Roccat Isku FX Gaming Keyboard review

1. Introduction2. Packaging and Bundle3. The Roccat Isku FX4. Roccat Isku FX (Super High Res Gallery)5. Software & Performance6. Closing Thoughts7. View All Pages

Roccat have been making a name for themselves recently, releasing a series of award winning products for the gaming community. We reviewed the Kone XTD 8200 DPI mouse back in November and the Kone Pure in December. Today we are looking at their latest Isku FX Gaming keyboard with full backlighting system.

Roccat are facing stiff competition in the gaming sector from companies such as Steelseries and getting the attention of the enthusiast audience is becoming ever more difficult.

The Isku FX has programmable hotkeys and backlighting that can be totally adjusted to suit your specific tastes. Additionally there are thumb keys that act as ‘shift' keys and with the Roccat Easy Shift[+] software you can add macros to the keyboard to suit a variety of games.

Roccat are keen to detail their unique Roccat Talk system. They say “ROCCAT Talk FX offers a wide range of amazing feature possibilities for compatible software and for enabled devices like the ROCCAT Isku FX, the Kone XTD, and the Kone Pure gaming mice. For example, with the ROCCAT Talk FX Event Lighting feature, the lighting system on your device will activate in a certain color every time a corresponding in-game event occurs. Imagine getting hit with a fireball in your favorite RPG and having your Isku FX explode in glowing red bursts that dramatically mirror the on-screen attack! Or imagine getting shot with a poison-tipped arrow and having your mouse pulse in bursts of toxic green light that echo the nasty poison pumping through your veins! ROCCAT Talk FX makes that kind of thrilling sensory gaming excitement a reality.

ROCCAT Talk FX also makes possible additional ambient lighting effects that can greatly enhance the mood and intensity of your gameplay. Imagine running through a jungle in your favorite first-person shooter and having your gaming device emanate a dark green glow that brings that jungle feel right down to your desktop — or swimming while your mouse glows in a shimmering ocean blue. And there's much more. ROCCAT Talk FX's sensory messages can also be used to get important in-game notifications in a revolutionary new way. Imagine having your gaming hardware – not just the software — alert you when your home base is under attack, or when production of an important building is finished. A groundbreaking way to better gaming.”

Features:

• MULTICOLOR KEY ILLUMINATION
  with 16.8 million colors of your choice; with 6 brightness levels
• 3 EASY-SHIFT[+]™ ZONES
  for easy key duplication
• 36 EASY-TO-REACH MACRO KEYS
  including 3 Thumbster keys
• MACRO LIVE! RECORDING
  with dedicated M-Rec button; 180+ macros in 5 profiles
• 8 CONFIGURABLE MEDIA & HOTKEYS
  25+ assignable functions
• MEDIUM-HEIGHT KEYS
• with an optimum keystroke & pressure point; advanced anti-ghosting; 1000Hz polling rate
• ROCCAT™ DRIVER + MACRO MANAGER
• incl. Sound Feedback;  Macro Presets for games, multimedia and office apps
• EXTRA-LARGE GRANULAR WRIST REST
  with special surface texture
• INTEGRATED CABLE CHANNELS
  for better device organization
• NON-SLIP BASE
  with lock-on keyboard feet
• ULTRA-FAST PROFILE SWITCHING
  5 Profile-Status LEDs
• ROCCAT™ TALK® – SET BONUS
• get more out of your ROCCAT™ devices by combining their functions
• ROCCAT™ TALK® FX
• translates on-screen action into sensory effects on your Isku FX

The Roccat Isku FX ships in a large, heavy box showing the keyboard lighting colours. Initially I thought by looking at the front of the box that you could split the sections into three zones with different colours on each, but this is not the case.

The back of the box lists many of the features, detailing the technical specifications and lighting zones. We will look at this later in the review.

The keyboard ships inside a large protective anti static cover and there is another little package which contains the quick installation guide. You need to download the software direct from the Roccat support section of their website.

The Isku FX is a large keyboard, measuring 24.7cm x 50.9cm and it has 123 keys with enhanced ‘anti ghosting capability'.

Sadly it is not a mechanical keyboard which I have to admit surprised me. I love mechanical keyboards and use the Razer BlackWidow Ultimate on a regular basis due to the incredible feel of the Cherry Blue switches.

Thankfully the Isku FX does support a polling rate of 1000hz, to reduce lag as much as possible.

The build quality of the keyboard is good, although it does feel a lot lighter than the high end models from either Razer or Steelseries, which both have metal chassis underneath the outer plastic covers. It will be easier to carry around with you to LAN events for example.

That said, it does feel a little insubstantial in hand, not something you would expect after spending £85 on a new keyboard. Roccat do include a surface area long the bottom for wrist support. This material is an advanced granular surface to provide ‘fast and controlled movements'.

