ROG Falchion Ace: 65% compact, mechanical and customizable

ROG Falchion Ace it’s a compact mechanical keyboard with 65% form factor. It represents the ideal solution for those players who are looking for performance, an agile and easy to manage solution, as well as widely customizable, with the versatile software Armory Crate. On board this keyboard, in fact, we find the switches ROG NX Redsimilar to Cherry MX Red, with linear excursion and almost immediate activation point along the stroke.

The activation point, in fact, is at 1.8 millimeters, with a force required for the initial activation of 40gf, while 55gf is needed to reach the full stroke. This means that the switches are designed to avoid accidental presses, and at the same time are quick and responsive: ideal for gaming, while they require some getting used to typing. In comparison, i Brown they have a trigger point at 2mm, with force required to achieve tactile feedback at 58gf. THE blueInstead, they feature a 2.3mm actuation point and 65gf haptic feedback force. The latter are preferable for typing, while the Browns are somewhere in between since the Reds don’t return any type of feedback except at full travel: all three types of switches are still available for the ROG Falchion Ace.

The pressure returns a pleasant sensation and the excursion is smooth and stable, thanks to the lubrication that was made in the factory on the switch housing. The bounce noise is also particularly damped. THE PBT doubleshot type keycaps, in turn, are solid and very stable, also taking advantage of built-in sound-absorbing foam for better acoustics. This also applies to those more sensitive buttons from the point of view of stability, such as the spacebar and enter.

The keyboard is equipped with two USB-C ports, so that it can be easily connected to two PCs, while a selector allows you to switch from one system to another. The two ports have been placed at the ends of the side of the keyboard also to allow an easy connection regardless of the position of the gaming system. The feet with which the keyboard is equipped also allow you to select between three different angles, in order to meet the preferences of all users.

The innovation is also very interesting polycarbonate cover that Asus ROG has decided to include in the package: decidedly resistant and practical to use, it allows you to transport the keyboard without worries and prevent it from being damaged.

Furthermore, on the left side, ROG Falchion ACE welcomes a touch bar with lighting effect. Sensitive to the touch, by default it allows you to increase or decrease the volume with ease, replacing the classic wheels found on more voluminous keyboards. It perfectly meets the needs of containment of the spaces that this solution has, and can be customized. Rather than acting on the volume, in fact, it can be associated with macros or other keyboard functions, zoom, specific applications or websites, text strings or disabled, and everything can be configured with the Armory Crate software.

Provided for all Asus peripherals, Armory Crate is one of the most complete and functional software that we find in the panorama of gaming peripherals. It’s easy to understand and use, and allows you to deeply configure your peripherals, allowing you to make the most of them. Any button can acquire the desired behavior by the player, while the gaming mode inhibits the operation of button combinations such as Alt+F4 or Alt+Tab. You can customize some macrosnot only in the sequences of buttons but also in the timing, and create gods profileswith each of them being able to be associated with a specific app or a given game.

Armory Crate is an even more powerful tool than that, as it is tasked with unifying the configuration and control of all ASUS and ROG software and equipment. By integrating numerous software, it allows complete control of the key components and functions of the gaming system, all through a single centralized interface.

And then there’s the whole world of Aura Creator. This application included in Armory Crate not only allows you to configure the RGB lighting effects in a personal way, but also allows you to synchronize them with those of the other components of the gaming station. We can do it as if we were drawing on a carpet, with a shelf where we can arrange the peripherals in the desired order and then slide the RGB effects on them as we want.

Aura Creator allows you to customize RGB effect layers for ROG Falchion ACE via a timeline similar to those in video editing programs. First you select the set of buttons whose lighting you want to customize and then you set a new level. Then we can arrange the duration of each lighting effect and the sequence of effects to be applied. This will allow us to manage different effects for each specific part of the keyboard, and obtain very creative results. Obviously beyond being able to customize the effects on the basis of the single key, decide which ones to light up and which ones to turn off, and much more.

Also, you can enable the Aura Performance Mode, which can optimize the smoothness of lighting effects, while requiring some CPU power. All these customizations can then be stored on the internal memory to the keyboard, capable of handling different profiles with various layers of customization.

Beyond the software, however, some configurations can be physically created using combinations of buttons. You can inhibit the Windows button and the touch bar to avoid unwanted effects during gaming. We also have the Function button to switch between normal and Fn modes. Then there is the button to configure the macros without having to access the software and also the backlight can be adjusted on the fly using Fn plus the arrow keys, as well as the brightness of the LEDs. The keyboard also offers support 100% anti-ghosting and n-key rolloverwhich ensures that each press is duly registered by the system.

Ultimately, ROG Falchion ACE proved to be a stable and performing keyboard during our tests, while the NX Red switches are ideal for playing, a little less for typing. The customization possibilities are excellent, especially for those who like to experiment with various RGB lighting effects and do it with practical software. However, the most interesting component of all remains the one linked to the form factor: ROG Falchion ACE is to be recommended above all for those who want to contain space on the desk or have limited space, without giving up the most important functions. Despite the compact size, in fact, there are buttons that are widely used by players such as the arrow keys, Pag Up and Pag Down, and others. The only contraindication remains the price, as unfortunately often happens with Asus ROG products: in fact, you need around €140 to bring home a ROG Falchion ACE.