We have reviewed many keyboards here in AnandTech, both electronic (membrane) and mechanical. In today's market, most cost-effective keyboards are based on membrane designs, while more advanced keyboards are using mechanical switches that are either made by Cherry or, usually, are a "cloned" version of their products. Recently however we had something relatively rare shipped for testing in our labs - the i-Rocks Pilot K70E, a keyboard with unique capacitive switches.

Capacitive switches are not something unique to this keyboard. As a matter of fact, the current top-of-the-line capacitive keyboard switches were introduced by Topre several years ago. The problem with Topre-based products is that their prices are excessive, placing them well outside what the mainstream market can afford.

The i-Rocks Pilot K70E keyboard that we are reviewing today has non-contact capacitive switches developed in-house by i-Rocks itself. The Taiwanese company's capacitive switches are available in two variants, 45g and 60g, with slightly different force-to-travel charts. The retail price of the Pilot K70E is rather steep, with the keyboard retailing at $150 at the time of this review, and yet that price is significantly lower than that of any keyboard using Topre's capacitive switches.

Packaging and bundle

The packaging of the i-Rocks Pilot K70E is very basic, with the keyboard supplied in an all-black cardboard box. Only a very basic schematic of the capacitive switch is printed on the front side of the box. There is very little information about the keyboard or the switches, just a few colored sketches at the rear hinting that it features RGB lighting. Inside the box, we found the keyboard adequately supported by cardboard pieces and wrapped inside a soft foam bag. There is nothing bundled along with the keyboard - no keycap pullers, no accessories, not even a small manual.

The i-Rocks Pilot K70E Capacitive Gaming Keyboard

Physically, the i-Rocks Pilot K70E will appear peculiar to experienced users. The keyboard has a very tall and heavy body, yet low profile keycaps. Aesthetically, the transparent acrylic exterior of the keyboard is likely to appear kitschy at first sight, yet it has its distinct advantages as well. One of these advantages is that it diffuses the lighting from the switches and creates beautiful lighting effects. The other main advantage is that the top acrylic cover is removable and the users can replace the grey sheet beneath it with whatever they choose - another color, an abstract design, a wood/carbon-like vinyl sticker, pictures, or anything else.

We received the US layout version of the i-Rocks Pilot K70E. It is a standard 104 keys keyboard that fully adheres to the ANSI layout. There are no volume control knobs, extra media keys, or any other extra keys/buttons on the keyboard. The bottom row of the keyboard has a 6.25× Spacebar and seven 1.25× bottom row keys. The right Win key has been replaced with an Fn key that is used to access the keyboard's advanced features.

The low-profile keycaps are made from ABS plastic and have normally sized characters printed on them. These keycaps do not affect key travel, which remains at 4 mm, the same as with most mechanical keyboards currently available. Both the primary and the secondary character are printed at the top of each keycap, which is a tactic frequently used with mechanical keyboard so as to place both characters over the lighting LED. The catch here is that the lighting of these switches is uniform around the stem, so using such switches on this keyboard is virtually meaningless. If I had to guess, these keycaps are most likely coming from a production line that is supplying the same keycaps for use on mechanical keyboards as well.

The very few advanced functions that the keyboard has available by default are accessible via keystroke combinations using the Fn key. Most of them are for the on-the-fly adjustment of the backlighting. Media and audio control is also possible via the F9-F12 and Insert/Home/PgUp keys respectively, yet having to rely on keystroke combinations to simply adjust the sound volume is not very practical.

One of the major features of capacitive keyboards is that the actuation distance can be changed in software. The i-Rocks Pilot K70E supports this and the actuation distance can be switched between 1.4 and 2.2 mm via the Fn+PrtSc keystroke. Fn+ScrLk initiates the "gaming mode" that, by default, only disables the Win key but can also be extended to include more keys and keystroke combinations.

The keyboard does not support per-key programmability, only four keystroke combinations (Fn+F1-F4) that are blank by default and can be programmed by the user via the keyboard's software. Finally, the Fn+Esc combination turns off all backlighting and locks the entire keyboard until the same keystroke combo is pressed again.

The underside of the keyboard is simple, with two rear legs providing a single fixed tilt setting. The tilt is reasonable, yet perhaps a little bit on the low side considering the massive height of the keyboard. The rubber anti-slip parts are effective but gravity does most of the work, as the i-Rocks Pilot K70E is one truly heavy keyboard.

Beneath the keycaps we find i-Rocks' capacitive switches. These switches look very much like membrane-based keys, as they do use a membrane to shield the interior spring and to provide some dampening. The result is that capacitive keys feel a little "mushy", just like typical keyboards do, yet they are virtually silent, unlike mechanical keyboards where their noise output ranges between acceptable and ear-bursting. The company also took the clever approach to install a stem that is compatible with the cross-mount keycaps that most of the mechanical keyboards are using, meaning that keycaps made for Cherry switches (and their clones) will fit on the i-Rocks Pilot K70E. The only problem here is that normal keycaps will tower above the low-profile keycaps of the keyboard if only some of them are replaced, which is not necessarily a bad thing if that is what the user intends to do. Otherwise, a full set it required to replace all of the keyboard's keycaps.

