Page 2 - A Closer Look - Hardware and Software
The ROCCAT Vulcan II Mini Air is not the first 65% keyboard we have looked at, nor is it the first 65% ROCCAT keyboard either, as that crown goes to the Vulcan II Mini. As such, there are familiar elements between the two keyboards. For one, we have a similar shape and style with its beveled edges around the perimeter of the keyboard. Its island-style, short keycaps expose the switches underneath, which is consistent across all ROCCAT Vulcan series keyboards. This Vulcan II Mini Air has a dark gray and black finish. One thing that is different is the glossy black bar at the top with ROCCAT's branding in the middle. This brand name is translucent to allow lighting to shine through, as you will see later on. All plastic parts, such as the bottom shell of the keyboard and the keycaps, are black in color. This is a slight contrast from the exposed gray aluminum backplate. Otherwise, this is a pretty compact keyboard altogether.
As "Mini" is in its name, you know this keyboard will have small dimensions. The ROCCAT Vulcan II Mini Air has measurements of 325mm in width, 124mm in depth, and 33mm in height. It is slightly larger than the previous Vulcan II Mini in all dimensions, and this is due to the top bar and some other wireless specific things that we will make reference to later on in our review. Even so, it is still pretty compact, with smaller dimensions than other similar form factor keyboards like the Cooler Master CK720. In terms of weight, the Vulcan II Mini Air is not Catholic, but it has a mass of 576g when you do not include the cable or dongle. As for build quality, the Vulcan II Mini Air maintains a sturdy feel with its smaller size. It barely torques when twisting action is applied with a slight amount of deck flex when pushed in the middle. As the plastic base gives in under pressure, the whole body becomes a bit less rigid. Even so, the keyboard feels durable with its smaller form. Unfortunately, ROCCAT has no included wrist rest with the Vulcan II Mini Air.
As you can observe, this is a 65% keyboard with a QWERTY ANSI layout. The whole keyboard is generally standard, although there are some specific things to point out due to its compact size. For one, the bottom row has standard size keys to the left of the space bar, but 1U sizing for the right Alt, Fn, and Ctrl keys so they can also fit the arrow key cluster here. The right Shift is also smaller to accommodate the Up-arrow. At the top, the freestanding grave accent and tilde key, or "`/~", is combined with the Escape key as a secondary function. The right side of the keyboard also shows non-standard positions of Delete, Home, Page Up and Page Down. This is slightly different from other 65% keyboards, where the Delete key is positioned below the Backspace and not inline. Other keys that are normally on the right side of the keyboard have been transformed into secondary functions. Finally, there are no separate indicator LEDs, as the Caps Lock breathes white when it is active. This breathing behavior is a welcome change, especially as users that have a static white backlight would not be able to differentiate if Caps Lock is active otherwise. However, I still wish this indicator could be user configurable.
Secondary functions are everywhere on any 65% keyboard, especially as we are missing so many keys found on a standard-sized one. All of the combinations can be executed by pressing the Fn key. This illuminates the second LED this is under all of the keys with secondary functions. ROCCAT calls this their "Dual LED" design, which is something we have seen since the original Vulcan II Mini. Starting from the top, all of the keys in the number row from 1 to "=/+" are used for F1 to F12. Escape is also used for the freestanding grave and tilde key, as aforementioned. O, P, and the left square bracket are used to replace Print Screen, Scroll Lock, and Pause. Similarly, Delete and End have secondary functions to Insert and End, respectively. If we look at the other keys, a cluster at Z, X, and C can be used for media controls of Previous Track, Play/Pause, and Next Track, while M, comma, and period are used to control the volume. Fn + Windows key enables Game Mode, which locks the Windows Key and enables Easy-Shift, while Fn + Tab lets you cycle through the profiles saved to the Vulcan II Mini Air. Finally, Fn + Caps Lock locks the top row of numbers into their function keys. There are a few groupings of secondary functions for wireless and lighting functions, but we will explore these later on.
The keycaps on the ROCCAT Vulcan II Mini Air are made out of ABS, or acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, plastic. I prefer PBT keycaps over ABS, as they are harder, keep their color better, and do not shine or look greasy after prolonged use. ABS keycaps are definitely more economical still. The Vulcan II Mini Air keycaps are not OEM profile, as they feature more of a staircase-like stepping down from row to row. From a side view, the keycaps look flat, but each key, minus the longer ones, are curved inward in the middle so that users' fingers rest easier in this slight valley. The keycaps are laser-engraved, which means the keycap is painted over in an opaque color and the legends are etched out with laser. These will potentially fade or wear out over time. Finally, the font on the keys is pretty clear without necessarily looking too gamer-centric. The keycaps use standard MX stems underneath, so users can swap these out if they so desire.
