This RK-9000BR has pretty much everything all I wanted from a keyboard: Cherry MX Brown switches (blue would've been better, but it's fine), individual backlit keys, not too expensive (at least to me) and simplistic looks. It's just a shame that there are no individual media keys. I'm not really sure I could fine one that really has all the features I need. Probably have to do a bit more research before I pulled the plug and buy this one
Love my job, since I've been bringing in $5600… I sit at home, music playing while I work in front of my new iMac that I got now that I'm making it online(Click on menu Home) http://goo.gl/MUx0n
Awesome. Sooo...when do we get more professional moderation on the forums and SOME moderation here on comments? Delete the above advertisement/spam please.
FN key combos are not actual keys. They are alternate key functions. This is one of the reasons I have and will stay with my MS Comfort Curve 2000 until someone comes out with one like it with RED led back lights.
Seriously with the blue? Blue leds have been proven to mess with a persons sleeping cycles. Red does not.
Also searching for what STILL is. Those Tesoro dosen't have discrete media keys either, but if at some point you find som real information feel free to post it here:
That's mainly true for blue light sources within your bedroom. Personally I was never able to fall asleep easily with any kind of light source within my bedroom, so I think this is a case of bad and worse LEDs, not good and bad.
I have the Cherry MX Blue version of the illuminated keyboard and it works fine on my MacBook Pro, just the Windows keys dont work, but everything else does. I have yet to try the Brown version but the Blue version works very well and is definitely the best keyboard I've ever owned. I prefer no frills. And the Fn media keys work well with all my media programs so far. I got mine for $95 though, I got a 20% off all Rosewill keyboards coupon, Newegg runs sales on their Rosewill stuff fairly often.
gotcha, still, I'll wait for a cherry mx red version. All the other ones slow you down, and I type 140wpm on general typing and 122 on typingtest's test instructions test.
I just want a cherry mx red keyboard with media keys that isn't too expensive. I've yet to see one. I have the normal rosewill cherry mx red keyboard, but it has no media keys.
I play bf3 quite a bit, and I use 3rvx to control my sound, and spotifyer for spotify hotkeys except punkbuster kicks you for both programs.
As a lefty mouser, the block of bogo keys on the left side is a bit of a turnoff. On the occasions when I'm using a right handed mouse the numberpad/arrows part of the keyboard is always annoyingly in my way; and I suspect the K90's extra keys would have the same problem .
...Newegg? Seriously, we can't help it if we live in backward states with backward laws. Our state governments suck. Does that mean we can't have cheap, quality keyboards with backlighting?
Yes, in this case, it does. This should not be glossed over.
Yeah, there needs to be comparisons to Razor mechanical keyboards... they have a standard ones for as low as 65$ now and illuminated ones for 100-130... They even had "special edition" game ones that came in different LED colours in case you didn't like the default green colour. Not sure what switches they use, but i got to play with one at a local best buy and it feels awesome.
I've been using a Corsair K60 for a year, and my solution for illumination was to purchase an Allsop Redmond monitor stand and an Antec Halo 6 LED USB lighting strip. The strip runs underneath the leading edge of the monitor stand and into a USB port on the back of my Samsung monitor for power. I drilled one of the stand's legs to hide the cable, and it is very stealthy... and casts a lovely glow downwards onto the keyboard and illuminates enough of my desk surface to have all lights out in the room when gaming.
Instead of worrying about an individual LED failing on my keyboard that would require an RMA or a replacement, I can spend less than $8 on a new strip if it fails.
BTW - I'm absolutely loving my Cherry MX Reds and my Corsair Vengeance K60 - and my M60 as well.
I just got the Cooler Master CM Storm Quick Fire Pro with Brown Cherry keys for $74 with a $20 rebate card on New Egg. Black Friday deals..still going on today. :-)
Liked the features it had compared with Roswell basic, and like you said the Illuminated Roswell is just too much money.
