I Am Confused... Gaming Keyboard Had a Baby with a Custom? ROG AZOTH
#keybored I Am Confused... Gaming Keyboard Had a Baby with a Custom?
This video is sponsored by ASUS ROG Republic of Gamers!
So up to now, there was a clear delineation between what a gaming keyboard is and what a custom or enthusiast keyboard is... but now ASUS ROG has gone done it and started to blend the 2... Introducing the NEW Azoth... it's a gaming keyboard but it's also kind of like an enthusiast... it's a hybrid animal. But is it good, or are we making weird cross over babies for no reason?
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Links to Products Shown in this Video
ASUS ROG Azoth Keyboard (Launch Date TBD!)
rog.gg/Keybored_Azoth
Disclaimer - The Pricing for the Azoth is not yet set, and is currently speculated.
QK75 Keyboard
qwertykeys.notion.site/qwerty...
PBTFans Purpolch Keycaps
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KBDFans Hamster Linear Switches
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KBDFANS - For international Viewers
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Shot on Sony A7 III + Sony FE35mm F1.8 and Shure MV7 Dynamic Mic
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Shure MV7
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Asus ROG team let me know that the pricing for the Azoth is not yet 100%, and the range is speculative for the time being!
I expect $200+ right now.
@@d1kgaws12 hard pass dude
@@d1kgaws12 I agreeeee
@@d1kgaws12 under 200 or else
$200 and would be a must buy
Interesting... Seems some gaming companies have been taking note!
It's so odd... things are starting to merge. I mean... Krytox 205 coming with an ROG board... wild
yeah, theyve been learning from the mouse enthusiast market too... really excited to see asus competeting again in the peripheral scene, both keebs and mice
@@Keybored i hope they give it an evangelion skin
@@Keyboredsorry to necro, but this is crazy to read. I used to be the subject matter expert for krytox at a leading distributor and 10 years ago I started selling krytox 205 to one enthusiast for the keyboard market. Crazy to see this come mainstream.
I'll give them some credit. This is the first proper step forward I've seen in gaming keyboards. The Wooting 60HE was also great with the assembly being compatible with lots of other cases.
The magnetic Wooting Lekker switches and their browser based config software are the tech benchmark for competitive gaming keyboards. Wireless is the only feature Asus and Logitech may be ahead. But for a competitive gamer wireless is more interesting for a mouse, for a keyboard it is nice to have. As now the cable based wooting is optimized for input lag. But if we are talking mainstream casual gaming, design and double use for office, the rog gives the Logitewch G915 TKL a run for the money.
Love the HE60, but the 60 layout just doesn’t work for most varied genre gamers. I like the odd competitive bout of a FPS, but I also play RTS and myriad of RPG sub genres and not having those function keys (and even keys like Tilde for CRPG’s) is a big deal. I’m no fan of Logitech and Razer still uses proprietary switches so this Asus is looking very good. I can’t justify building my own 75 board for the same price and less features.
this has to be the best gaming keyboard from a large gaming company ever made, i've never expected the stabilizers to be that good and clean without any ping or rattle, honestly this is what surprised me other than the fucntional little screen.
This is what I like about Asus' ROG team - you can really see that the people behind it are enthusiastic about the products they make. I've noticed this a number of times already. Great coverage too Keybored. If their pricing is competitive, I might get one of this. Quite a unique board - if only it is full metal construction then it might be a perfect keeb.
Probably not going to be full metal because the wireless signal is better without a metal bottom
@@thatneo4133 plastic sandwiched between metals kinda like Akko's SPR67 might be a great compromise. Works on smartphones.
Seems pretty good! Expecting 250$ price though, but that is expected I think. Hoping the next version utilizes ZMK and custom BLE implementation, so we get a stable long battery life connection, on top of the low latency Wireless (so you can switch what you use based on what your needs are at any time). Also the Falchion's touch bar is something they can use here as well in some manner. That feature was pretty nifty!
