The Asus TUF Gaming K3 Gen II has the best switches in its class, but its design and dodgy software are a tough sell

Asus is a big name in the computing world, and it makes some of the best mechanical keyboards out there. Alas, the Asus TUF Gaming K3 Gen II isn’t one of them. Don’t get me wrong: there are quite a few things to love about the keyboard. It’s built extremely well, and its optical-mechanical switches are some of the best I’ve tested. They’re highly responsive in both typing and casual gaming, making the K3 Gen II a versatile keyboard.

But those are pretty much the only things to like about the K3 Gen II. Its divisive anime-themed design is a tough sell, and so are its sticky ABS keycaps and frustrating companion software. If you can overlook these faults, perhaps you won’t mind the keyboard, but they’re too significant for me to overlook.

For the complete breakdown, read my full Asus TUF Gaming K3 Gen II review.

ASUS TUF Gaming K3 Gen II review: Specs

Asus TUF Gaming K3 Gen II review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? A 96% layout keyboard with optical-mechanical switches
• Who is it for? Anyone who wants a sub-$100 keyboard that’s good for typing and casual gaming
• How much does it cost? The Asus TUF Gaming K3 Gen II is available for $99 / £95
• What do we like? The solid build, superb typing experience, good gaming performance, and waterproofing
• What don’t we like? The divisive design (of the anime edition), sticky ABS keycaps, frustrating customization, and lack of wireless connectivity

Asus TUF Gaming K3 Gen II review: The ups

From its solid build quality and IP57 waterproofing, to its lovely typing experience and gaming performance, there’s a lot to like about the Asus TUF Gaming K3 Gen II.

Solid build quality

The Asus TUF Gaming K3 Gen II is a solid and well-built keyboard, and it hasn’t given me much to complain about in this department. It’s made entirely of ABS plastic which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as it feels top-notch. There’s no flex in the body as it doesn’t twist when held by its sides, and the keys don’t dip too far into the PCB either. This is nice to see in a sub-$100 keyboard as it’s something I’ve experienced with the likes of the McHose x Unbox Therapy UT98 ($139) and the Keychron V1 Ultra 8K ($114).

As a wired-only keyboard, the K3 Gen II is fitted with a non-detachable cable which also feels high-quality. The keyboard itself features a gasket-mount design which bolsters its structural integrity. Several layers of sound-dampening foam have also been stuffed into its internals to negate any metallic pings and unwanted or unpleasant sounds while typing.

Overall, the K3 Gen II is excellent when it comes to build quality, and if you want a sturdy keyboard that doesn’t break the bank, this is it.

Great for typing

I’ve been known to type upwards of 10,000 words a week — it’s the nature of my job. To do that, I need a reliable keyboard that’s a joy to type on. The Asus TUF Gaming K3 Gen II is just that. It’s a sheer delight to type on, thanks to its responsive optical-mechanical switches. Compared to traditional mechanical switches found in the likes of the Epomaker Cypher96 ($89), the Royal Kludge S98 ($99), optical-mechanical switches have a faster and more sensitive trigger response. This basically means that you don’t need to press the switches as far down or apply as much force to activate them.

Optical-mechanical switches generally have a longer lifespan so you can keep using them for years. Asus claims that the K3 Gen II’s switches have a 100-million keystroke lifespan — which is difficult to measure and test for me so I’ll have to take Asus’ word for it. They sound great on paper but are they any good in real-world usage? They are indeed. Like I said, I’ve found the switches extremely responsive with all of my commands being executed instantaneously, and my fingers haven’t felt fatigued either.

As soon as I took the K3 Gen II out of its box, I took a typing test at 10fastfingers.com to see how it fared against other mechanical keyboards I’d tested right before it. As you can see from the table above, I got my best type speed and accuracy on a mech deck so far, which is phenomenal. Now whenever someone asks me which keyboard I’ve had the most fun typing on, I’ll say, “The Hatsune Miku keyboard!” There’s a sentence that wasn’t on my 2026 bingo card.

