Roccat Ryos MK Glow Review
Category : Keyboards
Published by Luca Rocchi on 08.05.14
Ryos MK Glow is Roccats new mechanical gaming mechanical keyboard. This peripheral features a big palm rest integrated that has been integrated into the chassis, a few macro buttons, blue backlight and much more. Our model comes with CherryMX Black switches but there is also a version with Cherry MX Brown switches making this keyboard attractive for a wider audience.
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Today we are presenting you the Ryos MK Glow keyboard coming from Roccat. Our sample is equipped with Cherry MX Black switches but is also available with Brown switches as well. In the following pages we will analyze the main features as well as look for any drawbacks of the Roccat's new gaming keyboard.
| Page 1 - Introduction |
| Page 2 - Photo Gallery / Delivery |
| Page 3 - Features |
| Page 4 - Closer Look |
| Page 5 - Software |
| Page 6 - Conclusion |
Photo Gallery
Delivery
The exterior of the Roccat Ryos MK Glow features the name of the product printed with a pretty clear font, a picture of the keyboard itself, and a few general information regarding the keyboard. On the back we find some information about the specifications of this keyboard. Inside the box you get the keyboard itself and a couple of flyers with information about installation as well as warranty. If you want to set macros you must download the free software from ROCCAT official website, which is around 22 MB.| Page 1 - Introduction |
| Page 2 - Photo Gallery / Delivery |
| Page 3 - Features |
| Page 4 - Closer Look |
| Page 5 - Software |
| Page 6 - Conclusion |
Features
| Model number: | Ryos MK Glow |
| Keys: | Cherry MX Black |
| Keycaps: | ABS |
| Materials: | ABS |
| Backlight: | Blue |
| Profiles: | 5 |
| Macros: | 5+3 |
| Interface: | USB |
| Cable : | 180 cm |
| Dimensions: | 50.8(L) x 23.4(W) x 1.8(H) cm |
| Weight: | 1400 g |
| Page 1 - Introduction |
| Page 2 - Photo Gallery / Delivery |
| Page 3 - Features |
| Page 4 - Closer Look |
| Page 5 - Software |
| Page 6 - Conclusion |
Closer Look
As soon as you lift the Ryos MK Glow, you realize how sturdy and solid it actually is. ROCCAT has created a keyboard that gives a sense of maximum quality to the user at any time, and it did a pretty good job. The whole keyboard is made of plastic material with different finishing, including the wrist rest. The Ryos MK Glow is one of the bigger keyboards tested so far, especially thanks to the palm rest that is integrated into the chassis. There is no USB hub or audio jacks and the only interface you will find on the Ryos MK Glow is the USB you need in order to connect it to the PC. The ROCCAT Ryos MK Glow is a mechanical keyboard and uses the Cherry MX switches (available with Cherry MX Brown or Black MX switches), making its use very reactive.
On the left side of the keyboard you find five programmable keys, which can be set up using the free software available on the ROCCAT official website. On the top side we find the F-keys, with F1 through F3 we can adjust the sound level, while from F5 to F8 we have the usual multimedia keys for pause and play videos and music. The Cherry MX Black switches are perfect for all those who call themselves "hardcore gamers". The key pressure is precise and linear, the feedback that this gives keyboard is definitely good. The blue backlight, with 5 levels of intensity, is more than enough to fully illuminate the keys, and make the keyboard very comfortable to use in the dark. On this model as well as on other ROCCAT products, LED block with Num, Caps and Scr are positioned close to the arrows.
Back
On the back of the keyboard there is the classic label showing the serial of the product and escape routes that will help you with the USB cable. The stability is ensured with four rubber feet well placed in the corners of the keyboard plus another, huge, under the palm rest. In other words, it is practically impossible that the Ryos MK Glow moves from the desk without being raised. Obviously there are two little feet, also with rubber ends, which tilts the keyboard to a certain angle.
| Page 1 - Introduction |
| Page 2 - Photo Gallery / Delivery |
| Page 3 - Features |
| Page 4 - Closer Look |
| Page 5 - Software |
| Page 6 - Conclusion |
Software
ROCCAT did not include the software in the bundle. In this case you first have to go to the manufacturers website to download the latest version yourself. Once that is done, and once you installed it properly, you will see, that the software is very easy to use, yet offers quite an extensive amount of functions. The page "Main Control" lets you manage the five profiles that can be stored directly on the keyboard. For each profile you can adjust the backlight intensity, macros, shortcuts and more. In our opinion, the ROCCAT software is one of the best we tested so far, both for the simplicity and for the features. On the "Button Assignment" tab you can set the buttons and configure the Easy-Shift function which allows the simultaneous use of two buttons, allowing you to double the number of programmable keys available.
| Page 1 - Introduction |
| Page 2 - Photo Gallery / Delivery |
| Page 3 - Features |
| Page 4 - Closer Look |
| Page 5 - Software |
| Page 6 - Conclusion |
Conclusion
| General | + | - | |
| Our global verdict about this keyboard is more than positive as ROCCAT managed to create a solid and high-quality product, almost free of flaws. We like the fact that this keyboard is heavy, with an attractive but not excessive design typical for gaming peripherals. The blue backlight is clear and precise, but at the highest level it may be a bit excessive. |
- Weight
- Design |
||
| Manufacturing quality / Ergonomics | + | - | |
| The ROCCAT Ryos MK Glow gaming keyboard is really comfortable to use, all the keys are well placed and easy to reach so you will not find yourself pressing a wrong key by accident. The programmable buttons are placed on the left side of the keyboard and below the space bar and both are extremely easy to use. In addition to standard programmable buttons, the ROCCAT Ryos MK Glow also has the multi-fuction F keys which make the usage of the keyboard much easier. The key travel is precise and linear while the feedback is always good and perfect as you would expect from a mechanical keyboard in this range. |
- Build quality
- Comfort |
||
| Software | + | - | |
| The software is essential but has everything you need, it is free and fast to get, since is a mere 22 MB large. You simply could not ask for anything better. | - Easy to use | ||
| Recommendation / Price | + | - | |
| The starting price of Ryos MK Glow on Geizhals.eu is about 140 euro excluding shipping costs. In terms of value, the keyboard is certainly a very good product with attractive features. The price, however, is slightly higher than what you would expect and what competition offers. |
- Gaming - Office |
- Price | |
| Rating | |||
| We gave the Ryos MK Glow from ROCCAT 4.5 out of 5 stars. | |||
| Page 1 - Introduction |
| Page 2 - Photo Gallery / Delivery |
| Page 3 - Features |
| Page 4 - Closer Look |
| Page 5 - Software |
| Page 6 - Conclusion |