The Asus ROG Azoth is the first true enthusiast gaming keyboard from the Taiwanese tech giant. And let’s be honest, it’s an exaggeration. It’s a jargon, and it translates as a quality keep that ticks all the boxes, adds a few to the bottom of the list, and ticks those as well.
Asus knows mechanical keyboards well. I tested a bunch of his previous ROG mech boards. Even the almost sleek hybrid Claymore board that predated the Mountain in detachable numeric keypad games couldn’t stick it out. I mean, literally. The extra keypad floppy attachment was one of the reasons I hated it so much.
But it’s just stepping into the avid keyboard market. (opens in new tab) Given the burgeoning market for high-end custom keyboards, it’s no surprise that Asus is entering with both feet.
Weirdly, this is such a good time to release a ridiculously priced gaming keyboard because people are buying it despite being in the midst of a global economic turmoil that borders on apocalyptic proportions No. And when I say “ridiculous prices,” I’m not messing around. This is the first ~$300 keyboard I’ve ever seen.But that didn’t stop us from giving you the best gaming keyboards of CES 2023 (opens in new tab) Awards, and it doesn’t stop me from loving it.
ROG Azoth Specs
size: 75%
base: hot swappable
switch: ROG NX Linear | Tactile | Clicky
Backlight: per key
screen: 2-inch OLED
Anti-ghosting: N-key rollover
Polling rate: 1,000Hz
Size: 326×136×40mm
weight: 1,186g (without cable)
connection: 2.4GHz|USB Type-C|Bluetooth
Battery life: 130 hours (without lighting)
price: $250 | £270 (opens in new tab)
It offers everything you could want from an enthusiast keeb. Build quality is very good and the weight of the Azoth is extreme. And I love it. It’s also built with all the pre-lubricated, gasketed, and damped trimmings necessary for that premium typing experience.
And it’s premium. Azoth has completely replaced all the ROG NX switches that ship with the board, so they’re even more fun to tap. The custom linear mechanical switches, Cherry MX Red analogue, are a nice touch. No, just a bunch of fun Halo True switches that I bought to hook up to my Mountain Everest Max. (opens in new tab) board. That board was retired in favor of the Everest 60. We left the Mountain Tactile switches in place.
This is one of the must-haves for enthusiast keyboards with hot-swappable switches. We keyboard geeks love swapping switches needlessly for the slightest feel differences that even the princess of pea fame would have a hard time noticing. And Azoth is happy to fulfill it. What I will say is my absolute favorite switch puller bundled in the package. Yes actually I have a favorite now.
Should I go out more?
But I’ve torn finger flesh with other pulls, and the keycap pulls that Asus ships with are just as effective ergonomically. Because the company is doing everything in its power to prove its enthusiastic following. Lubricated.
It’s surprisingly easy, but surprisingly tedious.
Yes, lube is the new Keeb enthusiast’s badge of honor. Of course, a good switch should be pre-lubricated. of course. But with Azoth, Asus offers a little doohic that easily splits either the standard MX-style switches or the new ROG NX switches to give you access to the inner workings. Then you can use the li’l jar o’ lube in the box and the brush to apply it to lubricate any plastic you want for a very smooth action.
It’s surprisingly easy, surprisingly tedious work, and you should never do it yourself.
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Enthusiastic users aside, this is also a very effective gaming keyboard. Primarily wireless, it offers both 2.4GHz and Bluetooth connectivity, and USB Type-C wired connectivity for both power and data. It’s also a small form factor board, albeit not at a very restrictive 60%.
It’s listed as a 75% keyboard, so you can omit the numpad entirely and still get all the function keys that get the top, Ins, Del, PgUp/Dn and, more importantly, the cursor keys . A board that is necessarily larger than the Mountain Everest 60 (opens in new tab)but it also means there’s more separation and no frustratingly small shift key.
Peripheral software is the worst.
Then there’s the two-tone OLED display in the upper right corner, complete with a three-way switch that lets you customize it via the weakest part of the entire kit.
As usual, ROG Azoth relies on Asus’ dreaded Armory Crate software, which takes a very…damn…long…time to do anything. Just switch app tabs or check for firmware updates and it goes on and on. It also sometimes doesn’t work at all, especially when switching from USB to Wi-Fi or vice versa, the app gets stuck in a persistent loading animation and tanks all your saved tweak profile settings. Somehow completely reset the device. Peripheral software is the worst.
What’s frustrating is that once you’re in there, it actually gives you some really handy knobs to tweak when it comes to controls and displays. You can also do exactly what you want. As standard, the control has five separate modes that you can switch between via buttons on the edge, but the app lets you add a customizable sixth, which can be used for virtually anything. has three “buttons” (up, down and click), each of which can open websites, applications, other multimedia, keyboard or mouse functions, and even preset input text.
It’s insanely powerful.
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I also like the fact that any mode can be disabled. please do not I want. I was shown a lot of system information, but I currently have it set as multimedia controls only, so I only use the volume control and play/pause/skip track functions. That means you don’t have to cycle back to get back to the desired mode.I also have an OLED set that displays track info and EQ, but sometimes the Armory crate crap-out and reverts to the Princess Leia image (no, it doesn’t that 1) Loaded many firmware updates to test custom image/gif chops.
The ROG Azoth is the best gaming keyboard Asus has ever released, and the best enthusiast keyboard we’ve ever seen from a proper established brand that doesn’t focus on a segment. The Everest 60 and its detachable numeric keypad are my personal vote for the usefulness, but in terms of everyday use, it’s a very close second to him. And it will certainly be my new office board… but only if I can swing with Asus and leave the expensive Azoth with us. Because the price.
I never spend $300 on a gaming keyboard, so I don’t know how. I love it as a keeve in its own right, but unless it’s just your pocket money in your world, the cost of the ROG Azoth is exorbitant.
Updated with official US pre-tax prices.