The i-Rocks Pilot K70E has per-key programmable RGB backlighting. The backlighting is partially configurable via keystroke combinations, allowing the user to switch between pre-programmed effects and colors. More advanced programming is also possible via the keyboard's software. The lighting is exceptional - uniform, bright, and vibrant. Only the Space Bar key creates a small visual dissonance, as the single LED cannot illuminate the largest portion of the massive keycap.

Taking apart the body of the i-Rocks Pilot K70E, we find a thick white steel sheet that is partially responsible for the massive weight of the keyboard. Much like how mechanical keyboards are usually made, the main body of the keys is attached to the sturdy steel plate and the PCB is soldered directly on its underside. The i-Rocks Pilot K70E actually has two PCBs, as the design of the capacitive switches requires precise spacing between components.

The heart of the i-Rocks Pilot K70E is a Megawin MG84FG516, a microcontroller that we have never seen before in any kind of keyboard. It incorporates an Intel 80C51 8-bit CPU and 64K Bytes flash ROM with a theoretical maximum frequency of 36 MHz (12 MHz nominal). It is not a fancy controller at all but, as we will also see in the following pages, it is more than capable to handle the limited advanced features of the keyboard.

Software

Users that want access to more advanced controls will have to download the software for the Pilot K70E from the company's website. The software itself is very simple, with a clean UI, offering very limited customization options.

At the top of the main UI there are three tabs, Performance, Backlight, and Assignment. The first tab, Performance, hosts only three adjustable settings, which are the n-key rollover (toggle between 6 and 30 keys), the repeat delay, and the repeat speed. There is also a small space for testing the repeat delay and speed.

The second tab, Backlight, is the most extensive. From here the user can reprogram any of the four pre-programmed lighting profiles. There are several backlight effects available and brightness/speed settings are also present, yet per-key effect or profile programming is not possible.

Finally, the third tab, Assignment, should be the most important part of this software. In the case of the Pilot K70E however, it is not particularly useful. Remapping the keyboard is not possible at all. From here the only thing that the user can do is to reprogram the functions of the Fn+F1-F4 keystroke combinations. There is a basic macro editor that can record the keyboard's keystrokes, with the ability to adjust or remove the delays between keystrokes and adjust the macro's repeat number/rate, yet these macros can only be assigned to the Fn+F1-F4 keys as well. The rest of the available settings are simple and straightforward, ranging from single-key assignments to the launching of external applications. Although some are interesting and useful, the obligation to program only four such commands that will be accessible only via a keystroke combination that essentially requires two hands is not really convenient.

Per-Key Quality Testing

In order to test the quality and consistency of a keyboard, we are using a texture analyser that is programmed to measure and display the actuation force of the standard keyboard keys. By measuring the actuation force of every key, the quality and consistency of the keyboard can be quantified. It can also reveal design issues, such as the larger keys being far softer to press than the main keys of the keyboard. The actuation force is measured in Centinewton (cN). Some companies use another figure, gram-force (gf). The conversion formula is 1 cN = 1.02 gf (i.e. they are about the same). A high-quality keyboard should be as consistent as possible, with an average actuation force as near to the manufacturer's specs as possible and a disparity of less than ±10%. Greater differences are likely to be perceptible by users. It is worth noting that there is typically variance among keyboards, although most keyboard companies will try and maintain consistency - as with other reviews, we're testing our sample only.

The machine we use for our testing is accurate enough to provide readings with a resolution of 0.1 cN. For wider keys (e.g. Enter, Space Bar, etc.), the measurement is taking place at the center of the key, right above the switch. Note that large keys generally have a lower actuation force even if the actuation point is at the dead center of the key. This is natural, as the size and weight of the keycap reduce the required actuation force. For this reason, we do display the force required to actuate every key but we only use the results of the typically sized keys for our consistency calculations. Still, very low figures on medium sized keys, such as the Shift and Enter keys reveal design issues and can easily be perceptible by the user.

Above: Manufacturer's specifications

At first sight, i-Rocks' capacitive switches appear to be the best that we have ever tested, outdoing even the best mechanical switches in terms of minimizing disparity. The switches of our test sample were rated at 45 gf (gram-force) but that is the actuation force, not the operating (maximum) force. The maximum force of the switch is a little above 50 gf.

Despite the insanely good consistency of the keyboard, a closer look at the results reveals that both the actuation force and distance are not aligned with the manufacturer's specifications. The standard actuation force should be 45 gf and the actuation distance should be 2.2 mm, yet our switches actuate 0.4 mm sooner. The difference even widens when we switch from the "Low" to the "High" actuation point, which should be at 1.4 mm but is at 0.8 mm instead, before the switch's tipping point. Despite the considerably different actuation distance compared to the manufacturer's specifications, all of the switches performed uniformly and consistently.