Happy New Year Scott! Loved this vid... definitely made me want this keyboard haha
Really hope gaming keyboards will catch up to customs!
I just wish there are good premades at accessible prices and off the shelf
I hope customs will catch to this (2.4 wireless and rockers and volume knobs in 75). There are not many options, I hate bluetooth and wired, and I hate having to use fn-key shortcuts to control volume. Battery indicator, PC stats on the screen etc, that's pretty neat.
Scott in the new year? Yes please! Thanks for the content and the review of the board. Always interesting to see how you improve upon boards not directly aimed at the mechanical keyboard group as this is sort of a hybrid. You the man Scott and can't wait to see what you do in 2023!
Thank you so much! Let's keep pushing and see how far we can go!
Thanks for the review, hits all the points before someone wants to buy one. I was tossing up between this and the keychron q3 for over a month now. I ended up buying the keychron q3 from a suggestion from a work colleague yesterday. Added o-rings + did a tape mod, now it's quiet and smoother. This video makes my FOMO go into hyperdrive - and regret not buying the ROG Azoth lol - but I'll wait out another few months because the LED + wireless is more of a want than need for a work keyboard. Most likely get one in a few months time for gaming at home use.
Just bought this on a black friday deal with the Harpe aim lab mouse and mouse pad. Very nice set up!!!
Nice to see the gamer keyboard companies taking notice. Congrats on the awesome sponsorship, Keybored!
just got mine delivered today, and I can't wait to take it apart and start tinkering! Out of the box, it's not bad and quite enjoyable!
In the past few days I've been searching for a wireless mech at the $200 range, and I'm really glad you launched this video... it has everything I was looking for. Just loved the fast and reliable connection while maintaining the custom aspects in a 75% layout. I hope Asus make this available in Brazil as well (couln't buy the QK60/75 because of the shipping restrictions). Currently using a Kbdfans D84v2 and a D60Lite HHKB with a LM60 case, but you know, who doesn't need another keyboard? (:
Welcome to the rabbit hole! Haha, it's such a demanding hobby
How much is it?
I think switch manufacturers have solved the north-facing cherry thing (see Kailh box v2). So it's okay to like north facing again. (It was never the problem, it was the housing and the keycaps)
Since gaming is my main use case I might put my freebird tkl straight on marketplace when it comes and get this. The switch customization of customs without qmk/via compatibility issues seems like a win. Freebird tkl users that have gotten it so far have had issues flashing the provided qmk file and I always customize ASAP.
I’m not a super competitive gamer but ngl if I didn’t JUST buy a keyboard I would be tempted by this. Just knowing it had low latency and has most the features of a custom is really good to me. It annoys me how it’s hard to find the input latency on a keyboard unless it’s popular enough for RTings to test it! Kinda sad that’s only something aggressive gamery keyboards seem to optimize and market
That is true. Didn't realize that a fast wireless connection was something that was harder to come by. Perhaps one day the customs will get to that level, or the gaming keyboards will become more like customs. But I do see a convergence happening now!
AFAIK on many boards with proprietary firmware 125Hz wired polling rate was (is?) pretty common, and only from recently QMK firmwares are being compiled with 1000Hz by default. Some gaming keyboards with optical switches boasted 4000Hz polling rate even a year ago, and importance of that is of course very questionable, but rhythm gamers definitely have complained about 125Hz on customs. Though I imagine they are a lot more interested in literal game-changers like Wooting now anyway.
@@Lishtenbird its not just poll rate it also has to do with matrix scanning algorithm, debounce algo and time, mcu used and generally bloated firmware. 125hz only gives like 3.5ms latency on average compared to 1khz which isnt horrible, the issue has more to do with it being inconsistent rather than the latency itself. but if you can get something qmk compatible that would be optimal as you can change basically everything except the mcu of the board.
