Rocking Out With The i-Rocks KR-6230 Compact Keyboard

I am pleased to announce that since the initial publication of my "Mechanical Keyswitch Keyboards Demystified" Post, a number of the more obscure boards I mentioned in the article have been made available right here in good ol' USA by A, eliminating the need to import products like the Filco Majestouch, HHKB Pro or the Topre Realforce. However, in addition to the newfound availability of the above products, a handful of other companies have also started offering mechanical keyswitch keyboards in the US, such as Gigabyte and i-Rocks.

I recently had the opportunity to review this i Rock's KR-6230 Compact Mechanical Switch Keyboard available from NewEgg for around $100 and have to say that if you can live with some of its unique features it's a pretty darn good product.

The i-Rocks KR-6230 is based on the popular Cherry MX Brown mechanical key switch (tactile, non-clicky - and my favorite). And the switches are mounted on a heavy metal plate, which means the board is virtually unyielding. The added weight of the metal plate also complements the rubber feet on the underside of the board - this pup will stand still when placed on a flat surface. The i-Rocks KR-6230 also supports 16-key rollover via USB, which actually works, making the board well-suited for gamers. And it didn't suffer from key transposition issues when typing at high speeds like some other boards that claim to support 16-key rollover with USB.

Other features of the i-Rocks KR-6230 include an integrated dual-port USB 2.0 hub on the back of the board and bright blue indicator LEDs built into the respective keys - Caps Lock, Scroll Lock and Num Lock . The integrated LEDs look very nice in my opinion and certainly add to the attractiveness of the board.

However, what really sets the i-Rocks KR-6230 apart is its overall layout. The keyboard doesn't have any Windows keys at all - which many gamers like, but not me. It also has an oversized left control button and a compact form factor. To accommodate the compact form factor, i-Rocks have moved the "Delete", "Print", "Scroll" and "Pause" buttons to the top right of the board where the status indicator LEDs are normally located, and the " Page Up/Page Down eliminated. and the arrow keys are integrated into the lower right group of keys similar to many notebooks. Finally, the number pad was moved to the left. The end result is a keyboard that's about 2.5 to 3.5 inches narrower than most standard keyboards.

Other key layout changes include an oversized "L"-shaped Enter key and smaller backspace and backslash keys. I would have liked the more usual rectangular enter key and full-size backspace keys typical of US keyboards, but it didn't take time to get used to the KR-6230's layout.

Typing on the i-Rocks KR-6230 turned out to be very comfortable. The keys require a light touch thanks to the cherry-brown switches, they offer a light, muted tactile bump and make no noise except when pressed to the floor. The spacebar seemed to be the only key that creaked, but it broke in over time. The KR-6230's keycaps also have a distinct texture that has held up well over the past few weeks, although I've spent a lot more time killing zombies in L4D with this thing. There was no noticeable "shine" on the keys, which boded well for their long-term durability.

If you can live with its unconventional key layout and layout, the i-Rocks KR-6230 is a very nice compact mechanical key switch keyboard. Its Cherry Brown switches are excellent, the pseudo-n-key rollover feature works well, the board looks good, and it's built to last. I'd recommend checking it out if you're in the market for a quality, compact keyboard.

By: Rocking Out With The i-Rocks KR-6230 Compact Keyboard