In the middle of the keyboard just below the space bar are three keys, named T1/T2/T3. Roccat call these ‘Thumbster' macro keys and are meant to be activated with a quick press of the thumb. They company say “Perfect for casting a lightning-quick healing spell in the middle of a tough fight. Brilliant for a rapid weapon change. Think of your thumbs as two new eager allies. ”

The Isku FX features Easy-Shift[+] technology, which offers 36 easily-customizable macros strategically positioned in 3 spots in the easy-to-find WASD zone. This means you can fire off orders without ever having to re-adjust your hand position – so you won’t have to take your eyes off the screen to look for keys. Easy-Shift[+] key works just like the standard shift key, activating macros is as simple as typing an uppercase letter.

Along the side of the keyboard are 5 keys which the company have marked at M1/M2/M3/M4/M5. These are macro profile keys with support for up to 180 macros when used in combination with other keys.

Roccat have built in a Macro Live! Recording button, to manually record and save in game combinations.

The row in the middle at the very top are quick action media keys along with several others you can configure for specific tasks.

The brightness key resides just above the main keyboard area and to the right of the media panel section. There are 6 levels of backlighting available and this can also be completely disabled if you find it distracting. The Isku FX uses UV coated keys. There is support for a total of 16.8 million colours so you will never be short of options.

The Isku FX can also be programmed to automatically switch off the lights if you haven't pressed a key for a specific amount of time.

Underneath the Isku FX are cable channels which can be used to route cables.

There are 5 rubberized Non-Slip Gaming Boots and 2 rubberized Lock-Fast Gaming Feet underneath the keyboard. The retractable gaming feet tilt the keyboard to an angle of 5.90 degrees.

The cable emerges from the central section at the rear of the keyboard. The cable isn't braided but ends in a nicely designed little plug with the product name highlighted on it. The plug isn't gold plated, but this really doesn't make a difference in regards to signal quality.

On this page we present some super high resolution images of the product taken with the 24.5MP Nikon D3X camera and 24-70mm ED lens. These will take much longer to open due to the dimensions, especially on slower connections. If you use these pictures on another site or publication, please credit Kitguru.net as the owner/source.

The Roccat software suite is certainly nicely designed although I feel it does look a little cluttered, especially when I think back to the clean, tidy interface of the software bundled with the FUNC MS-3 mouse.

The main control panel covers a variety of profile options, for creating, saving, loading and editing. There are also subsections for standard functions and Easy-Shift functions. Along the bottom are 5 profile slots which can be tied into a specific colour.

The Easy-Zone Control panel allows the user to assign a secondary function to each of the easy zone keys. The Macro manager is placed to the right of the software panel. The Game Profiles section along the bottom is persistent throughout the interface, meaning accessibility is never far away.

The third panel is designed to support the Media Keys/F-Keys along the top of the keyboard. These can be customised to perform a task which you can set up along the left side of this panel.

The advanced control panel is fully loaded. Roccat have the keyboard initially set to a default colour of blue, with a pulsing effect in place. This is extremely annoying and can be disabled by clicking the button next to ‘breathing effect on/off'.

While the company have set up 16 main colours in the ‘choose a single color' panel. you can also select from one of 16.8 million colours in the ‘custom color' panel.

This seems a little like overkill to me, however having too many options will never be a concern, you can just choose to ignore them. I also doubt you could tell the difference between 40 shades of yellow, I know I couldn't.

Gamers will be pleased to see that specific keys can be enabled or disabled, a good idea if you are prone to accidentally hitting the Windows key.

Along the right side of this panel there are options to adjust the key illumination brightness and the timeout features. the keyboard backlighting is quite good although I found that the consistency of the lighting can vary a little. For instance only the ‘EN' of our ‘ENTER' key was brightly lit on one side.

On a negative point, the profile, num lock lights and thumbster lights are always the default blue, which somewhat ruins the overall appearance of the product when you vary the lighting system.

Sound feedback is most unusual, as the software can ‘speak' to you occasionally, such as when an trophy achievement is met.

The R.A.D. section of the software interface is an unusual concept as Roccat are clearly trying to appeal to gamers by offering Trophy achievements which can be achieved by using the keyboard. The software awards  trophies when you achieve a certain objective, such as typing a specific number of keystrokes.

I quite like the idea in theory, but in reality this mysterious Roccat voice appears at random intervals and can actually be very unnerving! During a game of Crysis 3 for example I was altered that I had pressed the keyboard xx number of times. Not exactly what I want to hear when I am cloaked in stealth mode and trying to attack a base when out flanked at both sides.

Thankfully this can be completely disabled, which I would recommend. It is worth pointing out that you have to do this for every profile you create, which is annoying.

Performance of the Isku FX ‘in game' is good, considering it is not a mechanical keyboard. This brings me to the main issue I have with this product, the quality of the feedback of the keys. Why did they not opt for high quality mechanical keys on the Isku FX? There is no doubt it is probably one of the best non-mechanical boards you could buy, but the only reason for opting for a non mechanical design would be to reduce key noise at night time.

