** SO-VA, SO GOOD - COMPETITION TIME**

NikTheSHNIK

NikTheSHNIK

NikTheSHNIK

OcUK Staff
Joined
23 Feb 2015
Posts
2,518
Location
Overclockers UK HQ
Hi all,

Roccat Competition time!

This month they have given us a Roccat SOVA MK, the mechanical key flavour of their living room PC gaming peripheral solution worth £160!

ROCCAT Sova MK Mechanical Gaming Lapboard - UK Layout @ £159.95 inc VAT https://www.overclockers.co.uk/roccat-sova-mk-mechanical-gaming-lapboard-uk-layout-kb-04h-rc.html



Bring your PC into your Living room and play games on your couch in comfort and style

Only £159.95 inc VAT.

ORDER NOW

All you have to do to win the prize is review your current Living Room gaming setup, PC Master Race only, no peasants! As always extra points are awarded for artistic expression, shameless OcUK fanboyism and making us laugh.

We will pick the best entrant next Wednesday (08/02/17) and announce the winner then!

Competition prize is an ex sample so box has been opened and keyboard has been used.
 
Last edited:
gradyhawks said:
Oh jesus, I really want one of these as well.
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Ah I wish I could game comfortable on the couch!

Wife would kill me if I took over the 49" 4k TV....especially when its her soap nights!
My PC is my saving grace...can't stand those bloody soaps, so me and my rig are confined to a corner in the living room like a naughty school kid, getting moaned at when I talk too loud on TS... :D
 
So I'm just nearing the end of upgrading my living room gaming setup. Being a PC gamer I've been stuck at a desk for some time, although I did move my PC into the living room for a short spell, it quickly went back upstairs, as the whinging from the other half was making my ears bleed. Then along came the Steam Link and Steam Controller. The Steam Link proved a very good product doing what it claims and as long as it's not a twitchy FPS I found it perfectly fine, although I always thought it was running close to its maximum capabilities. The Steam Controller was good for some games, OK for some and terrible for others. So I acquired some Wireless XBOX 360 pads which fill in the gap the Steam Controller leaves.

Recently I wanted to update my Kodi box and thought I may as well make a HTPC and stick Steam on it for streaming. I gathered some spare parts and bought some others and went about building my new living room box.

Now I wanted a keyboard and mouse set up for the living room and had a wheeled laptop table I got from Ikea a while ago but even with a tenkeyless keyboard it was too cramped so didn't make for comfortable gaming, not to mention it just took up a lot of space and got in the way when not in use. A lapboard was what was really needed. I had seen a reveal of a competitors lapboard and though it looked promising, the price was a lot higher than I had hoped and it also had some pretty big flaws with the keyboard being set at the bottom left and also having no wrist rest. I heard about another companies lapboard but it just looked too small and basic, not too bad if thats what you are after but I wanted something a bit more laid back and comfortable. Then came the Roccat Sova it looked good, had a decent layout and just looked like they had thought about what you would really want in a lapboard.

Now although I wanted the Roccat Sova, I wasn't too sure if sofa gaming with keyboard and mouse was going to be my thing, and the missus wasn't too keen after the previous venture with the laptop table and the price was a bit high if it turned into the really occasional use like the Steam Controller has seen, but appeared to be very good value for the well thought out product it was. Having a few spare keyboards, some old deskmats and a glue gun I decided to make my own to see how I got on with a lapboard. I bought some board, a memory foam cushion and a USB hub. Once home I spent about 30 mins sawing and sanding the board, then I glued the keyboard in place as well as the mouse mat and cushion. I glued the sides and bottom of the cushion leaving a "pouch" to stick the wires of the keyboard and mouse in, which tidied up the appearance a lot. I also purchased a 3 metre USB extension cable. I've just been using my main mouse as I'm undecided whether to buy a new mouse for my PC or just a cheaper gaming mouse for the lapboard.

Now I've been using it for the last few weeks and it's been great, and the missus likes how easy it is to make "disappear", after saying she'd just chuck it away when I told her what I was making, as she thought it would be too big and ugly for the living room. I wasn't too sure if keyboard and mouse gaming would be suitable for the living room, but I am now a lapboard convert.

