86 OCTOBER 2019|COMPUTERSHOPPER|ISSUE 380
EVERSINCEWEfirst tried the Vulcan series
at Computex 2018 in Taipei, we knew Roccat
was on to something special –and it’s no
small feat foratrio of keyboards to stand out
among the tech industry’s most powerful and
ambitious new hardware of the day.
It took months forthese peripherals –the
Vulcan 80, Vulcan 100 Aimo and Vulcan 120
Aimo –tofinally arrive in the UK, but the wait
was worth it. From their slimline,half-weight
keycaps to Roccat’s custom mechanical Titan
switches, the Vulcan series deserves credit for
makingaconceptasfamiliarasthemechanical
gaming keyboard seem exciting and fresh.
Having had only limited hands-on time
with all three at Computex, we were sent the
Vulcan 120 Aimo formore in-depth testing.
Before getting intospecifics, however,a
warning: this is not acheap keyboard. The
Vulcan 120 Aimo,which stands at the topof
the range with full RGB lighting and a
detachable wrist rest, is currently £115. That
sounds like agreat saving over its original
£150 launch price,but it’s still acostlier
prospect than the Thermaltake X1 RGB and
Asus TUF Gaming K7,aswell as some of the
better older mech boards such as the excellent
HyperX AlloyElite(Shopper361). Of the other
keyboards featured here,only the Cooler
Master SK650 is significantly more expensive.
SET UPAND GO
It also requires abit of housekeeping before it
can get up and running at its full capabilities.
Handily,ituses only asingle USB cable –some
gaming keyboards, including the Asus ROG
Strix Flare,need to take up two USB slots –
and simply by plugging it in, you can get
typing awaywith asolid red backlight.
Getting customisable RGB going, however,
demands the installation of Roccat’s Swarm
software,upon which the lighting will switch
to awavyrainbow effect automatically.
ROCCAT Vulcan120Aimo
★★★★★
£115•From http://www.cclonline.com
VERDICT
ThinnerkeycapsandsuperbmechanicalswitchespropelthisRGBkeyboardto greatness
We’d have preferred the RGB feature to
work out of the box, and forthere to be more
onboard lighting controls instead of relying
so much on software; you can use the FX key
and the volume knob to adjust brightness, but
that’sit.Still,Swarmwasmorethancompetent
at getting the Vulcan 120 Aimo just how we
wanted it. Besides the extensive lighting
options, including arange of effects and the
ability to tweak their speed and brightness,
there’s per-keyinput assignment, and up to
four profiles to createand swap between.
Swarm even includes an option to playa
digital sound effect on each click, so each tap
will be accompanied by atypewriter-style
clack, forinstance,oreven goofy sci-fi laser
noises, should you be that wayinclined.
There’s avery slight delaybetween an actual
keypress and the sound effect playing,
however,which put us off the whole thing
even with the more conservative click sounds.
BEST OFTHE REST
But we’re not here forthe software; we’re here
forthe hardware,and as atyping and gaming
peripheral the Vulcan 120 Aimo is apleasure
to use.Roccat’s Titan switches combine the
most desirable parts of multiple Cherry
switches: there’s the agile,gaming-friendly feel
of MX Reds, aless harsh but still nicely tactile
bump in the MX Blue vein, and asimilarly
satisfying travel depth to MX Speed Silvers.
The result is acomfortable and extremely
versatile keyboard. It has the tactile feedback
of agreat typing keyboard, while also being
fast and responsive enough forany style of
game (though MMO and strategy fans might
not appreciatethe lack of dedicated macro
keys; macro functionality is instead shared
with the six navigation keys). The natural, non-
digital noise is just right, too: it’s clickyenough
to provide decent audio feedback when
typing, but unlike MX Blue switches, Titans
aren’t so loud and piercing that they’ll distract
you in games, or annoyanyone sitting nearby.
The dainty keycaps playapart in this
typing experience as well. Because they
weigh less than full-size keycaps, they’re
easier to depress and faster to bounce back
up to their original position. Youmight not
think the weight difference is noticeable,given
it’s just afew grams at most, but we’re
convinced that the Vulcan 120 Aimo feels
crisper and livelier than any other gaming
keyboard we’ve used. The keycap design also
shows off the lit-up switches better,and
makes the whole keyboard easier to clean.
Build quality on the whole is quitegood.
The plastic edges and underside are made up
forbyabrushed-metal front, completewill
spill-proofing, and the fold-out legs are on
strong hinges. The wrist rest is somewhat
disappointing, as it’s just plain plastic without
amore comfortable soft-touch finish, let alone
full padding like that of the TUF Gaming K7.
Still, it does its job at enabling amore
ergonomically friendly hand position, and
we appreciatehow it attaches magnetically,
without any fiddly clips.
AIMOTHE GAME
We wish this wasn’t the full extent of the
Vulcan 120 Aimo’s extras, however.The
aforementioned volume knob is aworthy
inclusion but there are no other dedicated
media keys, which are –like the macro keys –
folded intothe function keys. There are no
USB port or headset audio jacks, either; as on
the Razer BlackWidow Lite, these are notable
omissions forahigher-end keyboard.
It’s not perfect, then, but the keyswitches,
cap design and robust customisation options
of the Vulcan 120 Aimo make it easily the best
keyboard Roccat has ever produced –and
that’s at least worth sitting through afew
minutes of software installation for.
KEYBOARDS
