Closer Examination

The ASUS ROG Falchion Ace HFX is a 65% form factor keyboard, meaning you have a smaller keyboard than what you might be used to. There is no Fn key row, for example, let alone a number pad. We do get dedicated arrow keys, and a shorter R. Shift key with three smaller 1u keys to the right of the space bar means ASUS is able to have a single bank of keys to further save space. We get an extra column on the right with four keys—Insert, Delete, Page Up, and Page Down—above the right arrow key, but otherwise this is a keyboard that you should expect to use a layer to get back some of the missing functions you might want for daily use. This is why we see some front-facing legends on the keycaps, thus helping cut down the entry barrier to this small form factor keyboard. The other keycap legends are placed in the top center, with secondary legends alongside or underneath, to benefit from the LEDs underneath no doubt. Bezels are tiny on three sides, with a glossy section on the top that has ROG branding, among other things as we will shortly see. The keyboard comes only in black and looks quite clean from these viewing angles.


Flipping the keyboard around, we see the usual certification sticker in the bottom left corner and a striated design cut into the ABS plastic case for some added flair. More ROG branding seen here, because why not, including a large ROG eye and the full name at the top. A larger silicone rubber strip at the bottom and two more pads in the top corners help provide friction against the resting surface. We also get two sets of keyboard feet for a total of three elevation angles, and these come with rubberized bottoms too.


The side facing away from the user has a lot more going on than usual, and this is where the ROG Falchion Ace HFX really aims to earn its spot in an increasingly crowded Hall effect keyboard market. Take a look at that toggle switch on the left (top right corner when seen from the front) with a dial that goes from N (normal) to RT (rapid trigger) to allow an easy way to toggle the rapid trigger feature of these magnetic switches on without needing a key combination or software controls. This is alongside a Type-C port that comes labeled as port 1, and there's a second Type-C port on the other side. A 2-way toggle switch in the middle allows you to choose which of the two ports is used, meaning you could have the keyboard connected to two devices and easily control which one is active. This also allows you to more easily route the keyboard cable away from any other peripheral cable, in case you only plan to use the keyboard with a single laptop or PC. ROG Falchion branding is seen between this 2-way switch and the first Type-C port, with the equivalent gap on the right taken up by tactile dots that make up an interactive touch panel. One final switch on the right, which comes adorned with the ROG eye, helps control what this touch panel does with five different options available. The provided cable works well with the keyboard given the all-black aesthetic, is braided in black and the usual 6' long, and USB 3.2 Gen 1 (USB 3.0) or better is recommended for power and data.


A look from the side shows the built-in elevation of the keyboard, which I would classify as medium profile without the keyboard feet used. Knowing that many will end up using the provided feet, a wrist/palm rest might be useful for those who don't hover their hands above the keys. The keycaps use ASUS's take on the OEM keycap profile with the sides cut down slightly, resulting in shorter looking keycaps that may seem closer to Cherry profile but are not any different to type on than other OEM profile keycaps. They are floating as a result of this case design, which uses a metal plate tied to a low-profile ABS plastic case. A keycap puller is not a must-have here, although it does make the job easier if you plan on replacing them or simply to clean the keyboard properly. The provided keycap puller isn't my favorite since it can potentially scratch the sides of the keycaps in use, is thick on the sides to make it harder to fit between some keys, and also does not allow you to quickly remove multiple keycaps easily. It still does the job okay enough to help remove some of the keycaps, which in turn confirms the use of thick PBT plastic (average wall thickness 1.35 mm) with predominantly doubleshot injected legends that will basically last forever. The front-facing legends are laser-etched, but will not be touched directly, so their longevity is not going to be impacted much either. Unfortunately, this is also the case with the secondary legends seen in the number key row, which are on the top, will end up wearing out sooner, and are also opaque to backlighting as with the front-facing legends. Do note that some regions will get ABS plastic keycaps with a UV coat on top, so ASUS certainly has room for improvement in this regard.


As of the time of this review, ASUS has a single magnetic switch in its portfolio called the ROG HFX. As such, this Falchion Ace HFX does not have multiples switches to choose from. This is a linear switch, meaning we also don't get any tactile or clicky switch options, although these are only just being made available when it comes to magnetic switches. The larger keycaps get plate mounted ROG stabilizers that are factory lubed to a decent standard which should help cut down the potential mushy feedback on the space bar key in particular. Note also the foam sheets underneath the space bar key to further dampen the large keycap bottoming out.


ASUS does not provide a switch remover tool here, probably because there is no reason for anyone to really do so unless you wish to mod the switch with heavier springs or re-lube the stem. I did use my own tool to remove one of these ROG HFX switches for a closer look, and this also makes it easier to examine the hot-swappable switch socket used—all magnetic switches have this feature. We see the socket is not the same as most other magnetic switch sockets though, be it with the sensor seen on the top rather than the underside of the PCB, or a closed central area which is left open in other keyboards for the stem to go through the PCB. There is an SMD RGB LED at the top, meaning the switches are installed in a north-facing configuration, but otherwise you can't use other HE switches on this keyboard either. The ROG HFX uses a polycarbonate top housing with ROG branding, a composite POM cross-point stem with walls around for added dust and spill resistance, and a POM bottom housing, making for a black/gray switch that does look neat if I say so myself.


Given I already had one of these ROG HFX switches out of the keyboard, I figured I might as well take it apart to see if it is any different inside. The top housing has an integrated diffuser lens to better distribute the light from the LED underneath, and we see a pre-lubed stem that is quite smooth in travel. The switch housing also has tight tolerances to help avoid switch wobble in the absence of guide pins for added stability, although I'd still take a good 5-pin mechanical switch over this and most HE switches if you want a really stable switch/keycap combo that doesn't wobble around when going up and down. The stem also has the magnet positioned on the side rather than at the bottom as with most HE switches, and this is why the Hall sensor is on the outside too. Going this route allows ASUS to have a closed bottom housing in the middle for the stem, although there are two large openings on either side for the sensor and LED anyway so I doubt we'll see any acoustic benefits.


The absence of a dedicated disassembly page probably told you I was not successful in taking the Falchion Ace HFX apart, at least not without feeling like I could not put it back together in one piece. There are 13 Phillips-head screws securing the plate/PCB to the plastic case, and you need to remove several keycaps to access them. But at this point I was facing resistance from the top bezel, almost as if I had to remove it separately. Taking a thin, flat object to see if there are any hidden plastic tabs was futile, and I suspect there's a thin layer of silicone which has created a small compression seal to make this harder than it should be. I did take some photos from the corners to show you what I mean, and here we also see ASUS is using a gasket mount—albeit again with not the most effective gaskets in the corners as opposed to wrap-around thick silicone gaskets all around. There's a mix of silicone and foam damping throughout to minimize reverberations in the empty case and also help prevent pinging off the plate.