Pfostttt—June 9, 2024
The media could not be loaded. I ordered this keyboard as a replacement to a RedThunder keyboard that had quit working after 4 days. I received this keyboard in the mail around the second week of April and have used it almost daily. If you don’t feel like reading everything, here is the short. Buy it, it’s worth it, but if you want more details, please see below. First Impressions: The first thing I noticed was the weight. It is pretty hefty and feels rock solid. It feels like a quality product. The clicking sounds is very satisfying (I turned off the sound in the video, since there was music playing). I really like the fact that you can change the color modes, and what the keyboard itself does. I chose this effect, which I thought was really cool. Set Up: I decided to use it with the USB dongle, since I use docking station, and constantly swap between my personal laptop and my work laptop. It was as simple as plug and play. The fact that it worked out of the box, with both Mac (my personal laptop) and PC (my company laptop) without any additional drivers is/was a huge win for me. Battery Life: The battery life on it is incredible, I maybe charge it once every other week. I work from home for most of the week, so this thing sees a lot of use, I would say at minimum it see’s 24 hours of continuous use (8 hours a day, over 3 days) along with however long i’m on it for my personal projects. Checking the battery level is as simple as holding down two keys, and is easily done on the fly. *The battery life may vary based on which color mode you select, so be mindful of that, but with the one I have selected, it seems to last a very long time on a charge, which is another win. The brightness is also perfect, it isn’t too overpowering but also not too dim. Downside(s): My only gripe about it is that for me, having the keys so close together can be a bit of a headache. I am constantly having to retype things from accidentally hitting the wrong key, as the keys are very sensitive (which makes sense, since it is made for gaming). This is more of user error and not a fault of the keyboard/manufacturing though, so I don’t hold that against it. Final Thoughts: All in all, for the price point, functionality, and the quality, you can’t beat this. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a gaming keyboard, or someone who just wants that mechanical feel. It is a great product, and does exactly what you want it to do. I know that gaming/mechanical keyboards come in all shapes/sizes/features/price points, but for me, this checks every box. I actually plan on purchasing a second keyboard from RK Royal Kludge, but the quieter version while i’m in the office. Whenever I get around to that, be on the lookout for another review. Great work, RK Royal Kludge, this is an amazing product. Read more
Jay S—February 6, 2023
When on sale for $64, this keyboard is a great value. I've never spent more than a hundred dollars on a keyboard nor plan to. The most I've spent in the past was $99 on a GMMK TKL and an AKKO 5108S. I also have a Skyloong SK96 Lite (Epomaker GK96) 96% layout with 100 keys total (no spacing between keys). This RK98 is an 1800 layout keyboard (with slight spacing around the arrow keys, numpad, and F row) but with 100 keys, which is not so common. Most 1800 layout boards have either 96, 98, or 99 keys. For me, the more keys the merrier as I need the numpad for work and the other keys for simulators like MSFS. The slight extra spacing of the 1800 layout makes a difference for me (less mistakes) compared to my SK96. Since the white model only came with RK brown tactile switches, I switched them out for my favorite budget linears, the Gateron G Pro Yellow 2.0, and they sound and feel great on this keyboard. Stabs may need a bit of work but they didn't bother me out of the box. While the stock PBT keycaps are good overall, I switched them out for shine through PBTs (I basically do this for all my boards as I don't see much point in RGB if the keycaps aren't backlit). After this switch, I noticed just how bright the lighting is on this board, probably more than twice as bright as my SK96 (the design of the Gateron pros also helps in this regard). Out of the 5 brightness levels (not including OFF), I keep it at 2 most of the time. As for RGB color accuracy, it will depend on the color of the switches and keycaps installed. While the static white color seemed on the cool (bluish) side temp-wise when the stock brown RK tactiles were installed, with the yellow linear switches it is pretty much close to a white that I like. And the RK software easily allows you to tweak the exact RGB values too. Per key lighting is possible, and this keyboard has 3 custom lighting slots on its onboard memory which can be accessed via FN+1, 2, or 3. And once the custom lighting presets are saved onto the board, no need at all to have the Royal Kludge software open to access them. Another thing to note is that there is a pad layer between the plate and PCB, as well as (thin) case foam underneath. I'm satisfied with how this keyboard sounds and feels with the yellow linears, so I don't feel the need to mod this thing any further (not even a tape mod), but perhaps the stabs sometime in the future. It's nice to spend only $64 on a hot-swappable (5-pin compatible) RGB mech keyboard with a nice 100-key 1800 layout and wireless functionality. With the leftover money, you can buy switches or keycaps of your choice. Yes, budget boards like this do not have QMK or VIA firmware compatibility, but if the software can do the basic things like edit keymapping, FN shortcuts, macros, and RGB lighting, that's good enough for me. I do wish that the case bezels of the RK98 were slightly slimmer, but the overall dimensions are still quite compact especially compared to a full size. Overall, highly recommend this at the sale price. Read more
