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Methodology
Testing the Roccat Suora FX meant using it as my main daily keyboard for a period of one week, typing on it for eight+ hours a day, as well as using it for general office tasks and web browsing. Since it is a gaming keyboard, I also tried it out in a variety of different titles from a wide range of genres.
Gaming
The Roccat Suora FX is a lovely keyboard to game on. Its TTC mechanical switches are a good analogue for the Cherry MX browns, if not a little softer at the bottom of they key stroke. It is fast and responsive and as with all Brown switches, these ones have that tactile feedback which means you do not have to bottom them out to feel them activate.
Mechanical keyboards do have some advantages over their membrane cousins and this board is no different. It is fast as all mechanical switches, so gives you a slight advantage in some games – though I have never been enough of a high-level gamer to notice it too much.
Lighting options are decent, though not as fleshed out as something like Corsair's CUE software
The placement of the macro keys on this board was an interesting choice. They are not placed in a way that you could reach them with your WASD hand, so are either designed as quick, one shot commands that you use at the start of a game – perhaps a quick build order for a RTS – or in one of those few games that uses the arrow keys.
Funnily enough though, they are placed well for left-handed gamers who use arrow keys instead, but I doubt that was the main train of thought when Roccat placed them there.
Lacking too is the usual Roccat Easy-Shift function, which is present on a good number of its peripherals.That has been supplanted by the Game Mode button, which acts as a sort of CAPSLOCK-like alternative to the Easyshift Shift function.
Game Mode does give you that same sort of functionality, but not in a quick, on-the-fly sort of manner. It is very specific and only caters to a single remap.
General usage
Typing on the Roccat Suora is lovely. The TTC switches are a great interpretation of the Cherry MX browns and may even be slightly gentler on the fingers which is always a plus when you type for hours on end every day.
The narrower nature of the keys in some places does take some getting used to. If you typically use a full-size keyboard, you may find yourself having to relearn placement a little for the first few minutes, but that is not a huge concern and the learning curve is shorter than you might expect.
I like that media keys are a one handed affair, though I would have liked them to be in range of my WASD hand, as that is the one that is invariably used for keyboard controls. It is easier to reach up from there and press the volume button a few times, than it is to remove my hand from the mouse to do the same.
Comfort
As I mentioned in the previous sections, the Suora's TTC switches are lovely to use and are very comfortable to type on over long periods. There is no included wrist rest with the design, which is a shame – especially at the £120 price point – but they do tend to encourage poor forearm posture, so I am always torn over whether I want them or not.
Despite my reasonably small hand size, I found all keys to be within easy reach – save the macro keys – and the shape and size of the key caps feel great under my fingertips.
Lighting, software
The Roccat Swarm software is the latest version of the back-end that Roccat uses for all of its peripherals. It contains a number of different options to adjust, such as key reaction time and character repeat, as well as a dedicated window for key mapping, which lets you adjust the function of any key on the board. Each one has a primary and “game mode,” function, which acts like a toggle on/off EasyShift, rather than a hold and press.
Macros can be recorded within the software, letting you add some automated function to certain commands if you wish. There are also a lot of pre-made macros you can load in for a variety of games and software. Everything from Command and Conquer 3, to World of Warplanes.
One interesting feature within the Settings menu that I noted, was the ability to add sound-feedback to key presses. This can range from a typewriter, to a sci-fi laser sound. Considering how noisy mechanical boards are anyway, this is not a function I care for, but it could perhaps be useful for those who like to work in headphone and still want to hear that they have actuated a key.
Lighting management lets you pick from one of several presets, such as ripple wave, reactive and rain among others, and you can control per-key backlighting manually if you wish. The software with this keyboard is not quite as fleshed out as with other Roccat boards we have reviewed, as there is no ability to add effects for key releases – the “key event,” portion of the lighting section is non-adjustable.
Overall lighting is easier to understand and get to grips with than some systems out there, but it is not quite as versatile as something like the Corsair Utility Engine.
Unfortunately, I was not able to get the SWARM mobile app to connect to my PC correctly, though this is not exactly anything new. Hopefully the connectivity of its mobile app is something Roccat can continue to work on in the future, as when it does work, it is a fun little tool.
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