RK ROYAL KLUDGE RK84 Wireless RGB 75% Triple Mode BT5.0/2.4G/USB-C Hot Swappable Mechanical Keyboard, 84 Keys Wireless Gaming Keyboard w/High-Capacity Battery, Tactile Brown Switch

The media could not be loaded. I am going to start by saying that I am typing out this whole review with this keyboard (but the keyboard is fully modded, but I will get to that detail later). Let's start with the basic features of this keyboard. I mainly use all of my keyboards with the USB-C cable connected (for competitive gaming reasons) but the wireless connectivity options are a plus. Tested the 2.4 GHz USB Reciever mode. The mode does not have the best low latency input but it is a minor latency. The range for the USB Reciever Dongle is not usable at a long distance. Definitely must use close-range for optimal usage. The Bluetooth connectivity is a bit better than the USB Reciever for sure. But basically for everyday usage and single-player gaming is fine, but I would not use this keyboard in its wireless modes for fast First-Person-Shooter game though.As for its built quality, I would say the RK84 is decently fine. Every stock components about it (as in its plastic build, its switches, its stabilizers, and its keycaps) are roughly the same in feel and sound as any other basic mechanical keyboard out there. So the switches are relatively audible and scratchy when typing and the stabilizer in the large keys (as in the Spacebar key, Left Shift key, Back key, and Enter key) can rattle quite a bit. But for most regular consumers, that might not be too noticeable or become a problem in everyday usage. Other than that, the stock RK84 itself is great for everyday consumers and the stock keyboard is sturdy and surprisingly a bit heavy for a plastic build (which is good as the keyboard won't move around as much). Everything about the keyboard works as intended.Now for the "fully modded" part that I mentioned at the beginning of this review. I recently started getting into the world of custom mechanical keyboards but I am by no means a pro keyboard enthusiast (yet). However, I do mod and upgrade all of my keyboards to make them feel smoother and sound better (it is not recommended to disassemble a keyboard if you don't know what you're doing without watching some videos first). I have 2 other keyboards that are also fully modded as well; my secondary budget keyboard: Redragon K530 and my daily driver high-end keyboard: Glorious GMMK Pro. I got this keyboard because of the "budget" recommendation from a few pro keyboard enthusiasts on YouTube. I say "budget" but $80 is still relatively high for a keyboard to regular consumers. I guess it is "budget" when compared to other custom mechanical keyboards that are $100+ for just being a barebone kit like my Glorious GMMK Pro. Anyway, I digress. I would highly recommend this keyboard over any other "budget" keyboard because it has the correct hot-swappable feature for anyone looking to dip their toes a bit into the world of custom mechanical keyboards and modding them in the future. I say "correct hot-swappable" because this keyboard's PCB actually can support numerous brands of switches like:- Gateron switches- Cherry switches- Durock switches- Novelkeys switches- Kailh switches- and etc.Unlike other budget keyboards that only support one type of hot-swappable switches. An example would be my Redragon keyboard that is technically hot-swappable but only hot-swappable with the same brand of Outemu Switches or something similar like Akko Switches.Some of the modifications I ended up doing to the RK84 were:- Adding 2 layers of PE Foam (roughly 1.5-1.6 mm or 1/16 inches thick each layer) to the bottom inside of the plastic case.- Adding 2 layers of Masking Tape to the bottom of the PCB (as shown in the picture).- Adding a Keyboard Switch Sound Dampener Foam (84 key layouts) between the PCB and the metal plate (as shown in the picture).- Taped down a single layer of PE Foam (roughly 1.5-1.6 mm or 1/16 inches thick) between the PCB and where the stabilizer would hit the PCB to dampen the sound of impact.- Switched the stock stabilizers with Durock Plate Mount Stabilizers (Clipped and Lubed with Krytox 205g0).- Hot-swapped out the stock TTC Red Switches with Gateron Ink V2 Black Switches (Lubed with Krytox 205g0 + added Deskeys Switch Film)(as shown in the picture).