Rosewill Mechanical Keyboard Sale + Freebies: Cherry MX Brown, Red or Blue Switch $64 + Free Shipping (expired)

Man those reviews scare me since they still seem to have USB problems. Otherwise this is probably the best deal for multiple cherry MX switches.

Quote from chlehqls : Man those reviews scare me since they still seem to have USB problems. Otherwise this is probably the best deal for multiple cherry MX switches.

I got a red switch one from earlier. I have no complaints. Maybe the usb is delicate, but unless have a habit of hitting co-workers on the head with it, you should be fine. And newegg and rosewill have great customer service, should you have a problem.

Quote from chlehqls : Man those reviews scare me since they still seem to have USB problems. Otherwise this is probably the best deal for multiple cherry MX switches.

They have claimed to have fixed the issue with the newer batch of keyboards. This is a quote from a Rosewill distributor that posts on a keyboard forum:

Quote : For RK9000 updated USB, you can check the serial number of the unit. eg. serial number: (product type) - (model) - (dateyear) - (serial) 2320-1044-0811-01152 2320-1044-0512-01111 those made in year 2012 have no usb issues so the units with 0512 (may 2012) will have no such problem.

IDK if it is true or not, but the fix is a relatively easy one, plus as takhyon said with the good customer service or Newegg and Rosewill I wouldn't think getting it fixed/replaced if you got a bad one would be a problem.

Quote from chlehqls : Man those reviews scare me since they still seem to have USB problems. Otherwise this is probably the best deal for multiple cherry MX switches.

I've been using the red switch one for a month and I like it so much.
Unless you constantly move the keyboard around the house and keep plugging it in/out, you won't see the USB problem. I mean this is a full sized (and heavy) keyboard, why bother to move it everyday?

The USB problem cannot be overstated. I have several of these and the USB port has been broken pretty much all of them. These are installed on stationary desktops, are never moved, and are never unplugged. Essentially, even a small amount of force on the plug or the stiff cord will lever the USB port from the PCB. Maybe not all at once, but it will get looser over time until it no longer works, or works over intermittently.

That being said, the fix is quite easy, though you have to break the warranty seal. All you need to do is solder the port back onto the PCB via some gigantic solder pads (gigantic by soldering standards). If you have any remote experience with soldering, it's a very simple fix. But, I don't disagree that the faulty design is moronic design error that should have never seen the light of day. Hopefully reports of a "redesign" are true.

tempting.

I have a rosewill mx brown.
I think I am going to buy a TKL and then bring the mx brown to work. (Where I definitely need a tenkey)

Hmmm, I bought one of these in November 2011 and was unaware of the USB problem -- either mine doesn't have it, or it's because I rarely use the USB. My Z68 motherboard still had one PS/2 connector on it, so I decided to switch the connection to that because that allowed me to power the computer on with a keystroke (Ctrl + Spacebar) with a BIOS option on my motherboard. USB only allows waking from S3 sleep, at least on my board. Additionally, PS/2 with this keyboard has no ghosting at all (up to five keys can be pressed simultaneously via USB if I recall correctly).

Overall, fantastic mechanical keyboard and a joy to type on. I should note, however, that for most types of PC gaming (particularly things with lots of hotkeys, like MMO's & Starcraft 2) I switch to a dirt cheap Logitech K120, because I think it lets me be a little faster with its short keystrokes. Plus they usually go for $12 so I don't mind abusing it while gaming.

Can anyone shed insight on why they don't do ergo keyboards with mechanical switches?

I have a Cherry Red version and love it to death. I haven't run into the USB problem, but it wouldn't surprise me if I did down the road.

However, I did have to send my first keyboard back because of a squeaky space bar, and some of the keys on the right side of the keyboard stopped working (I think it may have had something to do with the way I angle my keys when I game). My replacement keyboard did not have a squeaky space bar at all, and now I have been using it about 6 months and have had no problems with any of the keys. Could have just been a faulty unit, but to be honest it feels like this one is completely different than the first one I received (even though they were both models from before 2012). Do they switch these up?

The Cherry Reds have been awesome for all types of gaming: FPS, RTS, MMO... and of course typing is a dream.

Quote from jlessel : They have claimed to have fixed the issue with the newer batch of keyboards. This is a quote from a Rosewill distributor that posts on a keyboard forum: IDK if it is true or not, but the fix is a relatively easy one, plus as takhyon said with the good customer service or Newegg and Rosewill I wouldn't think getting it fixed/replaced if you got a bad one would be a problem.

I had the Rosewill cherry brown keyboard and it basically stopped functioning after about a year. I called up Rosewill support and they offered to replace it for free (have to pay ship the old keyboard back to them though) and once they saw that I live in NY, they offered me a full refund once I ship the keyboard back to them.

If the newer version came out then by all means give it a try, I wouldn't recommend it if it's the same old stock, I wouldn't recommend getting it, even with the free replacement policy. I am looking to get either a DAS Ultimate silent or a filco tenkeyless keyboard next. Even though the rosewill keyboard and das keyboard are made from the same parts, the DAS definitely way better (more solid, less squeaky keys, etc).

Quote from GoatSaver : Can anyone shed insight on why they don't do ergo keyboards with mechanical switches?

I would think it is because the demand for mechanical keyboards is low, the demand for ergo keyboards is low and thus the demand for ergo mechanical keyboards is very low.

Every keyboard was mechanical back then- I think it's funny how they command such a premium price now that they are more scarce.

I've had 2 reds. 7 and 5 months old respectively, neither have USB problems.