we can select to install the drivers, but this CD does also contain presentations for most of the ROCCAT products, Inari and SDMS video trailers, lots of wallpapers in different formats and the ARVO manual:



If we click on “Driver Installation”, the setup will begin:



After the installation is complete, it is possible the setup will request a system restart:



When we load the application, we are presented with the interface; on the top we can see the installed driver version and the firmware of the keyboard, the Main Control, Update or Help/Support menu, and on the bottom we can create profiles, load them, save or edit them. In the Main Control view, we can assign different functions to some of the keys, enable/disable the mentioned keys or reset the driver to its default state:



For every customizable key, we can assign a macro, a shortcut, a timer, multimedia function, Internet Explorer function or we can simply disable it:



If we enter the Macro menu, we can select one of the pre-defined macros or create a new one:



Here is a view on the Macro Manager window; here we can define new macros and they can be also saved to be used in the previous menu:



The Countdown Timer feature allows us not to miss certain events in the game such as quad damage, spell effects etc; we can name our countdown and specify how many seconds it should last for. As soon as we press the relevant key, “Timer Activated” will be displayed:



The Update tab allows us to go straight to the ROCCAT website and download the latest available drivers:



The Help/Support tab is similar to the Update one and gets us to the support section on the ROCCAT website:

Conclusive Thoughts

With the ARVO, ROCCAT has succeeded to develop a light and relatively small gaming keyboard; the thumbster keys are placed conveniently for us to access more functions when using the WASD keys. Also, to conserve space, the directional keys have been integrated into the Numeric Pad and they are easy to access.

In the software, we have multiple profiles available in which we can save our settings, create macros or even disable some of the keys.

The keyboard is also durable, because it contains a robust metal base; these being said, the ARVO has many features to help professional gamers that are many times on the go and participate at many Lan-parties.

Typing on this keyboard produces much less noise than on a mechanical one and the keys are really easy to press.

While testing out the keyboard, in both office and gaming environment, I have observed that much more space was saved on the table because of the keyboard size; thanks to this, we can use more space for the mouse. The stability of the keyboard is assured not only by the metal plate, but also by the plastic feet we can find underneath.




This keyboard can be found online for about 60 Euros, compared to the Valo, which is much more expensive and can be found for about 100 Euros.

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