Performance

The ROCCAT Vulcan 120 AIMO keyboard supports N-key rollover USB out of the box, which tested successfully using Aqua's test. Switch Hitter confirmed no chatter with these keys either, and the right Windows keys is replaced by an Fn key, as is usually seen in gaming keyboards these days.

When first connected to the keyboard with the software driver running, ROCCAT's AIMO lighting system is active and does.. something? In the absence of more connected and compatible devices, it is hard to really see much of a pattern and what makes this so special. What is evident right away, however, is that the new switches and the shorter keycaps make for a very bright light show, especially from any angle other than straight down.


Without the driver, the onboard profiles have their own specific static lighting effects, with Swarm needed for the more complex dynamic and AIMO lighting. These presets help test for light bleed, and it was definitely present at the common edges because of the short, floating keycaps. I then manually set all the keys to white using the software driver to test for color fidelity since RGB LEDs have a hard time depicting white, and it was a very good white without any noticeable warm or cool tones.

Here are some more of the lighting effects demonstrated, including the rainbow wave, heartbeat, and breathing modes, making full use of the hardware and software alike. I would have liked to see more onboard control available for those not wanting to use the drivers each time, and even more effect-specific controls beyond just speed and brightness. But there is one small trick up the Vulcan AIMO's sleeve, which we also saw with the Horde AIMO. That mixer-style wheel in the top-right corner is volume control by default out of the box, with the volume button next to it lit up to denote this. However, toggle the middle lighting button and the wheel now controls backlighting brightness without the driver in fine steps.


As with the rest of the Vulcan keyboard series, there are two switch options for the ROCCAT Vulcan 120 AIMO. These are ROCCAT-branded Titan switches in the linear (red) or tactile (brown) variant, although the latter option appears to generally be more readily available. The Titan Switch Linear actuates at 1.4 mm travel, and the Titan Switch Tactile at 1.8 mm, and both have a total travel distance of 3.6 mm and a lower rated debounce time than most other switches. The tactile bump on the Titan brown is also slightly before the actuation point and has an average actuation force closer to 55 gf compared to the Cherry MX Brown at ~50 gf. Nothing really stands out about these particular switches; I do wish the tactile bump were more pronounced, but those wanting a Cherry MX Brown (or rather, a Kailh BOX Brown) equivalent will not be found wanting much.


As always, the sound of a keyboard is based on more than just the switch type. So when comparing sound clips, consider the keyboard as a whole. In this case, I have provided above an example sound clip of me typing on the Vulcan 120 AIMO keyboard sample at ~95 WPM as it comes out of the box. For context, you can find sound clips from other keyboards here, including those with tactile switches. I did bottom out more often than not given the relatively light springs, but the tactile bump in these switches does help train for touch typing more than the linear switch version.