Asus Rog Azoth test: a high-end “custom” mechanical keyboard with OLED screen

The Rog Azoth immediately displays its solidity when you take it in hand. Its very well finished case is covered with a thick aluminum plate. It comes in TKL format (without numeric keypad), but a bit wider (326 x 136 x 40 mm) than the usual 75% format because of its Oled screen on which we will come back. We appreciate this format for the space saving on the desk and the space left for the mouse on the right side, but it still weighs 1186 g; a weight which certainly gives it robustness and a solid base, but which could prove to be inconvenient for those who would like to transport it regularly. Given the thickness, a small palm rest would have been welcome, but the internal construction is otherwise flawless, with no less than three layers of foam and silicone pads to absorb keyboard noise and vibrations.

On the key side, we find those characteristic of 75% keyboards, with a row of configurable F1 to F12 functions, but some specificities have crept in here. First a Tab key that allows you to switch from a Windows PC to a Mac, but also shortcuts to manage the brightness and the effects of the backlighting at the level of the arrow keys, and to manage the profiles on the keys 1 to 5 Annoying subject, the plastic of the keys is in ABS on the AZERTY version, which is hardly conceivable on a keyboard at nearly 300 €. It is certainly worth 10 € less than the QWERTY version, which is indeed in PBT, but a complete set of keys in this material will probably cost you much more (about 30 € in general). This may be an opportunity to take some touches with more sympathetic colors and screen printing, those offered by Asus being quite dull and without much interest, even if this is obviously a matter of taste.

The Oled screen located in the upper right corner of the Azoth makes all its originality. If it turns out to be a bit of a gimmick, it must be admitted, it still offers some attractive features and can display images or animations either pre-recorded by Asus, or of its own by integrating them into the Armory Crate software. which will make a pixelated transcript in black and white. Rather than an image, you can also choose to display system information, such as CPU and GPU operating temperatures or frequencies. A practical tool for those who want to monitor these data without displaying them on the screen.

The wheel located on the right side allows for its part to make a whole bunch of settings quickly and to scroll through the menus on the small screen. It offers a total of four possible actions: push up, pull down, click on it or click on the slice button to change the menu. Seven menus can be displayed, from the control of the backlight to that of the fan of the motherboard through the management of the volume or the musical tracks being listened to. If all of them are clearly not essential, we at least appreciate having dedicated multimedia keys.

The Armory Crate software will therefore make it possible to supervise all these elements, as well as the RGB backlighting effects. It also offers a toolkit to download missing drivers on the PC. He does what is asked of him, but is sometimes capricious. It caused us some problems in terms of updating in particular, but it is quite easy to navigate its sub-menus to make the desired adjustments.

Under the keyboard, there are of course non-slip pads, but also adjustable feet on two levels to manage the inclination according to your preferences. On the back edge are placed the USB-C connection for charging, the switch that allows you to choose the connection mode of the Azoth and a location for the USB radio receiver. The keyboard can indeed connect via Bluetooth or 2.4 GHz. And it is of course this last mode that we recommend to play with the least possible latency.

Autonomy is announced at 2000 h with the screen and the RGB off. In practice, and with these elements on, the battery obviously lasts much less, but it does very well against the competition. We only had to recharge it twice in several weeks. Of course, everything will depend on the use and the number of hours spent playing and working daily.

A word on the kit provided by Asus, which includes many elements. The PCB being hotswappable, it is possible to change all or part of the switches by those of your choice, which is a plus, especially if you want to upgrade your keyboard over time. For this, there is an extractor to remove the keycaps (the plastic keys) and another to remove the switches. A rack is also present to accommodate these and lubricate them using the brush and silicone provided in the kit. The keyboard is pre-lubricated, we remind you, but a maintenance operation will surely be necessary after a certain time, in order to ensure perfect typing fluidity.

For its flagship keyboard, Asus has chosen in-house Rog NX red switches whose characteristics are halfway between those of the MX red switches from Cherry and the GX red switches from Logitech, with an activation force of 40 cN and an activation stroke of 1.8 mm. The keyboard is also available in NX brown tactile and NX blue clicky versions with different properties, but not available on the French market to our knowledge. The polling rate is 1000 Hz, as on most devices gaming.

The Rog Azoth is one of the best keyboards we have ever played and worked on. The fact that the keys are pre-lubricated and that many layers of vibration and noise dampening are present provide a typing experience that borders on perfection. Everything is fluid, with an effective rebound and without resonance. Admittedly, the red switches may not be to everyone’s taste, but, let’s repeat, it is possible to change them for others if necessary.