Functional usage

Functional usage

The CLAYMORE II comes with ROG RX Red key switches to our test. An actuation force of  40 cN is required for the pre-travel of 1.5 millimeters. The overall travel distance is four millimeters. RED switches strike a good balance between typing and gaming sessions. For the Cherry MX Red, I’d say that they’re not the quietest, but here – for the ROG Reds, it’s another story. The X-Stabilizers and square steam do what they are supposed to. The keys can be very soft if you press them softly, and this task is relatively easy to do. A quiet keyboard might come in handy for some users, especially for typing or gaming at night, and I think – you don’t need the Cherry MX for that. The RGB Reds provided here should be enough for the majority of users.

 
We have tested the CLAYMORE II over many hours of typing and gaming. In games like Starcraft 2, PUBG, Battlefield 1, Call of Duty: WW2, or even DiRT: Rally, the keyboard responded to my actions very quickly and exceptionally accurately. Precision is one reason people buy mechanical keyboards, and there’s absolutely no shortage of it here.

The keyboard passed the N-Key rollover test without any hiccups. The anti-ghosting technology serves its purpose great. I didn’t get any missed keystrokes when typing, either. The polling rate is 1000 Hz, and it’s enough (well, I don’t perform competitive gaming on a professional level, maybe there would be some difference). The ergonomics are excellent overall, and the thing that makes it even more remarkable is a palm rest. It’s very comfortable and easily detachable. But on the other side – it fits perfectly only in the full-format state of the keyboard. Your typical mechanical switch has a 50 million keystroke rating, whereas ROG can provide a 100 million keystroke rating with their RX Optical Switch, so that’s a nice upgrade. I appreciate that this keyboard has dedicated (four) media keys, and of course, the best of it – the volume roller. As for the lighting, it’s really vivid and visible and not annoying in the dark (you can disable it or bring it down a notch). There’s also a USB passthrough here. As for the battery life – it’s 43 hours with lighting on, according to Asus, but I’ve reached ~37. Still – not too bad. You can check the current battery status according to the battery indicator or Armoury Crate software. There’s no noticeable lag in the operation of the keyboard in wireless mode. So overall – all good!