ROCCAT Vulkan TKL Pro Review – Optical TKL!
ROCCAT, much like Corsair and Asus, are jumping into the optical keyboard market with this, the Vulkan TKL Pro. You can buy it in a full size configuration, but I thought I’d take a look at the smaller version as most other boards I test are full size. So what make this one special? Why buy one of these over the alternatives? Lets find out. But first, if you haven’t already, consider subscribing for more videos every Monday, Wednesday and Friday!
The obvious thing we need to talk about first is the whole “optical” bit. If you want to know more about optical keyboards I did a full tech explained video on the different styles, pros and cons and lots more so go watch that it’ll be listed in the cards above. ROCCAT have made their own switch, the “TITAN”, which uses the more basic interrupt style which doesn’t inherently offer any benefits above improved longevity and a reduction in input lag. It’s a linear style switch rather similar to a Cherry red, even uses a Cherry MX stem with supports, and basically has the moving piece interrupt an infrared beam to trigger the actuation. That happens at 1.4mm, which is higher than a standard cherry red switch, but lower than Corsair’s 1mm “OPX” switches.
They feel alright to type and game on, I’m not a massive fan of linear switches like these, I much prefer a tactile bump, but they do feel very similar to standard red style switches so if you like them, you’ll like this. The board is a little on the loud side, have a listen…
The key caps are a little strange, they look like low profile caps, incredibly thin, but the stem is pretty long meaning they sit really high. I’d definitely need a wrist rest to use this for a longer session. They feel ok, a little tacky and cheap but not too bad. Their layout is pretty good too, they’ve got a “patent pending” space bar stabiliser which feels fine, and beyond the height concerns, it’s nice enough to type on.
Gaming on it felt good, it definitely suits gaming more than typing for me, the actuation point was easy to get used to and while I can’t say I noticed a reduction in input lag with this – and lets face it you probably never will – it still felt good. I’d be pretty happy to use this as a gaming board on a longer term, with my only complaint landing on the bottom row keys as they are all beveled outwards, unlike every other key which is nicely concave to fit your fingers in. I slipped off control a few times while playing thanks to the shape.
So that’s the switches and caps, but what else has this got? Well that’s the thing, not all that much. You’ve got a few nice additions like a detachable USB C cable, a nicely notched, but cheap feeling plastic dial for volume adjustments and a few extra functions you can access with the FN key like “GAME MODE”, but that’s about it. For £150, I would kind of like an extra bell or whistle you know?
Asus undercuts the Vulkan Pro lineup with their new STRIX Scope RX I reviewed recently, that’s in the cards too, as that’s a full size board selling for more like £120, and has what are at least a little more unique and personally nicer switches. And while the Corsair K100 is listed for a whopping £230, at least it has a bucket load of extra features to attempt to justify the astounding price tag. What I’m saying is if ROCCAT dropped the price to match Asus, or added some extra functionality, maybe going with a more inventive method of making a key switch optical, I could more wholeheartedly recommend this. As it stands, this isn’t bad, like at all, but I think it’s a little rich for the market. If you can get it on sale, you won’t regret it.
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TechteamGB Score