- Switching out the stock keycaps with Glorious Aura V2 Keycaps.After hours of modding the keyboard to its fullest potential, I managed to make this keyboard feel smoother and sound thockier than it ever has before (as shown in the video). The mods I made to this keyboard made it so much better that I replace my budget Redragon K530 (which is also similarly modded) with this fully modded RK84 to be my secondary keyboard.Couple of minor things to note:- The advertisement for the keyboard stated that it is an 80% keyboard. This is not true. Although 75% and 80% are similar, the key layout of the RK84 is that of a 75% keyboard. For a more detailed difference between what a 75% or 80% keyboard is, you can Google search that for yourself.- While it is no major deal-breaker, I wish the keyboard has brighter RGB lighting. I have a Glorious GMMK Pro keyboard with the same switches and keycaps and it is a lot brighter than the RK84.- The RGB LED on this keyboard is north-facing so there might be some keycap interference (depending on what kind of keycaps you're using. The Glorious Aura V2 Keycaps that I use for this build has no interference issue at all.)- I know the RK84 Pro has it but I wish this regular RK84 comes with the aluminum frame as well. It would have made this board feel even more high quality. (I would get the RK84 Pro but I like the 2 USB pass-through ports that this regular RK84 has).- To fully mod this board, as I did with mine, would cost you an additional $100-150.

So this is replacing a Corsair K65 with cherryMX reds. Nothing wrong with that keyboard, but I wanted something different, thanks to Hipyotech (howdy hey).In the box came the keyboard, a user manual, a combo cap and switch puller, a USB A to USB C cable, and some extra swtiches. Not a lot of wasted room in the box, which is kinda nice. Wireless dongle is attached to the bottom of the keyboard, and was plug and play.It's got a bunch of RGB modes, colors, and settings. It's nice to be able to just play around with them at my whim. I know this isn't a huge feature on mechanical keyboards nowadays, but I'm coming from a board that didn't have any... let me have this!I went with tactile browns, as that was the first mechanical keyboard that I had. I think I prefer that style of switch, and these aren't aggressively tactile. The keyboard is surprisingly quiet, especially compared to the Corsair that I had. There was a bit of a springy ping when you hit the space bar a bit too hard. The fix was popping 6 screws out of the keyboard and painter's taping the bottom of the PCB. I did just a single layer, and it took care of the majority of the ping. I can still get it to ping, but I have to beat on the bar now. I also tossed some dense spacing foam I had from old lithium motorcycle batteries in the upper portion of the case to help mellow some of the sound out... sadly it was too thick to apply to the lower portion of the keyboard... sad.Less sad is the amount of space it takes up on the desk. It's pretty compact, so you're able to get the majority of a normal keyboard's function out of it in a smaller footprint than the K65. Nice! But also, not nice... more on that below.I haven't tested any sort of latency, bluetooth performance, or done much gaming with it, as life has been keeping me from doing a lot of gaming. That said, the typing experience has been very much a joy, and I'm getting used to a slightly higher than what I'm used to activation on the keys. That's causing me to jumble letters up as I'm typing. Just gotta get good.Speaking of getting good, it's not all sunshine and rainbows. Because of the form factor, the print screen, pause, delete, home, end, page up and down, and arrows are all scrunched in together. I'm not used to them being so close together, nor am I used to their non standard positions. This I think is just going to be a training issue with using the board... I won't lie though, there's a bit of frustration in having to look for a key that I've used for decades, and it not being where I was expecting. I'd love if the page up/down and home/end key positions were swapped. That would help me with the learning curve I think. Having the arrow keys surrounded by others is, likewise, very strange to me, as I'm unfamiliar and I can't hit them by simple touch anymore. Again, I think it's a training issue, but it's something to be aware of.I think the long and short of it is this is a keyboard that's nice to use if you need to free up some space on your desk. It's a pretty solid typing experience, and it's got a little space for modifying. On the downside, it's gonna take a little time getting used to key placement if you're used to blazing though spreadsheets and things like that. It's an affordable mechanical keyboard that lets you see where mechanical keyboards can go, especially if you're coming from a membrane style, or an older, much more difficult to modify keyboard.