Fingers-on with Asus’ ROG Azoth Extreme Edition 20 mechanical keyboard – when carbon fiber isn’t sufficient, Asus goes for the gold

For a lot of the previous 20 years, black and purple have been the enduring colours of Asus’ ROG model. But to have a good time 20 years of the Republic of Gamers, the corporate has settled on a black-and-gold motif, which we’ve already seen on its RAM and different parts in a Computex teaser. This additionally extends to peripherals, as seen with the Asus ROG twentieth anniversary Harpe II Extreme Edition mouse and the Asus ROG Azoth Extreme Edition 20 wi-fi gaming keyboard that we’re taking a look at right here.

The 75% clacker is a reimagining of the carbon fiber-adorned ROG Azoth Extreme we checked out in 2024, with a mixture of clear and partially clear keycaps (the first keys have conventional black crowns with clear sides, whereas the remainder of the caps are a smoky, shiny plastic. It’s additionally $100 costlier than the launch value of the earlier Azoth. There’s additionally a gold steel jog wheel, in addition to gold accents alongside the again, magnetic gold ft (in two sizes), and even gold screws holding the entire thing collectively. And, naturally, the RGB backlighting underneath the switches defaults to a gold coloration out of the field. If nothing else, this can be a a lot bolder design than the unique ROG Azoth Extreme.

Asus ROG Azoth Extreme Edition 20 Specs

Design and options

At almost 3.5 kilos with an all-metal chassis, the ROG Azoth Extreme Edition 20 feels a bit unnecessarily stable, and overkill positively seems like a part of the design at a elementary stage. The silicone-and-metal wrist relaxation provides an additional 1.3 kilos by itself, and doesn’t connect to the keyboard. But with silicon ft and a lot heft, it’s not prone to transfer until you need it to, identical to the keyboard itself.

Asus says at the least a few of the accents are 24 karat gold-plated, as is the detachable plate on the again. The chamfered edges on the highest plate are additionally gold coloured, as is the rocker knob to the suitable of the 1.47-inch coloration touchscreen.

The 2.4 GHz connection (Bluetooth and wired operation are additionally supported) helps 8K polling, however identical to the earlier Azoth Extreme, you’ll want to make use of the included Polling Rate Booster dongle to get the highest refresh charge. The display can play animations, present photographs, and present system stats – there’s even a built-in keystrokes per second counter that Asus says is for music and rhythm video games. Moving by way of the assorted modes is as simple as swiping horizontally on the display.

The again is the place you’ll discover a good chunky change for the three connectivity modes (wired is within the center, and the keyboard helps charging whereas tethered), with the USB-C port on the other nook. Presumably, the plastic part within the center, aside from being an area to put in writing out “Republic of Gamers” is there to permit wi-fi connectivity by way of the in any other case heavy steel chassis.

Lots is going on on the underside of the ROG Azoth Extreme Edition 20, which is the place you may connect one in every of two pairs of gold ft by way of magnets in case you like slightly elevate within the again. There can be a reputation plate, which is gold-plated on one facet, and a extra ROG-traditional black, white, and purple on the opposite.

The plate can be held on by magnets, and eradicating it reveals a slot for storing the slim 2.4 GHz SpeedNova dongle, in addition to the two-way change for adjusting the rigidity of the keyboard’s gasket mount. But simply as I mentioned once I noticed the unique Azoth Extreme at CES 2024, the difference in feel between the two modes makes less of a difference than moving between switch types. Both options feel pretty rigid. I suspect most owners will play with the gasket switch a few times, then leave it in one position for months or years.

Carbon fiber remains in the keyboard’s positioning plate, and the transparent linear ROG NX Snow switches are factory-lubed, resulting in a smooth feel and a pleasing clack while typing with no discernible ping. There is also a tactile NX Snow switch, but our model came with the linear option. This is one of the nicest-feeling and sounding gaming-specific keyboards I’ve used to date – given the price, that’s not particularly surprising.

Accessories

Aside from the keyboard, wireless dongle, and the backplate, Asus includes three extra switches (which is kinda skimpy, given the price), along with a metal switch puller and a plastic keycap remover. You also get a 2-meter braided cable, as well as the Polling Rate Booster, which you’ll need if you want a faster response time than the 1,000 Hz that’s supported by the keyboard itself. But since the switches here are mechanical rather than magnetic, 1,000 pings per second is probably enough for the majority of gamers.

Web-based adjustability

I’m not the biggest fan of Armory Crate (or any gaming peripheral software suite, to be honest), so I like that Asus makes heavy use of its Gear Link (https://gearlink.asus.com/) web app for keyboard control here. With the mouse plugged into your system, you can dig pretty deep into the settings via the site.

The settings here feel a little limited compared to theoptions with the 20th Anniversary Harpe II mouse. But you can assign keys and key combinations. Macro recording is supported on the fly by pressing the Fn and Left Alt key to start and stop macros, then pressing the key you want it assigned to.

There are also lots of options for adjusting the screen and the RGB lighting. I particularly like the Music Mode preset, which lets you display an animation and artist / track listing of whatever song you’re listening to. There’s also an option for displaying CPU and GPU stats, including frequency, temperature, fan speed, voltage, and use. There are enough options for the screen (and they’re easy to navigate, thanks to touch and the jog button) that I feel like the screen here is something I would use and fiddle with quite a bit if this were my main keyboard.

Gaming (and working) with the Asus ROG Azoth Extreme Edition 20

While I didn’t have as much time with the keyboard as I would have liked before jumping on a plane to Taipei for Computex, I did use it for work and gaming for about a week. While I generally prefer clicky switches for writing, lubed linear switches have either gotten good enough, or I have gotten used to them enough that I don’t mind using them for productivity tasks. And the linear NX Snow switches here, combined with the general overall quality of the rest of the keyboard, meant I was happy to work on this keyboard for hours – the somewhat muted and very solid sound (and feel) of the keyboard certainly helped.

And whether I was slicing through demons in Doom: The Dark Ages, racking up headshots in Borderlands 4, or checking out the new expansion pack in Dome Keeper, the Asus ROG Azoth Extreme Edition 20 kept my gaming fingers happy. I can’t say that the keyboard made me a better gamer, but it certainly didn’t make me worse, or require much in the way of adjustment. Some gamers may miss the extra programmable keys that would come with a larger key layout, but I’ve personally always found 75% the sweet spot for both work and play.

ROG Keycap Mystery Box Edition 20

Asus also sent along a case of blind box 20th Edition keycaps that it will also sell to commemorate two decades of ROG, which are priced at $24.99. They are tiny replicas of other ROG products, like mice, keyboards, and headsets. There’s a mystery cap that I didn’t get in my box, but of the six standard blind box keycaps, my favorite by far is the ROG Chariot gaming chair, because the chair spins, and I spent at least five minutes with it affixed to the Escape switch, snapping it and watching it spin. Either it’s a great momentary escape all on its own, or I really need a break after I get back from Computex. There must be a grass-themed keycap, right?

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