I have a steelseries MERC stealth.. u can change the lights from blue, red or purple, it has media keys and also was cheaper than this thing.. why does this thing cost more when it has far less functionality compared to the SS merc? lol
One, your keyboard has rubber switches not mechanical, which is why it's cheaper. Two, some (me included) consider the extra keys a hindrance not a feature. Personally i have a Razer Ultimate and the macro keys on the left annoy me to no end.
There's also the CM Storm Quickfire TK that's tenkeyless but still offers a num-pad. It's backlit and comes a variety of switches. Similar in price to the Quickfire Rapid.
I work on fairly old equipment and get to use some of the older mechanical switch terminals (IBM and HP). This series is a great way for me to get a feel for the mech keyboards available today without spending a ton of money.
That said, the Centurion is not a bad mech. I routinely use one well (-AL with a PPC, -YLW, and a -D with an LB), as do many others. It may not fit your playing style, however that is no fault of the platform.
I think it's time for a holiday gaming keyboard roundup with recommendations.
Keypoints:
Longevity/Durability
Tactile Response/Speed - i.e. how many buttons can you press at once, response time, "trigger weight"
Allow me to clarify "Trigger weight". Think of a gun, and how many pounds are required to pull the trigger. I want a keyboard where I don't have to push the button down very far to get the key to actuate input (which is why Cherry Switches are sort of a poor choice for gaming), but I don't want it so soft that merely touching the keys to find the home keys registers a push. My Logitech G15 which I have been using for a few years is nearly perfect)
Comfort/Ergonomics
Additional Features:
USB ports on the top edge of the keyboard are tough to access. LCD screens are nice but not necessary, still they can add value. Indicator lights are a big help. It would also be nice to get some sort of register of how much juice different keyboards suck down. Does my G15 cost me an additional $10 to run over the course of a few years? It might not be a huge deciding factor but it could be an interesting read. I really like the gaming switch my G15 has. I often forget its there but it would be nice to have a keyboard's software automatically double check to make sure that this key is disabled when in full screen.
I went to Newegg to take a look at these mechanical mobos and no matter what Rosewill model I looked at, the reviews all said that the mini USB port on the keybord where the cable plugs in, fails after about 6 months. There is one review after another with the identical defect/failure on multiple models.
I'm wondering if the RK-9000I and RK-9100BR have this same mini USB port issue?
I haven't had an issue with mine but it never moves so there's no way the port could fail... I've heard it's actually fairly easy to fix if it's out of warranty tho, at least if you're handy with a soldering iron.
Actually several reviews by people who never move their mobo have reported the Rosewill mini USB port on the mechanical keyboards failing, which is why I asked because this is a serious design flaw.
Cherry MX Blue switches require less force to depress than browns because there is no resistance from the leaf spring encountered until the actuation point, unlike browns, which have a near linear resistance.
That's the primary difference between browns and blues. Blues are easier to depress until the actuation point, then you get noticeable resistance, and once the switch is activated, the resistance of blue switches decreases dramatically.
Browns on the other hand are slightly harder to depress due to the near linear nature, but require less force at the actual activation point.
I'm not sure why the reviewer thinks brown's are not ideal for gaming. In the large fps gaming community that I follow gamers prefer either brown's or red's. (seems to be mostly browns, actually). Black switches are somewhat despised.
I have a Steelseries keyboard with MX Black keys and found that while it was fine for FPS-type games where you're holding down the keys for movement, it was not so great for games where you are quickly just tapping keys, and it was especially bad for "double-tapping"; I had a very hard time reliably getting a double-tap response because it's not very clear where the actuation/release points are without the tactile feedback of the click point.
Similarly, I had problems with typing - the number of typos I was producing shot up compared to how I do on typical non-mechanical keyboards or on the RK-9000 MX Brown I replaced my Steelseries with. It was such a relief going from the MX Blacks to the MX Browns.
IBM Selectric was genius in that the keyboard was concave which reduced the amount of distance your fingers had to reach to get from Home Row to the other rows. Why can't anybody make a proper keyboard even after I explain it to them? I want a concave design split into two halves which are angled outward kind of like the GoldTouchApple but with palm rests.