If RTings has tested the Strix Flare II Animate (a hot swappable full size keyboard), bet they’ll test the Azoth as well. The only other option that had decent latency for gaming and can be modded to MOST enthusiast standards is the GMMK Pro, which is a HORRIBLE option for those who REALLY don’t want to completely disassemble the entire board to fix/change the stabs (because they SUCK on the GMMK), and the gasket mounting feels more like a tray mount.
Thank you for your thorough review. I just purchased this keyboard and I must say this: I couldn't be happier. I love the sound and feel of this very heavy Azoth. You want yours louder, I don't get that at all. I want my keyboard as silent as it can get. Beside that, I'm a sucker for shine through keycaps and I love what this keyboard offers. There's nothing I don't like about it. Praise from Denmark, even though the price was 2K danish kroner which is approximately 269,- US $
Great review. I'm just gonna wait till the price drop to around 100!
Just saw it in a physical store weeks ago , Made me amazed & chuckle at the same time lol
If it's $200, i'll be getting it day one! Lol Good job Asus for keeping us in mind and adding the most wanted features in this board. Bravo.
Hi! Love the insight and video, whats the wrist rest that you're using?? Love the look!
Another great video Scott! Happy New Year!
Happy New year!
replaced my ROG falchion (MX reds) with an Azoth a few weeks ago (NX blues) and i couldn't be happier. the falchion is still a great little 60% so it was hard to find something i enjoyed more. I got to try an Azoth in store at microcenter and was sold. Being able to Sync my RGB and do all the software tweaks without having more than one program was important (ROG keris mouse, ROG parts in the PC) while still being able to modify and customize the keyboard more than other gaming keyboards allow. Ill never go the $500 custom route so this was a good medium for me.
I just found this channel and wow, this guy speaks so slowly and types so quickly
I don't usually like or comment but you went over everything I had questions about. I liked and here's a comment, YOUR VIDEO WAS GREAT!!!!
12:45 I see you trying to trigger us with those flipped up and down arrows 😂 Really stoked to see a non-tray mount gaming keyboard on offer, here’s to hoping alternate mounting styles and hotswap sockets go mainstream! Honestly it’d benefit the market for customs as it would seemingly drive people further towards enthusiast tier products.
Hahaha, great catch! I didn't even realize hahaha
Excellent review!!! What brand is your wooden keyboard wrist rest? Thanks
Thank you thank you thank you for being an enthusiast who acknowledges that north facing illumination is better for RGB. It's one of the first times I've actually heard that. I love my custom keyboards so far but I'm also just a sucker for clean shine-through and my GMMK Pro definitely dropped the ball there. It's a niche within a niche, but even outside the merits from appearance I've found key illumination to be so helpful for art-centric work (digital painting and sculpting) where most hotkey use is one-handed. Not to mention I'm so glad bigger brands like this with their incredibly low-latency wireless make it easier for gaming AND moving around on my desk. Hard to keep a coiled cable looking nice when I move my keyboard around to suit my drawing tablet.
Mxrskey ck820 is essentially a wireless gmmk pro, with 2.4ghz. I wish it was north facing, but there is not a single all alu wireless 75% other than that that I've seen with that config.
yo , great review ! that board sounds very nice when modded! impressive stuff from asus. Now if they can price it sub 200$ they got a homerun with this one.
Nice review and amazing keyboard from a mainstream brand. Corsair, Logitech, Razer - take notes!! Is there any info on whether or not there will be a ISO layout and if so, does it hit shelves in the same timeframe or later?
really glad ASUS supported our guy scott by sending him the keyboard early. always great coverage from scott
I'm really hoping the price can be under $200 - been looking for an off the shelf keyboard to recommend to my gamer friends that is actually pretty decent and from a reputable brand!
That would be awesome. Hope they are also looking at these comments
It's 250. Got 2 of them.
One thing you can do to get more board flex back is to loosen the screws on the bottom of the board.
crazy high quality video as always!
