Roccat Vulcan II Max Optical Gaming Keyboard

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After upgrading my PC recently, I was curious about some of the latest keyboard and mice available to possibly go along with my new rig. Our friends at ROCCAT were nice enough to send over some of their latest tech, starting with the Syn Max Air Headset, and with the Roccat Vulcan II Max Optical Gaming Keyboard. If you’re looking for a slim, sturdy, beautiful optical keyboard with some nice features, this one is for you.

Right out the box the Vulcan II Max impressed me with its anodized aluminum plating that’s strong and tends to resist dust and dirt without being too heavy/bulky. I also like how a lot of these newer keyboards feature media controls and this one is no exception with a dedicated volume knob and media buttons for rewind, play/pause, and fast forward. The sweet thing about the volume knob is that it’s notched, has tactile feedback and can pressed for mute/unmute functions.

There’s even a nice soft, translucent palm rest you can connect to the bottom that also shows off the sweet RGB lighting you choose thanks to the bottom panel featuring RGB light ports to shine through the palm rest.

Speaking of lighting, Roccat has you covered with their Swarm software that you can use to configure the AIMO smart lighting technology which you can sync with other Roccat devices for some truly impressive RGB lighting effects for your setup, including mice such as Kone XP Air and the aforementioned Syn Max Air headset.

Now to dive into the meat of the keyboard, its ultra-fast TITAN II Optical-Mechanical switches that offer some pretty fast actuation speed but also has the feel of a traditional mechanical switch. As with the SteelSeries Apex 9 TKL, it took some getting used to this keyboard as I was sent the smooth, linear red switch model that features 1.4mm actuation distance and 3.6mm total travel distance. 

You can also get tactile brown switches if you’re used to clicky feedback from your keys. No matter which one you choose, Roccat claims these keys have a 100 million click lifecycle which is always a plus in my book for durability. I was already loving the awesome RGB lighting effects of this device, but what makes this one stand out is Roccat’s world’s first Dual-LED smart switches that contain a second LED light to show off keyboard functions such as the Cap, Num, and Scroll Lock keys being in effect with a blue LED glow in the midst of whatever color you’re using on your keys.

For those who want to customize their keyboards, you’ll be happy to know the TITAN II switches are swappable with most third party, cross shaped mount keycaps, and you can use Roccat’s Easy-Shift[+] button duplicator technology to use a second function layer to your keys which can be programmed for loads of options (though as with the Apex 9, the media keys cannot be programmed).

Even better is that there’s 4 gigs of onboard memory on this keyboard that allows you to save up to four profiles of custom lighting, key settings, etc. directly on the Vulcan II Max so you can easily access your settings on the go to a friend or family member’s place.

The Roccat Vulcan II Max Optical Gaming Keyboard is perfect for everyday typing and gaming, but the latter will get the most benefit from it. There’s all kinds of ways you can configure the keys, the RGB lighting, and other features, all while being a joy to use and type on no matter which switches you decide to go with.