We’ve reviewed several great products from Rosewill. This brand is Newegg’s own, so you’ll find them exclusively at newegg.com. Most technically-savvy people are comfortable ordering from them, not only because of their great deals, but their selection and service. The Rosewill brand products we’ve reviewed have always been good, so we were eager to look at their new computer keyboard, the Rosewill RK-800G Gaming keyboard. At first glance, you may be hard-pressed to find any features that other gaming keyboards have. This keyboard isn’t trying to compete with any of the heavy competitors from Logitech or Razer. Before we take a look at it, let’s read off the features list.
Features
- Polished top cover for a stylish new look.
- 11 keys can be pressed at the same time without conflict, beating other conventional keyboards on the market.
- The great feel from the high quality ABS key caps improves responsiveness and performance.
- The contacts on individual rubber domes can be unreliable, causing the keyboard to not work properly.
- One-piece rubber dome design ensures keys aren’t easily dislodged when hit or dropped.
- There are separate cursor and numeric keypads, dual Alt, Shift & Ctrl keys and LED indicators for NUM lock, Caps Lock and Scroll Lock.
Specifications
- Model: RK-800G
- Interface: PS/2
- Design Style: Standard
- Normal Keys: 104
- Type: Wired
- Cable Length: 1.4M
- Peak load before make (normal key): 60+/ -15g
- Switch life: 10 Million
- Dimensions: 450(L) X 160(W) X 35(H) 18 (H)mm
- Keyboard weight: 640g
- O.S. Support: Windows 98SE/ 2000/ ME/ XP/ Vista/ 7
- Warranty: 1 year
On the next page we take a look at what you get…
Once you open the box you are met with the keyboard itself (wrapped in a plastic bag), four silver WASD replacement keys, and a key-pulling tool. Of course, the tool is meant so you can replace the standard WASD keys with the shiny silver ones to make your keyboard the envy at the next LAN party (or not). There isn’t anything rather noteworthy about the keyboard layout. The Home/Pageup row is the classic two-row horizontal style rather than the vertical elongated style that has become popular over the past few years. The keyboard LEDs appear at the top right of the keyboard, and the F1-F12 keys are grouped in three groups of four keys each. The Rosewill logo appears above the numeric keypad, which also appears standard.
The underside of the keyboard doesn’t house anything unusal either. It has standard tabs to change the keyboard tilt, and have rubber tips to help prevent slippage. The edges of the keyboard have been rounded, as well. One thing you’ll notice is that at the end of the cord is a purple PS/2 connector rather than the standard USB most people are used to. The keys feel rather decent, and have a little bit more “clickiness” than other keyboards, but still manages to be rather quiet. The keys are of standard height, so there is no extra-long or extra-short reach. Anyone should be able to pick this keyboard up and have a good experience with it. The absense of a wrist-rest may make it uncomfortable to use during long sessions, but if you’re already used to going without one then I doubt you’ll notice.
The one true “gaming” feature that Rosewill engineered into this keyboard is the ability to press 11 keys at once without conflict. This sounds great on paper, but there are only eleven SPECIFIC keys that do not conflict with each other; the remaining 93 keys do not have this ability. These keys are: Q, W, E, A, S, D, space, up, left arrow, right arrow, down In most PC games, the arrow keys perform the same function as the WASD keys (movement), and even then it doesn’t make any sense to press more than two movement keys at the same time (you will never press left and right at the same time). You could program your arrow keys to perform like a D-pad (change weapon, toggle comm, etc). It would have been great if SHIFT or CTRL were included, as many PC gamers use these to toggle their stance or walk/run. In all practicality this “anti-conflict” gaming feature is essentially a moot point. So what else? Click on the next page to see our conclusion…
Contrary to what any marketing department might say, the Rosewill RK-800G isn’t a serious gaming keyboard. Beyond changing the key color, there are no real features that a serious PC gamer would consider. There are no LCD screens, backlit keys, programmability, coffee maker, drink cozy, or any other frills. What makes this keyboard appealing for the average user is its solid build and small price tag. It is a good standard keyboard that any geek would be happy to use for normal tasks, and given its tiny price makes it a great spare for your server room or even LAN parties.
The obvious major flaw with this keyboard is its lack of a USB connector. PS/2 keyboards cannot be “hot plugged” into a computer, which means that it should be connected before the PC boots. Sure you can get around this by using a PS/2 to USB converter, but one really should have been included in the box. The Rosewill RK-800G is a decent keyboard for a decent price. Just be aware that this is a basic keyboard intended for the gamer without deep pockets.
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