Best Roccat Sova MK Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals & Sales 2020:

Roccat defines its Sova as a “sofa gaming system” and intends to give legitimacy to PC gaming in the living room. The device would thus be ” the key ingredient that was missing for all PC players wishing to enjoy their favorite games from the comfort of their sofa or an armchair “. It incorporates for this a TKL type keyboard (without numeric keypad) and offers a large area for using a mouse. What make the most of any type of game without using a controller.

Presentation

The Roccat Sova is available in two versions: the Sova “tout court” (launch price: € 149.99) uses rubber dome switches, while the Sova MK (launch price: € 199.99) s ” presses mechanical switches TTC.

Best Roccat Sova MK Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals & Sales 2020

1. ROCCAT SOVA Gaming Lapboard USB Keyboard English Layout – for PC, Xbox One, PS4. LED Light (Blue), Membrane Keys, Built-in Mouse Pad, (Part# ROC-12-151)

2. ROCCAT SOVA Gaming Lapboard USB Keyboard English Layout – for PC, Xbox One. PS4, LED Light (Blue), Mechanical Keys, Built-in Mouse Pad, (Part# ROC-12-181) (Renewed)

3. ROCCAT RYOS TKL Pro TENKEYLESS Mechanical Gaming Keyboard with Per-Key Illumination, Brown CHERRY MX

4. ROCCAT SKELTR Bluetooth Smart Communication RGB Gaming Keyboard, Black

Ergonomics

Entirely made of rigid plastic with a grainy coating, the Roccat Sova MK nevertheless offers satisfactory finishes. We do not reach the luxurious side of the aluminum that covers the Lapair of Corsair , but the Sova still leaves a good first impression and is not very dirty.

However, there are some improvements that can be made, especially at the base of the keyboard, despite the use of screws – visible on the underside – to assemble the shells to the internal chassis. The rigidity of the product is fortunately ensured and the robustness seems to meet, this despite the possibility of removing the support plates from the mouse and the wrist rest.

These can indeed be replaced to change the coating or customize your Sova, although Roccat does not offer alternative plates at the moment. Too bad, especially for the mouse support, since if it is possible to use it as is, a real mouse pad remains more comfortable in addition to reducing the sliding noise and wear of the pads. You can quite add a mat to the Sova, but there is no system to keep it in addition, especially when traveling. You should also not use a carpet that is too large, since the useful surface is approximately 29 x 24 cm maximum – allow 1 cm less for the removable support plate itself.

More

Strangely, this area dedicated to the mouse seems larger on the Roccat Sova MK than that of the Lapdog. This is in fact explained by the differences in proportion between these two competing media. Indeed, the Sova is more compact, with 64.6 cm in length, against 73.5 cm for the Lapdog. A space saving allowed by the use of a more compact keyboard, in TKL format. The Sova could have been even more compact if its edges were not so wide. It could thus have been reduced by 2 good centimeters to the right, to the left and to the bottom. This overweight is not disturbing to use, however, and the smallest builders will appreciate not needing basketball legs to use this support.

Similarly, the integration of a TKL keyboard makes it possible to limit the spacing of the hands, for better comfort. More annoying, however, the Sova cannot be stored in a TV cabinet drawer, for example, it must be found another place. When is a two-part system (keyboard + mouse) or foldable?

To ensure comfort and stability on the legs, Roccat has provided 4 pads on the underside. They are made of very flexible foam and covered with a mesh fabric (type ” mesh “) to limit perspiration. Removable, they can be cleaned or changed individually if necessary.

Good point, the Sova is not too heavy, since we measured a mass of 2.75 kg in total with a wired mouse of average mass (Razer Naga Hex V2; 105 g approximately without its cable). Not enough to be forgotten either, but it is bearable for long gaming sessions. For comparison, the Lapdog reaches 3.85 kg with a full keyboard (K70) and a mouse of similar mass.

More

Designed for the living room, the Roccat Sova MK can possibly be used on a desk if you want to take advantage of the mechanical keyboard to play on PC, for example. You can then remove the pads to reduce the height of the support, which still reaches 24 mm at the first keyboard keys and 15 mm at the base of the palm rest. Being able to put your wrists completely on the support is however a big advantage in terms of comfort. On the other hand, it still seems that Roccat did not plan for this use, since no non-slip pad is provided and the Sova therefore slides easily on a flat surface – much more than with its pads in place.

The insertion and removal of the mouse is easy. Just plug it into one of the two USB ports on the back of the holder and pass the cable through the slot provided for this purpose to hide it and prevent it from protruding. It might have been easier to provide a storage hatch to store the cable, to further reduce installation time. Good idea, however, a small plastic accessory plays the role of bungee ; it hangs on the edge just above the area dedicated to the mouse to keep its cable in position and prevent it from falling when moving the Sova.

Connecting to the computer couldn’t be easier. Just plug the supplied 4m cable into a USB port. The connection to the Sova is made via a PS2 type connector, designed to be easily disconnected to prevent the connector from being pulled out on the computer side. If the Sova offers a 2-port hub on its rear edge, it is regrettable that it is not USB 3.

Final

A wireless solution would also have been interesting to do without cable completely, especially since current technology allows to offer a connection as stable and reactive as wired.

On the side of the keyboard itself, there is a small footprint. Its housing occupies only 30.5 x 12.3 cm. In TKL format, therefore, there is no numeric keypad and no dedicated macro keys are available either. The EasyShift + function nevertheless allows a second function to be assigned to each key.

Too bad no multimedia key is provided, especially to adjust the volume more easily.

Hit

The Sova MK offers higher keys than those of the Sova, mainly due to the presence of mechanical switches, as found in other Roccat MK keyboards . Roccat has here chosen TTC models equivalent to the Cherry MX Brown, that is to say touch-type switches having as main characteristics an activation force of 45 cN at the start of the race, then 55 cN just before activation after 2 mm race. Their total stroke is 4 mm. They allow a good quality of typing and prove relatively noisy for mechanical if care is taken not to hammer the keys. Their responsiveness is also appreciable in game.

In order to be able to play in the dark, the keys are backlit; the light intensity can be adjusted on 6 levels.

The Sova being dedicated to video games, Roccat has not forgotten to provide a complete anti-ghosting with N-key rollover , allowing a consideration of all the keys, even if they are all pressed at the same time. The frequency of exchange with the computer reaches 1000 Hz, for flawless reactivity. In fact, we found no latency.

STRONG POINTS

  • Integrated backlit mechanical keyboard (Sova MK).
  • Removable mouse support and wrist rest for possible surface change.
  • Removable pads.
  • Bungee to hold the mouse cable.
  • Integrated 2-port USB hub.
  • A single 4m cable to connect to the PC.

WEAK POINTS

  • No mini-Jack socket for connecting headphones.
  • No fastening system to use any mouse pad.
  • Keyboard without macro keys or dedicated multimedia controls.
  • Wired operation and USB 2.0 compatibility only.
  • For right-handers only.

CONCLUSION

Not too bulky thanks to its integrated TKL keyboard, comfortable and somewhat modular, the Roccat Sova MK achieves its objective of simplifying the use of a keyboard and a mouse in a living room. Its MK version allows you to take advantage of a real mechanical keyboard which should appeal to fans of responsiveness and robustness. Players looking for silence will however opt for the Sova with its rubber domed keys.

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