ASUS ROG Strix Scope RX Review: an Opto-Mechanical Gaming Keyboard with Water Protection
ASUS ROG Strix Scope RX is an excellent gaming keyboard and if you evaluate it solely in terms of games, then there are no complaints at all. It is equipped with very fast, responsive and durable ROG RX Red opto-mechanical switches developed in-house. The design is very solid and reliable, there is nothing superfluous, and the layout is as close as possible to the standard one, which eliminates the need to relearn.
Important! – it is protected from dust and water according to the IP56 standard. It has fully customizable RGB lighting, profile support, on-board memory, a user-friendly app, and the ability to quickly set up with keyboard shortcuts. And as a useful bonus, there is a pass-through USB port to connect accessories. If we consider ASUS ROG Strix Scope RX as a universal option for both games and work, the option is rather controversial. Due to the very fast response, little effort and stroke required to activate ROG RX Red, you may face regular false presses while fast typing.
Pros:
- Very fast, responsive and durable ROG RX Red opto-mechanical switches
- Reliable and practical design, nice appearance
- Functional, convenient software, the ability to configure without it and built-in memory
- Fully customizable RGB lighting
- Protection against dust and water according to the IP56 standard.
Cons:
- Not the best to type large texts
- No wrist rest
What's in the Box?
The package is rather standard. ASUS ROG Strix Scope RX is packed in a black and red box with an abundance of beautiful printing. Everything in the familiar style of ROG devices. The kit includes the keyboard itself, manual and a set of stickers. That's all.
| ASUS ROG Strix Scope RX Keyboard Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Switches | Optical-mechanical, ROG RX Red |
| Life time | 100 million clicks |
| Travel to trigger point | 1.5 mm |
| Actuation force | 40 g |
| Backlight | RGB |
| Connection | wired, USB |
| Cable | 1.8 m |
| Dimensions (edit) | 440x137x39 mm |
| Weight | 1070 g |
ASUS ROG Strix Scope RX Design
Appearance and structure of ASUS ROG Strix Scope RX is very similar to other models in the range. And in this case it is rather an advantage: nothing superfluous. ASUS ROG Strix Scope RX is a full-size skeleton keyboard. At the base there is a thick, durable metal plate where the switches are located. And the keycaps seem to float above the surface. The keyboard is very compact (as for a full-size one): no unnecessary elements or protruding parts: minimalism and usability. The front face is beveled, with cut corners. On the left there is Republic of Gamers inscription. Keycaps are standard: trapezoidal, slightly curved. Made of matte black plastic.
Dark gray metal plate with minimal bluish tint and matte finish. No additional polishing or other decorative elements. At the same time, the surface is very practical, there are no fingerprints on it. It has no wrist rest and, apparently, you won't be able to buy it separately either.
In the upper right corner there is a black "window" with three standard indicators, to which Fn Lock and an indication of locking the Windows button have been added. To the right there is backlit ROG logo.
On the back of the keyboard you will find a pass-through USB port in addition to the entry point for the non-removable cable. You can connect a USB flash drive, mouse, or headset to it. A very useful little thing.
The bottom of the keyboard is made of matte plastic, with the ROG logo and decorative diagonal stripes across the entire surface. For stability, there are four familiar rubberized feet in the corners, as well as an additional platform in the middle of the front edge of the keyboard:
The rear legs are hinged to allow the keyboard to be positioned at two angles optimally. In any position, the keyboard is very stable and does not slip on the surface thanks both to the rubberized legs, and impressive weight of just over 2.2 pounds (1 kg):
Two possible tilt angles:
The cable is quite thick, with two connectors. The second connector is for USB pass-through. Instead of the familiar to gaming keyboards fabric insulation, a silicone one is used. The cable is a little less flexible, but in this case it does not matter. It's hard to think of a scenario where the keyboard has to be constantly dragged across the table.
As for the assembly, there are no complaints at all: ASUS ROG Strix Scope RX is made gorgeous. Everything fits perfectly, the design is very rigid, does not bend or "crunches". Let's add to all this dust and water protection according to the IP56 standard. The specification states that a certain amount of dust can penetrate into the structure, but will not interfere with the operation of the device. And also the keyboard is not afraid of direct strong splashes of water. So ASUS ROG Strix Scope RX won't die if you accidentally pour tea on it.