Every single damn tech thing I buy or look at isn't the way I want it. I totally understand why Steve Jobs used the "F" word so much.
While the Rosewill mechanical keyboards seem to be a decent product they are way over priced, IMO. I don't see how they can justify a ~$100 price tag for any of the mechanical keyboard models.
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39 Comments
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Arbie - Sunday, November 25, 2012 - link
There are alternatives to this grossly overused phrase - at least enough so that it needn't appear three times in four paragraphs.That said.... thanks for the review.
EzioAs - Sunday, November 25, 2012 - link
This RK-9000BR has pretty much everything all I wanted from a keyboard: Cherry MX Brown switches (blue would've been better, but it's fine), individual backlit keys, not too expensive (at least to me) and simplistic looks. It's just a shame that there are no individual media keys. I'm not really sure I could fine one that really has all the features I need. Probably have to do a bit more research before I pulled the plug and buy this oneLadyKate - Sunday, November 25, 2012 - link
Love my job, since I've been bringing in $5600… I sit at home, music playing while I work in front of my new iMac that I got now that I'm making it online(Click on menu Home)http://goo.gl/MUx0n
JonnyDough - Monday, November 26, 2012 - link
Awesome. Sooo...when do we get more professional moderation on the forums and SOME moderation here on comments? Delete the above advertisement/spam please.jigglywiggly - Sunday, November 25, 2012 - link
still no media keys... why? they are so usefulDustin Sklavos - Sunday, November 25, 2012 - link
There ARE media keys. They're Fn combos with the function key row.lexluthermiester - Sunday, November 25, 2012 - link
FN key combos are not actual keys. They are alternate key functions. This is one of the reasons I have and will stay with my MS Comfort Curve 2000 until someone comes out with one like it with RED led back lights.Seriously with the blue? Blue leds have been proven to mess with a persons sleeping cycles. Red does not.
mfas - Monday, November 26, 2012 - link
Just go for TESORO - they have what you ask for...Dafojk - Monday, November 26, 2012 - link
Also searching for what STILL is. Those Tesoro dosen't have discrete media keys either, but if at some point you find som real information feel free to post it here:http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=30271.0
Amazing how people thinks that FN shortcuts are as good as real keys...
ShieTar - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
That's mainly true for blue light sources within your bedroom. Personally I was never able to fall asleep easily with any kind of light source within my bedroom, so I think this is a case of bad and worse LEDs, not good and bad.Torrijos - Sunday, November 25, 2012 - link
Are we going to see comparisons with competing product like those from Razer?Also how is the support for other OS (Mac, Linux)?
kabbluyee - Sunday, November 25, 2012 - link
support, hmmm, it's a basic keyboardp05esto - Sunday, November 25, 2012 - link
No real compute users use Macs, thats why it's not mentioned here. Duh.Westicles - Monday, November 26, 2012 - link
I have the Cherry MX Blue version of the illuminated keyboard and it works fine on my MacBook Pro, just the Windows keys dont work, but everything else does. I have yet to try the Brown version but the Blue version works very well and is definitely the best keyboard I've ever owned. I prefer no frills. And the Fn media keys work well with all my media programs so far. I got mine for $95 though, I got a 20% off all Rosewill keyboards coupon, Newegg runs sales on their Rosewill stuff fairly often.jigglywiggly - Sunday, November 25, 2012 - link
gotcha, still, I'll wait for a cherry mx red version. All the other ones slow you down, and I type 140wpm on general typing and 122 on typingtest's test instructions test.I just want a cherry mx red keyboard with media keys that isn't too expensive. I've yet to see one. I have the normal rosewill cherry mx red keyboard, but it has no media keys.
I play bf3 quite a bit, and I use 3rvx to control my sound, and spotifyer for spotify hotkeys except punkbuster kicks you for both programs.