I have always favoured the Cherry MX Blue switches which are found in a handful of high grade boards, such as the Razer BlackWidow Ultimate. Moving to the ISKU FX after using this keyboard for over a year is at best, rather disappointing.

On a positive note, the 1000hz polling rate completely eliminates lag, and the overall experience of the Isku FX when playing intensive first person shooters was excellent. I did still miss the feeling of a mechanical keyboard and unfortunately this feeling didn't leave me during several days of testing. I just didn't want to live with this keyboard long term.

Being a reviewer however means you sometimes need to look outside your own personal feelings and look at the big picture.

I have no need for macro functionality when gaming, but the keyboard may certainly suit hardcore MMORPG gamers who need a plethora of complex commands at their instant disposal. I loaned the keyboard to my (gaming mad) colleague Carl for a few days and he said it worked a treat when setting up macro functionality for various online games he was playing.

That said, he did also comment on the ‘spongy' feeling of the keys. He has been using a mechanical Steelseries keyboard for six months and he mentioned that the adjustment was very difficult, especially when typing.

I am a quick typist, rated at around the 100-120 wpm level when using the Razer BlackWidow Ultimate. When using the Roccat Isku FX this dropped to around 90 wpm, partially because I always have a problem with single height return keys. This is perhaps a personal problem, but I was taught to touch type several decades ago, and all the old IBM keyboards in the day had double height return keys. It is a natural position for me now.

All in all, The Isku FX was pleasant when gaming, but when tasked with serious office duties I found the experience less than positive. We have been spoilt for choice in recent years when considering a high grade keyboard choice, and the raft of mechanical keyboards on the market today do make much more sense if intensive typing is a prerequisite.

Sadly, the Isku FX is around the same price as the Razer Blackwidow 2013 Expert mechanical keyboard (£85-£90) and I would have no hesitation in opting for a mechanical keyboard any day of the week. Once you use a mechanical keyboard for any length of time there really is no going back.

The Roccat Isku FX is certainly an interesting keyboard. It ships fully loaded with an insane depth of macro functionality which will appeal to the hardcore MMORPG gaming audience. Yes, those people who need a raft of (30+) commands immediately at their disposal.

In my hands however, the experience was certainly less than memorable. While I can appreciate all the lighting gimmicks and even the Roccat voice system, I found the core product to be disappointing. When I say ‘core product', I do mean the quality of the keys.

The Roccat Isku FX is, for some bizarre reason not a mechanical keyboard.

When moving from any Cherry based mechanical product such as the Razer BlackWidow series, the keys on the Isku FX offer little tactile feedback and feel spongy under the tips of the finger. Exactly the same experience I get when using 95% of laptops on the market today.

The build quality of the Isku FX is quite good, and there is no doubt that Roccat have invested a lot of time and effort into the layout and design of the product. The software interface is snappy, fully featured and does exactly what it says it will do. There are no bugs we could find and it will appeal to the crowd who just love playing with hundreds of settings.

When playing first person games, I found the Isku FX to deliver a good gaming experience, although again it fell a little short of the best mechanical keyboards on the market today. I mean those flagship models from either Razer or Steelseries.

While the scoring so far will have to be lowered due to the lack of mechanical keys, we do need to analyse the price thoroughly. If the Isku is priced well, then it will make sense.

The Roccat Isku FX is on sale right now at OCUK for £84.98 inc vat. The latest version of the Razer BlackWidow 2013 Expert is £88.00 inc vat. So we need to measure the pros and cons.

The Roccat Isku FX has a much more complete suite of macro and configuration settings, and I also like the comfortable wrist rest at the front of the keyboard. On the other hand the Razer Blackwidow 2013 has a much superior mechanical keyboard implementation and is built to higher standards with a heavy duty metal chassis inside.

If you want a backlit keyboard with the same mechanical keys from Razer you would need to buy the Ultimate edition, which will set you back £119.98 inc vat. It is a shame that Roccat didn't fit mechanical keys to the Isku FX and raise the price a little higher, releasing it at around £100-£105 inc vat. If they had, then this product would score much higher.

As it stands I would be surprised if a large audience of gamers or enthusiast users would want to spend close to £90 on a non mechanical keyboard regardless of macro functionality or clever lighting gimmicks. MMORPG gamers definitely should give it consideration however.

Pros:

• Looks great.
• decent build quality.
• lighter than many of the high end mechanical keyboards.
• class leading macro software.
• 16.8 million colour options.
• 1000hz polling.

Cons:

• membrane keys at £85-£90?
• the price is high for a non mechanical keyboard.
• keyboard lighting is slightly inconsistent on some keys.
• single height return key.

Kitguru says: A great design but ruined by the use of lower grade non mechanical keys.

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