Dry Studio Ice Ring 63 RT Review

Dry Studio made its debut with the Black Diamond 75 not long ago. But what you may not know is that it's actually a sister brand to Angry Miao, makers of some of the highest quality boutique custom keyboards you can buy. With its latest release, the Ice Ring 63 RT, it's out to prove that you don't need to empty your bank account to bring home a high-quality, custom-inspired gaming keyboard. 

This new keyboard retails for $130 and features magnetic TTC RGB switches and premium components. It comes with a unique aluminum case, double-shot PBT keycaps, and a planetary gear set that acts as a knob for switching profiles (and looks pretty cool too). It's available in a range of different colors. It makes for a good option for the price, but it's not quite perfect, and this review will look at exactly what it does right, what it does wrong, and who it would be a good fit for. 

Specifications

• Current Price: $129.99 (Dry Studio) 
• Layout: 65%
• Finish: Coating /Anodizing
• Planetary Gearset: Aluminum alloy CNC, supports 4 modes
• RT Accuracy: 0.01 mm
• Switches: TTC King of Magnetic RGB
• Plate: Aluminum alloy
• Keycaps: PBT double shot
• Esports Performance: 8K polling rate + 16K scan rate + less than 0.125ms latency
• Connectivity: USB Type-C, wired-mode only
• Keyboard Body: Aluminum alloy unibody
• Keyboard Weight: 0.74 kg
• DIY Lighting Effects: Customizable knob and in-switch lighting effects

Dry Studio Ice Ring 63 RT - Design and Highlights

The Ice Ring 63 RT is a compact keyboard that comes ready to use out of the box. It uses a 65% layout, which means it has dedicated arrow keys. Instead of the usual cluster of navigation and editing buttons on the right, we have a large circular gear set on the left dedicated to choosing profiles for games and apps. 

The layout makes a lot of sense. If you followed the competitive gaming scene for a while, you'll already know that 60% keyboards, similar in design but lacking dedicated arrow keys and navigation buttons, have become extremely popular due to their miniature size. Unfortunately, 60% keyboards are just too small for many gamers, especially if you need dedicated arrow keys. The Ice Ring 63, with its 65% layout, achieves a middle ground. I do miss having navigation and editing buttons, but since the keyboard is completely remappable, I was able to add those back in using its online configurator. 

You'll notice right away that the keyboard has a unique aesthetic. Instead of having a one- or two-piece design with a top-and-bottom shell like most keyboards, its frame is made out of one sheet of aluminum built with an industrial press. The top portion of the frame has the cutout for the keys, while the bottom only wraps around to reveal an aluminum tray that holds the PCB. It wraps around just far enough to leave a top and bottom lip that are lined with silicone anti-slip feet. 

The other thing you're likely to notice right away is its gear-driven knob on the left. At first, you might think this is used to control volume, but that's not so. It's actually designed to switch between its four onboard profiles. It's a cool clockwork design with three gears that rotate around each other. As you get far enough to trigger the next profile, the light changes to its matching color of green, blue, red, or white. After it's settled, the knob projects its own RGB lighting down onto your desk. 

Dry Studio defines these presets for you at first with a Valorant preset and a Battle preset, as well as a Life mode and a second custom option, but you can remap all of these. Each profile is, in essence, a set of layers (virtual keyboards that can be remapped and accessed with hotkeys and lighting effects). Each one can have its own actuation points, rapid trigger, and SOCD settings. 

Dry Studio put performance at the top of its priority list with this keyboard. It's able to run at a consistent 8,000 Hz with a customizable tick rate to ensure the lowest possible latency while gaming. There are no options to customize the scan rate, however, so its theoretical maximum is still unknown, while companies like Wooting align polling rate and scanning rate. In truth, however, it's just not very meaningful. While the latency differences from aligning these rates are measurable, they are far beyond what a human being can detect in actual use, let alone be of benefit in games. 

You can make the switches feel incredibly responsive, however. Actuation points can be adjusted anywhere from 0.01mm down to 3.3mm. You can customize actuation points, dead zones, press and release triggers, and more. It also features rapid trigger and SOCD settings, so keystrokes can cancel each other out for more rapid movement than you would otherwise be able to achieve. Just beware that this doesn't get you banned in games, however. Valve has already made a practice of kicking players it detects using this because it can provide a meaningful advantage over the competition it considers unfair. 

The switches themselves are very good. They are smooth and have a decent sound profile. Magnetic Jade switches still sound and feel better overall. So I wish there were an option to configure the keyboard with them. There's not a lot to gripe with the TTC Red switches, however; they get the job done. And because of Dry Studio's experience in crafting high-end keyboards for enthusiasts, the typing experience is free of any rattle or undue reverberations. 