Thank you so much! I appreciate it!
would be really funny if custom keyboard companies started to make gaming keyboards btw happy new year
Hahaha, that would be funny. And not a bad idea at all
You should check out the MxRSKEY CK820; I bought it recently and thoroughly enjoy it. It's all c&c alu with 2.4ghz and a knob. Stock is decent, and stabs were quite good, except for the left shit, but some lube fixed it. It's a bit pingy despite the case foam/pcb foam. However, they do have an FR4 plate/ixpe pad/poron case foam/and poron pcb pad for sale as well.
Kinda wish you had the latency numbers on the QK75 wired on the charts(pretty much comparing the impact of the aluminum case vs wireless 2,4Ghz performance). There's gonna be some impact based off of the hardware used to establish the wireless connection, but I'm curious what sort of impact mounting the same hardware in an aluminum chassis would produce.
It doesnt matter. Really .2000 seconds is 200ms. It is too much. TSL is normally like 27-40ms
I have one with browns and I lovvvvvveeeeee it! Best browns ever unlike any I’ve tried.
Interested in this Keyboard when it launches. Does Asus have a good software for and also to remap buttons? I really like the simplicity of the Razer Huntsman Mini but was annoyed it didn't have 2.4 or Bluetooth option. I was considering getting the Falchion but I disliked the layout.
The stock cherry mx reds on this might be a product of new molds(?) Like with modern gateron switches, the top housing has this inward curve to dodge the interior of cherry profile keycaps, hence no/close to no interference with most caps. Either that, or this has stubbier housings in general.
Looks like housing mold modification for sure. Only caps that it had a bit of issue with was with GMK. But PBT fans stuff worked absolutely no problem
Video quality is looking super crisp here!
Nice, I love the lcd screen but I really don't understand all the trend of going to these micro keyboards, makes it so hard to type.
wow that is a beaut. did not expect to say that about an off the shelf keyboard
It was surprising when I first pulled it out of the box
HAHA!! Asus subscribed, watched your videos, and created this keyboard.
Awesome review, by removing the lower poron layer did you mean the bottom silicon layer? The board seems to only have one poron layer and two silicon layer.
Also, damn why does everyone have Purpolch but me?!?! Love the look of that set on that color keyboard
This is truly impressive that it comes with a switch lubing kit!
It was surprising... I was like what is this?!?! Krytox 205? Wow
You are such a great keyboard content creator!
Thank you so much! I really appreciate it!
5:47 *literally looks down dissapointedly at my aluminum glorious brick on my desk*
tbh, I'm waiting for the day where customs mechs have useful gaming features. I think it will be a thing in the near future!
What wrist rest did you use with the board? The wood went really well with the keyboard!
Hey guys, tofu v2 is coming! With gasket mounting! Can’t wait to see your magic dude
This keyboard is really interesting, but before they secure my money for it, personally, I'd like to see some changes for a V2. Full aluminum case and south face rgb. And while they never would release it as such, a barebones of it would be pretty dope.
Mxrskey ck820 is exactly that. I dunno why it hasn't been covered by anyone. I got it and I absolutely love it. It's a gmmk pro, but wireless.
@@Orlyy i think that nova speed thingi is important for most of the ppl so ig they want the azoth instead of the ck820
thx for th review ...
That connection speed is seriously impressive.
In a shoot counter-shoot the characters need to look in opposites directions in the frame so it feels like they are talking to each other
Do the armory crate settings for the screen and RGB get saved to the board, or does it require the software to be running?
It gets saved to the board and remains! Even via wireless which was pretty nice
Where can u get those perfect sized wrist pad from? I want a new keyboard and my old one had a plastic wrist support, which not that great, it felt better than nothing. I was leaning for a blackwidoe v3 pro for that leather wrist support but this ome seems way better.
Its cool when companies do their research and pull all the best bits forward into a product line for their primary customers. It should work both ways though. Ergo why do we not have low latency wireless keyboards as a widely available option for full custom keyboards! When it is available we get weirdness like having to supply you're own weird rando battery. There's actually some stuf that designers need to borrow rom Asus !
