Asus ROG Strix Scope TKL Deluxe tested: Tenkeyless RGB gaming keyboard with Cherry MX switches

My hands get used to almost every keyboard. Regardless of whether membrane switches or mechanical switches are installed. Regardless of whether they click, provide tactile feedback or are simply pressed linearly. Nevertheless, the times when I would prefer my previous gaming keyboard, the Razer DeathStalker Chroma slim-switch keyboard, are over. After months of employees and gaming with an Asus ROG Strix Scope TKL Deluxe, I finally realise that the mechanical switches from Cherry feel better after all.

Keyboard

ASUS ROG Strix Scope Deluxe

DE, Cable

65

Keyboard

ASUS ROG Strix Scope Deluxe

DE, Cable

65

My test object not only has red Cherry MX RGB switches, but also a shortened width. This is because there is no numeric keypad - TKL, or tenkeyless, as it is called. And yes, it is a feature. On the one hand, it annoys e-banking and Excel users, on the other hand, the mouse has more space. For some gamers, the reduced spread between the arms should be a blessing. After six months with the TKL keyboard, I'm not sure whether it really helps when playing games. I do tend to move the mouse closer to the keyboard now, but I'm probably too much of a casual gamer to notice a clear advantage. It may be that my extremities get tired a little less quickly now, but I'm not more precise with it.

Design and layout

ROG has given the Strix Scope TKL Deluxe a textile-covered USB cable that is long enough at 180 centimetres. The dimensions of the 811 gram keyboard are compact. It is just 35.6 centimetres wide and 13.6 centimetres deep. With the feet folded in, I measured a height of 1.5 centimetres at the front edge and 2.2 centimetres at the very back. With the feet folded out, it's 3.1 centimetres - plus the height of the keys themselves, which adds up to 1.6 centimetres. I am therefore not only grateful for the rubberised feet, which allow the keyboard to be positioned ergonomically, but also for the palm rest that comes with it. It is soft and the artificial leather feels pleasant. Thanks to it, my fingers are always at the perfect typing height.

Although I really like the palm rest and it even sticks to the keyboard magnetically, it also has a small disadvantage. It makes the LED light bar, which illuminates the table under the front edge, invisible. I can easily do without the light bar. Especially as the base with its brushed aluminium look also has an RGB ROG logo - and RGB buttons, which can be individually coloured and illuminated in four stages.

The layout of the keyboard comes without a shortened Enter key and with a wide Ctrl key on the left and Shift key on the right. Apart from the numeric keypad, I don't miss anything. I particularly like the F12 key, which depicts a pseudo-hacker or some other stealth guy. If you press the key, all windows are minimised and all sounds are muted.

Typing and gaming with Red Switches

Some people, or even many, like clicking noises. To me, they seem like a reward for pressing a key when I use a keyboard. After a long time, however, I find clicking noises rather annoying. I much prefer clear trigger points. They are not obtrusively loud and still provide support when typing. This gaming keyboard has neither clicking noises nor tactile feedback. How loud typing is here depends on how hard you hit the keys - or how loud the keystroke is when it is pressed to the maximum. And whether it is fully depressed at all.

The red Cherry MX RGB switches function linearly - no resistance can be felt from the moment the fingertip is pressed until the maximum key travel of four millimetres is reached. They require comparatively little force to actuate - 45 grams - and it feels as if you are gliding through butter. After a short period of familiarisation, my brain remembers that the key is triggered after two millimetres. The fact that there is no tactile feedback is something I find pleasant with mechanical switches. I didn't expect this before testing. It's like when I get this feeling of becoming one with the vehicle when driving a car. And that applies to typing with the ten-finger system as well as WASD gaming. Incidentally, I never noticed any ghosting or other annoyances during the six months of testing.

Conclusion: Brings lasting fun

It's not that I really type or game better with this keyboard than with any other. Typing and gaming with Cherry MX switches is just more fun for me - especially with the red, German quality switches. And since fun makes for a heightened state of mind, I feel like I'm better or more complete with this keyboard than I was with the dumpy ancient DeathStalker Chroma before.

Whether I'm using it to slay some large creatures in The Outer Worlds or to correct a document is irrelevant. The keyboard makes me happy. Also because of the brushed aluminium look, but not really because of RGB. I like it colourful and bright, but I don't necessarily need it. What I couldn't do without, however, is the wrist rest, which saves me wrist pain.

I can recommend ROG's Strix Scope TKL Deluxe with a clear conscience. However, I would like to point out that I would have loved any other keyboard with a good palm rest and red Cherry MX RGB switches. If I had tested the same product including the number pad, I would probably have christened it like a ship for sheer joy. With a little coward on a string.