Capsule Review: Rosewill's RK-9000 Mechanical Keyboard
by Dustin Sklavos on January 26, 2012 12:40 AM EST- Posted in
- Keyboard
- Peripherals
- Rosewill
- Cherry MX
- Input Devices
The Rosewill RK-9000 in Action
While the Rosewill RK-9000 may not be much to look at, in practice it's something else entirely. We can break down the usage patterns a keyboard will see into two primary categories: gaming and word processing.
Before we get to that, though, there's an issue that bears mentioning. I've been using the RK-9000 for a touch over a month as my primary keyboard, and while it's a fantastic piece of kit that has made me enjoy working on these reviews for you that much more, I ran into one problem with it: the lettering fading.
It doesn't show quite as well as I would like in the photo, but take a look at the E, S, D, F, and C keys and you can see they're not as bright as the other keys. This isn't dirt, this is actual wear. And while I do beat my keyboards like they owe me money, this is a bit of a quality issue. Our rep assures me this shouldn't be happening with these keyboards and is sending me a replacement along with getting back to Rosewill's QC, but there's just no way to know if my sample has a problem or if this is going to be pervasive. I'd err on the side of pervasive, honestly, but this is a minor complaint. As long as the keyboard still works (and there's no reason not to think it won't for a long time), the lettering is an aesthetic issue as opposed to a practical one.
Gaming on the Rosewill RK-9000
The Rosewill RK-9000 uses Cherry MX Blue switches, and these switches are incredibly loud and incredibly tactile. Part of the experience is the sheer travel the keys have; if you have a tendency to royally beat up on your keyboard while typing, these switches are going to be fantastic. Unfortunately, during gaming I've found the RK-9000 to be less desirable than a high-end membrane-based keyboard.
The problem with the Cherry MX Blue switches is that everything that makes them fantastic for doing any kind of real writing with makes them poor for gaming. Key travel is pretty deep, making the RK-9000's base model a bad choice for any kind of game that requires multiple rapid keypresses, which is pretty much all of them. I've played many different kinds of games on the RK-9000, and while it hasn't had a drastically negative impact on the experience, it's definitely a step backward from the beat up Microsoft Reclusa I was using beforehand.
Typing noise can be an issue with these switches, too. While I personally love the sound of a good, clicky keyboard, it definitely detracts from the gaming experience. At certain points it may actually be difficult to hear the things you need to hear in a given game over the sound of the keyboard. This isn't a major issue, but it's noticeable.
Typing on the Rosewill RK-9000
While the RK-9000's Cherry MX Blue switches may be far from ideal for gaming, for regular typing they're the best experience I've had in a very long time. Since using the RK-9000, I've found I make far fewer typos than I did on my old Reclusa, and I suspect this is at least partly due to the increased key travel. You have to press the keys a little bit harder to register them than you would with a typical keyboard, which is fine if, like me, you brutalize your keyboards. Yet because of this travel, it's also much harder to fat finger the wrong keys. Spacing between the keycaps is generous yet the keys themselves never feel too small.
As for noise feedback, that's going to be a matter of taste, but personally I feel like I'm actually accomplishing things when I'm using the RK-9000. The clicking switches in the keys sound like work being done to me, in addition to just reminding me when keyboards used to be thick and heavy enough to be used as murder weapons and all the fun I had on my old computer when I was still just learning to be a geek.
Until I've tried the other mechanical switch types, I can say I'd very easily recommend the RK-9000 for anyone who's using their computer primarily or even almost exclusively for heavy duty typing. You might need to consider others near your work space as the clicky noise might be a distraction/annoyance, and there are bound to be some typists that prefer a lighter touch, but if you get a chance to try out a mechanical keyboard the majority of typists will like the experience.
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bigboxes - Thursday, January 26, 2012 - link
You assume incorrectly. Mechanical keyboards reduce fatigue and injuries from repetitious motions. You want carpal tunnel or some similar injury? Keep on using cheap keyboards.MrSpadge - Friday, January 27, 2012 - link
It's your finger suddenly hitting something hard which causes the stress.. so a projected keyboard is actually the worst case for that. Try it for a minute on the table, your foremost finger joint will start to hurt quickly.Pylon757 - Saturday, January 28, 2012 - link
With most mechanical keyboards, you can actuate the switch (i.e. send a signal to the computer) without having to press all the way down. With practice, people can type only pressing the key about 75% down, which might reduce stress like what you mentioned. With rubber dome membrane switches, you have to press the key all the way down, and thus you're going against a hard surface.On the other hand, if you do go down all the way on a mechanical keyboard, it hits the bottom a lot harder since there isn't rubber cushioning you like on a rubber dome keyboard.
