The Roccat Vulcan II Mini Mechanical Gaming Keyboard is the most recent item to arrive on our desk. It is a stunning 65 percent board with fantastic RGB lighting and a tone of versatility thanks to Roccat’s Easy Shift technology. The Vulcan II Mini has attractive and sturdy plastic buttons that are easy to remove and configure whatever you like. Once the keyboard software is installed, the colorful LEDs turn on and become somewhat configurable. Even though it has a straightforward appearance, the Mini’s main selling points are its reduced footprint and degree of personalization. The SteelSeries Apex 9 Mini’s main rival is the ROCCAT Vulcan II Mini. Recently, we looked at this keyboard, and we were really impressed. Therefore, if this keyboard wants to overtake its market-dominating competitor, it has a lot of work to do. Thankfully, though, its design and usability set it apart from the competition. Additionally, its eye-catching RGB lights are stunning to look at. you can read our article on Roccat Vulcan II Mini review.
Roccat Vulcan II Mini review: Design
The Roccat Vulcan II Mini is a 65% keyboard, which means it features delete, home, and page up and down keys in addition to a regular 60% layout. With a length of 12.7 inches and a depth of only 4.5 inches, it is a little bit longer than the 60% keyboard. Additionally, this little beast weighs 1.1 lbs, which is less than some other diminutive keyboards. The body of the Roccat Vulcan II Mini is made of plastic, and the aluminum backplate incorporates grip-enhancing rubber strips and two flip-out feet for greater angle adjustment. Although we dare say the white is far more striking and a good way to stand out in a sea of black peripherals, it is available in both black and white. It complements our Roccat Burst Pro Air quite well. It incorporates Roccat’s AIMO RGB lighting, Titan II Optical Switches, and a removable, six-foot-long USB-C cable for convenience in transportation and storage. The technology Easy-Shift key duplicator, which enables a second function layer, is another characteristic of this device. The white keys have translucent legends to make the stunning RGB lighting even more visible, and the ones with preset extra features even have secondary legends written on them.
Keys
The Roccat keyboard, despite the provided caps, has rapid actuation and great-feeling keys. It accomplishes nothing noteworthy, and the optical switches deliver an excellent user experience while producing a few articles. 65% is simply insufficient for anything other than typing and leaning more toward the artistic side of things. Numerous daily operations were now restricted to key combinations, which made working on it somewhat tedious. Although we found the size to be quite polarizing, even while gaming. Although 60% and 65% form-factors are getting more and more common, this is purely a matter of personal preference. Having the real physical keycaps scrape along the finger during the early hours of use wasn’t the most pleasant experience in the world, especially coming from a broader, meatier keyboard and a MacBook Pro keyboard. It appears that Roccat is promoting this keyboard as the standard. The keycaps can be changed to your own preferences, as stated on their packaging and website, which is acceptable. However, we eventually caved in to switching them out when the only keycaps we had were from a set of better keyboards. Swapping is a straightforward yet painful process. It was unusual to take them off one at a time and put on a keycap that still felt awkward in its position. It appears that Roccat is adamant that the LED lights, not any clever technology, are the main advertised feature of the Vulcan II Mini.
RGB lighting
The Vulcan II Mini, like the other Roccat keyboards we’ve seen in recent years, is outstanding for a variety of reasons. The RGB lighting is most likely one of them. You may alter the lighting using hardware buttons and change modes by changing profiles in addition to the numerous options available in the software for lighting customization. also you can check our article on Roccat Vulcan II Mini review.
Roccat Vulcan II Mini review: Software
Of course, the lights themselves are only half of the puzzle for the true RGB expert. You require a driver package that allows you to completely configure them. The Swarm system offers access to per-game profiles in addition to the standard per-key programming and a few pre-built animations. If you have a mouse or monitor from Dell’s gaming division to utilize with it, it also has compatibility with the earlier Alienware AlienFX system. But hold on, the salesman continues, there’s more. In order to create a stunning, responsive light show that genuinely changes depending on your game, Swarm may also sync the keyboard lights with the colors that appear on your screen. This device is known as TalkFX. There is only one issue. Despite prominent placement in the most recent version of the Roccat Swarm software, neither AlienFX nor TalkFX are truly compatible with the Vulcan II Mini. In fact, it looks that none of the boards that Roccat is currently selling are compatible with either of the keyboards in the list of compatible keyboards. With no access to some of the more modern custom game lighting profiles and smart home sync seen in some of the competition, the Vulcan II Mini is left with a lovely but somewhat dated assortment of animations and lighting gimmicks.
Performance
We have a lot of issues using keyboards as gamers with long nails. Our claws can easily get caught between keys if they are spaced too widely, which can occasionally cause the key caps to come off. We’ll strike one or two other keys instead of the one we’re aiming for if the keys are too close together. The Roccat Vulcan II Mini strikes a decent balance, but the keycaps’ slickness causes us to occasionally press the wrong one and they do feel a touch cheap. Surprisingly, the relatively small keycaps—there isn’t really a sidewall here—feel just as stable as a keycap with more bulk. Because of the slipperiness of the keycaps, gaming on the Roccat Vulcan II Mini can be a little challenging, but it’s crucial to remember that the optical switches allow for exceptionally quick key presses and the layout itself makes it simple to explore the layout while engrossed in a game. This, together with its short travel distance and 1000HZ polling rate, make it a superb keyboard for FPS titles like Destiny 2 or Apex Legends. However, if you play games that call for the usage of additional keys or the redistribution of existing keys, this keyboard might not be for you. also you will learn our article on Roccat Vulcan II Mini review.
Roccat Vulcan II Mini review: Price
Conclusion
The Vulcan II Mini is another of Roccat’s high-caliber computer accessories, and it impressed us with its use of RGB and its variety of features. Despite the lack of wifi choices, it’s a great peripheral. Its clicks may not be as gratifying as those provided by the Corsair K70 RGB Pro Mini, but it is still up there with many of the most excellent keyboards on the market right now, key for key. Players will now get the opportunity to experience it in a smaller%65 version, which was nonetheless designed with the same quality, performance, and patented technologies. The TITAN II optical switches, Smart key technology, Easy-Shift [+] technology, and bright AIMO RGB lighting are all included in ROCCAT’s Vulcan II small.
