With the Vulcan keyboards, Roccat recently romped into the upper middle class in terms of price. But now there are also cheaper alternatives from the manufacturer, which are aimed primarily at gaming beginners and occasional gamers who do not want to put a keyboard for $200 or more on the table, but who still want a real gaming Keyboard is available. The objects of desire: the Roccat Magma membrane keyboard and the Roccat Pyro mechanical keyboard.
Let's start with the prices first, before going into detail about the two keyboards. The Roccat Magma membrane keyboard is quite a bargain at $59.99, but has to live with the fact that membrane keyboards are less durable than mechanical ones. The mechanical Roccat Pyro keyboard, on the other hand, is available for an RRP of $99.99, but the street price has already dropped below $80, which makes things much more interesting.
Roccat Magma
The Roccat Magma leaves a somewhat mixed impression at first glance. Mainly because basically only plastic can be seen and felt. The white top looks pretty nice in itself, but it reinforces this first impression. Nevertheless, the workmanship is solid and robust through and through. And there is even a wrist rest included, not of course in the price range, but at second glance also rather poor because it is not padded and has a rather fragile plastic fastening.
On the other hand, there is very little to complain about when it comes to the function of the full keyboard. As already mentioned, it is a membrane keyboard with a pleasantly firm typing feel and, of course, a very quiet keystroke. Of course, it is to be expected that the membranes will wear out at some point, but that should take a long time. Magma also relies on advanced anti-ghosting and a 26-key rollover.
Additional buttons are not available, however, any media control is carried out via the secondary function of some buttons. Practical: thanks to ROCCAT Easy-Shift [+] technology, the double assignment of some keys is possible. There is also no lack of lighting. The Magma even supports the in-house AIMO RGB system. However, you have to do without individual key illumination and content yourself with five illuminated zones, which naturally includes a somewhat uneven illumination of the keys. All in all, the Magma is not a real highlight, but for the moderate price a very competent keyboard that is well suited for beginners and casual gamers and also for work.
Roccat Pyro
The Pyro and Magma could almost be twins, at least at first glance. They have almost identical dimensions, the same case base and the same palm rest. However, there are two visible differences: the Pyro has an aluminum top plate in black and a volume control knob on the top right above the numeric keypad.
Buttons and switches make the main difference. While the Magma is a membrane keyboard, the Pyro is a full-fledged mechanical keyboard. It is clear that you shouldn't expect cherry switches at this price. Instead, Roccat relies on the linear TTC Red Switches made in China, which serve their purpose well. The linear switches have a release point of 2.0 mm at 45G actuation force and an actuation travel of 4.0 mm.
Otherwise, the Pyro has all the necessary features, including anti-ghosting, N-key rollover and single-key RGB lighting. As with the Magma, the Pyro can be configured using Swarm software, which, however, requires a little getting used to due to the sheer scope of the tool.
This keyboard is also solidly made for the price range and fully fulfills its purpose. Only the RRP of $99.99 seems too high compared to other keyboards, but the Pyro is now also available for less than $80 and then slowly turns into a shoe. We would definitely recommend the Pyro to casual gamers or people who just want to try out the feel of a mechanical keyboard.
CONCLUSION
Inexpensive entry-level keyboards
In terms of price, both Magma and Pyro are interesting keyboards, especially for beginners and casual gamers who don't want to spend
half a fortune. The Magma membrane keyboard fully fulfills its purpose, naturally very quiet, but functional. Unfortunately, the workmanship does not look particularly high-quality thanks to the sheer amount of plastic, even the palm rest looks rather cheap and uncomfortable (by the way, the Pyro is the same edition). In terms of durability, it cannot compete with a mechanical keyboard either. But for someone who only gambles for an hour every now and then, the magma is certainly a good option.
The Pyro is a bit of a higher quality with mechanical switches and an aluminum top plate. The plastic housing base looks a bit cheap here too, but otherwise the keyboard does not have any major weaknesses. If you are willing to forego a bit of comfort and looks, you get a rock-solid keyboard whose RRP is a bit too high, but whose street price of less than $80 makes it an interesting alternative. But be careful: the linear red switches are not for everyone, especially when it comes to prolific writers.
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