ROCCAT Ryos MK Pro Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Capsule Review
by E. Fylladitakis on December 31, 2014 10:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Keyboard
- Gaming
- ROCCAT
- Mechanical Keyboards
Introduction
ROCCAT is a well-known manufacturer of gaming peripherals and equipment with a notable global market presence. The company was founded in 2007 in Germany and today they also have offices in Taiwan and the US. With a strong focus of the company on gaming keyboards, mice, and headsets (with very few exceptions), ROCCAT has built a solid and widespread reputation for a company that is only seven years old.
The company has been very conservative about the products they release, trying to ensure that they are going to excel and survive in the ever-changing market for a long time, rather than just having a flashy release of a product that will be replaced/upgraded every few months. For example, over a year and a half ago we had a look at the Kone XTD and Kone Pure gaming mice, which still are among the best gaming mice ROCCAT offers today and remain excellent nearly two years after their release.
Today we will be looking at the Ryos MK Pro, the best mechanical gaming keyboard ROCCAT currently offers. The major selling points of this keyboard are the per-key lighting, fully programmable layout, thumb keys, and the advanced software. Some of these features are not difficult to find nowadays, but per-key lighting and fully programmable layouts were rather rare when the Ryos MK Pro was released – nearly a year ago, that is. With a retail price of $156 (depending on switch type), it remains one of the most expensive gaming keyboards currently available, forcing it to face tremendous competition from other manufacturers. Can the Ryos MK Pro compete in today's market? We will find out in this capsule review.
Manufacturer's Features and Specifications
- PER-KEY ILLUMINATION – insane customization possibilities
- EASY-SHIFT[+] BECOMES EASY KEYBOARD – assign a secondary function to virtually any key
- N-KEY ROLLOVER – advanced anti-ghosting
- HIGH-POWERED HARDWARE – two 32-bit ARM Cortex processors + 2MB of flash memory
- ROCCAT ACHIEVEMENTS DISPLAY – keep track of your vital statistics
- KEY SWITCHES TO SUIT EVERY GAMER – CHERRY MX key switchs in blue, black, brown, and red
- SMUDGE-PROOF GLOSSY LOOK – killer look – with no fingerprints
- INTEGRATED MEDIA HUB – audio in/out and two USB 2.0 ports
- COMPLETE COMFORT, ROCK SOLID – jumbo-size integrated wrist rest
- CLUTTER-FREE, SUPER-STABLE SUPPORT – built-in cable channel and five rubber feet
- ROCCAT TALK – SET BONUS – get more out of your ROCCAT devices by combining their functions
Packaging and Bundle
The ROCCAT Ryos MK Pro comes in a very large, well-designed cardboard box. The artwork of the box is based on an explanatory picture of the keyboard itself, highlighting its design and most important features, while its size hints the extended proportions of the keyboard. This is most definitely not a compact keyboard!
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d4nt3 - Sunday, October 18, 2015 - link
I had my Roccat Ryos MK Pro (with Cherry MX Red keys) for about 9 months and it has never given me any problems, unlike the other mechanical keyboards I had the misfortune of owning. The Corsair K70 (which the Ryos replaced) simply died after two months of moderate use. A month ago, I got a Razer Blackwidow Ultimate because I was feeling nostalgic and missed the loud clack of old IBM keyboards. I was really looking for Cherry Blues but all that's available where I live are Reds and the Blackwidow was the closest I could find. That thing worked well for a week then the FN key started acting up. It would work intermittently making access to the multimedia keys frustrating. On top of that, the 'T', 'N'', and 'C' keys double-taps intermittently, even when pressed lightly, making the Blackwidow unusable for typing.Fortunately, I had the Ryos to fall back on, like an old fiend patiently waiting in the wings. Looking at this article I got curious and opened up it up to see the internals for myself. It is then that I realized it's real strength: solid German design and engineering. Everything is built solid from the base to the key tops. No cheap components from the board, chips, keys, LEDs, down to the USB and audio connectors. Everything inside screams quality and assembled with superb workmanship. No wonder it's expensive. I was actually amused with myself. It felt like I had a Benz and I was trying to replace it with a flashy Japanese car.
Granted the Ryos MK Pro's overall appearance is polarizing, either you love the look and the heft or you hate it. But to me, it remains a great value because it's reliable and feels solid. It simply works.