ROG (ASUS) - Azoth 96 HE Gaming Keyboard

My review of the ROG Azoth 96 HE First of all i want to disclose that this keyboard was sent to me from ASUS for review they did not get to see this review before i posted it and all opinions are based on my own preferences. I will go over things point by point and hope i have not forgotten anything important. And like with all reviews i recommend you do not judge any product by the word of just one person and look for what others think as well since as mentioned these things are with my personal preferences in mind. Connectivity: It has tri-mode connectivity using either a Wired connection, 2.4Ghz with the included dongle or in Bluetooth. While i have not used it in Bluetooth mode i have used it in 2.4Ghz mode and had no connectivity issues at all this while i had another 2 keyboards, gamepad and a headset also running in 2.4Ghz mode all connected to the same Usb hub to test it under the worst conditions i could create. Accessories: Keycap puller is made out of plastic and feels to be of pretty good quality but it has problems fitting for the removal of some of the keycaps for example the Esc key where it is just to tight to get it in between the keycap and the casing (Had to use my wire style keycap puller for this). When it fits and there is no issue i really like this keycap puller. I have only ever used the common wire keycap puller that has come with every other hotswap keyboard before this so my experience is limited. The switch puller is real nice and made out of metal and unlike the keycap puller have no problems fitting to remove any of the switches. The silicone wrist rest feels real nice and weighs 515g so it stays in place even on my cloth deskmat. I liked it so much that it might become my permanent wrist rest no matter what keyboard i use. No extra switches included which is pretty much standard with most hotswap keyboards i have tried. I can not seem to find them sold separately either which is a downside if you end up needing to replace any of the switches. Build material: Top casing is made of aluminum and the bottom of the case is plastic but it feels real solid and has no flex at all to it. So i would say the build quality is real solid but at the price point i would have liked to see an all aluminum build. It uses six-layer dampening and is gasket mounted. It comes in at a weight of 1395g. Keycaps: 1.4-1.6mm thick Doubleshot shine through PBT Keycaps feel pretty nice to use but im a bit peculiar when it comes to how things feel to the touch so i will likely exchange them for another keycap set. Switch specs: ROG HFX V2 switches with a 0.1-3.5mm actuation with 0.01mm adjustment steps and to me they feel a lot better than V1 of the switches that has a 4mm travel distance. Stabilizers: They come pre lubed and feel real smooth and has no ping at all from what i can tell. Screen/Knob features: Oled Touch Screen and toggle knob. The screen looks real nice and the touch functionality is responsive and works great in combination with the knob to adjust settings like volume, media controls, actuation point in increments of 0,1mm unlike the 0,01mm in gear link, rapid trigger sensitivity/deadzone, RGB brightness, OLED screen brightness as well as RGB effects. Software/Web hub: This keyboard use a web based software called gearlink that lets you adjust all your settings and i find it pretty easy to use and understand. Functions are described throughout the review. RGB: It has 10 different RGB options but no custom RGB profiles which i would have liked to be able to take full advantage of the per key RGB. Polling rate wireless/wired: 8k wired and wireless 2.4Ghz polling rate confirmed working as advertised with the use of keyboard inspector, polling rate options seem to be limited to either 8Khz or "Smart power saving" that sets the polling rate to 250 Hz but as i understand it will increase the polling rate automatically to 8K when you use the keys. Hall Effect functions: The keyboard offers adjustable actuation from 0.1mm to 3.5mm in increments of 0.01mm allowing you to finetune it to your preferences. Rapid trigger offers you instant reset of the key as soon as you start releasing it allowing for faster reactivation of the keypress than what normal mechanical switches offer. It also comes with features like DKS that allows for up to 4 different function on a single keypress 2 of them will the key is being pressed and another 2 during the release. Mod tap where you can have one key have different functions depending on if you tap it or hold down the key. Speed tap (Also known as SOCD "Simultaneous Opposing Cardinal Directions") is another function available that you can set up ín 2 key combos (up to a total of 5 different combinations) like for example A and D making the last button pressed prioritized making for super responsive strafing, if you want to use this function in your FPS games make sure that it is allowed in the game since for example CS2 does not allow it and can cause you to get kicked from the server and possibly banned since it is against their rules. Battery: I used the keyboard with RGB set to 100% brightness and ran it in the normal mode with all keys set to 8Khz polling rate, so basically every setting to drain the battery as fast as possible. And i estimate i got about 36h of playtime out at these settings which i find pretty good. Using Zone mode or Power saving modes will increase the battery duration by a lot but in any case you will not drain this battery in one sitting even on the most power hungry settings. Zone mode will put the most commonly used keys in 8Khz polling rate mode while the rest will run in smart power saving mode. And RGB will be disabled and screen brightness reduced. Power saving mode will run all your keys in 250Hz polling rate also with all RGB disabled as well as the OLED. Teardown: To open it you have to remove 12 screws on the underside of the case and the PCB is attached with a rather long ribbon cable so you actually have some room to move the PCB before disconnecting it. Overall i would say it seem to offer good modding capabilities but as for now i have only used it in its stock configuration to give it a proper review as is since im guessing that is how most people will use it. Price and value: It is a bit on the expensive side of keyboards but if money is not an issue i would have no problem recommending this to anyone looking for a 96% keyboard and like the screen and knob functionality. If i have missed something you might have questions about feel free to post any questions and i will answer to the best of my ability. Hopefully there will be a video review coming as well in the near future if i can get over my nerves when trying to record it.

