Rosewill Apollo RK-9100 & RGB80 Mechanical Keyboards Capsule Review
by E. Fylladitakis on September 16, 2014 9:00 AM ESTConclusion
With the Apollo RK-9100 and the RGB80, Rosewill proves that they can do a very good job when they want to design and market high-performance computer peripherals. Despite their simplicity, the quality of either keyboard does not disappoint. We do admit that the old school, heavyweight design of the RK-9000 feels more solid, but the RK-9100 looks and feels better without any actual disadvantage.
It also seems that Rosewill addressed the issue with the letters fading. The RK-9000 was notorious for this problem, with the letters fading within just a month of normal usage. We used both the RK-9100 and the RGB80 for 15 days each, with at least six hours of typing per day, and the keycaps of both keyboards remain like new. Unfortunately, we cannot perform much better durability tests within the time frame of a review, but at least we can state that the lettering is more durable than what it used to be. We could complain that the RGB80 is not using switches from Cherry, but we are aware that Cherry's products are more expensive and that would make the retail price of the RGB80 far too high for what it offers.
What left us with mixed feelings is the inclusion of the extra keycaps. Aesthetically, well, let's just say that we would prefer the stock keycaps to either the orange or clear "gaming" keycaps any day of the week. If a user's intents are purely practical however, these keycaps do stand out even in the darkest room, making it extremely easy for the eye to pick them up. Assuming that a gamer would actually look at the keyboard, they do make spotting the correct keys easier. If you ask around however, our experience is that you will be hard pressed to find an actual gamer who switches to clear/colored/beveled/whatever keycaps in order to game "better".
Easily the best feature of both keyboards is the ability to fully reprogram any of the keys. This can be as simple as a layout change for a few keys, or as complex as programming an intricate setup with tens of macros and complex commands. However, even though this gives both keyboards a virtually infinite level of parameterization, the current versions of the software severely hinder the actual capabilities of both keyboards. This is especially true with the software that Rosewill supplies for the RK-9100, which is rudimentary and archaic. Unlike with the RK-9100, the software of the RGB80 is acceptable, but it still could have been much better.
Unfortunately, the worst enemy of the Apollo RK-9100 is the price tag. Rosewill has always tried to compete with value in mind, offering similar products at significantly lower prices than the competition. This however is not apparent with the Apollo RK-9100. With a retail price of $95-$100 (depending on whether you want blue or red backlighting), it faces tremendous competition from numerous manufacturers. This price pits it against products such as the Corsair Vengeance K70 ($105) and the Roccat Ryos MK Advanced ($100), not to mention the many other similar keyboards not specifically targeted at gamers.
The Rosewill RGB80 is a different story, as very few RGB keyboards are currently available. The going price of $100 seems quite reasonable, even for a ten-keyless version. Of course you're also not getting Cherry MX switches, and you don't get per-key backlighting. If you want those, right now you only have a couple of choices, and both are full-size keyboards. Corsair was the first to announce a mechanical switch RGB backlit keyboard, and the K70 at least is finally on shelves and priced at $170; we're still missing the K95 unfortunately. The other option is the Razer BlackWidow Chroma that will likewise set you back $170. Prices are obviously a lot higher, but the cost of additional mechanical switches plus the circuitry to do per-key backlighting at least accounts for much of the added cost.
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Spoogie - Wednesday, September 17, 2014 - link
Someone serious about a mechanical keyboard and spending this kind of coin will hardly find this few tedious. The author was remiss. Get over it.E.Fyll - Thursday, September 18, 2014 - link
My apologies but I really fail to realize your logic. If the keys, backlight colors, macro options, prices, and warranties are "minor differences", then the RK-9100 is "identical" to about 100 keyboards sold worldwide.I have zero experience with Monoprice products, they are no even being sold on this side of the planet. However, by your post, it is a similarly priced keyboard with different switches and no programmability (which means that it has an entirely different processor to begin with). It is not nearly the same thing, even if it looks similar.
Furthermore, if I were to look around, I bet that I could find visually similar keyboards under at least 10 brand names. Do you think that there are no similar products in China, Russia or France? Many companies are using the same OEM, not just Rosewill and Monoprice. Requesting to recite every single keyboard that simply looks like another in a capsule review is somewhat...useless.
Spoogie - Friday, September 19, 2014 - link
The keyboards aren't just "visually similar." Scroll up. Their innards are identical.And since Monoprice isn't sold worldwide, I guess this info shouldn't be posted for the millions of North Americans that would benefit. And never mind that several other brands were posted.
Good grief. Get a grip already.
jonjonjonj - Thursday, September 18, 2014 - link
i wouldnt touch a corsiar keyboard. go look at their forum. its just non stop problems.tyman4752000 - Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - link
The Corsair RGB K70 is available?http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...
But where is the K95....
Sttm - Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - link
I hate this keyboard setup. It confounds me why it has become the standard. Entirely because "Multimedia Keys with Gaming Mode" is total bullshit. There are no real multimedia keys. There are F-Keys, with a modifier where left Alt would be. Which means to skip a track, adjust the volume, or stop the music you have to take your left hand off WASD, hold down the modifier, and tap the media key, which on some of these keyboards is so far to the right you need to use your mouse hand as well. Which is horrible, just horrible, to have to do mid game.Luckily Logitech and Corsair make mechanical keyboards with actual media keys. Allowing you to quickly tap a single key.
Impulses - Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - link
Agreed, the only place where using a modifier for media keys makes sense is on compact TKL boards, but otherwise I want dedicated media keys on a so called gaming keyboard. The volume roller or drum on the Corsairs is particularly nice IMO.PICman - Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - link
Nice review. I like that you took it apart to reveal the Freescale microcontroller.I've got an early model Rosewill with Cherry 'red' keys at home. It was a 'splurge' (>$100), but it was money well-spent. I've got a cheapie keyboard at work, and it's a constant reminder of how much better mechanical keys are.
MadMan007 - Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - link
"Gold-Plated Connectors to Reduce Latency"...
wetwareinterface - Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - link
it sounds stupid at first but...the more solid the connection made the cleaner the value output the faster the microcontroller can determine which key was presssed the lower the latency
it can be argued that gold plating the connector will cause less corrosion and therefore make for a more reliable over time resitance value, which means you can tune the microcontroller's debounce routine to a lower time value which would get you lower latency