Its cool ROG is trying to do keyboards right and the customization though the crate app is cool. I just wish crate wasnt so buggy.
could you do a best of 2022 vid? just on all of YOUR favorite keyboard stuff from last year?
Haha, I should have done that last year. I missed the boat
@@Keybored best of luck next time :)
I am just saying that the aluminum bottom would probably interfere with the latency, so I do believe they will keep it plastic.
Love the intro.. For the Horde!
How did you measure the latency? 230ms still seems like a lot even if it was key press until movement in some game. That's almost 14 frames at 60fps. Great review though!
if only this was full sized then perfect
What's that on your wall behind the monitor? Acoustic material?
I got this and now I'm like crap I want to do a DIY lol. Is that the best switch for cherry mx? Might have to copy your setup haha.
I finally bought one and only have two issues with it, other than that I would say it ranks a 9 to 9.5 out of 10. 1) I am unable to figure out how to change the temperature to Fahrenheit when using the CPU/GPU Temp add on. 2) How do you enable the System Info when using BT only, so far it not only works when the USB is hooked up but it only shows up when the USB is hooked up. Unplug the USB and that option disappears from the screen.
Need some help. I want to replace the key caps but honestly have no idea what compatible key caps would be. This whole north facing thing for a keyboard noob like me flies over my head. Some please help what key caps brands / models can I look into that I can use with this keyboard. Thanks in advanced.
The Snow linears switches are NIOCE
This keyboard actually looks great!
I'm relatively new in the space for custom keyboards, but I do have to know what is the obsession with South facing LEDs? I don't feel like it makes enough difference to matter? My biggest issue with this board is the steel plate, if I could change the plate to like pom, polycarbonate, or FR4 I would be way more inclined to get this board.
North-facing PCBs cause interference with Cherry profile keycaps, the most popular keycap profile (GMK molds their keycaps in the Cherry profile). I believe the ASDF row cannot bottom out because the orientation of the switches on a north-facing PCB impedes it. Therefore, south-facing PCBs are preferred for compatibility with all profiles. However, you can use Cherry profile keycaps and a north-facing PCB with long-pole switches because of the shorter travel or use switches with smaller top housings. TL;DR: Cherry keycaps don't work with NF-PCBs. Hope that helps!
It's because of the interference with cherry profile keycaps. However, as a gamer I don't really care about that as there's hardly any backlit cherry profile keycaps, and if they're cherry/backlit they usually don't shinethrough well on southfacing boards anyway. Regardless, I started with a gmmk pro but I have ended up at a mxrskey ck820.. It's an all alu board WITH 2.4ghz, and I love it, is essentially the gmmk pro but wireless. The only issue I have with it is in stock form, despite the foam it comes with it's a bit pingy like the keychron q1 first revision. However, they also sell a FR4/poron foam/ipxe foam kit for $25. After that, it's my dream board. I bought it from epomaker, but I've only been able to find the foam kit from whatgeek.
@@Orlyy I have a GK68S from Epomaker and I love it, but ... I'm looking for more of a marbling deep sound like I love the sound the QK line up gives with a good set of tactiles or linears
@@kaiser2203 I'm using a NF board with cherry profile keycaps. No interference at all. Tried both Akko CS Silver and Jelly Pink.
@@ciaojay7025 Great to hear! Your experience is not equal to everyone's, however.
I could see myself using something like this for gaming, interesting keyboard.
For sure, I would reserve this for gaming for its wireless connectivity
Just for those out there who doesn't know, bottom is plastic to improve the wireless speed, yes it has been tested, it has been proven, so sorry if you absolutely need a brick of a keyboard, this one has some weight but not as much as others
If I buy different keycap, such as the one shown in the video, will the lighting be shining through the sides of the keys?
