A compact mech board for the number-phobic gamer
We’re really trying hard not to be too cynical about the Ryos TKL Pro, but Roccat hasn’t made it easy. It’s a cut-down version of the full-fat Ryos MK Pro, just £10 cheaper, but you lose a hell of a lot in the switch. And we’re not just talking about the absent numpad either.
Essentially that’s what the TKL stands for in the name – tenkeyless. And by the 10 keys we assume that refers to the 0 to 9 keys on the missing numpad, and not the seven other keys which traditionally orbit those numerals. That makes this board a compact design, laid out specifically for gamers, and notably FPS gamers at that. Roccat claims the fact there’s less distance between a gamer’s mouse and keyboard hands is “perfect for those who game optimally when there’s less space between their wrists”. We’re guessing that’s a gaming niche we were previously unaware of and somewhat ironic given the board’s name puts us immediately in mind of a professional Mr Tickle.
Unlike some other compact designs you still get the cursor keys and the nine control keys above them, so you’re not really losing out much in the traditional keyboard stakes. Granted there will definitely be some gamers who can’t abide by compact boards, feeling utterly lost without the numpad. But if you’re perennially finding your gaming claws bent around your mouse in one hand and contorted across the WSAD keys with the other, you’re unlikely to miss it.
Like its big Ryos brother, the TKL Pro is a full mechanical keyboard with N-key rollover to count every single keypress no matter how much you faceroll your board. As is the way with most modern mech switch boards, you have the full range of Cherry MX keys at your disposal. Our review board is rocking the brown switches, but you can also pick up reds, blues and blacks as well.
For the uninitiated, the browns have a tangible actuation point, which can feel a little gritty. Blues are the same but also have an audible click for that old school typewriter soundscape. The red and black switches are both linear switches, with no tactile or audible actuation point, but the blacks are a little stiffer, requiring more force to depress.
Also like the larger Ryos, you get per-key blue LED lighting which can be played with to add some superfluous, but admittedly pleasing, effects. You also get the full Roccat range of gaming goodies, such as the Easy-Shift[+] button, which can turn any key into a macro, plus the three programmable buttons beneath the Spacebar – again perfectly placed for the FPS gamer.
Which all sounds grand. A full mechswitch board, all the Roccat extras and some nifty lighting effects sans numpad. But that’s not the full story. If it was we’d be happily scoring the tickle pro higher. Sadly, it looks like Roccat is concerned with not cannibalising sales of the slightly more expensive MK Pro because not only do you lose the numpad, you also miss out on the audio I/O and USB pass-through too. On a gaming board we’d say those are almost essential requirements. We recently castigated the Corsair K70 RGB for also lacking them.
Given how expensive the Pro is, losing those two key features is unforgivable. Added together with the lack of dedicated volume and media controls makes this otherwise robust and powerful mech switch gaming board seem like conspicuously poor value. – Dave James
SPECIFICATIONS
Response time 1ms
Programmable keys 91
Cable length 1.8m
MCU 2x 32-bit ARM Cortex
Flash memory 2MB