Keyboards Redux: Rosewill, Ducky, Thermaltake, and More

It's been a long time since I last wrote about my favorite PC peripheral - the mechanical keyboard. Actually too long. Since my last blog post on the subject, there have been a number of developments in the mechanical keyboard scene, with a handful of key players now in the game such as Razer and Rosewill. Keyboards with less common switches like the Cherry MX Reds (which are linear and don't click and require less force to press than Cherry MX Blacks) are now a little easier to come by in the US too.

With all the developments in the industry I thought it would be a good time to video capture some of my recent acquisitions and compare and contrast them to some rubber dome boards that I have also tested.

In the video below, I'll quickly show you the Gigabyte Aivia K8100, Microsoft Sidewinder X4, Thermaltake's Tt eSports Challenger and MEKA G1 keyboards, Wireless Computing's long-range RF-600 wireless mechanical keyboard with AES encryption, the Ducky DK 9008G2 Tiger Year Edition and the Rosewill RK-9000.

[viddler id=ed711040&w=600&h=370]

Of these boards, the Ducky DK 9008G2 Tiger Year Edition is my favorite, but it was a limited edition product and is currently almost impossible to find with clicking switches - versions with linear, non-clicking Cherry MX Black switches are still floating around. However.

However, the real star of the show has to be the Rosewill RK-9000. Rosewill just recently introduced four mechanical keyboards based on Cherry MX Blue (clicky/tactile), Black (linear/non-clickable), Red (linear/non-clickable/light touch) and Brown (tactile/non-clickable) key switches. All Rosewill circuit boards look exactly the same, differing only in the type of key switches used. Rosewill prices the boards from $99 (black, blue) to $129 (red). And anyone who has bought quality mechanical boards with these keyswitches knows that these are pretty good prices, especially for the Cherry MX Red version. I've typed exclusively on the Rosewill RK-9000 since I got my hands on one and I can say that it's an all-round high-quality product. My only issues with the board are the look of the logo - which I don't like very much - and the fact that the cable end sticks out on the back of the board instead of being recessed like the Ducky product.

For more information on all the keyboards shown here, please visit:

By: Keyboards Redux: Rosewill, Ducky, Thermaltake, and More