There are a lot of challenges inherent to building a gaming PC, but managing one’s desk space to fit the hardware and its peripheral accessories alongside whatever collectibles are on display might not immediately come to mind.Turtle Beachsubsidiary Roccat released a potential answer to the question of space last month with itsMagma Mini RGB Keyboard, a 60% device retailing for $49.99 that adds a touch of color to any desktop. Unfortunately, the Magma Mini feels about as cheap as its price tag suggests, so there are certainly better options out there.
Beyond its size, the Roccat keyboard has a few distinct selling points. Aesthetically, the Magma Mini has a modern, matte black finish for its chassis and keycaps that make the nearly all-encompassing RGB plate (utilizingRoccat’s AIMO lighting system) stand out. It’s a membrane keyboard with anti-ghosting, meaning each cap is isolated to prevent keystrokes from bleeding into one another. The Magma Mini also has an IP33 durability rating, indicating that its build protects from both moisture and “intrusion” by “solid objects over 2.5mm.”
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While these benefits are nice on paper, the product shows its flaws as soon as it comes out of the box. Its aesthetic finish looks nice, but the keys themselves feel soft and rubbery. That seemingly cheap material also extends to the chassis, and thiskeyboard’s small form is so lightweight(only 460 grams) that it feels as though a user could snap it in half with one swing. Additional flaws in the design also stand out, such as its twin kick stands on the base that only lock into one angle barely higher than sitting flat.
The Magma Mini’s non-metallic body combined with a grafted-on USB cable make it a stellar portable device; in fact, the process of this review took the keyboard on a cross-country flight with no real hiccups. Yet the quality of the keyboard’s build did cause issues in other instances. At one point, pressing ‘Enter’ caused the key to get stuck in the membrane holster, unable to move before it was forcibly pulled off so the metal stabilizing rod could be fixed. The relative difficulty of this task suggests trouble for those looking to dofull keycap replacements.
Another problem with the Magma Mini is how it handles the RGB lighting as part of Roccat’s product ecosystem. Unlike products such asRazor’s flagship peripherals, plugging the Roccat Magma Mini into one’s computer will not bring up a page to download driver software akin to Synapse or Armoury Crate. For those who don’t go digging into a multi step search tab on Roccat’s website, the keyboard defaults to a constantly oscillating rainbow with little more customization than lowering or turning off the brightness with Function key commands. The “Connected AIMO Ecosystem” that promises to unify lighting effects across devices will likely be lost on casual users.
On the subject of Function-based commands, multiple keys across the board get new purposes when holding Function to make up for Magma Mini’s size. These include peripheral adjustments like the aforementionedRGB brightnesstoggle, computer settings like volume, and even major keys like Forward-Slash becoming the Up Arrow. Hitting Function-G also activates “Game Mode,” which introduces gaming-friendly changes like turning Caps Lock into an “Easy-Shift” Macros toggle with its own re-mappable key functions.
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When playing video games, having these extra function layers (particularly custom Easy-Shift) is useful, or at the very least unobtrusive given keys like WASD do not have secondary functions by default. However, those who aren’t used to 60-percent keyboards will likely have a harder time acclimating to multiple button presses if they’rechatting on services like Discordor using the PC for work. Not only are the Arrow Keys hidden behind Function, one must go a step further by pressing Function and Shift to access a Tilde over the Escape key.
Though more of a subjective point, it is worth noting that the smaller size of thekeyboard combined with its rubbery, non-mechanical touchand low propped angle may cause issues for those with larger hands. The anti-ghosting measures built in can really only do so much when one is fumbling around trying to access all the hidden functionality.
Ultimately the Magma Mini keyboard feels cheap, but one could argue that’s because it is intentionally a cheaper option.Roccat’s higher-end Vulcan keyboard lineranges from $100 to $230, but sometimes one’s space and budgetary constraints are dissuading factors. The Magma Mini is serviceable for gaming, and if anything it seems like a stellar option for travel given its lightweight construction and moisture protection. However, permanent set-ups will want to invest in better hardware - or at least the full-sized Roccat Magma keyboard that retails for the same price.
TheRoccat Magma Mini RGB Keyboardis available now for $49.99. Game Rant was provided a unit for this review.