Good gaming performance

The Asus TUF Gaming K3 Gen II is advertised as a gaming keyboard (it’s in the name, after all). However, Asus doesn’t specify the keyboard’s polling rate so I can’t make direct comparisons to other similarly-priced keyboards. But of course, on-paper specs aren’t always everything, so I put the K3 Gen II through its paces by playing Cyberpunk 2077 and Counter-Strike 2 on our MSI gaming rig.

In both games, I found the optical-mechanical switches highly responsive, just as I did for productivity. Like I said, these respond faster than standard mechanical switches and are perfect for situations that require a high degree of latency, such as FPS games, as they use light technology to detect keystrokes. The lack of metal components also means that optical switches are more durable, making them ideal for those who game on their PC for years and years.

Similar to many other gaming keyboards, the K3 Gen II features N-key rollover which enables multiple inputs to be registered simultaneously. This means that you can execute multiple actions at the same time, such as ducking, drawing your last used weapon and changing your character’s direction all at once. This gives you a competitive advantage especially in online matches in Counter-Strike 2.

Even though Asus doesn’t specify the K3 Gen II’s polling rate, I didn’t notice any latency issues or input lag in my testing. Each command was promptly registered, and I thoroughly enjoyed gaming on this keyboard. Of course, if you’re a competitive gamer or esports player, it’s worth investing in a similarly-priced Hall Effect keyboard instead, such as the Epomaker HE68 ($59), the Epomaker HE65 Mag ($99) or — if you can extend your budget — the Keychron K2 HE ($130).

It’s waterproof!

Here’s something you don’t see everyday: the Asus TUF Gaming K3 Gen II is waterproof and protected against dust. Having tested over 80 keyboards in just under two years, this is the first time I’ve seen a keyboard with an IP rating. The K3 Gen II is IP57-rated. Measured on a scale of 1-6, the first number, 5, means that it has limited protection against dust, while the second number measured on a scale of 1-8, 7, means it can be submerged in meter-deep water for 30 minutes. Many earbuds and speakers are IP57-rated, and it’s surprising to see a keyboard being rated the same as the… Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro!

The IP57 rating means the keyboard should be able to withstand drink spills or if you’re working in very dusty conditions. Of course, I had to put the waterproofing to the test. I waited to do so until I’d done all my other testing lest the keyboard got wrecked and I wasn’t able to use it after.

I dropped a glass of water on it and it was fine. I then kept it submerged in a sink full of water for 15 minutes and every single key still worked! I then spilt lemon soda on the K3 Gen II and would you look at that, it still worked. This is incredible and some of the most fun I’ve had testing a keyboard! This level of waterproofing is good to have if you spill your drink on your keyboard (we’ve all been there before).

Asus TUF Gaming K3 Gen II review: The downs

Unfortunately, the Asus TUF Gaming K3 Gen II has significant flaws that are hard to ignore, such as the divisive design, frustrating companion software, and sticky keycaps.

Divisive design

I’m no stranger to keyboards sporting funky or weird designs. This is coming from someone who has tested the GravaStar Mercury V75 Pro HE ($239), the MelGeek CYBER01 ($149) and the GravaStar Mercury K1 Lite ($89). The Asus TUF Gaming K3 Gen II comes in two designs: all-black or a Hatsune Miku Edition. Both the black and Hatsune Miku Edition cost the same as they’re available for $99 / £95 at Amazon.

I tested the Hatsune Miku Edition and, I have to say, I’m not a huge fan. I didn’t even know who Hatsune Miku was until I tested the Asus TUF Gaming H3 Gen II gaming headset, and even after learning about her, I wasn’t fond of the design. Turns out it’s a Vocaloid software voicebank represented by a 16-year-old girl with long, turquoise twintails.

The K3 Gen II is a colorful keyboard, sporting a light teal green case and a combination of pink and white keycaps. It’s too colorful for my liking — I usually prefer more inconspicuous designs. I’m also not a fan of the fact that any time I need to press the enter key on the number pad, I have to touch her silhouette. It’s just a bit unsettling and uncomfortable to me, personally. If you’re a fan of anime and Hatsune Miku in particular, you might like this keyboard. Me? I’ll be sticking with the black model instead.

