ASUS'S TKL RANGE is a compact alternative
to the traditional keyboard. With a TKL
‘TenKeyLess’ keyboard, those 10 keys
on a standard board that you hardly ever
use have been dropped and this comes
with a few benefits. If you are tight on
desk space, having a keyboard that’s 20
percent smaller than a standard board
will give you more room. That larger
space for your mouse could be useful
when gaming. ASUS has taken the
original ROG STRIX Scope keyboard and
applied the TKL format to it, so is this a
perfect solution for a gaming setup?
Straight out the box, this is a nice-
looking bit of kit. For a small peripheral,
it has a decent weight to it, which is ideal
for a keyboard. The last thing you want is
for it to move around when you are typing
and to help with this, five rubberized
grip pads do a great job of securing the
board to the desk. The design features an
aluminum top plate with a brushed finish,
making the keyboard look like a premium
gaming device.
It also feels pretty premium, too—
the board comes with a leatherette
wrist-rest, which is always a welcome
addition. Unfortunately, this doesn’t
share the same weighty characteristics
as the board and feels quite lightweight.
It’s magnetic and has rubberized feet
to prevent sliding. The support itself is
comfortable but could do with being a
little taller for our liking. The same could
also be said for the board, which has
extendable feet but we could do with it
raising the keyboard to a steeper angle.Is TKL the perfect size for gamers?
ASUS ROG STRIX
Scope TKL Deluxe
8
VERDICT ASUS ROG STRIX Scope
TKL Deluxe
QUICKSCOPE Great build
quality; excellent switches; multimedia
controls; stealth privacy mode.
HARDSCOPE No USB passthrough; key
font is divisive; keyboard angle could be a
little steeper.
$140, http://www.asus.comSPECIFICATIONSSwitch Type Cherry MX RED RGBSwitch Durability 100 million+ presses
Design Style TKLConnection USB-C
Wrist-rest Magnetic leatherette
wrist-rest
Weight 2.40lbsLighting is controlled by the ASUS
Armoury Crate application, it also
has ASUS Aura Sync to match with
other ASUS RGB products. The RGB is
certainly nice and bright, with the light
dispersing pretty evenly across the board
through and underneath the keycaps.
There is also an underglow on this
board, however, it will be covered up if
you choose to use the wrist-rest—unlike
offerings from Razer, where the wrist-
rest features RGB too.
A single USB-C to USB-A 2.0 connects
this to your PC or laptop. It is detachable,
which is great if you need a longer cable,
want a completely custom board with
specific cabling, or break the cable and
have to replace it.STEALTH WORKER
There’s one more cool little feature. On
the top right is the stealth key. One press
of this will hide all your apps and mute
your audio. This is perfect if someone
bolts through your door and catches you
playing Minecraft when you're supposed
to be working from home. We also
found it handy when buying presents
for Christmas to keep pesky eyes from
ruining surprises.
Now let's focus on the mechanics.
This board features RGB MX Cherry
Red switches and these already have a
solid reputation amongst gamers. With
a linear response, these switches feel
super fast and a softer spring results
in a faster actuation too. The travel is
4mm but with a 2mm actuation, which issuitable for a gaming keyboard. It gives
off the mechanical feel that we all love,
but with the precision to take it straight
into battle. It's not too loud either, which
is great for all-day usage.
The TKL format suits this keyboard
well and makes a pretty solid gaming
accomplice. With a superbly rigid design,
MX Cherry switches, wrist-rest, evenly-
lit RGB, and some nifty little tricks,
it makes for a good overall package.
Unfortunately, it’s not all good news, the
keycaps themselves are a little slippy
and they feature ASUS’s ROG typeface,
which isn’t to everyone's taste. Also, the
keeper could do with having another level
of adjustment to make it steeper.
Those issues aside, this keyboard
will make a great solution for a gaming
setup. It’s compact enough to take with
you on the go, even with a gaming laptop
perhaps. Overall, this isn't a bad on-the-
go setup at all. –SAM LEWISin the lab
88 MAXIMU MPC FEB 2022