Royal Kludge RK Sink87G RGB Review 80% TKL Keyboard With Arrow/System Keys

 

TKL (tenkeyless) keyboards range from really small (e.g. 30%) for stricly gaming purposes all way to 90% , which is the largest TKL format avalaible. For getting work done, as well as gaming, an 80 per cent keyboard like the RK Sink87G RGB (pictured) is the perfect compromise because it has arrow navigation keys and system keys (e.g. Del/PgUp/PgDn/ etc) built-in. The RK Sink87G RGB also uses Outemu brown switches, which have a low actuation force and a pronounce tactile bump, which provides a nice feedback when touch typing.



RK Sink87G RGB keyboard has a thick angled frame, which naturally raises the top rows of keys. On the base of the keyboard, there are two rubberized feet risers, four anti-skid pads, serial number tag and small on/off switch for wired and wireless modes. The feet risers are firmly hinged so, they don't wobble and they retract neatly inside a cutout out of the way. The feet risers provide very good grip, thanks to the soft rubber material used, which is very grippy.


The USB-C charging port is located "dead-centre" on the backside of the RK Sink87G RGB keyboard frame. A rubber 1.6 meters long charging cable is included with straight plugs.There are two connection modes: wired and 2.4Ghz wireless connection via a USB-A dongle. The included dongle is non-branded and works well with stable connection at 5 meters range and low latency (~18ms) wireless.


There is no storage area on the keyboard to store the dongle like on other keyboards such as the Deimos K599, which has a dedicated magnetic cutout for storing the wireles dongle so, you don't lose it or misplace it. The Deimos K599 keyboard is a bit smaller (70%) than the RK Sink87G RGB and also has wired and 2.4Ghz wireless. While they're similar, the RK Sink87G has a brighter and more vibrant RGB backlighting. Check out the video below for the light show.


The RK Sink87G RGB keyboard has no bluetooth mode like the RK61 keyboard (60%) and RK84 hot-swappable keyboard (80%). Bluetooth connectivity isn't as low latency as 2.4Ghz wireless but on the plus side, you can connect up to multiple devices, which is super convinient when working on multiple devices. If you need USB passthrough ports and hotswap switches too, the RK Sink87G RGB doesn't support any of those features but the RK84 keyboard does. Because the RK Sink87G RGB is a non-hotswappable keyboard the switches are soldered on.


The RK Sink87G RGB lighting is controlled directly from the keyboard without software. You can change light effects, brightness and light speed. There are 9 RGB light modes and a light recording mode that lets you customize the color of each key to whichever color you want. You can record up to 9 different custom RGB lighting effects. 


There is also single solid color RGB options to choose from. When adjusting brigthness, there doesn't seem to be a noticeable difference between low brightness and high brightness. Low brigthness does not turn off the backlight display but, there is a power saving mode (only in wireless mode) which automatically puts the keyboard to sleep (~60 seconds) turning off the lights. There is no way to disable sleep mode but, the keyboard wakes up instantenously when pressing any key.

The RK Sink87G RGB suppors full N-key rollover and 15-key rollover, as well as macros. You can record up to 3 different sets of macros. The macros are stored under keys Q, W and E and each macro can be easily played by using FN+Q/W/E. Macros and custom lighting effects can be easily erased by using combination keys FN + left Ctrl + Esc


The RK Sink87G RGB is well built with a sturdy top plate and premium feel, weighing 969 grams.There are 87 keys on the keyboard, as well as 12 virtual media keys, which are accessed using the FN function key. The RK Sink87G RGB keycaps are made of double shot ABS, which means the legends will not fade overtime because the legends are embedded within the plastic rather than printed onto the keycaps. The dimensions of the RK Sink87G RGB are 36cm long, 13cm wide and 4cm high (5cm high with feet).


As far as battery life performance, the RK Sink87G RGB intrnal battery has a small capacity (1850mAh), which gives you 2 days of runtime with RGB turned on and 5 days with RGB turned off. The battery recharges in 3 hours via 5V/1A input charge and, you can tell when the battery is fully charged when the solid red led (under spacebar) turns off. When the battery becomes flat, the keyboard can still be used in wireless mode by plugging in the cable, which is super convinient should you forget to recharge the keyboard. can still use the keyboard in wireless mode


The RK Sink87G RGB comes with a metal keycap puller and, it is currently only available in brown switches but, you can choose a white or black color variation. You can buy the RK Sink87G RGB via Royal Kludge website or amazon. Check out the review of the RK G68 hot swappable keyboard, the Royal Kludge RK89and Royal Kludge RK920 Rainbow keyboard.



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