This is a short mini review I will be expanding upon later. I recently got a new Rosewill mechanical 9100 keyboard with cherry brown switches. These have just started shipping and there will be more color choices for backlighting later: red and white colors are coming, mine is blue lights. My initial impressions are:
Improved build quality - the keyboard feels quite solid and well constructed throughout. Gone are the red letters and back plate. All keys are a nice black with white letters that seem easy to read even when not light. Also of important note is the USB connection is now much improved in that it is a solid connection, very snug, that is now part of the keyboard and non-removable. Gone is the PS2 connection and you will need 2 USB ports for the backlighting and function.
The keys are all blue and there appears to be no bleed through. There is a slight blue glow between the keys at the bottom of the keyboard, but it is nice. It has 3 modes, full, WSAD with arrows and all light minus the keypad. There are 4 modes of backlight from full to low.
Now for the bad:
The keys only light for the top row of numbers, function keys, etc. The keys that have characters/symbols used with shift are not light at all. Also, while I don't have a 9000 model to compare to, the keys seem a bit slick with little or no texture to them.
While this is a personal choice, the keys seem too small and very tightly spaced. When compared to the Cooler Master Storm Trigger (also brown switches), it is quite obvious. I have used the CM Trigger for a while now and feel the keys are better overall at this time. Also, the space bar on the 9100 is smaller than most keyboards. Can't say how much, but you can visually see that it is.
While they say it has media keys, it does, but they are NOT programmable at all. It's just the function key along with the standard volume, mail, play/pause, etc. Not impressed with this at all, so think of it as mainly a backlight keyboard with a few modes for the lights, NO programming at all.
After typing on it for most of the past 2 days, my hands seem to be getting sore. They feel quite cramped due to the size of the keys and the short spacing. I would say I have average hands with longer, slender fingers. If your finger tips are large, I don't think they would be of use at all. Compared to the CM Trigger, my hands can span better and not be so cramped or confined.
I will be comparing the two more in the coming days, but those are my initial thoughts.
Improved build quality - the keyboard feels quite solid and well constructed throughout. Gone are the red letters and back plate. All keys are a nice black with white letters that seem easy to read even when not light. Also of important note is the USB connection is now much improved in that it is a solid connection, very snug, that is now part of the keyboard and non-removable. Gone is the PS2 connection and you will need 2 USB ports for the backlighting and function.
The keys are all blue and there appears to be no bleed through. There is a slight blue glow between the keys at the bottom of the keyboard, but it is nice. It has 3 modes, full, WSAD with arrows and all light minus the keypad. There are 4 modes of backlight from full to low.
Now for the bad:
The keys only light for the top row of numbers, function keys, etc. The keys that have characters/symbols used with shift are not light at all. Also, while I don't have a 9000 model to compare to, the keys seem a bit slick with little or no texture to them.
While this is a personal choice, the keys seem too small and very tightly spaced. When compared to the Cooler Master Storm Trigger (also brown switches), it is quite obvious. I have used the CM Trigger for a while now and feel the keys are better overall at this time. Also, the space bar on the 9100 is smaller than most keyboards. Can't say how much, but you can visually see that it is.
While they say it has media keys, it does, but they are NOT programmable at all. It's just the function key along with the standard volume, mail, play/pause, etc. Not impressed with this at all, so think of it as mainly a backlight keyboard with a few modes for the lights, NO programming at all.
After typing on it for most of the past 2 days, my hands seem to be getting sore. They feel quite cramped due to the size of the keys and the short spacing. I would say I have average hands with longer, slender fingers. If your finger tips are large, I don't think they would be of use at all. Compared to the CM Trigger, my hands can span better and not be so cramped or confined.
I will be comparing the two more in the coming days, but those are my initial thoughts.