I’m not sure whose idea it was to eliminate four percent of the keys from a perfectly fine keyboard, nor am I sure why they thought it was necessary. The Asus ROG Strix Scope II 96, aside from filling most of your mouth as you try to say its full name, still fills most of my desk. It’s not noticeably smaller than my full-sized Razer keyboard of old, and it’s considerably bigger than myROG Azoththat I use daily, which itself is 75 percent full size.
However, there are plenty of things that make the Strix Scope II 96 (that’s as short as I can conceivably get the name) an improvement on other keyboards. First, it includes a wrist rest, something I miss greatly on the Azoth. I find that wrist rests make typing so much more comfortable, and as someone who spends ten hours a day doing just that at their desk, comfort is key. This particular rest neatly magnetises into place and stays put at a good angle. It works well.
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Typing itself is less clicky than I’m used to, and I have to say I’d prefer a little more noise or none at all. This isn’t quiet enough to be silent on a video call, but not loud enough to be properly satisfying, for me at least. That said, going back to a big keyboard means I make fewer mistakes when typing than with the Azoth, and less editing is always a good thing. However, this is also where the 96 lets itself down.
On a standard keyboard, the delete key, ‘Del’, would be placed to the right of the Enter button, usually after a small gap. This is perfect design, allowing you to correct an error with a quick flick of the pinky. The four percent of keys that the Strix Scope II 96 does away with however, is precisely those nine buttons. Four of them are moved to the top, crammed in between the function buttons and the media control keys.
Ctrl and Alt, which are usually slightly larger than the alphanumeric keys, are the same size instead, allowing the navigation arrows to be squished in. A thin strip of LED lights between Enter and the number pad tells you when you have Caps Lock on, what your media knob is controlling, and all that good information.
I can’t deny it’s a clever design, but every single time I’ve tried to delete something with this keyboard, I’ve instead clicked 7. I’ve been testing daily for a month, and my muscle memory still hasn’t shifted to the new Del position, above backspace. At this point, I don’t think it ever will. For me, this is a flawed design and really puts me off an otherwise good keyboard.
Aside from writing, the Strix Scope II 96 works well for gaming, with low response times and easy to push keys without too much friction. I’ve already explained that the ROG NX Snow (roughly similar to Cherry Red switches, with a smooth linear action) mechanical switches are a littletoosmooth for me, but whereas this is a personal taste issue when writing, it’s a boon when gaming. You can choose the clickier Storm version (more akin to Cherry Blue) of these switches when buying, if you’re like me and enjoy that typewriter vibe.
The media controls are sacrificed for this 20 percent smaller form, and I find them lacklustre because of it. Considering the Strix Scope II 96 has streamer hotkeys (the first five function keys are mapped to capturing gameplay and muting/unmuting your mic – a very nice touch), you’d think that media controls would be fairly important in a keyboard marketed at this demographic. A scroll wheel and single button are functional, but little more. I left the wheel as a volume control and didn’t use it much else after trying out the other options.
The Omni Receiver is a nice touch, which allows your keyboard and mouse (if made by ROG) to connect to your PC via the same wireless USB receiver, freeing up your ports for other peripherals.
There’s no denying the ROG Strix Scope II 96 is a good keyboard. It does its job well for the most part, despite poor media controls. For me though, it’s the very premise that lets this board down. Cutting 20 percent of size and four percent of keys doesn’t make this portable, and it doesn’t open up any meaningful space on my desk for notebooks, Pokemon memorabilia, or mugs of tea. What it does do is hamstring the media controls, eliminate the muscle memory we’ve all spent decades honing, and make the whole thing a little awkward to use. While I enjoy typing on it and gaming feels smoother than whipped butter, I’d prefer a full-size keyboard or a far smaller one. The Strix Scope II 96 is stuck in between, and it’s worse for it.
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