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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.