Dustin Sklavos - Sunday, November 25, 2012 - link
Corsair K90. Something like $109 on sale right now at NewEgg. You're not going to do much better than that, and it's a fantastic keyboard.DanNeely - Sunday, November 25, 2012 - link
As a lefty mouser, the block of bogo keys on the left side is a bit of a turnoff. On the occasions when I'm using a right handed mouse the numberpad/arrows part of the keyboard is always annoyingly in my way; and I suspect the K90's extra keys would have the same problem .ImSpartacus - Sunday, November 25, 2012 - link
It may also be worth noting that Newegg is currently comboing just about every component with a 9100 or a 9100i for $5 off the combo.HisDivineOrder - Sunday, November 25, 2012 - link
...Newegg? Seriously, we can't help it if we live in backward states with backward laws. Our state governments suck. Does that mean we can't have cheap, quality keyboards with backlighting?Yes, in this case, it does. This should not be glossed over.
ymrtech - Sunday, November 25, 2012 - link
Yeah, there needs to be comparisons to Razor mechanical keyboards... they have a standard ones for as low as 65$ now and illuminated ones for 100-130... They even had "special edition" game ones that came in different LED colours in case you didn't like the default green colour.Not sure what switches they use, but i got to play with one at a local best buy and it feels awesome.
ymrtech - Sunday, November 25, 2012 - link
Razer*stratosrally - Sunday, November 25, 2012 - link
I've been using a Corsair K60 for a year, and my solution for illumination was to purchase an Allsop Redmond monitor stand and an Antec Halo 6 LED USB lighting strip. The strip runs underneath the leading edge of the monitor stand and into a USB port on the back of my Samsung monitor for power. I drilled one of the stand's legs to hide the cable, and it is very stealthy... and casts a lovely glow downwards onto the keyboard and illuminates enough of my desk surface to have all lights out in the room when gaming.Instead of worrying about an individual LED failing on my keyboard that would require an RMA or a replacement, I can spend less than $8 on a new strip if it fails.
BTW - I'm absolutely loving my Cherry MX Reds and my Corsair Vengeance K60 - and my M60 as well.
ol1bit - Sunday, November 25, 2012 - link
I just got the Cooler Master CM Storm Quick Fire Pro with Brown Cherry keys for $74 with a $20 rebate card on New Egg. Black Friday deals..still going on today. :-)Liked the features it had compared with Roswell basic, and like you said the Illuminated Roswell is just too much money.
greenbackz - Sunday, November 25, 2012 - link
I have a steelseries MERC stealth.. u can change the lights from blue, red or purple, it has media keys and also was cheaper than this thing.. why does this thing cost more when it has far less functionality compared to the SS merc? loltorp - Monday, November 26, 2012 - link
One, your keyboard has rubber switches not mechanical, which is why it's cheaper.Two, some (me included) consider the extra keys a hindrance not a feature. Personally i have a Razer Ultimate and the macro keys on the left annoy me to no end.
vshin - Monday, November 26, 2012 - link
Well that was fast. Cyber Monday deals rock!Zokudu - Monday, November 26, 2012 - link
Have you looked at the Cooler Master Quick Fire Rapid? I feel like these keyboard reviews are missing some major mechanical players.Omega215D - Monday, November 26, 2012 - link
There's also the CM Storm Quickfire TK that's tenkeyless but still offers a num-pad. It's backlit and comes a variety of switches. Similar in price to the Quickfire Rapid.CobaltFire - Monday, November 26, 2012 - link
I work on fairly old equipment and get to use some of the older mechanical switch terminals (IBM and HP). This series is a great way for me to get a feel for the mech keyboards available today without spending a ton of money.That said, the Centurion is not a bad mech. I routinely use one well (-AL with a PPC, -YLW, and a -D with an LB), as do many others. It may not fit your playing style, however that is no fault of the platform.
