For the peripherals section of ASUS ROG’s CES 2023 announcement, the lineup consists of a new gaming mouse, gaming keyboard, and mousepad. Let’s take a look at them.
The mouse and mousepad offerings are one of a special kind in which ROG collaborated with popular FPS training tool Aim Lab in the form of the ROG Harpe Ace and ROG Hone Ace. The Harpe Ace Aim Lab Edition sports a black base and light blue accent for the scroll wheel and side buttons to synergize with the theme of the software. It even has a UV logo on the left side that will emit the same blue color when shone with a UV light source (Not sure why would one have a UV torch in their household though).
In any case, the mouse is a 54g unit focused to deliver obstructed movement through its light-crafted bio-based nylon shell and is armed with a 36,000 DPI ROG AimPoint Optical Sensor and in-house microswitch rated for 70 million clicks. Connecting the mouse to a PC is the ROG SpeedNova Wireless Technology with reduced latency for near-wired-like responsiveness. Additionally, it has onboard memory to store your settings so you can bring it to your local tournaments and such.
Catered specifically for FPS gamers in mind, the Harpe Ace ambidextrous form factor is easily adaptable for all gamers out there and its non-slippery texture will work wonders under sweaty or greasy hands as well.
On the other hand, the ROG Hone Ace Aim Lab Edition is a water, oil, and dust-repellant mousepad printed with the Aim Lab aesthetics.
Moving onto the keyboard section, the ROG Azoth is one of those boards trying to fulfill the wet dreams of a ROG fan who is also a regular hobbyist in the custom mechanical keyboard scene. With a 75% form factor, the key layouts are pretty much sufficient for gamers.
The gasket-mount nature of this board will result in a much more natural sound profile since the plate is isolated against the top and bottom case. The triple-layer dampening form will help shape the overall noise produced too. There’s also a small OLED display on the top right that can be configured to show off a simple animation, system info, or audio visualization – take your pick.
For the switches, the in-house ROG NX switches are shaped just like an after-market MX style and they come factory pre-lubed to ensure a better stock experience out of the box. The stabilizers are also created by ROG themselves and are reportedly better than PCB-mounted costar stabs but it will remain unanswered until one discovers whether they rattle or not.
To go with the reveal of the ROG Azoth is the DIY Switch Lubing Starter Kit where a set of brushes, Krytox 205g0, keycap puller, switch puller, switch opener, and lube station are included as a bundle. Oh, they are throwing in 3 extra switches for you to test and get a good feel before you lube the actual units on the board. So, if you like ROG printed stuff and don’t mind shelling out more for it, be my guest.
For a quick segway, let us quickly mention the ROG Hyperion GR701 PC chassis, a beastly full tower case for those who want zero compromises in ROG fashion, performance, and cooling. For one, the naturally large cavity provides a lot of airflows so you can handle stuff like RTX 4090 and i9-13900K with ease because it can actually support 2x 420mm radiators reserved just for the CPU and GPU, or if you want, go full ham on full custom loop.
This big boy can take E-ATX boards of up to 12-inch big alongside dual USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 and 4x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 port on the front for quick external drive connection. Unboxing the case for the first time and you’ll see properly positioned hook-and-loop cable ties ready to make your cable management routine much easier and faster. To save up the hassle of finding an empty box to store unused parts such as PCIe covers, screws, and cable ties, there’s actually a small drawer inside it for you to work with.
Also, how can one forget about the RGB when the case is designed specifically in mind to go perfectly with the ROG Thor so that the OLED display is perfectly spaced and shown outwards?
Availability
The ROG Harpe Ace Aim Lab Edition, Hone Ace Aim Lab Edition, Hyperion GR701, and Azoth will be revealed at a later date in terms of availability and price.
