The rapid growth of the custom keyboard hobby forced manufacturers almost overnight to adapt or be left behind. Asus answered with its ROG Azoth lineup, tailoring still to gamers but with a more thoughtful build that incorporates mature ideas. One of the models in this lineup, the ROG Azoth X, is now on sale for just $199.99 on Best Buy, marked down $100 from MSRP. It's a great gaming keyboard that finally makes sense at this price point.
The ROG Azoth X is a 75% mechanical keyboard, featuring Asus' in-house ROG NX Snow linear switches — actuating at 40g (1.8mm) with a 53g spring — made from POM and PC materials. They're factory lubed to provide a smooth typing experience coupled with a pleasant sound. Those switches sit on a wireless PCB with tri-mode connectivity so you can use this bad boy on your PC, phone, console or just about anything else.
On top of that south-facing PCB is an FR4 plate, enabling a gasket-mount that's leagues above the conventional tray mount you find on most gaming keyboards. There's five layers of sound dampening inside the chassis to absorb all unnecessary clacks. Moreover, Asus has put a "stellar-themed" keycap set on top with dye-sub legends and a semi-translucent aesthetic for some light passthrough.
As for extras, the ROG Azoth X comes with a barebones wrist rest in the box, while the board itself has an OLED screen in the corner, right next to a multi-function knob. Both of those can be customized in the Armory Crate software, which also lets you enable "Speed Tap." Yes, this board has support for SOCD even though the switches are not hall-effect, or even optical for that matter.
In our review of the keyboard, we praised its build quality, sound, and performance, but criticized the $300 price tag (and Armory Crate). Now, at a discounted ask of just $199.99 at Best Buy, the ROG Azoth X makes a lot more sense in the face of custom-ish options that excel at one specific thing — such as the Lemokey L3. The entire package is also backed up a year of warranty from the manufacturer.
If you're looking for more savings, check out our Best PC Hardware deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, Gaming Chair, Best Wi-Fi Routers, Best Motherboard, or CPU Deals pages.
