Usage and Final Thoughts
From the get go, the ROCCAT Suora FX has been a great example of a gaming keyboard with minimalist looks and solid build quality. The frameless design of this keyboard will appeal to many potential users, as this is a trend we are seeing become more and more prevalent. With such a minimal footprint, even for a full-sized keyboard, there is still plenty of room on your desk, and it doesn’t feel like this keyboard takes up any unnecessary room.
Our time spent typing with the Suora FX was pleasant, and the TTC blue switches provided us just the right amount of resistance and both tactical and audible feed back to feel comfortable in our precision. This type of feedback is great when you are working on typing out a paper, or review in this case, and the sounds your ears are hearing match up with the motions your fingers are making. One thing we did notice was that the key cap material used by ROCCAT seemed to add a bit more of a “tinny” sound to our typing. We even swapped out a few keycaps with caps from other manufacturers, and could instantly tell a difference between the two; the Suora FX caps were much louder, while the other caps were a bit more “dull” sounding.
In our gaming tests we engaged in a few long sessions of PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUND, as well as Fortnite Battle Royale. Both of these games are from the very popular “last man standing/battle royale” genre and throw players into a free for all battle in a 3rd person view. In our testing, the blue-style switches worked well, though we prefer a red-style switch for most gaming scenarios. Overall, though, we had no real complaints with the Suora FX, and with either blue or brown switch options, users have some choice to fit their requirements.
Final Thoughts
Minimal, yet solid. That is our take on the ROCCAT Suora FX. This description fits the keyboard in more ways than one however. From a physical standpoint, the Suora FX features a minimalist design with its frameless body. There are no bulky borders or protrusions from the keyboard, making this a really sleek board. The aluminum top plate adds a lot of solidity to the Suora FX, and at no time did we notice any flex of the keyboard in our usage scenarios.
The Suora FX also exhibits minimalism and solidity in its functionality. A minimal set of on-board lighting, multimedia, and macro controls are available to users, while a solid lineup of configurable options are found in the Swarm application. We found the basic options available on-board to be in line with other similar keyboards, and the fully featured Swarm configuration options shore-up the Suora FX’s customization needs.
We would have loved to see a few additional features on the Suora FX, namely the inclusion of USB pass-through, but it just wasn’t in the cards for us. No included wrist rest may be a deal-breaker for some potential buyers, and with a $140 price tag, we almost expect to see one included.
The ROCCAT Suora FX is a keyboard that seems minimal in some of it’s features, but is backed up with a solid software companion in Swarm. This may be enough of a pairing to satisfy many users, but it had us wanting for a bit more out of the keyboard from a physical features perspective. Tough competition in this realm puts the ROCCAT Suora FX up against some hefty competition, and earns it an 8 out of 10 score.
Pros:
- Minimalist Design
- Solid Build Quality
- Great Customization via Swarm
- RGB LED Lighting
- Cable Management Channels
Cons:
- No USB Pass-Through
- No Wrist Rest