It was not long before we realized what the culprit behind that difference was. Capacitive sensors are very sensitive to environmental factors and the room where the test apparatus is located was very hot and humid at the time of the test (34°C-78% relative humidity). Artificially reducing the humidity to even just 60% resulted in a consistent shift of the actuation point to 0.2 mm lower. i-Rocks' specifications obviously apply to standard room temperature conditions (which most likely are 25°C and 45-55% RH).

Hands-on Testing

I always try to use every keyboard that we review as my personal keyboard for at least a week. My typical weekly usage includes a lot of typing (about 100-150 pages), a few hours of gaming and some casual usage, such as internet browsing and messaging. I personally prefer Cherry MX Brown or similar (tactile) switches for such tasks. The capacitive switches were something new for me, alien at first, yet felt comfortable. It took me but a few hours to grow accustomed to their feeling. The keypresses were very responsive and the keyboard was relatively comfortable for long-term use. The movements are precise but feel mushy, as the design partially relies on membranes to function. On the other hand, the membranes also dampen the noise output of the keyboard, making it virtually silent while typing, increasing the comfort of both the users and everyone in the vicinity.

For gaming, I tried switching to the high actuation point and see if that could offer any kind of advantage. The force required to actuate a key was minimal, with even the slightest touch resulting to a keypress. That was a double-edged knife, as I ended up actuating keys unintentionally, by simply resting my finger on the keypad. With practice, seasoned gamers could easily minimize their response times using this keyboard. On the other hand, the keyboard does not support per-key programming or profiles. The need to use both hands in order to execute a simple macro makes the function wholly unsuitable for almost any kind of game. These features usually are unnecessary to FPS/Action gamers, yet practically essential for MMORPG gaming.

Conclusion

Capacitive switch keyboards are very interesting to encounter, but the current number of products and manufacturers is very limited. Undoubtedly, advanced users would like to get their hands on a keyboard with Topre capacitive switches, yet the humongous cost of these switches priced every keyboard that tried to implement them right out of the market. What i-Rocks hopes to achieve with the Pilot K70E is to entice those same advanced users who are intrigued by the special properties of capacitive switches by leery of the price, offering them a product that would not cost significantly more than a top-tier mechanical keyboard.

i-Rocks engineers were clever about the design of their capacitive switches. Instead of making everything proprietary, they designed the stems to be compatible with keycaps from the vast majority of current mechanical keyboards. Single-cap replacements will be difficult due to the keyboard's low-profile stock keycaps, meaning that the user will probably have to replace all of the keycaps, but switching to custom keycap sets made for mechanical keyboards is possible. Using the membrane dampeners as lighting diffusers also works fantastically, creating perhaps the best lighting effect that we have seen to this date.

Aesthetically, the Pilot K70E initially feels a little bit kitschy due to its large size and the extensive use of acrylic. Once the keyboard is powered-on though, the acrylic diffuses the light coming from the LEDs perfectly, creating a fantastic visual effect. The ability to take off the keyboard's top cover and insert pictures/prints beneath it is a great customization option, allowing users to easily personalize their keyboards and without any lasting consequences.

Although it may not be really fair to compare a capacitive keyboard to a mechanical one, it is inevitable, as virtually all of the competition is mechanical keyboards. The truth here is that the Pilot K70E feels more like a membrane keyboard rather a mechanical one. Of course, it does not require the keys to bottom-out in order to actuate like a membrane keyboard does, but the feeling of each keypress is similar to that of mainstream membrane-based keyboards.

That is not necessarily a bad thing, as the silicon cones acts as dampeners, reducing the stress at the fingertips and greatly reducing the noise output of the keyboard. However, users who are used to the austere precision of mechanical switches, especially non-linear tactile models, are likely to find the Pilot K70E unsuitable for their needs. The capacitive switches also have other advantages, such as the ability to program the actuation/reset distances. The Pilot K70E does not take full advantage of this feature, offering the ability to switch between "low" and "high" actuation points for the entire keyboard, yet this could change with future firmware/software releases.

Where the Pilot K70E is mainly lacking is in terms of software and customizability. The software is just too rudimentary for a keyboard of this price range, greatly limiting the keyboard's value for advanced gamers. It does offer extensive lighting control options but few practical settings and very limited programmability. The lack of dedicated basic media/audio controls may also be a problem for some users who will not be fond of using keypress combinations just to turn the volume up or down.

The i-Rocks Pilot K70E is a valiant effort by the Taiwanese company to market a capacitive keyboard at a reasonable retail price. However, the cost remains relatively high and the Pilot K70E may be a bit too simple in order to compete with the top-tier mechanical keyboards it is being pitted against. Nevertheless, the Pilot K70E is a fine choice for users who want to possess a quality capacitive keyboard that will not cost them an arm and a leg.