As for key rollover, the ROCCAT Vulcan II Mini Air offers NKRO over USB. NKRO is abbreviated for N-key rollover, which refers to the number of keys independently scanned by the hardware. This fixes issues of ghosting found on cheaper keyboards. While ghosting is a marketing term, there are cases where keyboards will not be able to recognize more than one keystroke at a time, causing missed keys. This can be frustrating when you are playing games or even if you are just a very fast typist. On an aside, the original usage of ghosting in keyboards actually referred to a third key being registered when two other keys were pressed, which thankfully is not a problem with most modern keyboards.
Before continuing on, one of the selling points of the ROCCAT Vulcan II Mini Air is the key switches. There are three main types of keyboards in the market today. The cheapest but most common is the membrane keyboard, which is the easiest to make, but also has poor typing feel and response due to squishy keys. Next is a scissor switch keyboard. This can be thought of as an enhanced rubber dome with two extra interlocking plastic pieces connected to the key and the keyboard. This creates a better tactile response and typing experience in comparison to the aforementioned membrane. Mechanical keyboards cost the most, because each key switch is an independent part. These switches are generally composed of a base, stem, and spring with varying degrees of tactile and audible feedback. However, the switches on the ROCCAT Vulcan II Mini Air have mechanical parts, but trigger with light and a sensor. In the case of our Titan II Optical switches, a horizontal light shines across the bottom of the switch. When a switch is activated, it blocks the ray of light, signaling a keystroke.
Our unit of the ROCCAT Vulcan II Mini Air features linear Titan II Optical switches. This features linear travel with a relatively light pressure required to push the switch. Since the actuation is not a mechanical action, but via light, these switches are rated to last 150 million keystrokes. According to ROCCAT, this switch has an initial actuation distance of 1.4mm and an overall travel distance of 3.6mm. The switch actuates at around 45g of force. This makes it notably lighter than some typical Cherry switches. Longer keys like the spacebar and Enter have Cherry stabilizers to prevent them from wobbling about.
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On the back edge, you can see why this Vulcan II Mini Air is slightly deeper than the original one. This is because we have some wireless functions. On the back left side, you can find a USB Type-C port to plug the keyboard in for charging or wired operation, while a flat power switch is situated right beside. Not shown in the photo, but on the other side of the back area, is a small slot to hold the wireless USB transmitter. In terms of its wireless operation, ROCCAT has implemented a few nice features. First, it can connect via the USB dongle or via Bluetooth v5.1. The Vulcan II Mini Air can save up to three Bluetooth-capable devices. You can pick which device to connect to using the secondary functions located from T to I letters.
As for its battery, ROCCAT says we are able to get up to 240 hours of continuous use with the lighting turned off. In our testing, this keyboard lasted around seven days of mixed use with the lighting turned on full brightness. This is not continuous use, but it is still impressive to see the keyboard last this long. I was also able to get more than a week of use with the lighting turned off, so I think the 240 hours of battery life is not too surprising. In order to extend the battery life, ROCCAT has implemented proximity sensors in the keyboard, which wakes the keyboard after standby or sleep. Standby will dim the Vulcan II Mini Air's backlights, while sleeping disables the switches, lights, and wireless connection. In order to let users know how much battery life the keyboard currently has, you can either check the software utility or the keyboard can display the battery life. This will show up on the south facing LED of the V key. Furthermore, if you have compatible ROCCAT mice or headsets, you can also see their battery life on the B and N key, respectively. For the keyboard, this will glow green when there is more than 30% battery, orange when there is 20 to 30%, red when there is less than 20%, and start blinking when there is less than 10%. It seems like these colors cannot be changed nor can the ranges be user configurable. As for the mouse and headset battery indicators, these can be changed in color, but not in range.
On the backside of the ROCCAT Vulcan II Mini Air, we have some certification and serial numbers to identify this board. ROCCAT added two pairs of feet at the back so users can actually choose between three different inclines on the keyboard. Around the bottom, you can see several areas for rubber padding to prevent the Vulcan II Mini Air from sliding around. Two large bars are on the top and bottom, while the corners where the feet are also have pads. Each pair of feet are also rubber padded. As such, the keyboard should be secure regardless of which height the Vulcan II Mini Air is at.