The Keyboard in Operation
The keyboard layout is absolutely standard. All buttons are in their places, F1 is located clearly above the number 2. Both keys Shift are long, Enter is a single-deck one. The only peculiarity of the layout, and ASUS focuses on it, is the elongated left Ctrl. According to ASUS, this is convenient while playing, especially in first-person shooters. It's hard to say how much it helps: I never had a problem with the usual Ctrl. In any case, the layout without any surprises, which means that you will not have to get used to it.
Another thing worth mentioning is that the multimedia keys are combined with the F row and the modes are switched by the Fn+Ins combination. Like in the other ASUS gaming keyboards, there is a Stealth button, which is combined with F12. It closes all open windows and mutes the sound. Pressing it again turns everything back.
The main feature of ASUS ROG Strix Scope RX is new optical-mechanical switches ROG RX Red, which were developed by ASUS itself. The main difference from the usual mechanical switches is that the activation does not require the physical contact shorting, but the interruption of the infrared beam. This reduces delay, eliminates indirect vibration, and increases switch life. The ROG RX Red has a claimed lifespan of 100 million keystrokes.
As for the design of the ROG RX Red itself, the driving part (which interrupts the beam) has a square shape, with LED inside, and a return spring around. And below it there is a scissor mechanism. Thanks to this design, the buttons don't rattle and the illumination of all characters is even. This is how it all looks like:
These are linear switches without touch response (there are also touch ROG RX Blue switches). The full stroke is 4mm and the actuation point is 1.5mm away. Pressing force is 40 grams, 45 grams before actuation, and total force is 55 grams. Moving from theory to practice, the switches are really lightning fast and very easy to actuate. And this has both pros and cons. In games the keyboard shows itself just great, especially with fast-paced first-person shooters and action games. ASUS ROG Strix Scope RX is very responsive, and reacts to all your actions instantly.
Another advantage of ROG RX Red switches is that they are pretty quiet: much quieter than usual mechanics. A disadvantage of this solution appears only if you type a lot of text on such a keyboard. In fact, the keys are triggered simply by touch. When you type fast, if you accidentally hit the neighboring button it goes off and you make a typo. Even after using Cherry MX Red linear for a long time to work on a regular basis, I had regular false presses when typing on the ROG RX Red. This is worth keeping in mind.
To put it all together in a nutshell, for gaming the ROG RX Red is great. For texting, not so much, it will take time to get used to.
It is worth noting that there are additional stabilizers under the long buttons that do an excellent job. The caps do not wobble and are always horizontal.
The keyboard is equipped with RGB lighting with a bunch of different effects, there is support for AURA functions (synchronizing multiple devices and creating your own effects). Customization can be done either through the Armory Crate app or on the fly using keyboard shortcuts. Fn + left / right arrows - switching of effects. Down and Up - brightness adjustment. The backlighting is uniform thanks to the design of the switches. The margin of brightness is very impressive, at maximum brightness it may not even be very comfortable.
Extra Features
One of the nice features of all current ASUS gaming keyboards, or at least those tested by us lately, is that you don't have to use an application to configure the keyboard. You can set up just about everything with a combination of buttons, up to and including writing macros. And it all gets saved in the keyboard's internal memory. As for the application, it features Armoury Crate, a universal tool for all ASUS gaming peripherals. The application allows you to adjust backlighting, set up different keys, upgrade firmware, link a profile to a specific application, set up backlight sync AURA and so on.
And here is a set of combinations to make quick settings without app:
- Fn + F5-F11 - Volume control and playback
- Fn + F12 - Stealth button
- Fn + Win - Disable Windows Button
- Fn + Right Alt - Start and stop recording a macro, after which you need to press the desired button to assign it
- Fn + 1-5 - Switch profiles
- Fn + Left and right arrows - switch backlight modes, up and down - brightness
- Fn + Del - Color customization, increase of Red, 10 gradations
- Fn + End - Increase of Blue
- Fn + PageDown - Increase of Green
- Fn + Esc - Reset to factory settings (long hold)
In Conclusion: 3 Things to Know about ASUS ROG Strix Scope RX:
- The keyboard is equipped with ROG RX Red opto-mechanical switches. They are very fast and durable, great for gaming, but not the best for typing.
- ASUS ROG Strix Scope RX is IP56 dust and water resistant.
- The keyboard has internal memory and can be configured using software or key combinations.