The German company Roccat, founded in 2006 by one of the founders of Razer and recently acquired by Turtle Beach Corporation, has repeatedly demonstrated that it can offer its public a range of well-made products with an honest quality / price ratio. once and for all, the dogma that often grips those who approach the world of video games on PC, often forced to choose between savings and performance.
The Roccat Pyro mechanical gaming keyboard, for example, is offered at a list price of less than € 100 but is equipped with a set of technical characteristics that has nothing to envy to products sold even at double that amount.
All this could suggest an inevitable compromise in terms of construction materials but, to our amazement, Pyro presented itself on our test bench as a sturdy, comfortable keyboard with a rather elegant design, excellent both for its scope of use. main (gaming) and for everyday productivity operations. But let’s go step by step and start by analyzing the package in which the Roccat keyboard is proposed.
The Pyro RGB Gaming Keyboard is wrapped in a rather small satin black package, just enough to contain the peripheral, the manuals and the comfortable palm rest that we will deal with in a moment. On the external front there is an illustration of the keyboard that clearly highlights all the features of the hardware, thanks also to a handy list of the main technical specifications.
Once inside the package we immediately find the aforementioned rigid plastic palm rest characterized by a series of closely spaced grooves (excellent for ensuring a certain grip in the palms of the hands, even in conditions of particular sweating in the summer months) and the Roccat logo engraved lower right.
At first glance, the total absence of any coating that could prevent direct contact between the skin of the hands and the plastic could make someone turn up their noses but, after having used it for a long time in different areas of use, we would like to promote the choice of the German company: by doing so, Roccat guarantees greater resistance to wear which often ends up ruining the functionality and aesthetics of products of this type.
The latter can be easily attached to the body of the keyboard by means of comfortable plastic hooks which, although they cannot ensure the same immediacy of a connection by means of magnets (a solution often adopted in higher-end products), return a remarkable sensation of stability to to which the six rubber feet on the bottom also contribute.
Even in the most excited phases of the game, the Pyro keyboard and its palm rest remain firmly anchored to the support surface, a factor that should not be underestimated when considering the purchase of a new peripheral.
Moving on to the actual keyboard, the model at our disposal, with English QWERTY layout, is equipped with satin plastic keycaps and TTC Red linear mechanical switches that can offer a feeling quite similar to that of the well-known Cherry MX Red and share some most of the technical specifications (45g of pressure required to activate the keys and 4mm of travel), in spite of a significantly lower price that allows to contain production costs.
In long writing or gaming sessions, however, Roccat’s keyboard has always been incredibly comfortable, fluid and responsive, thanks also to an anti-ghosting technology that ensures timely recording of inputs. The pressing of the keys is quite silent, just as you would expect from a red mechanical switch and there is also a ‘Game Mode’ button that allows you to access a series of features designed specifically for video games.
This is a mode that, once activated, blocks most of the shortcuts that could compromise the natural running of the games (such as, for example, the key that calls up the Windows menu or the Caps Lock which often disrupts online game chats. ).
The most interesting thing, however, is that the Game Mode replaces the normal functioning of the Caps Lock key with the so-called ‘Easy Shift’, a proprietary solution of Roccat that allows you to program all the keys on the keyboard to perform specific additional functions in case contextual pressure of the dedicated button: truly a godsend for competitive players.
Returning to the keyboard body, it is easy to see how the Pyro has a sturdy aluminum body that should result in greater resistance than the average of the peripherals currently on the market but, above all, what catches the eye is the absolute refinement of the design. which manages to wisely combine a thickness of only three centimeters and a total weight of just over a kilo in a 44x15cm surface.
If we were to make a criticism of Roccat Pyro we would say that, in all probability, a new generation gaming keyboard could easily sacrifice the numeric keypad on the altar of a smaller footprint: if on the one hand it is undeniable how complete keyboards are more comfortable for writing or for daily activities, in fact, the world of modern gaming requires as much space as possible for the mouse, which Pyro cannot guarantee.
Interestingly, however, the inclusion of a physical potentiometer placed at the top right of the keyboard that allows you to always keep under control the volume of any content playing on our computer. Too bad that the dedicated multimedia control keys were not included, which would certainly have completed the equipment of this Roccat proposal (on Pyro they are assigned to the Function buttons from 9 to 12, ed).
Finally, the USB 2.0 cable can boast a considerable length of 1.8m but it is covered with a simple rubber sheath which, unlike the braided solutions that are recently depopulated on gaming accessories, cannot guarantee the same resistance to twisting. It is a simple USB cable firmly anchored to the body of the machine, nothing more, nothing less.
It remains to deal with the inevitable customization app that, as usual, accompanies any product designed for video games that lands on the market, in this case the well-known Roccat SWARM. The latter is a fairly complete software that allows you to operate on virtually every aspect of Pyro’s operation. It starts from the general options such as the settings on the insertion of characters or, even, the acoustic feedback of the pressing of the individual buttons to get to the programming of the keys (including those dedicated to Easy-Shift), passing through the inevitable management of the RGB backlighting. which boasts integration with Roccat’s AIMO intelligent lighting technology.
Ultimately, Roccat Pyro is a product of excellent quality, when compared to the price at which it is offered. For a price tag of less than € 100, in fact, you can buy a sturdy and reliable mechanical keyboard, equipped with everything you need to quickly launch on the online battlefields of your favorite titles without being forced to shell out big bucks. The quality of the materials used for the construction and the TTC Red mechanical switches have fully convinced us, as well as its clean and elegant design. In this price range, it’s really hard to ask for more.
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