 
Last edited:
sexyhyde said:
So I'm just nearing the end of upgrading my living room gaming setup. Being a PC gamer I've been stuck at a desk for some time, although I did move my PC into the living room for a short spell, it quickly went back upstairs, as the whinging for the other half was making my ears bleed. Then along came the Steam Link and Steam Controller. The Steam Link proved a very good product doing what it claims and as long as it's not a twitchy FPS I found it perfectly fine, although I always thought it was running close to its maximum capabilities. The Steam Controller was good for some games, OK for some and terrible for others. So I acquired some Wireless XBOX 360 pads which fill in the gap the Steam Controller leaves.

Recently I wanted to update my Kodi box and thought I may as well make a HTPC and stick Steam on it for streaming. I gathered some spare parts and bought some others and went about building my new living room box.

Now I wanted a keyboard and mouse set up for the living room and had a wheeled laptop table I got from Ikea a while ago but even with a tenkeyless keyboard it was too cramped so didn't make for comfortable gaming, not to mention it just took up a lot of space and got in the way when not in use. A lapboard was what was really needed. I had seen a reveal of a competitors lapboard and though it looked promising, the price was a lot higher than I had hoped and it also had some pretty big flaws with the keyboard being set at the bottom left and also having no wrist rest. I heard about another companies lapboard but it just looked too small and basic, not too bad if thats what you are after but I wanted something a bit more laid back and comfortable. Then came the Roccat Sova it looked good, had a decent layout and just looked like they had thought about what you would really want in a lapboard.

Now although I wanted the Roccat Sova, I wasn't too sure if sofa gaming with keyboard and mouse was going to be my thing, and the missus wasn't too keen after the previous venture with the laptop table and the price was a bit high if it turned into the really occasional use like the Steam Controller has seen, but appeared to be very good value for the well thought out product it was. Having a few spare keyboards, some old deskmats and a glue gun I decided to make my own to see how I got on with a lapboard. I bought some board a memory foam cushion and a USB hub. Once home I spent about 30 mins sawing and sanding the board, then I glued the keyboard in place as well as the mouse mat and cushion.. I glued the sides and bottom of the cushion leaving a "pouch" to stick the wires of the keyboard and mouse which tidied up the appearance a lot I also purchased a 3 metre USB extension cable. I've just been using my main mouse as I'm undecided whether to buy a new mouse for my PC or just a cheaper gaming mouse for the lapboard.

Now I've been using it for the last few weeks and it's been great, and the missus likes how easy it is to make "disappear", after saying she'd just chuck it away when I told her what I was making, as she though it would be too big and ugly for the living room. I wasn't too sure if keyboard and mouse gaming would be suitable for the living room, but I am now a lapboard convert.

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Damn good review!

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I have one of these Sova's and love it, use it with a wireless logitech gaming mouse. I sit in the middle of the living room on a big bean bag chair thing. Cord is really long and i plug the wireless mouse reciever into the actual keyboard as it has 2 usb ports on the back.
 
Only last week I attempted to reintegrate myself with my family and the "living room", the plan was fool-proof actually. I purchased a 20 meter Dvi-HDMi cable to navigate around the settee, under the windows and back out behind the television, I selected a family friendly game that my four year old and eight year old could watch without being scared (Skyrim) and I invited the family to witness the power of PC gaming. But as I attempted to balance my keyboard and mouse on my construction of books, boxes and wobbly knees my children looked at me with pity. Not the idyllic eyes I usually get from my son as I show them how to boss Super Mario, they looked upset that their father was being defeated by such a simple task. After half an hour of frustration and wrist cramp, I was almost about to give up, but then I realised I could use an Xbox controller and still share the couch and my gaming experiences with the kids. I managed to get a good further hour of gaming there, but after it had all ended I was no better off. I had shown my kids my PC master race abilities were just reduced to a console controller. So now im back on my desk, at the back of the living room, keyboard and mouse in hand as I look over at my family and what could have been so special.
 
dazzlaa;30479688 said:
Only last week I attempted to reintegrate myself with my family and the "living room", the plan was fool-proof actually. I purchased a 20 meter Dvi-HDMi cable to navigate around the settee, under the windows and back out behind the television, I selected a family friendly game that my four year old and eight year old could watch without being scared (Skyrim) and I invited the family to witness the power of PC gaming. But as I attempted to balance my keyboard and mouse on my construction of books, boxes and wobbly knees my children looked at me with pity. Not the idyllic eyes I usually get from my son as I show them how to boss Super Mario, they looked upset that their father was being defeated by such a simple task. After half an hour of frustration and wrist cramp, I was almost about to give up, but then I realised I could use an Xbox controller and still share the couch and my gaming experiences with the kids. I managed to get a good further hour of gaming there, but after it had all ended I was no better off. I had shown my kids my PC master race abilities were just reduced to a console controller. So now im back on my desk, at the back of the living room, keyboard and mouse in hand as I look over at my family and what could have been so special.
Click to expand...