JonnyDough - Monday, November 26, 2012 - link
I think it's time for a holiday gaming keyboard roundup with recommendations.Keypoints:
Longevity/Durability
Tactile Response/Speed - i.e. how many buttons can you press at once, response time, "trigger weight"
Allow me to clarify "Trigger weight". Think of a gun, and how many pounds are required to pull the trigger. I want a keyboard where I don't have to push the button down very far to get the key to actuate input (which is why Cherry Switches are sort of a poor choice for gaming), but I don't want it so soft that merely touching the keys to find the home keys registers a push. My Logitech G15 which I have been using for a few years is nearly perfect)
Comfort/Ergonomics
Additional Features:
USB ports on the top edge of the keyboard are tough to access. LCD screens are nice but not necessary, still they can add value. Indicator lights are a big help. It would also be nice to get some sort of register of how much juice different keyboards suck down. Does my G15 cost me an additional $10 to run over the course of a few years? It might not be a huge deciding factor but it could be an interesting read. I really like the gaming switch my G15 has. I often forget its there but it would be nice to have a keyboard's software automatically double check to make sure that this key is disabled when in full screen.
Beenthere - Monday, November 26, 2012 - link
I went to Newegg to take a look at these mechanical mobos and no matter what Rosewill model I looked at, the reviews all said that the mini USB port on the keybord where the cable plugs in, fails after about 6 months. There is one review after another with the identical defect/failure on multiple models.I'm wondering if the RK-9000I and RK-9100BR have this same mini USB port issue?
Impulses - Wednesday, November 28, 2012 - link
I haven't had an issue with mine but it never moves so there's no way the port could fail... I've heard it's actually fairly easy to fix if it's out of warranty tho, at least if you're handy with a soldering iron.Beenthere - Wednesday, November 28, 2012 - link
Actually several reviews by people who never move their mobo have reported the Rosewill mini USB port on the mechanical keyboards failing, which is why I asked because this is a serious design flaw.Purpose - Monday, November 26, 2012 - link
Cherry MX Blue switches require less force to depress than browns because there is no resistance from the leaf spring encountered until the actuation point, unlike browns, which have a near linear resistance.That's the primary difference between browns and blues. Blues are easier to depress until the actuation point, then you get noticeable resistance, and once the switch is activated, the resistance of blue switches decreases dramatically.
Browns on the other hand are slightly harder to depress due to the near linear nature, but require less force at the actual activation point.
Shame, shame for the obviously horrible research done prior to writing this article.
http://deskthority.net/wiki/Cherry_MX_Brown
http://deskthority.net/wiki/Cherry_MX_Blue
Pheesh - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
I'm not sure why the reviewer thinks brown's are not ideal for gaming. In the large fps gaming community that I follow gamers prefer either brown's or red's. (seems to be mostly browns, actually). Black switches are somewhat despised.LintMan - Thursday, November 29, 2012 - link
I have a Steelseries keyboard with MX Black keys and found that while it was fine for FPS-type games where you're holding down the keys for movement, it was not so great for games where you are quickly just tapping keys, and it was especially bad for "double-tapping"; I had a very hard time reliably getting a double-tap response because it's not very clear where the actuation/release points are without the tactile feedback of the click point.Similarly, I had problems with typing - the number of typos I was producing shot up compared to how I do on typical non-mechanical keyboards or on the RK-9000 MX Brown I replaced my Steelseries with. It was such a relief going from the MX Blacks to the MX Browns.
McFoozle - Sunday, December 2, 2012 - link
IBM Selectric was genius in that the keyboard was concave which reduced the amount of distance your fingers had to reach to get from Home Row to the other rows. Why can't anybody make a proper keyboard even after I explain it to them? I want a concave design split into two halves which are angled outward kind of like the GoldTouchApple but with palm rests.Every single damn tech thing I buy or look at isn't the way I want it. I totally understand why Steve Jobs used the "F" word so much.
Beenthere - Wednesday, December 5, 2012 - link
While the Rosewill mechanical keyboards seem to be a decent product they are way over priced, IMO. I don't see how they can justify a ~$100 price tag for any of the mechanical keyboard models.batguiide - Sunday, December 9, 2012 - link
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