Jacob Roach / Digital Trends
I ’ve grown out of low - profile keyboard . After a Erolia minutilla with the Logitech G915 , I was speedily sweep up into thecommunity of enthusiast mechanical keyboards , and I ’ve cringe at the phone of a grim - visibility mechanically skillful keyboard ever since . Call me a snob , but it just has n’t been my penchant .
So , it come as a shock to me that the Asus ROG Falchion RX LP finagle to stay set up on my desk . I ’ll move back to the keyboard I ’ve tweak every part of finally , but the ROG Falchion RX LP stool a compelling argument for a low - profile form divisor with a few fundamental changes to this established blueprint .
Jacob Roach / Digital Trends
Meeting the Falchion RX LP
Let ’s get acquainted with the Falchion RX LP keyboard first . It ’s a low - visibility mechanically skillful keyboard , meaning both the switches and the keycaps are shorter . That change the keyboard profile , with the keys lie flat across the top of the body . This take has a 65 % layout , fit with pointer keys but no Function keys , and Asus managed to cram everything into the frame of a 60 % keyboard .
The result is a keyboard with no diminished space . Short of a light bar on top with a few unique features ( more on those soon ) , all the keys are scarf out together . That can create some problems , such as hitting thePage Upkey when you think of to hitEnter , or tapping theInsertkey when going forBackspace , but I ’ve been able to type 10,000 ( or more ) words with the keyboard without too many issues .
For connection , the keyboard supports Asus ’ Omni adaptor , allowing you to plug in multiple Asus peripheral with a single dongle . It also supports three modes of connection — the low - response time 2.4GHz wireless connection through the Omni adaptor , Bluetooth ( up to three devices ) , or wired over USB - C. you’re able to toggle between these mode with a shift on the back of the keyboard .
Outside of connectivity , the Falchion RX LP has a unique touch sensation strip on the back of the keyboard . The tenuous cavity has a few bumps and takes up about a twenty-five percent of the back of the keyboard , and by nonremittal , it serve as a way to align your loudness . However , a button next to the strip switch its functionality . you’re able to apply it as a media command and even as a macro instruction . By default , the macro default to scroll a web page .
It ’s an ingenious piece of kit , and it works much better than I expected . You have commands to purloin up and down , but also command if you tap the cartoon strip . you could bind these to dissimilar commands , such as launching an software or triggering a Windows shortcut . Other keyboard have this character of functionality , but they ’re usually overlay on other keys in such a small form factor . The addition of the tactual sensation flight strip gives you a consecrate billet to reach the extra functionality of the Falchion RX LP , and it make for .
As you ’d ask from an Asus keyboard , there are a boniface of customization options . You get per - key RGB lighting , options for when the keyboard sleep , and a game mode that disables key combinations likeAlt+F4.It nails all of the basic features of a self-coloured gaming keyboard and even go away beyond with the touch strip . That ’s not why I roll in the hay the Falchion RX LP so much , though .
All about the feel
The feel . For my snobby keyboard fingers , it all come down to the feel of typing and gaming , and Asus has it nailed on the Falchion RX LP . Every low - profile keyboard I ’ve judge has a shortsighted cam stroke , leading to a crisp typewriting experience , but Asus elevates the intention with a couple of central change .
First , the switches . These are low - visibility opthalmic switches , and Asus has a linear cherry switch with a downhearted propulsion force of 40 grams , and a backbreaking tactile down switch with an propulsion personnel of 55 grams . The switches come lubricate from the manufactory , but the important affair is how they ’re stabilized . Asus uses four mounting hole rather than snapping the key cap in like you see on keyboard like the Logitech G915 or trust on a scurvy - profile Cherry stem .
It ’s a trunk that extends up through the genuine switch rather than a mount straight on top of the permutation . There is no wobble on the keycaps . With unconstipated permutation , a turn of wobble is easy to forgive , but it makes a world of difference on a low-spirited - visibility keyboard due to not only the short propulsion point but also the monotonic nature of the profile . The deficiency of wobble on the Falchion RX LP take a leak it feel like you’re able to fly across the keys .
The other broker impacting tactile property is the integrate board foam . Asus includes two layers of silicon to absorb the pinging strait you find on less mechanical keyboard . Sound preoccupancy is one of the critical factor separating the run - of - the - John Stuart Mill mechanically skillful play keyboard from more enthusiast alternative , which was on full display withAsus ’ ROG Strix Scope II 96 .
Every low-toned - profile mechanical keyboard I ’ve tried has this almost cheap palpate due to the want of levelheaded concentration . It ’s a clacky pile , even with a running switch . There ’s a hint of that sound on the Falchion RX LP , but it ’s much more low-key compared to other down - profile options .
A low-profile winner
That does n’t entail this is a great keyboard for everyone . There are n’t many options for customization due to the low - visibility switches , so do n’t carry you ’ll be able to swop out your keycaps or switch over down the descent . In accession , although this is by far the good grim - profile mechanically skillful keyboard I ’ve used , it ’s still a abject - profile mechanical keyboard — the typewriting experience on a steady mechanical keyboard is superior .
Still , I ’m shocked at how much Asus negociate to cram in for this keyboard at $ 170 . Windows and macOS financial support is huge ; the locomotion - friendly nature gives you a exchange premium feel on the go , and the intuitive touch bar unlocks a suite of option on such a minuscule frame . If you ’re in the grocery for a low-spirited - visibility mechanical keyboard , this is the one to bribe .
