Roccat Ryos MK Pro Keyboard Review

< Prev 1. Introduction2. Showcase3. Software and usage Experience4. Conclusion Next >

Introduction
Today we are reviewing The Ryos MK Pro which is the top of the line model in the Ryos MK series of keyboards. Other boards in the series include the Ryos MK Glow and Ryos MK. These boards do not ship with per-key lighting and other features found on the Ryos MK Pro and are priced accordingly.

Specifications:

• Per-key illuminated mechanical keyboard with 113 keys
• Advanced anti-ghosting with N-key rollover
• Choice of four CHERRY MX key switches
• 3 programmable thumbster keys (T1 – T3)
• 5 programmable macro keys (M1 – M5)
• 94 other programmable keys
• 1000 hz polling rate, 1 ms response time
• 1.8 m rear-exit braided cable
• 1 x audio in, 1 x audio out, 2 x USB 2.0 ports

With a choice of different switches, per-key lighting and two 32-bit ARM Cortex processors,Roccat pulled out everything they have on the Ryos MK Pro. The keyboard is priced at an hefty 170USD, but is it worth the price? we will know for sure.

Showcase
Ryos MK Pro ships in a black box with blue accents with a clear image of the keyboard and several important features listed on the front. Inside the box is the Ryos MK Pro protected by a transparent cover We can see the dotted glossy surface which according to ROCCAT is smudge proof.All the key caps have been laser etched and UV coated to prevent the markings fading. Removing one of the keycaps reveals the Cherry MX Red switch used in our review sample as well as an LED. Each key has an individual LED for true per-key lighting.

moving to the left side we see the audio jacks and on the left side we see the USB ports And to top it off we have a chunky braided cable featuring two USB connectors as well as an audio and mic jack. The braided cable can be tied with a nice looking strap, Roccat took care of every small details to make the Ryos MK PRO as attractive as an keyboard as possible.

Software and usage Experience

Now lets take a look at the Software which is one of the strong points of Roccat. The Roccat Ryos MK Pro also comes with a standard software like every other Roccat device along with being supported by Roccat Talk FX. Roccat Talk is basically a protocol which enables Roccat Talk supported devices “talk” to each other. Here’s what Roccat has to say about it

ROCCAT™ TALK® lets your compatible devices work together — so you can use that harmony to get powerful Set Bonus gaming advantages. The powerful ROCCAT™ Talk® protocol can also forge unprecedented software and hardware alliances thanks to a bold new feature called ROCCAT™ Talk® FX, which translates on-screen game action into exciting sensory effects on your gaming hardware – for a new level of intensity-packed play.

I would cover the Roccat Talk SDK later on if time permits, right now lets redirect our attention to the Ryos MK Pro keyboard.
Let us go through a short tour of the driver interface

The first tab deals with the rudimentary controls like Caps key configuration,Key Illumination brightness,key timeout settings etc.

the second tab deals with Key function assignment and assignment of macro’s.According to Roccat the Ryos MK pro can store upto 500 different macro’s, we certainly didn’t have the patience to try and test out the claim. But this humble reviewer and his friends managed to store and successfully run around 80 macros.

The third and the final deals with the per key lighting of the Ryos MK pro;also we see a nifty little feature here called the “LED Macro” where basically you record a macro like you do normally but when you run it instead of repalying an action it lights up different keys you have pressed during the recording process.
The possibilities are limitless here,so you can let your imagination flow.

We got a retail sample of the keyboard with the cherry red keys(no feedback,less actuation force), as such we got a very silent typing experience. Although the silence might at times make you press all the way down to get an awkward “clack”.
The first thing we would like to point out is the keyboard is not one you can mess with,you keep it in one place and use it. Relocate if you are changing your residence or trying to to be batman with a deadly keyboard.
DISCLAIMER: NO JOKER WAS HARMED DURING THE MAKING OF THIS REVIEW.
now as far as usage was considered we were as through as it could be with the Ryos MK Pro, stored a few hundreds macro’s,played countless hours of BF4 and TF2 and a few RPG’s courtesy one of my associates. the Ryos MK Pro keyboard never failed to run a macro or failed to register a single keystroke.
So overall we can surely say testing this keyboard was a good experience.

Conclusion
Am not going to drag this out for too long,
Pro’s

1. Build like a tank.
2. Variety of switches
3. per key LED lighting,
4. Extra USB Ports and jacks.
5. N key rollover (broke my personal record of 17 keys pressed at once with this.)
6. non smudge surface.

Con’s

1. Too little documentation by Roccat on the per key lighting effects.
2. Price
3. The cable channels should have come with straps, without it the cable managements is pretty hard.

 

Overall Roccat managed to hit the right note on every aspects with the Ryos MK Pro keyboard.
They just need to work out the pricing to make the deal sweeter.
And don’t forget the documentation, for a new guy its kinda hard to get into the fun out of the box which might dampen the experience for some.

7/10 form my and my team at OCFreaks.

And a big thanks to Tirupati Enterprise for providing the sample.