The ROG Strix Scope TKL Deluxe keyboard has everything gamers need and nothing they don’t

Jan 06, 2020 Written by:Ashley_Wang

When the action gets hot in today’s most competitive FPS games, the right gear ensures you perform at your peak potential. Our ROG Strix Scope TKL Deluxe keyboard dispenses with productivity-oriented extras and puts all its focus on helping you win more matches.

Right out of the gate, you’ll notice this keyboard is tenkeyless—what keyboard enthusiasts call “TKL.” This design omits the ten-key section, better known as the number pad, that you would find on the right side of most PC keyboards. As a result, the Scope TKL Deluxe puts your mousing and typing hands closer together as you game, a more ergonomic position that’s better for both long gaming sessions and regular typing. The Scope TKL Deluxe is available with a variety of Cherry MX switches, too, giving you the freedom to choose versions with a linear response, tactile feedback, or swift actuation.

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Customizable lighting is a big part of the ROG story, too. Using our Armoury II software, you’re able to pick from a palette of colors, control the under-glow effects up front, specify how you want the ROG logo to look, and even tweak the color of each lock indicator.

Get the right switches, lighting, and settings for your game

Keyboards are incredibly personal. What works for one gamer could be completely wrong for another. That’s why we built customization into every inch of the ROG Strix Scope TKL Deluxe’s design. To begin with, it’s available with a range of German-made Cherry MX RGB Red, Blue, Brown, and Silver flavors to match your preference for audible and tactile feedback. To keep your hours-long gaming marathons comfortable, we include a padded wrist rest that snaps onto the keyboard with a magnet.

Lighting is a big part of what makes the Scope TKL Deluxe so distinctive. Each key has its own RGB LED underneath, and the ROG logo is backlit by its own set of multicolor diodes. Even the lock indicators use individual RGB LEDs to blend in seamlessly with a user’s chosen lighting profile. 

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Despite our goal to keep the Scope TKL Deluxe compact, we undertook the surprisingly difficult task of adding a light bar packed with 26 RGB LEDs under the keyboard’s front edge to cast an impressive glow. It would have been easy to add this light bar while raising the overall height of the board, but we took the hard way and kept the board’s overall height low at the same time. We also know gamers don’t want to be blinded by the light, so we were careful to evenly space and diffuse each downward-facing LED. The even and subtle underglow from this light bar is as tasteful as it is eye-catching.

There’s enough on-board memory for one default and five custom profiles, which you can switch between using the Fn key or our Armoury II utility. Macros can be recorded on the fly, and every key is programmable except for the Fn key, which you’d never want to re-map to begin with.

Ten different effects, an additional custom mode, and an entire spectrum of color choices mean you’ll never have to settle for the same look as someone else. Better still, you can use our Aura software to synchronize the Scope TKL Deluxe with your other Aura-capable components.

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Built to perform at home or on the road

The clearest advantage of a tenkeyless keyboard like the Scope TKL Deluxe is its smaller size. The frameless design results in a 136mm top-to-bottom depth, making our Scope TKL Deluxe the most compact keyboard in its class. You can use the space where the numpad would normally reside for slinging around a mouse, particularly if you’re a fan of low-sensitivity settings that require lots of hand movement. The small frame easily slips into a bag or carrying case if you want to take the Scope TKL Deluxe to a tournament or LAN party. Despite that portability, the board won’t feel hollow or slide around on a desk. We carefully tuned the Scope TKL Deluxe’s weight so that it feels solid and stays firmly planted on its large rubber feet. 

Although the keyboard itself is compact, we’ve installed a much larger Ctrl key than usual on its left side. We didn’t just stick a larger keycap on a standard Cherry MX switch and call it good, though. A Costar stabilizer under the extra-large cap ensures low resistance and a consistent feel, especially if you hit the edges of the key during the heat of battle. This design means that it’s easier to crouch or hit key combos even during the most frantic parts of a match. In fact, all of the large keys on the Strix Scope TKL Deluxe have Costar stabilizers underneath, including the space bar.

A quick-toggle switch turns the F5 through F12 keys into media controls, circumventing the need for combos when you’re looking to change the volume or skip tracks on your playlist. In media control mode, hitting the F12 key drops your system into stealth mode, hiding all your open apps and muting the audio.

When it comes time to pack up for a bit of gaming on the go, just flip the Scope TKL Deluxe over, unplug its braided, detachable USB Type-C cable, and coil up the cord. Because you won’t be wrapping the cable around the keyboard, you don’t have to worry about scratching the key caps or the bottom of the chassis with the connector.

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The ROG Strix Scope TKL Deluxe naturally supports n-key rollover, accurately registering as many simultaneous key presses as human hands can make, along with a 1000Hz polling rate for instantaneous response to your input.

An FPS-oriented keyboard built for speed and comfort

Gamers hold certain keyboard capabilities dearer than others. Although the tenkey is great for data entry and quick calculations, it’s not necessary for fast-paced first-person shooters. An optimized form factor, however, is imperative. Switch performance also matters, as does key placement.

The ROG Strix Scope TKL Deluxe gives you a keyboard that’s optimized for gaming, with all the keys you need and no extra fat. The tenkeyless design opens up extra space for mouse movement and higher comfort while gaming. We offer a variety of Cherry MX RGB switches for just the right feel. And the extensive RGB LED lighting is easy to configure through our Armoury II software. This keyboard melds high performance and premium materials in a design that lets you make it your own.

We’ll be showing off the ROG Strix Scope TKL as part of our CES 2020 showcase at the Planet Hollywood Las Vegas Resort and Casino. To see it for yourself, or to learn more about pricing or availability in your region, contact your local ASUS representative.