Sticky keycaps

While the Asus TUF Gaming K3 Gen II is a good productivity keyboard and I’ve enjoyed typing on it, I need to caveat this by saying that its keycaps leave a lot to be desired. They’re made of ABS so they’re less durable and resistant than PBT keycaps used by the likes of the Epomaker DynaTab75 ($89) and the NuPhy Node75 ($99).

ABS keycaps aren’t inherently bad, and they can sometimes be lovely to touch — such as on the Turtle Beach Vulcan II Max ($229). But on the K3 Gen II, they don’t feel as nice. In my testing, I also found them sticky. By that, I mean that my fingers felt like they were sticking to the keycaps for just a millisecond when I lifted them — and that’s something I haven’t experienced with other keyboards before. I thought it was due to my fingers being oily, so I washed them and tried again, and the same happened.

Given the K3 Gen II’s $99 price tag, I was expecting the inclusion of PBT keycaps. The keyboard faces fierce competition from the likes of Keychron, NuPhy and Epomaker, and most of these brands’ keyboards feature double-shot PBT keycaps for either the same money or cheaper. I’d recommend grabbing the Epomaker Cypher96 ($89), the Royal Kludge S98 ($99) or the Keychron K10 V2 ($84) if you’re bothered by ABS keycaps.

Frustrating customization

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The Asus TUF Gaming K3 Gen II is highly customizable, but to customize it, you’ll need to download Armoury Crate which… isn’t the most user-friendly software out there. I hated it the first time I tested it with the Asus ROG Strix Scope II 96 ($179), and my feelings remain unchanged after having tested it with the K3 Gen II. Not only is the installation process long (and requires you to restart your laptop not once but twice), but after you’ve downloaded it, you’re bombarded with pop-ups and what can only be described as bloatware.

Armoury Crate enables you to remap the K3 Gen II’s keys, record macros, select and customize RGB effects, and update its firmware. The user-experience is, in my opinion, far from ideal. When I swapped between the lighting and keymap tabs, I was greeted with unnecessary pop-ups asking me to create an Asus account — even after I ticked the box to never show the message again. I much prefer apps like Keychron Launcher for, well, Keychron keyboards. It’s far more user-friendly than Armoury Crate and runs via a web-app, so no need to install bloatware.

Wired only

To top it all off, the Asus TUF Gaming K3 Gen II is a wired-only keyboard, which means that there’s no Bluetooth or 2.4GHz wireless connectivity. This is less of a con and more of a pre-purchase condition, as some users might prefer having tri-mode connectivity often found on the likes of the aforementioned Epomaker Cypher96 and the Royal Kludge S98.

But it’s important to note that the K3 Gen II doesn’t feature an onboard cable management system, and its cable can’t be disconnected. Oh, and if you’re using the keyboard with modern macOS machines — as I did with my MacBook Air M2 — you’ll need to buy a USB-A to USB-C adapter. Again, this is something to consider before you buy the K3 Gen II, and if you aren’t going to move the keyboard about and it’s going to be sitting on your desk anyway, this shouldn’t be much of an issue.

Asus TUF Gaming K3 Gen II review: Verdict

The Asus TUF Gaming K3 Gen II is a fine keyboard. Its optical-mechanical switches are highly responsive and fit for both all-day typing and casual gaming. It’s built very well and is even IP57-rated waterproof and protected against dirt and dust, which means that you don’t need to worry about spilling your drink on it.

But the K3 Gen II is far from perfect. Its sticky ABS keycaps take away from the otherwise wonderful typing experience, and its divisive anime-themed design is a tough sell for me. The wired-only design means you can’t use it wirelessly, and customization via companion software is very frustrating.

If these are flaws you can look past, then get the K3 Gen II by all means. But if you want more bang for your buck, Keychron and Epomaker have you spoilt for choice.