Asus ROG Falchion Ace HFX Review: Hall Effect With New Tricks

Every gaming keyboard shaper seems to beryllium jumping connected nan Hall effect bandwagon, and why wouldn’t they? The keyboard exertion has been proven successful some esports arenas and home office setups worldwide and offers countless advantages complete standard mechanical keyboards, pinch nary existent capacity compromises.

Hall effect keyboards person besides arrived arsenic countless different technologies participate nan keyboard space: Everything from gasket-mounting to touchpads is now successful mainstream keyboards. That besides intends I regularly spot caller products, mechanical and Hall effect, pinch features I’ve ne'er moreover considered before. Case successful point, nan Asus ROG Falchion Ace HFX, a mini keyboard pinch a ample sanction and a batch of different features.

This $200 wired-only keyboard has Hall effect switches, an 8,000-Hz polling rate, multidevice connectivity pinch 2 USB-C ports, and a programmable touchpad connected nan backmost edge. Not to mention countless on-keyboard controls and a flipable lever to alteration aliases disable nan accelerated trigger characteristic recovered connected astir Hall effect keyboards. While it does person immoderate unusual creation decisions, it has a batch of really clever ones too.

Unique Switches

The Falchion has 1 of nan deepest typing sounds compared to different Hall effect keyboards. This is apt a operation of nan keyboard’s unsocial HFX magnetic switches, 1 of nan fewer I’ve tested that aren’t made by Gateron, and nan sound dampening inside. It consists of aggregate layers of foam, Poron, and silicone, and a expanse of mini rubber domes.

The switches consciousness incredibly smooth, moreover erstwhile pressed slowly, pinch a accordant consciousness passim nan full keypress. They usage a polycarbonate apical housing, a POM stem, and a POM bottommost housing, contributing to nan deeper typing sound and ensuring smoothness crossed nan full keystroke. Unlike astir Hall effect switches, nan HFX doesn’t person a spread successful nan center, instead, it moves nan magnet to nan front, wherever nan metallic interaction leafage would typically beryllium connected a mechanical switch. This makes nan Falchion incompatible pinch modular Hall effect switches, but apt improves nan sound floor plan arsenic well: Open-bottom switches thin to person a much hollow typing sound, which tin beryllium heard connected competitors.

The springs are weighted to 55 grams of full force, which is 5 grams lighter than nan Gateron Nebula dual-rail switches utilized by Keychron, and 10 grams lighter than nan modular Cherry MX Red. There aren’t immoderate different switches disposable for this keyboard, but because Hall effect switches are contactless, nan existing switches tin beryllium removed without immoderate desoldering aliases extended disassembly.

I didn’t find myself wanting to alteration nan switches, though—they person a poppy and heavy sound that’s incredibly crisp, and they consciousness responsive and smooth, particularly pinch accelerated trigger enabled. My largest rumor pinch nan typing acquisition was nan keycaps. They person a unsmooth texture that, while grippy, felt noticeably coarse and unpleasant erstwhile typing. It comes down to preference, but I recovered them little enjoyable than soft aliases lightly textured keycaps.