By: Jonathan Kwan
November 4, 2022
In the introduction of my Fractal Design Ion+ 2 Platinum 860W review last year, I talked about how I purchased a 2008 Acura TL Type-S from my coworker. It is quite a legendary car among Acura and Honda enthusiasts, and over a year in, I have experienced a few incidents that reflects what it is like to own something so desired. At the dealership, the floor salesperson and sales manager both tried to offer me money on the spot, while the people in the service department raves over the car every time I take it in. Even when I was at home, there was a surprisingly number of people who immediately stopped after seeing it parked on my driveway, got out of their car, and rang my doorbell to ask if I could sell them the TL Type-S. To loosely (mis)quote my friend in the WD_BLACK SN770 review introduction about how it is not her fault she is so pretty and every guy likes her, "It is not my fault my car is so good and everyone wants to buy it." Now, while neither my friend nor I have ever said anything along that line in reality, it turns out there is someone who did. In the ROCCAT Vulcan II Max press release, the company claims it is "the world's most beautiful keyboard". They actually repeat similar claims throughout the press release, which brings us some questions. Is it really that beautiful? And is it a good keyboard in of itself? We took one in to find out.
Our review unit of the ROCCAT Vulcan II Max came in a relatively large brown corrugated cardboard box from a shipping fulfillment center in Elwood, Illinois, USA. Elwood is a small village outside of Chicago, and a quick Google Maps search of the originating address appears to be a large office building in an industrial area. Using UPS Expedited, everything arrived in excellent condition to us here in Calgary, Alberta, Canada for our review today.
Traveling along with the ROCCAT Vulcan II Max was the ROCCAT Syn Max Air. The Vulcan II Max's retail packaging uses the same design template as what we have seen from the company in the past. The predominantly black color scheme is contrasted by the white and gray text. A photo of the overhead view of the keyboard occupies majority of the real estate in front. Adjacent to the photo of the keyboard is a band on the right that shows the switch variant, which, in our case, is linear. The company also highlights this is the world's first dual-LED linear gaming switch, and it features immersive lighting with twenty-four multi-function smart keys. At the top, you will find ROCCAT's logo and model name. A sticker at the top right corner shows its US keyboard layout. A subtle tab on the right points out its German engineering and "Experience Precision" slogan. At the bottom is the description line, "Full-Size Optical RGB Gaming Keyboard". Further feature highlights and miscellaneous product information such as specifications and feature highlights can be found on the remaining sides of the box.
Before we move on, let us take a look at the specifications of the ROCCAT Vulcan II Max, as obtained from the manufacturer's website:
General
Form Factor: Full Size
Cable: 1.8m 2 x USB-A
Switch lifecycle: Tested to 100 million
Polling Rate: 1000 Hz
On-board memory: 4MB
Profile On-board: 5
RGB: RGB per-key illumination with 16.8m colors + 24 smart keys
Keyboard Rollover: Full Key (NKRO) with 100% Anti-Ghosting
Processor: 32-bit ARM Cortex M3
Software: ROCCAT SWARM
Adjustable height: Yes, double kick stand
Switches
TITAN II OPTICAL RED
- Linear
- 1.4 mm Actuation Point
- 3.6 mm Travel Distance
Dimensions
Product Dimensions: 463 x 236 x 33.5 mm // 18.23 x 9.29 x 1.32 inch
Weight: 1040g (without palm rest) 1300g (with palm rest)
Package Contains
Vulcan II Max Gaming Keyboard
Detachable Palm Rest
Quick-Start Guide
Compatibility
Windows 7 and above (software support)
2 x USB 2.0 (or higher)
Internet connection (for driver software)
Out of the box, you will receive everything you need and not much else. Securely placed inside the box is the ROCCAT Vulcan II Max keyboard itself wrapped in a clear plastic bag, while its detachable wrist rest is placed inside a separate plastic bag. The only product literature included is a quick start guide, of course, also placed in a sealed plastic bag.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look - Hardware and Software
3. Conclusion
