Jason Bouwmeester | February 6, 2023February 6, 2023 Gaming, Gaming Hardware, Gaming Hardware Reviews, PC, Reviews

If you’re a PC gamer, you know there are plenty of gaming keyboard options on the market. The just-released ROCCAT Magma Mini is a budget-friendly gaming keyboard for gamers on a tight budget. With a 60% layout, it saves on space without sacrificing essential keys for gaming. Its IP33 rating ensures that it is protected against accidental spills, making it a durable option for gamers.

Our ROCCAT Magma Mini review looks at a 60% membrane gaming keyboard with an IP33 rating, Easy-Shift[+] extended key functionality, and a very attractive price point. Read on for our full review to see why it earned a Highly Rated badge here at Techaeris!

The ROCCAT Magma Mini 60% keyboard we reviewed has the following features and specifications:

Keyboards come in all shapes and sizes. The ROCCAT Magma Mini is a 60% gaming keyboard which definitely fits the “mini” moniker. Keyboards of this size are primarily used by gamers who have little use for extra keys like a number pad. In addition, smaller keyboards can be better for ergonomics as your mouse isn’t as far away from the keyboard as is the case with full-sized keyboards.

On that note, the Magma Mini is 12.12 inches wide, 5.20 inches deep, and 1.44 inches in height. As you can imagine, it takes up very little space on your desk. Mostly black in colour, the face of the keyboard has thin black bezels around the left, right, and top sides, and a thicker one on the bottom with the ROCCAT logo printed on the center. The thicker bottom bezel also has ridged horizontal lines, adding a bit of “depth” to the design. The corners are nicely rounded as well, adding to the compact look and feel of the keyboard.

The center portion of the top of the keyboard has a single translucent white faceplate, through which the 5-zone RGB LEDs glow through. When they are turned on, they provide a pretty uniform glow as opposed to some per-key lighting schemes. Just below the bottom right three keys are LED indicators for Caps Lock (solid)/Easy-Shift[+] (blinks), arrow key lock (solid)/scroll lock (blinks), and Game Mode.

The keycaps themselves are full-sized and full-height, with the regular keyboard, secondary Fn, and other applicable legends engraved in them, letting the RGB LEDs shine through from below. They are ABS keycaps, which is pretty normal for keyboards in this price range. Even so, they were decent enough feeling while using the keyboard for extended periods. Removing the keycap, you’ll see that it attaches to the keyboard by way of an “open box” type rectangle. Moulded as part of the translucent face, this is what gives the keyboard its IP33-rating, and keeps liquids out of the inside of the keyboard in case you should accidentally spill.

The bottom of the keyboard has three small rubber-like strips at the front and three at the back. There are also two adjustable feet which flip out and have rubber-like strips on the bottom if you prefer a slightly angled keyboard. In either position, raised or flat, the feet help prevent the keyboard from sliding around and do a great job of keeping it in place.

The rubber-coated USB-A cable is hardwired to the back of the keyboard on the left side. While this may not suit some setups, I didn’t mind the placement of the cable.

Overall, the Magma Mini is a nicely crafted keyboard, and the translucent white top plate definitely helps with the Magma naming depending on your RGB colour scheme.

I will say that 60% compact keyboards do take some getting used to due to the doubling (or even tripling) up of keystrokes. Fortunately, each keycap is well labelled, and many of the secondary key functionality can be activated by holding the Fn key in the lower right and one of most of the other keys. The secondary functionality includes accessing arrow keys, print screen, page up/down, media features (play/pause/volume/track control), and LED brightness controls. In order to further customize the keyboard, installing the ROCCAT Swarm application is required.

While not needed for default functionality, the ROCCAT Swarm application can be installed on your PC for added functionality, RGB lighting customization, and firmware updates. The app is pretty straightforward and easy to use. Opening the app takes you to the General Features tab which lets you pick a sound setting (so you can make your keystrokes sound like a typewriter, sci-fi, or other sounds), set your character repeat, or reset the Magma Mini keyboard. The key assignment tab lets you assign macros to your keys while in Game Mode function. You can either set your own or pick from the preselected system, internet, multimedia, or preset macros for quite a few popular games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Apex Legends, Minecraft, World of Warcraft, and even Adobe Photoshop. The last tab, Key Illumination, lets you set the five zones with regard to RGB lighting, as well as select between AIMO Intelligent Lighting, Wave, Fully Lit, Heartbeat, Breathing, or Fade.

If I had to pick, I would say that I am more of a fan of mechanical switch keyboards. That being said, over the years I’ve used a variety of different switches and at the end of the day, they all tend to “work” the same for me. Membrane switches do feel a bit softer and are definitely much quieter (read silent) when compared to their mechanical counterparts. That being said, I was still able to maintain my usual 100+ wpm on typing tests.

When it comes to gaming, I had no issues with keystrokes registering as they should, and responsively so. Even though the ROCCAT Magma Mini only has 20 key anti-ghosting keyboard rollover, I never experienced keystroke lag or had it negatively impact my gameplay.

As mentioned above, 60% compact keyboards do take some getting used to due to the doubling (or even tripling) up of keystrokes. With this one, the extra keystrokes are doubled up nicely and close to the function key, which is located in the lower right. In a very short time, I was using lesser-used functions like HOME, DEL, and the arrow keys like it were second nature.

The Easy-Shift[+] feature is equally easy to use. Once in Game Mode (activated by pressing Fn+G), press the CAPS LOCK key and you can then access a second customizable action on the QWERTASDFZXCV keys and spacebar. Depending on what games you play, mapping this second layer of functionality can help save precious keystrokes when in a game.

This is a section that we normally don’t include in keyboard reviews, but the ROCCAT Magma Mini has an IP33 rating. This means that it is protected against solid objects that are over 2.5mm (e.g. wires). It is also protected against direct sprays of water at any angle up to 60°. In other words, the Magma Mini should survive those accidental spills from knocking over your water, pop, or other beverage.

Given the design of the keyboard, and when I poured some water over it while it was plugged in, the white cover piece with its raised key cap connectors did a great job of keeping the water out of the inside of the keyboard. Unless you’re dunking your keyboard in a sink, not only will it repel most spills, it’s pretty easy to wipe off afterwards — even if you have to take a few keycaps off to wipe down any sticky parts if need be.

Compact 60% gaming keyboards run the gamut in price, from as low as $35 for less-recognizable brands to upwards of $100 for well-known keyboard brands. The ROCCAT Magma Mini falls in between and is a surprisingly affordable $49.99. While it has membrane switches instead of mechanical ones, it does offer up plenty of value given its size, performance, IP33-rating, and EasyShift[+] functionality.

If you’re looking for a compact keyboard that is spill-resistant and could do without mechanical switches, the ROCCAT Magma Mini is a solid choice. Not only is it small in size, but it offers great responsive keys, secondary key functionality, and added protection against accidental spills.

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