I decided to not put a price since the price differs depending on country and store but is still on the expensive side. Im sure those that has a genuine interest will check the price in stores available to them so rather than me saying the price i have here in Sweden (That is likely higher than in most parts of the world) i left it out.

Get asus falchion hall effect from computech for 16k.

Bought it from "fynd hörnan" this week for 3700ish sek, as an open package/refurbished from asus

Only Sweden Germany swiss and some others, as if today 09 January. It's not available in the Netherlands

Man, I loved the Asus Azoth but I absolutely abhorred their software. Armoury Crate is not only annoying to use but way too difficult to completely remove from your computer, and if you get the Azoth, you need Armoury Crate to customize the OLED display. I would never bother with it again. Edit: Okay the Falchion ace is also Asus. I would honestly go with a different keyboard unless you don't think you'll mind using Armoury Crate. Definitely check it out on YouTube or something. This made me never want to buy an Asus product again.

I have Rog Azoth with Linear Red switches. Im looking for really good quality switches, mainly for gaming and good keycaps. Prefer the switches to be pre-lubed cant be bothered lubing them.

Asus Azoth wireless, most people recommend something that has programable actuation points like a Wooting or Razer huntsman but I’m happy with just regular tactile switches

I mean you could go even lower then a Rainy75. Like I just got a Akko Mod007 on Amazon for $20 CAD seems like a good platform. But like your other comment says about gaming companies, most are overpriced and you are just paying for the brand. Although my favourite keeb so far has been the Asus Azoth.

As someone who just had her Azoth malfunction after a month. These are some stuff to know before you buy any Asus product with NX snow switches. The switches sounds great, the keycaps are really really really mid (think they're just bad honestly), the keyboard feels nice to type on if you switch the keycaps (Did that first day). BIG WARNING: There's a very common Chatter (multiple inputs (sssss)) problem with Azoth keyboards this might not happen day one but in 1 month mind you, had 3 switches suffer from major to minor chatter, this is as many have mentioned before either an issue of the sockets which are incorrectly or poorly mounted, or actual defects with the switches themselves. In my case it was 3 faulty switches in a month and even if I really really really like the sound I got from my keycaps and this keyboard, the nice screen it comes with and honestly a nicer nob than most keyboards I can't at all recommend these keyboards.

The azoth is a pretty damn nice keyboard actually. Their switches are also very satisfying.

I never said they weren’t expensive. lol and I don’t have the high end azoth extreme. ($500+ for a keyboard is ludicrous) I have had a keyboard and mouse from most big name gaming brands, however I have not tried wooting. The more modestly priced azoth “moonlight”, paired with the rog harpe ace mini is probably the happiest I have been with a mouse and keyboard.

i’ve always been corsair, started with a k95 platinum with mx brown switches(eventually some LEDs dimmed and i sold it), then for some reason i got a k65 mini, wasnt able to play some games with that, but then i ventured into rog, i loved scope 2 and azoth, but i missed corsair, went back to k70 pro tkl (perfect size) and i loved it (icue customization per app and lighting layers do it for me) and now the vanguard 96 pro (pretty much the same size as the k70 pro tkl but with a num pad) is like the scope ii BUT with azoth quality, the sound and feel is amazing, im just waiting for icue compatibility, no issues with the corsair web hub but it’s not as good as icue the vanguard 96 pro is exactly what i wanted in a keyboard, i remember begging for them to make something similar to the azoth/scope2 and it finally happened