ROCCAT Isku FX gaming keyboard review
Light Effects
The software lets you choose between 16.8 million colors, but likely you're going to stick to just a handful of colors as most variations don't look that good. The multi-color backlight works well but in my opinion, the LEDs are too dim, even at the brightest setting they're barely visible in daylight. Another miss is that the multimedia keys aren't backlit, and that the indicator LED lights have a fixed, blue color. Below is a sample of some of the color combinations.
Testing
Gaming with the Isku FX is a pleasant experience, it's a pretty fine membrane-based keyboard and its macro capabilities will be more than enough for even the most demanding MMO players. After many hours of gaming, I couldn't really find any complaints, other than that Isku FX does not have NKRO. Around the WASD area it can register 5-6 simultaneous key presses, but other areas of the keyboard have trouble registering more than two simultaneous key presses. A lot of keyboards suffer from this, but for a $99.99 keyboard this is definitely a drawback. Besides gaming, the keyboard also serves well for day-to-day use.
One important issue I encountered is that the ROCCAT Isku FX software has a compatibility issue with Microsoft Security Essentials and Windows Defender, the default virus scanner of Windows 8. You have to add IskuFXOption.exe to the excluded processes list, if you don't do this the ROCCAT driver becomes very unresponsive. Without adding the application to the exclusion list you have to suffer waiting times of up to 30 seconds until changes are written to the keyboard's firmware!
Conclusion
When I review products one of the aspects I care a lot about is how much value the product delivers at its price point. In this case, I feel the Isku FX falls a little short. In a time when gamers are becoming accustomed to mechanical keyboards $99.99 (99.99EUR) is quite a lot to ask for a membrane-based keyboard - especially considering its lack of NKRO and its underwhelming look & feel. Not everything is bad though, the Isku FX delivers great customization options and performs well in gaming as well as everyday use. At a lower price point, this would be a great keyboard, but at this price level, it's hard to overlook all of its imperfections.
The Good Stuff
- Enables high level of customization
- On-the-fly macro recording
- Good performance in games
- Feature-rich software
- Good ergonomics
The Bad Stuff
- Feels too cheap
- No NKRO - Multimedia keys are not backlit
- Backlight barely visible in daylight
- Indicator LEDs have a fixed color
- Expensive for a non-mechanical keyboard
DV Hardware gives the ROCCAT Isku FX keyboard a 7/10.
Previous Page (3/4)Added: July 31st 2013
Product reviewed: ROCCAT Isku FX gaming keyboard
Reviewer: Thomas De Maesschalck
Score: 7/10
Page: 4/4