mcbowler - Thursday, January 26, 2012 - link
I still have an old IBM keyboard in storage that I miss. I bought a new unicomp keyboard to replace it.. but it has a weird problem of registering two keystrokes randomly when I only typed one. Now I use the Logitech Solar Keyboard K750.drwho9437 - Thursday, January 26, 2012 - link
Good guide to the mechanical boards on the market can be found here:http://www.overclock.net/t/491752/mechanical-keybo...
It details differences in keycaps and switch force curves. I have several MX blue boards they mostly are similar. The switch type is the biggest defining trait of a keyboard. I am not a gamer though more program and write.
Kegetys - Thursday, January 26, 2012 - link
Something the mechanical keyboards in the market currently seem to miss is proper, dedicated media keys. Many of them list "media keys" on their specs but in reality they are done as combo keys usually by replacing one of the windows keys. This kind of sucks, I'd want at least volume control, mute and a few other keys. The only mechanical keyboards I have found that have proper media keys are the Corsair K60/K90, but those apparently do not have all the keys mechanical (the media keys themselves do not need to of course). The K90 also has the extra macro keys at the left which makes it a bit too big.drwho9437 - Thursday, January 26, 2012 - link
Ducky DK9008 has stuff.randinspace - Thursday, January 26, 2012 - link
I don't know man, I had a visit from my muse the other day and by the time she'd left I was horrified to discover that I'd typed 30 freaking pages. Even if I wasn't hypersensitive to noise in the first place (wearing a pair of noise cancelling headphones with the volume set to 1% as I type this) I don't think I'd be able to move SOMETHING right now if I'd attempted that feat on a keyboard with a standard configuration.Side recommendation to anyone who's ever thought they had a novel in them: don't EVER try to write more than a couple pages a day using a laptop's built-in keyboard. Even the most expensive keyboards on the market (like this thing: http://www.amazon.com/KB500USB-WHT-Kinesis-Advanta... to say nothing of Microsoft's ergonomic wireless options) are cheaper than EEGs and arm braces and weekly physical therapy sessions...
pj_camp - Thursday, January 26, 2012 - link
Unicomp bought and carried on the old IBM M-series technology. The damn things are bulletproof. I've had mine for going on 10 years now and no keys have faded in the least. Plus, you get to sound like an army falling down the stairs when you type.somewho - Thursday, January 26, 2012 - link
Mechanical keyboards are really a great thing. I'm currently using a Noppoo Choc Pro with MX Blues and the differences with my previous $10 logitech keyboard is really day and night. Here's some of my opinion that can (hopefully) reduce the vague advantages of a mechanical keyboard :Zero flexes : in a good mechanical keyboard, the switches are mounted to a special metal plate instead of the PCB, thus making the keyboard very rigid and pratically flexless, unlike those cheap keyboard that use cheap plastic for the case.
Shorter attenuation point : in a typical rubber dome keyboard, the attenuation point (the time when the press register), is always at the bottom of the key travel, so you have to do a full press to properly register a key. In mechanical keyboard (with MX switches, at least), the attenuation point usually happens halfway, so you don't need to bottom out to properly register a key.
Tactile feedback : in a tactile mechanical switches, like MX blue and brown, the key will give you a tactile (and audio, in blues) feedback when a keypress is registered, so you can be sure your key is pressed correctly.
Consistent typing force : the rubber in rubber dome keyboard will lose their elasticity (the "squishiness") far sooner than a metal spring. You know, a lot of cheap keyboard used for heavy gaming will lose the elasticity on the WASD cluster very soon, making the keys unusable. This won't be happening soon with a mechanical switch, due to the metal spring used instead of rubber.
N-key rollover : Most mechanical keyboard that use PS/2 interface can correctly register multiple keypress at one time, making your epic CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E+X+S+F+G+J super combo possible (even much more). For USB mehcanicak keyboard, usually they're limited to 6KRO (6 key at once) due to the limitation of USB interface. altough my Choc Pro (also USB) can handle 36KRO.
Customizable : Most mechanical keyboard that use cherry switch is also very customizable. You can buy 3rd party keycaps and make your keyboard looks like whatever you want. You can even order customized ones from wasdkeyboards.com
Well, I guess that helps!