Custom PC – October 2019

R

occathasboldlychosento

developitsownlow-profile

Titanswitchesforthiskeyboard.

Theyusea traditionalelectronictrigger

butapparentlyprovidea 20percentfaster

debounceresponse.Theswitchesare

alsostabilised,forlesskeywobble,and

havea veryshort1.8mmactuationpoint.

Meanwhile,thelow-profilecapsare

50 percentlighterthantypicalCherry

MX-styleones.

Whilemostswitchesallowthekeycaps

tocovertheswitchesasthey’repressed,on

theRoccatthesidesarealwaysonview.This

situationenablesRoccattomaketheRGB

backlightingshineoutevenlyfromallround

theswitches.It makesfora farmoredazzling

displaythanmostkeyboards,although

it willbea bitgarishforsometastes.

Theotherkeybenefitoflow-profile

switchesis,ofcourse,thattheyallowfor

a lowerkeyboardandtypingangle,with

thiskeyboard’skeyssittingaround5mm

lowerthanonmostothermechanical

keyboards.Wefoundthelowerwristangle

thisprovidesmadeit noticeablymore

comfortablefortypingthantallermechanical

keyboarddesigns.It’sa shametheincluded

wristrestis justa thinplasticaffair,soit

doesn’tmakethemostofthisbenefit.

Therestofthekeyboard’sdesignis a

bitofa mixedbag.Analuminiumplate

topsthekeyboard,providinga premium

feel,butthesimple,cleanlinesthatmake

theLogitechG513orRazerHuntsmanso

appealingaremissing.

Yougeta volume wheel and three

disappointingly cheap-feeling extra

buttonsinthetop right of the keyboard,

butnootherextra gaming keys.

Instead,allthe F-keys have default

secondaryfunctions while Roccat’s software

allowsyoutocompletely customise the

layoutandlighting. We particularly like the

AIMOlightingsystem that automatically

changesthelighting scheme depending

onwhatyou’re doing. As for overall

performanceexperience, the combination of

thelowkeyheight and responsive, stabilised

keyswitchesmakes typing and gaming a joy.

Conclusion

Roccathassold us on the benefits of a

low-profilemechanical keyboard, as the

Vulcan 120 AIMO is really comfortable for

typing.However, we’re not convinced by the

exposedswitch sides and the feature set is

a mixedbag.Corsair K70 Mk.2 Low Profile

(seep56)does a better all-round job, but

theRoccatis a good-value alternative.

PERFORMANCE

22 / 30

DESIGN

14 / 20

VALUE

28 / 30

FEATURES

16 / 20

OVERALLSCORE

80 %

VERDICT
Cheapandmostlycheerful,theMK60isa
qualitykeyboardfora goodprice.

VERDICT

Alowpriceand a comfortable typing

experience,although the feature set is

amixedbag.

VERDICT

Elite by name and price, and thankfully

by nature too.

Meanwhile, you can adjust the backlighting via

secondary functions, and with MSI’s Mystic Light

software. However, the brightness adjustment

shortcut didn’t work, and even the software can’t

apply per-key lighting – you can only adjust the

brightness or choose a set lighting pattern.

Conclusion

The MSI GK60 provides a solid balance

of affordability and quality. For well under

£90, you get a keyboard with an aluminium

top plate, real Cherry MX keyswitches and

a generally quality feel. It’s not loaded with

features, and the styling isn’t quite to ourliking,

but it’s a dependable option for a good price.

The keyboard is fully programmable, though,

so you can assign just about any function

to any key. The lighting customisation is

also fantastic, and the lighting looks great.

Razer’s Synapse software can control all

your other Razer peripheral backlighting, as

well as that of some other manufacturers’

products and even Philips Hue light bulbs.

Conclusion

We expected the Razer Huntsman Elite

to feel more like a gimmick than a gaming

essential, but we’re rather won over. The

opto-mechanical switches feel fantastic

and the design and features are top-notch.

It’s a superb keyboard if you can affordit.

DESIGN

16 / 20

PERFORMANCE

22 / 30

FEATURES

10 / 20

VALUE

29 / 30

OVERALLSCORE

77 %

DESIGN

20 / 20

PERFORMANCE

25 / 30

FEATURES

18 / 20

VALUE

19 / 30

OVERALLSCORE

82 %

ROCCAT VULCAN

120 AIMO /£115 inc VAT

SUPPLIER cclonline.com