As I alluded to previously, these switches are each illuminated with their own RGB LED. These can be customized within the online configurator through a number of different presets with customizable brightness, speed, and color. However, you won't find the same nuanced level of programmability offered by Logitech, Razer, or Corsair. That's to be expected, given that Dry Studio and its parent company, Angry Miao, are much smaller teams. The online configurator, in general, feels like it could use a bit more polish and expansion, it works and features most of the capabilities you would usually expect from downloadable software while keeping your PC free of yet another background application. 

Dry Studio Ice Ring 63 RT - Performance and Impressions

I have to admit that this review challenged me. I have been following Angry Meow and Dry Studio for years now, and have been lucky enough to test most of its keyboards that have come out in the last five years. So far in its career, it has leaned heavily into the enthusiast market, and its products have all been what could be fairly described as next level. The Ice Ring 63 RT is a different kind of gaming keyboard entirely, and I had to reset some of my expectations. 

From the get-go, it was clear to me the different ways that Dry Studio had pushed itself to get the price down. The case, for example, being one part and made of bent aluminum instead of the usual CNC milled block or acrylic, stood out. It looks cool, but it also feels a bit skeletonized in comparison to many other keyboards. It lacks the heavy weight typical of its prior releases while still having its iconic and unique sense of style. 

If you haven't used its other keyboards — which is likely given the large price disparity — then the outlook on its design is significantly different. While many other keyboards around this price utilize plastic cases, this is indeed all metal. While most others adopt a very similar black, white, or otherwise simple color scheme, the Ice Ring 63 looks like it was pulled directly from a sci-fi movie. There are also plenty of small touches, such as the pattern lining the plate on the underside of the keyboard, or the way in which the small planet orbiting the geared knob on the left rotates as it circles the mechanism. Removed from the baggage of the studio's prior work and judged on its own merits, the Ice Ring 63 is well made and unique. 

It's also an affordable gateway to the craftsmanship of the team's designers. It knows how to build a fantastic keyboard, and that shines through in the typing experience. The combination of its switches, double-shot keycaps, internal structure, and the lubrication applied to its stabilizers leads to smooth, satisfying, and responsive typing and gaming experiences. 

Its magnetic functions work perfectly. The switches are incredibly responsive, and the ability to dial them in to 0.01 millimeters means that you can make them so light, you can literally trigger actions by bumping your desk. On the flip side of that, it makes a good option for typing because you can also lower the actuation point to prevent typos that might otherwise occur. 

For gaming, it works wonderfully. Its compact layout leaves plenty of space for large mouse sweeps in competitive shooters. Though it's very compact, its ability to be completely remapped allows you to have access to all of the keys you would need right under your fingertips, accessible with hotkeys. I was fond of using Caps Lock as a makeshift function button to have all of those secondary keys right under my fingers on the home row. With such a high polling rate, you never have to worry about your keystrokes being sent less than instantaneously. 

For day-to-day use, it's a bit less effective because of the lack of dedicated keys. As someone who's used a compact keyboard on the daily for several years now, this doesn't bother me. But if you're not used to holding a function button to access your F-row or navigation keys, it's going to feel a bit more cumbersome. How effective it is for productivity will depend on your own familiarity, but I would wager that most people would be better suited with a larger layout if they need to do a lot of typing or spreadsheet work throughout the day. 

The final point worth remarking on is the gear system. While it does look cool and is certainly unique, it's just a bit gimmicky. Instead of quickly changing profiles with a keystroke, you have to turn the knob between a quarter to a half turn, which takes more time and effort. How hard you press also makes a difference in how easy it is to turn. Until I learned to consistently use a light touch, I found that my natural approach would cause its gears to press together and be harder to turn. Given a choice, I would prefer a clickable button to change profiles and have the gear system remain for volume. 

Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, the Dry Studio Ice Ring 63 RT is a valiant attempt to bring some of the company's style and quality down to a lower price point. There were clear sacrifices in achieving that goal, but I do feel they were successful in delivering something responsive, unique, and high quality, even if there are areas to be improved in a future release. At $130, it's a good value that lacks little compared to the competition at significantly higher prices and offers an experience that's well above those that are significantly cheaper. In other words, it stakes a claim at a fitting part of the market for its price point and is a keyboard I would recommend considering if you like its sense of style. 

The product described in this article was provided by the manufacturer for evaluation purposes.