By: Hai Wang
March 17, 2023
After walking outside for long time in a very hot summer day, what do you think would be the best way to cool down? In my opinion, there is nothing more efficient than just diving into a swimming pool. The same thing can be said for computer cooling, as I think the best way to cool down a computer is by dipping it completely into some kind of liquid and letting the circulation of coolant to do its magic. I am not joking, there is actually a term for this kind of cooling mechanism, which is called “immersion cooling”. Obviously, you are not supposed to put electronics into water. However, for immersion cooling, the liquid is not the same water from your tap, but rather it is a special kind of liquid called dielectric liquids. One good feature about dielectric liquids is that they have great thermal conductivity all while being electrically insulating. When electronics are immersed in the dielectric liquids, the heat can be absorbed by the coolant. The heated coolant is circulated to a radiator for heat exchange and then back to the container that has the electronics. One example of dielectric liquids is mineral oil. It is fine if you spill some mineral oil on your electronics, such as a keyboard, since it is electrically insulating, although it is a bit of a mess to clean up. However, if you accidentally spill other liquids such as soda or juice on your keyboard, you risk killing the entire thing. For today’s review unit, the ROCCAT Magma Mini, it is a 60% form factor keyboard with IP33 rating for water and dust resistance. This means if you spill water or juice instead of mineral oil on it, you should not have any issues at all. Is it overall a good mini gaming keyboard though? Let us keep on reading and find out!
The ROCCAT Magma Mini arrived via UPS Standard to us here in Calgary, Alberta, Canada from Elwood, Illinois, USA. As you can see from the picture, the parcel is quite big for a small keyboard. I think there must be some kind of protection inside of the shipping box to keep the actual retail package safe. I was not the person who received this parcel here at the office, but the cardboard came with pretty good shape and there were very few dents on the surface.
Peeling the shipping package off, we can see the retail packaging of the ROCCAT Magma Mini. The background color is in accordance with the ROCCAT's theme color. In the middle of the cover lies the top view of the keyboard with all RGB LEDs lit up. From the picture, we can see the RGB lighting on the keyboard is pretty fancy. The company logo and the model name are at the top left of the box, while a "60% RGB gaming keyboard" description sits on the bottom right corner. The other key feature of the product, IP33 water and dust resistance, is proudly printed on the right side of the box. There is also a US flag printed on the box indicating the layout of the keyboard, not the origin of this product. The overall design of the package is simple, compact, and precise.
Before digging into details, let us take a look at the specifications of the ROCCAT Magma Mini, as borrowed from the manufacturer's website:
General
Form Factor: 60%
Connectivity: USB-A Wired
Cable: Fixed with rubber finish - 1.8m
Lighting: 5 Zone Programable RGB, 10 LEDs
Switches: Membrane
Polling Rate: 1000 Hz
Adjustable Height: Yes
Keyboard Rollover: Max 20 Keys, Anti-ghosting
On-board memory: No
Software: Swarm
Dimensions
Weight: 460.0g/16.23 oz with cable 405.6g/14.31 oz without cable
Product Dimensions: 308 x 132.2 x 36.6 mm / 12.12 x 5.20 x 1.44 inches
Compatibility
Windows 7, 8 and 10 (software support)
USB 2.0 (or higher)
Internet connection (for driver software)
Package Contains
ROCCAT® Magma Mini Gaming Keyboard
Quick Start Guide
Compatibility
Windows® 7 and above (software support)
USB 2.0 (or higher)
Internet connection (for driver software)
Flipping the cover of the retail package over, we can see everything inside of the box, which includes the keyboard and a quick start guide. There is not a lot of stuff in there, which really makes unpacking easy. Unsurprisingly, a driver disc is not provided, since everything in this keyboard is plug-and-play. For more customizations such as key assignment and RGB lighting configuration, they can be done by using the ROCCAT Swarm software that can be downloaded from the ROCCAT website.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look - Hardware and Software
3. Conclusion
