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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JNo - Friday, January 27, 2012 - link
Just looked it up. Gosh darnit they make them with bluetooth so you can press an 'iphone' key and use it to instantly switch to typing out a text message on your phone. That is too cool (works with android etc as well). But no UK layout for me :(I really want to get a tactile keyboard - probably cherry brown from what I've read. I just want one with a UK layout and a few basic media buttons - y'know like play, pause, ffwd, rwd, volume up and down, mute. Mebbe sleep key. Mebbe a couple of USB ports to recharge/sync my phone/mp3 player. Is that so much to ask?!?!
I know purists like them plain but I use those things. The new Corsair one has a gorgeous machined metal volume roller but not much more.
superccs - Thursday, January 26, 2012 - link
Aren't there red, blue, grey, and black versions of the actuators? They are all different, and would be justly suited to people looking for a different feel from their mechanical keyboard.Mr Perfect - Thursday, January 26, 2012 - link
There are quite a few. Blue, Red, Brown and Black are most common, but you can sometimes find Clears. Greens and Greys are found in spacebars, which get their own heavier switch type.More then anyone should even know about Cherry switches can be found at Geekhack. http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Cherry+Corp...
superccs - Thursday, January 26, 2012 - link
Wow, unreal... That's waaay too much info lol. Though there was not a section of sound clips letting you hear what each keyboard sounds like when you throw it out of your window in to traffic.DanNeely - Thursday, January 26, 2012 - link
It might not have as much trivia; but overclock3d has a much better guide about what type of switch will work better for what type of person.http://www.overclock.net/t/491752/mechanical-keybo...
Sunsmasher - Thursday, January 26, 2012 - link
Very much a personal preference.I like membrane keys. They're quiet and easy to press.
Noisy, clicky keys do nothing for me at all.
To each his own....
Leyawiin - Thursday, January 26, 2012 - link
Had no idea there even were mechanical vs. membrane keyboards. I've been using Keytronice "Lifetime" series keyboards since I read a recommendation for one back in the 90s. They never fail, have good feel and are no frills (which I like). My only gripe is the black keyboard's letters fade (old beige one never did). Still, I have no idea what kind of keyboard it is, just that it works really well.bobbozzo - Thursday, January 26, 2012 - link
Keytronics made both mechanical and membrane keyboards, but my guess would be that the Lifetime is mechanical.Metaluna - Thursday, January 26, 2012 - link
I have no idea if the Keytronic is membrane or not, but it could just be a really good quality membrane. Usually membrane goes hand-in-hand with cheap, so you have a lot of awful membrane boards out there."Mechanical" is kind of a misnomer. It's really membrane vs. everything else. Basically any switch that doesn't suck, while not obviously being a membrane, is grouped in the mechanical category. Topre capacitive switches, for example, aren't very "mechanical" at all, and have rubber domes that superficially resemble a membrane board, but the switch works on a completely different principle and does not rely on physical contact between two conductors to actuate. Cherrys, on the other hand, literally have two metal contacts that snap together when the switch is actuated, so are very close to how you would normally envision a simple electrical switch to work.
The common theme of "mechanical" switches is that the actuation point occurs before the switch bottoms out. There is also usually some tactile feedback at, or very close to, the actuation point. For most people this gives a more pleasant typing/gaming experience and generally allows you to type faster with less fatigue.
fffblackmage - Thursday, January 26, 2012 - link
I picked up my first mechanical keyboard, an RK-9000, just about a couple months ago. I was originally going to get the one with the Red MX Cherry switches, but though I'd better go with the Blue switches, since I do more typing than gaming. $100 was a lot of money for "just" a keyboard, but I definitely love typing on my RK-9000. There's just something really nice about the tactile feel, and maybe even the clicky sound.I happen to like the basic appearance of the keyboard, especially the matte quality versus the glossiness of my old keyboard. The red backplate is also a nice aesthetic touch.
My only complaint is the printing on the keycaps. They are fading, and my keyboard is still practically new. It's a relatively minor aesthetic issue, but considering the keyboard was $100, I suppose I was expecting better.