@keybored I have a space 80 keyboard, and just got some gateron oil kings, how should i configure my keyboard to make it thock?
Surprised they didnt add pe foam considering how much it takes notes from customs
lol. Maybe they were like PE foam? Naw lol. But they were very adamant about reliability... perhaps PE foam didn't make the cut.
@@Keybored thats true, i know that sometimes it creates static and hence double key presses
@Keybored what did you use to test the input speed?
have you reviewed the Keydous NJ81? I need a keyboard with a screen!
I agree with the top case height, personally for me seeing the switches is kind of a turn off but considering this is a board geared more towards gamers I'm assuming that was intentional. As the lines between customs and prebuilds continue to get blurred, I'm curious to see if boards like these will start to offer barebones kits for people who'd like to step more on the side of customs like what Keychron is doing with their Q and V series.
It would be nice to see the availability of gaming keyboards on enthusiast tier boards, I'd give a lot to go to a physical location instead of having to order everything online
Yeah the availability and accessibility would be the best thing about these
id kill for a monokei store or something
Never thought an Asus would sound like a custom
at last a keyboard that it got my attention!
When he knocked the GMMK Pro I felt that lol. I love mine but I’ve kind of hit a wall with it. It was a nice entry into the hobby though. Awesome video btw. I may actually pick this up. Guess I fit into that third category at the end under “weeb” lol.
big control key is actaully very cool i wish all the keyboards had double ctrl on left side and win key on the right side
:) the challenge is changing out different keycaps since that double ctrl isn't a standard size
@@Keybored yea i know i just like it personally
do standard keycaps work with the rog stabs or did you have to change the stabs too?
Nope, they have these little pins that plug into new keycaps and fit right into the stab wires. So it works no prob
i thought the start was you putting on a dinosaur costume
Hahaha... it does kind of look like that brown dino costume
Looks very good. I suspect that small LED screen adds about 50 bucks though.
Haha, you might be right. But the oled display quality was pretty good
@@Keybored that's true. I'm glad they're at least trying something new
Hi there nice review! One question tho. I got mine and i cant get it to show the GPU temps. On temps options only CPU is available. Does it have to do with the motherboard? I have an ashrok one.
If I didn't have all these enthusiast boards, I'd get this!
Haha, yeah I think this was aimed at the people buying gamer gear, but want to expand into customs.
besides the caps that are useful, what difference does north facing or south facing rgb really make? To the newb that I am in the keeb community, this seems to be one of those gate-keepy, look down your nose sort of things. If i can use longer stems to eliminate cap interference, and most keeb elites arent using shine through caps anyway, why does it matter?
It doesn't matter as much anymore :) It was before when long stem pole switches weren't around and you get weird interference. Nowadays, even non long stem switches work decently well due to their upper housing redesigns
I must say, and not in a sarcastic way, this man has the most obviously creative channel name for what his channel is based on.
i like this oneASUS ROG Azoth Wireless 75 Gaming Keyboard White NX Storm Switch any thoughts?
Not gonna lie this is a pretty looking 75% Like you said its a real shame the bottom half aint made of aluminum, also i hope asus releases plate options because i think this thing would slap with a polycarb
That would be awesome. And maybe like a wireless port to allow for connection, but overall made of aluminum
ahh yes the performance of an entry level custom keyboard for the price of a high end premium one... bought one out of curiosity sold it after 2 days
question - why are gasketed mech keyboards seen as the bee's knees, yet laptop keyboards with even the slightest "flex" shunned? isn't it the same thing essentially?
Hypocrisy that's why.
was just a matter of time before they "brands" was gonna come in take the market share of the big bucks coustoms
Definitely the best gaming keyboard from a large gaming brand ever made. Even though 75% is my favourite layout, I build my own custom keyboards, so won't be picking this up, but I will recommend it to gamer friends who just want a decent premade board.
ughhh I wanted it to sound betterrrr. lol.. but I might need this keyboard.