Roccat Vulcan 120 Aimo review: the best gaming keyboard with Titan switches

It is not easy to compete today in the gaming sector. Only a handful of brands can offer a quality product that is also innovative. One of them is undoubtedly Roccat which is trying to build a great reputation thanks to keyboards (and mice) such as the Roccat Vulcan 120 Aimo (Check on Amazon.com).

Roccat Vulcan 120 Aimo – Features

This Roccat Vulcan 120 Aimo and its Titan switches is an alternative for keyboards that use the well known CHERRY MX, Razer Green, Logitech Romer-G, or Kailh switches.

They are very tactile, meaning that they have a rubbery feeling and need more pressure or actuation force than most others. Its actuation distance is 1.8mm while its travel stops at 3.6mm. These characteristics make them (on paper) a better gaming switch than the CHERRY MX Red or Brown, being an intermediate step between them.

Like all good gaming keyboards, the Roccat Vulcan 120 Aimo also sports a 32-bit ARM Cortex-M0 processor, with ARMv6-M architecture, which is intended for small-sized devices or with lower power requirements. And since all the keys are configurable it also has 512KB of internal memory to save all the settings and macros we create. Its polling frequency is 1000Hz, which is more than enough for any professional gamer let alone a casual one.

Roccat Vulcan 120 Aimo – Design

The curious thing about this keyboard and these keycaps is that the first row of keys, where the “CTRL”, space bar and “Alt” are located are concave, while the rest of the keys are slightly convex in their center. In addition, the concave keys are thicker than the convex ones.

Leaving the keycaps aside, the Titan switches make their first appearance here. They appear better finished, thought and executed than the CHERRY MX, since their central crosshead is reinforced by two walls that embrace the plastic groove of each keycap, limiting any horizontal movement and at the same time keeping the actuation force as vertical as possible.

As if that was not enough, the connecting area with the aluminum mid-plate is through two plastic bridges of generous dimensions that are located on the sides and not on its vertical. This gives each Titan switch greater stability while preventing each keycap from being actuated due to a wrong press.

Roccat Vulcan 120 Aimo – Swarm Software

Roccat offers a complete companion software called Swarm. Here we find a series of very interesting features, like, for example, the “sound feedback”, that enables various sound effects for each keystroke. For the rest all keys are fully configurable, so the customization options are virtually endless.

Roccat Vulcan 120 Aimo – User experience

This keyboard is very pleasant to use, the switches are fast and responsive. The fact that they have activation resistance makes it possible to receive tactile feedback that a key has been pressed well before reaching the end of that switches travel (the activation threshold is only slightly lower). So it is undeniable that it is a better typing keyboard compared to a membrane one. On the other hand, it is difficult to validate the reactivity of the Roccat Vulcan 120 Aimo compared to other premium mechanical keyboards; the key delay is imperceptible to the point that one could say that it is non-existent.

Regarding the noise generated by the key presses, it is acceptable. If you press the keys all the way down it is possible to limit some of that noise, otherwise, you will inevitably get the characteristic click sound of mechanical keyboards.

Roccat Vulcan 120 Aimo – Verdict

This is one of the best keyboards I’ve ever tried. It has convinced me not only as a gamer but also as my daily driver. It is somewhat louder than an office keyboard, but it is also soft and more comfortable. Roccat has managed to create a keyboard that can satisfy both worlds and provide us with a more than remarkable experience in any kind of use.

Its brushed aluminum design gives it an aggressive look, but at the same time, it makes it always seem pristine. And if you like more of a gamer look the light that reflects on the aluminum base gives off a truly striking result.

The problem of creating such an all-round product is that small defects become more striking. In this case, there are two aspects that prevent me from giving it a perfect score. The first concerns the wrist rest that I would have preferred more padded, even a minimum layer of soft material would have been appreciated.

The second has to do with the three rubber multimedia buttons that are in contrast with the premium feeling of the rest of the keyboard. Normal keys would have been better.

Anyhow the Roccat Vulcan 120 Aimo (Check on Amazon.com) is still considered the best keyboard in the market one that is perfect for gamers and productivity alike. If your budget allows it, it should be among your options when thinking about buying a new keyboard.