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So unlike the other entrants, I actually bought an off the shelf item right here from OCuk to try and suit my needs. You see, I didn't have a living room... that belongs to the misses! And after my office got took over my stock after starting my own business there was only one place left for me. My "living room", my throne room.

My bathroom.

So knowing this, I had to get something rather special. I had considered some "home made" options, but after searching high and low I just couldn't think of what I needed to make. Sure, I could just get a controller and be done with it, but you played an RTS with an xbox controller? There is a reason HALO wars was crap. I needed an off the shelf item that was from a very reputable and well respected company. That is where OCuk came in with the Gradiant BAF-TYME MK!

Immediately, I knew I had found what I was looking for and it ticked every single box.Sure, it was quite pricey but knowing OCuks brilliant customer service it wasn't a mistake laying down £159.95 in the name of gaming!

OxTTfIR.jpg

It arrive the very day after I ordered it, nicely packaged complete with haribo. In fact, I opened the door to the DPD driver, bath ready with towel tightly wrapped around me. By god, I was excited. I just had to try this out IMMEDIATELY!

I unwrapped the item and was amazed at the quality, what an absolute steal! So I turned the taps on, got my favourite bubble bath, slipped out of my towel and delicately lowered myself into the warm embrace of the bath tub to treat myself to some much needed "Grady Time".

Whilst no instructions where given with the use of the BAF-TYME MK, I knew what to do, these things are obvious. I propped up my laptop near the head of the bath with a TOYLET RLL 3000 (this was from a different online store, one with clearly less quality control to OCuk as only after 5 uses its almost all gone, single ply nonsense). I plugged in my headset along with the keyboard and mouse and mounted the BAF-TYME MK over the edge of the bath. Todays game of choice? Battlefield 1.

The result? OH MY GOD. This has changed my life.

Quite possibly NSFW...!
TaYmdov.jpg.png UMdaz8a.jpg
So 30 minutes later, after topping the bath up twice, my short session with the BAF-TYME MK was done with. I figured that everyone needs to know how well it went in case you are also looking for one of these so I'll give you a quick summary.

Comfort - Now considering that I am a large fellow, bath time can be quite the science trip with archimedes and the like. This thing handles me with ease, sitting over the top of the bath. If the tub was to overflow, all your items sitting on top would simply float on the surface of the water. Honestly, I hardly noticed that this thing was there.

Style - There can be no denying that this thing has CLASS. Its sleek white foam-core body is matched only by the minimal design. It goes perfectly with the bath and matches the tiles as well. The only bathroom I can see this not working 100% with is maybe that old avocado coloured stuff you used to get, but I have heard they releasing a special version at some point in peach and green, the BAF-TYME O.L.D. Version. Something to do with organic light-emitting diode's I think.

Product Promises - Now this thing claims to be water resistant to a depth of minus 0.5 metres. I wasn't able to find a tape measure that had negative measurements onto it, so I guess we just need to take this as their word. As for the Radox promise, 100% YES! Finally, a lapboard that I can use with both my favourite Apple and Cherry showgel flavours! It also seems to be working with herbal essences as well, absolute innovation!

Downsides - Okay, so this thing is awesome and I encourage everyone to get one if you can BUT there is a downside that if fixed could perhaps make the BAF-TYME MK2 a 10/10 product.

Game Rage ... this thing does not cope well, not at all. After capping B flag and getting 4 more kills with a well placed AT grenade on an approaching landtank I was shot in the head from some camping SOB 300 metres away. This lead me to slam down my fists on my keyboard... well the BAF-TYME snapped in two, sending my keyboard, mouse and treasured NIK photo frame into the depths of the bath. The partial saving grace was my fat belly, which managed to save part of the keyboard but the mouse was lost to whatever creatures inhabit below.

Now I want to stress, this was USER ERROR and is not indicative of the quality of the item I bought. I just think if perhaps the manufactures are listening, they might be able to strengthen it slightly perhaps in a few key spots. Perhaps they can do this over the air with the things built in WiFi (I assume for £160 it has built in WiFi, although it never said on the product page).

I am now on the look out for an alternative product whilst the BAF-TYME gets an update, hopefully I can get something like a Roccat SOVA or similar and I'd be happy to post a review of that up for everyone :)

/Grady
 
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