SOUND:

This is my first ever keyboard that's above $20 as well as mechanical and let me tell you, your usual office keyboard will be 3x more quiet (how I feel it's like at least). That's not really a problem if I was living alone since I really love how it sounds (every key except for the spacebar sounds the same so there's no immediate issue on that front) but at the moment it's incredibly noisy. Imagine opening a bag of chips in the middle of the night, the sound doesn't feel too far from that comparison.

BUILD:

The keyboard looks and feels WAAAAAAY more premium for its heavy build. I'll say at least 4x the weight of my full office keyboard. The keys also have very little wiggle so it looks very firm.

It charges very fast and also lasts for very long (Press fn+enter to see the battery level from numbers 1 to zero indicating the charge level). I've been using it for a few days but I've only lost a bar.

PERFORMANCE

There's a bit of delay (only noticeable during gameplay and barely at that) especially when using the wireless options which makes me worry when I start to play FPS games, but since all my life I was only using regular office keyboards, I would probably be fine and I'm only feeling this way because I just suddenly became more critical of performance since it's considerably more expensive than what I'm used to using.

SOFTWARE:

It doesn't recognize wireless mode. I had to read the manual to manually tweak the RGB

The good:

1. The two USB passthrough ports are rare in this format and extremely useful. for things like a wireless mouse receiver, plugging in a USB hub, or a convenient place to recharge a wireless headset. This was the main reason I bought this keyboard and I almost didn't return it because I know that this feature is almost impossible to find these days.
2. If you like the compact TKL format, this is a good option.
3. The keyboard is sound treated well out of the box.
4. Hot swappable, northfacing.
5. Comes with extra switches and some nice tools

The meh:
1. I wasn't a fan of the angle. and wanted to be able to put some short feet on the front of the keyboard to level it off more.
2. While many people will want to use this in wireless mode, the provided cable is quite short for a keyboard and won't reach PCs that are under the desk.
3. The RGB effects are limited and I was told by a customer service that I couldn't get the RGB effect I wanted. There are a lot of options, but it is limited.

The bad:
1. The keycaps are very close together and narrow, making it more difficult to type.
2. I personally do not like the compact format layout that shortens the right shift key to make room for the arrow. There are other compact layouts that don't do this (see NZXT Function).
3. While the RGB is bright, the color accuracy is bad. White is a pale blue. Blue is a lighter blue and can't get a true Royal Blue like the Logitech I am trying to replace.
4. It isn't apparent in the pictures but the legends for the number keys are slightly smaller than the alpha keys. The legends for the F row is even a bit smaller than that. In person, this looks pretty sloppy in my opinion. The key legends should look unified and all the same font scale.
5. While I think there are explainer posts online on how to do this, the customer service folks won't tell you that you can keep custom lighting profiles from the software for this keyboard when it wireless mode. IMO, you should be able to save some profiles to the keyboard and use them in wireless AND it shouldn't be a mystery on how to do this...

I ended up returning it because there were just too many compromises. The build quality is quite good but you can tell that these are really budget boards for a reason. I am sure they will suit some people perfectly, but it just wasn't for me.

RK84 80% With linear red switches.

For starters - YES, this keyboard works on Mac! It even says so in the description AND user manual. It has a Mac mode and a Windows mode right on the keys! I can't speak for the software - I imagine that may only be usable on windows - but it is swappable, and it is compatible with both! I own both and use it on both so I promise you that it is. You can even swap the windows key with the alt key to where the command key normally is on a Mac when you switch the keyboard to Mac mode if you'd like. Much more comfortable!

That said - here is my review:

While this Mechanical keyboard is considered to fall under the "budget" end of mechanical keyboards for its size - this keyboard is a great value.

Hot-swappable switches, swappable keys, works both wired via USB-C, or wireless via any of its 3 different Bluetooth channels or it's 2.4ghz USB, and even has two pass-through USB (type A) ports on the back for added convenience. It comes pre-built (although u would've loved to assemble it), is compatible with Windows AND Mac, and it even has software! All for under $90? That's hard to beat.

I'll be honest "” this is my first mechanical keyboard, so take that for what you will. However, believe you me when I tell you that I did my research (and a lot of it) before purchasing this one. Seriously, it's been months.

This Royal Kludge RK84 met all of my criteria for a starter keyboard and then some. Has all the keys I really need (including a couple for convenience), could connect to two computers (but not at the same time), has red linear switches, is hot swappable, had decent battery life, adjustable RGB backlight, USB-C, and doesn't break the budget (around $100 since this is my first mechanical keyboard). I also wanted it to show up the next day, so keep in mind that these thoughts also include that I searched primarily on Amazon (which may or may not have limited me here, although I didn't feel that it did based on the options I found on YouTube and other forums as well). The selection on Amazon is quite decent for boards in this price range.

I digress.

Being a budget pre-built, and despite watching video after video on this mech (let alone probably 15-20 other keyboards), I was super unsure of what to expect after opening the box. I was nervous that it would feel super chintzy. I almost expected it to. I was worried it would rattle and clunk, it would be lightweight, and that it would feel cheap. More so, I was worried that I would be disappointed. However, that was not the case at all.

I am currently blown away at the features and quality of this board (and I'm a picky guy). Considering I could've spent double for a keyboard with the same (or even fewer) features that this bird has, confirms to me that this is a great starter levied for me, or for just about anybody who wants to affordably "˜dip their toes' into the mech world.

I can't speak much for longevity, but I am confident in saying that this is an awesome option among the many in its price range (at least on Amazon). I'll upload a video of it completely stock later, but there isn't all that much rattle considering that things are minimally lubed from the factory - if at all.

Now, no decent review is complete without an honest list of cons. After using it for a few hours this afternoon I have come upon a few things that are less desirable - but to be expected.

- The user manual could be considered somewhat confusing at parts. Not that bad, but it's mostly just pictures so some things are left to the imagination. For instance, the P button blinks indefinitely until you either pair it with the 2.4ghz USB dongle included, or switch the keyboard into Bluetooth mode and connect it.
- There is some rattle in the stabs "” but again this is to be expected and isn't severe enough that it can't be fixed fairly easily.
- The case does sound a bit hollow/cheap "” also an easy fix. It doesn't feel cheap though (as a reminder).
- The brightness could be slightly more adjustable, although there is enough adjustability for me to be content.

All things considered, this is a great keyboard. I would recommend it to anybody who thinks they might be interested in the enthusiast-side of mechanical keyboards.

Easy 5 stars from me.

absolutely obsessed!!!
i was looking for a nice, affordable keyboard with red switches that i could just add my keycaps too and this is seriously the best option! i had a yunzii keyboard but it was too large and i wanted to try a different brand and i am so happy i went with this one! the size is awesome, the set up was less than 5 minutes and it came fully charged. THANK YOU FOR MY AMAZING KEYBOARD :D

Keyboard is great when connected, very laggy when used through wireless. A very sleek and small size allowing for more room on my desk and mousepad. Very bright RGB and beautiful colors. The quality is very nice, especially the magnetic stands on the bottom which are easy to remove and apply with very little force and dont come off easily when not wanted to.