Rosewill Illuminated Mechanical Gaming Keyboard RK-9100BR with Cherry MX Brown Switch

Pros: Nice clicky action

Cons: Blue is hard to see, Keyboard is not slim at all, sits too high

Other Thoughts: Waited for awhile to catch this on sale, big disappointment. Nowhere near as good as the Logitech Illuminated keyboards. The Blue illumination is uneven and hard to read. Would not buy again. Maybe if they make one with white illumination and a wrist wrest. As it sits, worth maybe $50. No way is it worth over $100.

Pros: As soon as I took this out of the box and typed on it I've been in love. I had never typed on a mechanical keyboard before and decided to get a brown switch. The LED's aren't really blinding to me at all, besides it has a dimmer. No problems with keys or led's burning out as other people have had problems with. Its not too loud at all. Has a good weight to it and feels very sturdy. Got mine for $110 back in March and I've been loving it. Mat black keys are very nice.

Cons: Wish the "bump" on the keys was a little bit heavier than they are but not too bad at all.

Other Thoughts: Once you go mechanical you never go back.

Pros: This is my first mechanical keyboard and it feels great to type on compared to past non-mechanical keyboards.

Cons: On the first day the "6" key light went out. It irks me every time I look at it. I've gotten to the point where I just turn off the lights during the day so all the keys look the same. I bought the 9100 model because it had a backlight. It's annoying to turn off the lights just because of that one broken light.

Other Thoughts: It's a great keyboard but that light is just Aaahhhh!! Would have given 5 stars if it wasn't for that light.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Valued Customer,
Thank you very much for purchasing this unit.
We strive to provide the most reliable and highest quality products to our customers.

Please kindly contact the Rosewill support team
Phone: 1- 800-575-9885
Email: rma@rosewill.com

So we may assist you with (in-warranty) replacement.
We look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks,
Rosewill Customer Care

Pros: Good mechanical keyboard, works nicely

Cons: Not as quiet as you would imagine, only slightly quieter than a Cherry MX Blue keyboard.

The backlight on my N key died on me, this is the second day I've used it.. hopefully that doesn't bode for the entire keyboard. The key still works as I'm typing this review on it and it has plenty of Ns.. just the backlight doesn't

Other Thoughts: I personally would likely a slightly harder key-feel, the Cherry MX brown is so light that I still tend to bottom out when typing.

Pros: Sturdy mechanical keyboard. A real pleasure to type with

Cons: First one I ordered at a malfunctioning 6 key. It started blinking the first day, and then went out. I got a replacement and the same thing happened with the F5 key. If you want a backlit keyboard this is obviously not the company to get it from.

Other Thoughts: If you don't want the backlight except occasionally, then this would probably work for you, and it is really nice to type on. But if you are planning on actually utilizing the backlight, I would find a different product.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Valued Customer,
Thank you very much for purchasing this unit.
We strive to provide the most reliable and highest quality products to our customers.

Please kindly contact the Rosewill support team
Phone: 1- 800-575-9885
Email: rma@rosewill.com

So we may assist you we look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks,
Rosewill Customer Care

Pros: - Sturdy plastic feel, not cheap feeling at all. (And with good reason, given the price...)

- Minimalist design

- Smaller, lightweight.
\_ Portable, I store it in my backpack to and from work.

- The MX Cherry Brown, while quieter than blues, still
makes a fairly satisfying click noise while typing. It's a deeper, more rich sound than blues, but I much prefer that - comparable to the difference in a 4 banger automobile vs. a V8.

- Illumination modes are pretty cool, but I actually just keep them off entirely most of the time. Some have complained of the caps/num/scroll lock which is green instead of blue, BUT I'll probably never use the two in unison. Illumination off, numlock on at work; numlock off, illumination on for gaming. That's all preference and aesthetics though, really.

- Works wonders for typing. I am typing for literally 8 hours a day straight and am loving this keyboard. It has also made for a quicker pace.

- The two USB ports on this are great, although necessary since it takes up two slots already. Either way, I'm getting at least one more port out of this thing so no complaints there.

Cons: Squeaky space key after a week or two of typing. It's not a constant thing and seems to happen only after prolonged use, but when it does happen it is fairly annoying. I'm hoping it can be adjusted by taking the key off and adjusting some things. If not, ah well - I'll get used to it.

Other Thoughts: I didn't really purchase this keyboard for the illumination features, but mostly because of what I had read on the older, non-illuminated version and its poorly constructed detachable cable/port. I do like that it is backlit, so I can use it in darker settings. However, I'm a touch typist anyway so during work the brightness can be distracting. Either way, it's a non-issue, just some thoughts.

Bottom line: it makes for a great work keyboard, but it does lack gaming controls and extra buttons. Doesn't really effect me.

Pros: Good feel. No bounce. Very solid and heavy, and the feet are soft rubber rather than hard plastic, so it isn't going anywhere. Lighting is even and as bright or dim as I want it. Nice, "normal" layout, including a large backspace. Excellent feedback; I believe my typing speed and accuracy have improved, if only slightly. Audible, but not loud or penetrating.

Cons: Expensive. On many keys (e.g. top-row numbers, brackets/braces), the positions (but not the actual functions) of the normal key and the shifted key are reversed. This seems to be to accommodate the LED positioning to illuminate the unshifted function, but is a little distracting and seems like a slacker's way out of a simple engineering problem.

Other Thoughts: I reviewed lots of YouTube clips of the various Cherry MX keyboards before deciding I wanted Brown. While I'm a little curious about the others (especially Blue), I'm not suffering any buyer's remorse over this one.
This is NOT a Northgate keyboard (the best ever made), but is comfortably close enough that I hope it lasts many years. Assuming it lasts, I do believe it will be worth the price.

Pros: Works as advertised. Not as tactile as other brown cherrys I've used

Cons: Backlights start burning out after the first week. I was warned about this before I bought it, but chose to ignore them. I wish I had just gone with the default non backlit.

Also the right arrow key sticks on mine. It is placed too close to the frame and gets stuck underneath it if pushing it repeatedly.

Other Thoughts: Just overall not the quality I would expect out of Rosewill. I had much higher expectations. Soemtimes I turn my computer on and the keys don't even light up, I have to unplug/plug it in a few times. The connection to the lights must be very poor.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Valued Customer,

Thank you very much for purchasing this unit.We strive to provide
the most reliable and highest quality products to our customers.

Please kindly contact the Rosewill support for in-warranty replacement.

Feel free to contact the Rosewill Customer Support team for further assistance at 1-800-575-9885 Monday - Friday 8AM - 5PM PST or via email at techsupport@rosewill.com

Pros: Excellent tactile feel
Lighted with 4 levels
USB ports on it

Cons: None

Other Thoughts: This is an excellent keyboard for those who like the best. No stray key hits, backlighting for low light conditions, 2 USB ports to plug in a mouse or flash drive. It just plain rocks. No "wandering key feel" like logitechs. I will never go back to those "gems".

Pros: Clicky keys. Heavy. Lights up if you want it. USB hub. Multimedia keys. Nice woven cord. Pulls power from 2 USB ports to run the hub so no AC needed.

Cons: Expensive. Lights come on when computer reboots.

Other Thoughts: When are keyboards going to come with a crumb tray?