We all hunt for perfection, some of us find it where others do not. Like you! I want to find a keyboard that matches every need I have and today we are going to take a look at a rapidly growing companies product the Rii Keyboards: K66 Gaming Keyboard. The K66 has 104 Keys, Red Switches, LED Backlight, (5 Light Effects + 3 Macros) and Anti-ghosting. At first glance, this keyboard looked cheap and nasty! But once taken out of the very neat and presentable box I could tell straight away I was wrong.
I was quite shocked by the weight of the keyboard as you get a mini work out when cleaning your desk and the overall build quality of the base is like that of an armoured vehicle. the Kevlar style pattern across the wrist guard does make it look pretty sweet and does give your hands a surprising amount of grip. Finished in Matte Black really compliments the Kevlar pattern very well and doesn't over reflect the Red glow from the LED lighting.
Moving onto the LED Lighting, This Unfortunately only comes in Red but it is a very bright and prominent Red not a washed out Red or an Orangey Red. The LED glow comes sharply from under each key and has 5 Lighting modes as previously mentioned. STATIC, BREATHING, ACTIVATION, SHOCKWAVE and OFF. Each Lighting effect seems to be very fluid to the naked eye and in front of a camera, which is great! And can be adjusted in brightness and speed by using the FN Key and Pressing the corresponding buttons. FN + PrintScreen to cycle through the different lighting modes, FN + Arrows Up & Down for Brightness and finally the FN Key and Arrows Left & Right to adjust the speed.
Fitted with a fixed 2m Braided Cable looks good! But the cable is horrible and stiff and I couldn't get the bends out of the cable caused by packaging. Maybe a little heat from a hair dryer to get the bend's out and loosen the braid up a little may fix the problem but something the consumer shouldn't really need to do.
Looking at the underside of this Keyboard the Kevlar pattern has been reflected onto parts to make it look more attractive and it has worked. Fitted with Height adjustable feet to enable you to have the Keyboard flat or pitched towards you is standard these days but the rubber feet attached to them are impressive! they have the rigidity of an ink rubber and the grip of an F1 Tyre which to someone like me who fidgets a lot, your Keyboard wont to go walkabout on your desk nor so with a heavy-handed user. The K66 is also water resistant with 2 drainage holes on the underside to quickly drain away any liquid spilt onto the Keyboard.
Finally moving onto the Keys. Fitted with "Kailh Red" Switches does make it a mechanical keyboard but they are just bloody awful. They are loud, wobbly and have to bottom out to be able to register the keystroke and if the loud noise of any mechanical keyboard annoys you or any other person in the household be prepared for projectiles launched ad you to stop typing.
So to conclude, The keyboard is full-size with 104 Keys and overall no bigger than other Gaming Keyboard. The K66 may weigh as much as a small child but that's a good thing! when it's in place, it requires some force to move it due to its weight and super grippy rubber feet. The lighting is Bright and vibrant and has some great effects giving you the opportunity to reflect your personality into your setup. The overall looks are great and will look great in a wide variety of setups. The biggest problem with this keyboard is those switches, They are far to loud, wobbly and hard work to use because they have to practically bottom out to register the Keystroke. The keys are high quality and built to last which is good. But with the K66 being priced around the $60 mark there is, in my opinion, better and most definitely quieter options out there.
Thanks for reading
-Jezy