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
Conclusion: Worth the Upgrade
I know there are a lot of users out there that honestly just don't care that much about how their computing experience goes. My dad couldn't care less, as long as the mouse is reasonably responsive and he gets a recognizable picture on the screen. He's not a heavy duty typist, so as long as he can press a key and have that letter appear, he doesn't care. A keyboard like the Rosewill RK-9000 is most definitely not for someone like him.
Chances are, though, if you're reading AnandTech you're not like him, in which case this review is most definitely for you. Many users cheap out on the basic peripherals: the screen, the keyboard, the mouse. They shoot for adequate. Yet while there's been a decent market for good screens and especially good mice, supposedly high-end keyboards (typically gaming keyboards) still often leave a lot to be desired. When you're using your computer, there should be as little abstracting your experience with it as possible. If you notice the peripherals you're using, it should only ever be in a positive way. Of course, there is the concern of others noticing your typing if you're in a cubicle with neighbors that don't like all the clicking, but at least your boss will be able to hear you hard at work.
While the month of use I've put the Rosewill RK-9000 has revealed to me that the white printing on the keyboards isn't quite as durable as I would like, and the generic appearance does leave something to be desired, as a pure typing apparatus the RK-9000 and its Cherry MX Blue switches is easily the best keyboard I've used in a long time. $99 is a lot to ask for the kind of commodity peripheral you can get for $10, but the RK-9000 makes a very convincing case for the expense.
Other keyboards with Cherry MX Blue switches exist, but most are priced similarly to the Rosewill or higher, and without trying all of them we can't easily say which is best. Regardless of that fact, while I'm concerned about the print wearing out and I can't (yet) compare the experience to other high-end mechanical switch keyboards, I can say that overall the typing experience was great. For writers or others who primarily type (e.g. not gamers), the Rosewill RK-9000 seems to be worth the price.
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Reikon - Thursday, January 26, 2012 - link
I bought one of these with Cherry MX Red switches about 2 weeks ago and some of my keys already look worn out like the ones picture. The space bar also squeaks like crazy, which seems fixable if I take it out and put some grease on it.Unfortunately, both issues seem common enough that getting a replacement isn't likely to fix it.
ZeDestructor - Thursday, January 26, 2012 - link
The blue switches are indeed reported t be quite poor for gaming use, and as such, most people get the Browns. The MX Browns are tactile but not clicky or if you're a button-masher like me, get the MX Blacks which are non-tactile and non-clicky linear switches and just about perfect for gaming.As for the lettering, its far from being a major issue given you can happily swap them out for other keys., I myself have a set of black engraved PBT keycaps instead of the standard painted ABS keycaps. Unlike the ABS keycaps, the PBT ones don't acquire a "shine" to them since they wear out less quickly.
KoolAidMan1 - Thursday, January 26, 2012 - link
"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 disagree with this. I play APM heavy games like Starcraft 2 that involve key spamming, and mechanical keyboards are excellent for this type of game. The thing is that key actuation for Cherry switches happen halfway down, not nearly all the way like a membrane or completely bottomed out like a scissor switch, so rapid keypresses are much simpler.
Blues may not be the best for gaming, but black, brown, and red switches certainly can be. The rest depend on what level of resistance you want. I prefer higher resistance black switches and ended up selling my brown (made too many typing gaming errors because they were so light), but people can prefer the exact opposite. It is a huge advantage of mechanical switches IMO.
Khato - Thursday, January 26, 2012 - link
Well if taken in the context of the MX blue switches, then that comment does make some amount of sense. The blues are horrible for gaming due to the fact that they have something around a 0.75mm 'dead zone' that you have to clear in order to actuate - it actually ends up being more in practice since you basically end up going through the entire 'clicky' zone for each press which is approximately 2mm.However, the other cherry mechanical switches don't suffer from this issue and are simply awesome for rapid keypresses. After all, it's a simple matter of toggling the key right around the actuation area, and it can easily register every discrete event. My preference is also for the blacks - the best analogy is that they're like typing on a cloud. Gone are the annoying repeated impact stresses associated with typing on normal keyboards as there's no need to bottom out. I've also used browns, but the tactile feedback is quite overrated far as I'm concerned. Soon as you're used to using the keyboard muscle memory will ensure that you press hard enough for the keypress to register without going so hard as to bottom out.
OOwl - Thursday, January 26, 2012 - link
Great review and literally a great read. Personally, I've been using mechanical keyboards for a while now, even did a small review on my current Razer BlackWidow (it uses the same Cherry MX Blue), however in terms of pricing $99 is still a bargain for a mechanical keyboard. We are talking about a product which has an average life expectancy of up to 100 times more (your run of the mill rubber domes will start giving up at around 500,000-1,000,000 key presses and as cherry mx switches are rated to 50 million...i think it's a solid investment).I also write a lot on a daily basis, so this is helping out a lot in terms of keeping my hands still working. I do agree to some extent with the gaming part, but i'd still drop a membrane in a second to use my BlackWidow (or a SteelSeries 6gv2, or a Thermaltake Meka G1 oorr Mionix ZIbal 60 - these are the only ones i've gotten to play around with :( oh, and a Dell AT101W i think... black but that one uses Alps switches). For gaming you can always go for a linear switch, so like, Cherry MX Black or MX Red, so noise is dropped yet you still get the great feel of a mechanical keyboard :)
But i digress :D Great review, solid product!
OOwl - Thursday, January 26, 2012 - link
---quick edit--- The BlackWidow goes for $79, so mechanical isn't that expensive :)DanNeely - Thursday, January 26, 2012 - link
When membrane keyboards can last more than 15 years I really don't see the increased longevity of mechanical switches as mattering.The only reason I retired the one that came with a whitebox 486 my parents bought in the early 90s a few years ago was that the weight of the PS2-AT adapter and AT plug was heavy enough that when jostled it tended to come loose from the back of the case.
evilspoons - Friday, January 27, 2012 - link
I typically wear out a membrane keyboard in 3 years, even faster when I was in university typing up notes and stuff.Membrane keyboard keyswitches don't have to completely fail to become useless - they start to become weird to press and bind if you don't press them absolutely straight down, rendering the keyboard annoying as all hell to use properly.
Mr_Bird_Man - Thursday, January 26, 2012 - link
Buckling-Spring keyboards are the best for typing. I had a wonderful 84-key AT keyboard that I used until I found a good 101-key some 20+ years ago. Back in the 80's I could reach 120+ wpm on those beauties. A few years ago I started looking up the old IBM model M keyboards and found out that they are still being made, in the USA, in Kentucky! You can get one with a USB connector, standard windows keys, it weighs 4.2lbs! Why go for an imitation when you can have the real thing? Look up Unicomp, Anand, do a comparison! I love the fact that my keyboard is made in the USA, can be used as a weapon in a pinch, and is 100% awesome.Sabresiberian - Thursday, January 26, 2012 - link
Haha "used as a weapon in a pinch". Got a "laugh out loud" from me!I have an actual weapon for that. A .45. It's also heavy enough to clobber someone with, should I run out of ammo. :D
Yah I'd love to see an article on the keyboards some of these people are talking about, and the different switch types.
;)