ROCCAT has really made their own keyboard design iconic, and this is the same for their Vulcan II Mini Air. Their island style stands out from the rest of the pack. Considering this is also a 65% keyboard, there were some things I had to get used to. For one, I lost quick access to the freestanding grave accent and tilde key, requiring me to press the Fn key to type either of the two symbols. Furthermore, I was quite used to having access to the function keys, so needing to press Alt + Fn + 4 to close programs was a bit annoying. As well, since the rightmost column of keys are not standard between other 65% keyboards, I kept accidentally pressing Home instead of Delete, which was a change from the Cooler Master CK720. There are no standards for these smaller form factor keyboards, so it is probably just something to get used to. Finally, the shorter right Shift key may be annoying to some, but for my hand size, my pinky always reached right into the middle of this shorter key.
Otherwise, for the typing experience, I am quite used to linear switches even for daily typing, so these linear Titan II Optical switches felt pretty normal to me. Due to the lacking resonance and shorter keycaps, the "thock" sound made by bottoming out the keys sounded a bit less satisfying, but thankfully there was no accompanying metallic pinging noise either. We still have a pretty solid sound on each keystroke, although this will come down to preference. The Titan II Optical switches felt crisp and offered a consistently smooth feel. This time around, the stabilizers on the longer keys did not rattle about, which is an improvement from the Vulcan II Mini. There was a bit of key wobble on even the standard size keys, but it was not too egregious. I did not encounter issues like debouncing or chattering while testing the Vulcan II Mini Air.
ROCCAT has always had great lighting on their island-style keyboards ever since the Vulcan 120 AIMO. With their dual north- and south-facing LEDs, we have an even more vibrant look. Primary LEDs above the switches work well in dispersing light through the legends. They also shine nicely since the switches have a clear body. The downward-facing LED lights only shine when Fn is pressed. This is a great implementation of showing the secondary functions. Otherwise, lighting can be changed in brightness by using Fn + Page Up or Page Down. Pressing Fn + Right Ctrl will turn on and off the lights as well. ROCCAT has also implemented changing the lighting effects by using the directional cluster. Left and Right cycle through the effects, while Up and Down are used for changing the colors in the static color mode. More effects can be changed in the ROCCAT Swarm software. Overall, the lights were smooth with gradient effects while also very vibrant. The colors were slightly cooler, which was noticeable on the white color, but they looked excellent.
We have reviewed quite a few ROCCAT products in the past and all of them use the Swarm software for making adjustments to the different connected peripherals. The utility is available from ROCCAT's website, and it is a 131MB download. The setup process is pretty easy to work through and adding additional peripherals is quite easy. I also received several updates during my review, so I know ROCCAT is continually retooling and pushing fixes for their users. Users have 4MB of internal space on the keyboard to save and cycle through up to five different profiles on the Vulcan II Mini Air.
After selecting the ROCCAT Vulcan II Mini Air at the top for configuration, you can see there are four primary tabs for changing options. The first one is marked by a thumbtack and is used for users to "tack" the configuration options they choose on the next three tabs to save their favorite options to a single page. The second tab is General Features. The one difference here is the Wireless Settings, which lets you view the battery status and signal strength. You can also change the proximity sensor sensitivity as well as change when the Vulcan II Mini Air enters standby and sleeps. There is also a button to re-pair the keyboard with the transmitter. Other sections on this front page include adding Sound Feedback and changing Character Repeat settings are similar to previous ROCCAT keyboards. Finally, you can also fully reset all of the settings for the keyboard here. The third tab is marked Key Assignment, where users can change what each key can do, including assignment of macros. You can also change the function of keys in their Easy-Shift Game Mode, as mentioned previously. Finally, the last tab is marked Key illumination. This lets you change the effects of the backlighting. This lets you choose typical static, breathing, and reactive modes. They also have their AIMO lighting for a fluid and reactive lighting that is said to learn your usage and react accordingly. This only occurs if the ROCCAT Swarm software is running in the background. You can also use the fully custom mode to change lighting on a per-key basis.
There are three more tabs underneath for managing profiles, macros, and Smart Key management. A total of five profiles can be created and saved for the Vulcan II Mini Air. Macros here include actions for a library of games. This includes popular esports titles like League of Legends, CS:GO, and DOTA 2. It is missing some newer games and applications like VALORANT or Discord though. You can also record your own macros here. Smart Key Manager opens a new window where you can change the LED light color of the secondary keys. Included in here are all of the secondary functions we have already highlighted. Overall, I still think ROCCAT Swarm is a straightforward piece of software to use, but it again is in need of a visual update with its dated design.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look - Hardware and Software
3. Conclusion
