Genesis RX85 RGB Hands-On Review: A great mechanical keyboard that doesn't cost a fortune

The Genesis RX85 RGB is the successor of the Genesis RX85 and the main difference between them is the fact — quite obvious when we look at their names — that one of them has RGB lighting. While both use Kailh Brown switches and have the same dimensions, the Genesis RX85 RGB comes with RGB lighting and quite different fonts and symbols for the keys. For example, check the Tab, Shift, and Caps Lock keys — while the RX85 has symbols, the RX85 RGB has them named (shortened, for the last one): Tab, Shift, and Cslk.

Now, to be really picky, I should also mention that the box of the keyboard I got from Genesis shows symbols for Tab and Shift, but the keyboard inside has no symbols on those keys. No big problem, but for perfectionists, this might come off as a minor nuisance.

The Genesis RX85 RGB comes in a box large enough to accommodate the tight protective cardboard packaging inside it that contains the keyboard and its Quick Installation Guide. The color scheme of the box uses black and red, its front face highlighting the 50-million clicks life of the switches used and the fact that we're talking about an RGB backlit keyboard. On the back, most of the remaining specs and features of the Genesis RX85 RGB are detailed, but we will talk about them in the following section.

The Genesis RX85 RGB is a full-size wired keyboard that — at least according to the information on the back of the retail box — works with Android, Linux, and Windows XP/Vista/7/8/10 devices that have a free USB port. The problem that arises here is that the customization software is only available for Windows. Fortunately, the keyboard can be easily customized without the help of the software, although some features might not be accessible — including the USB polling rate, unfortunately.

Before moving on, here's a quick list of technical specs and features you should know about when it comes to the Genesis RX85 RGB — we will cover most of them in the next section, so don't worry if something sounds cryptic at this stage:

• Kailh Brown switches with a pre-travel distance of 2+/-0.6 mm, 55+/-20 gf actuation force, 8 ms response time, and guaranteed to last for at least 50 million keystrokes.
• N-key rollover, Windows key lock, and multimedia function keys.
• Double-injection keycaps.
• 20 backlight modes.
• Detachable magnetic palmrest.
• Dedicated mute/volume control knob.
• Aluminum body and anti-slip rubber feet.

Before saying anything else about the Genesis RX85 RGB, I should tell you (more than just) a few words about my former keyboard and the preconceived ideas I had regarding compact gaming mechanical keyboards with RGB lighting like this one.

In my quest for a good ergonomic keyboard, I ended up purchasing the Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 a few years ago. I got it for about half its regular price and I also received a 16 GB USB flash drive as a bonus. Even this way, the value of the package was very low. Without going into a review for that keyboard, I will only say that its build quality is abysmal and the software is simply useless, although everything should be at least fine at first sight. The only good thing going for it? Its shape, of course.

Now, considering the above, I was worried about a few things regarding the Genesis RX85 RGB, mainly these three potential issues: What might come with a compact size (I was afraid that typing on it would be an impossible task because I was really used to the middle-split design of Microsoft's keyboard), the fact that I would hate RGB lighting (I was never a fan of colored lights, except for those on a Christmas tree), and the lack of reliability (I expected to see at least some LED malfunctions after a few weeks). As we will see a bit later, all my preconceived ideas were completely off.

The Genesis RX85 RGB has a premium look and feel, but a big plus for me is the fact that there is no raised lip around its end, which makes it very easy to clean. The aluminum front side looks great, but it also makes dust quite easy to spot in just a few days after being last cleaned. I simply used my vacuum cleaner's dedicated head to make it look like new in a matter of seconds. The palm rest is made of plastic and cleaning it requires wet wipes, but it also looks like new in a matter of seconds. When I got it out of the box for the first time, I did not like the red plastic back of this keyboard at all, but in time I got to enjoy it. Now I can say that I love it and that the RX85 RGB would look boring without the red outline that can be spotted when placed on the desk.

Before moving on, I should also highlight that both the anti-slip rubber feet of the keyboard and palm rest get the job done wonderfully. Sadly, there's no way to raise the backside higher because the RX85 RGB does not have adjustable feet capable of offering two angles — it can sit directly on the table or slightly angled. Having the chance to raise the back even higher would be a great improvement in terms of ergonomics and it would not require expensive modifications. To finish this part, I must confess that a larger palm rest would be excellent for me — adding it as a purchasable upgrade would be a good idea.

Moving from a middle-split ergonomic layout to a gaming compact layout that doesn't even feature slightly inclined keys (I used A4 Tech keyboards with the "Natural A" layout — this is an example — for over a decade and I never thought I could go back) had me worried about wrist pain. I waited for a week, for two weeks, for three weeks, for a month and no pain appeared. In fact, I simply love typing on the Genesis RX85 RGB thanks to both the sound and the tactile feedback provided by its keys.

Sometimes I type faster and press the keys harder, all the way to get a short "auditory trip" down memory lane to the days when I was using those legendary IBM mechanical keyboards from the late 1980s. The noise level is bearable, although this is not a silent keyboard. However, since you only need to press 2 mm to have a key stroke recorded, with a bit of training the RX85 RGB can be used silently, although this is all about the user's ability to be very gentle and only push 2 or 3 mm.

Before I got the chance to use the Genesis RX85 RGB — by the way, I should thank Maryna Rakhimzianova for the opportunity, so THANK YOU — I often checked similar products when I saw them displayed in stores and, just like any tech geek does from time to time, in various YouTube videos. My conclusion was that RGB lighting is not needed and is just a marketing gimmick and nothing more — single-colored backlit keys should be more than enough for everyone. After the first few days of use, I finally tried to customize the layout of my keyboard using a scheme with a meaning - different colors for various blocks, sometimes even combining areas that follow logic with others that simply combine primary colors. The result was surprisingly good for both my overall typing experience and my mood.

Leaving aside the chance to customize the color of each key — which can also be done without the use of the software, and I consider this to be a big plus — I should add that the Genesis RX85 RGB comes with no less than 20 built-in lighting modes. I only ended up with two RGB lighting-related issues so far: The range of colors available is quite limited, even when using the customization software to set them, and there is no way to turn off the light around the volume knob when creating a custom lighting scheme, no matter if this is being done directly or by using the software. Thankfully, the intensity range is generous enough, and sometimes not being able to select a lighter shade of blue or red in the software can be replaced by simply lowering the intensity of the LEDs.

Now, to the software and the problems I encountered with it. Sadly, the RX85 RGB app is only available for Windows, so those who use this keyboard on Android or Linux devices (compatibility not mentioned in the user manual, only on the back of the box) will lose three essential capabilities: macro commands, USB polling rate selection (options available: 100, 250, 500, and 1000 Hz), and the ability to have three different profiles, each able to include custom settings/keyboard functions. It might be my software environment's fault, but I found this app to be quite unstable. Since it was apparently released in 2017 and was not updated ever since, a little refresh might be needed — if not to add new features, at least to make it more reliable and change its interface here and there — the macro-editing interface can surely be improved, for example.

A very interesting bug in the software makes it impossible to configure the color of the key above Enter (\|). However, this key can be easily configured directly from the keyboard and then the entire layout can be saved in a profile in the RX85 RGB software — the only problem left will be the fact that the key can show a different color in the software than in real life. All's well that ends well, right?

Before moving on, I have to add one more positive fact that concerns the RX85 RGB software — the profiles can be easily exported (or imported, of course) in the FWC file format.

I almost forgot a very important part regarding the overall interaction with this keyboard, at least in my case. Having all the function keys double as multimedia and action keys (fire up the default email client, launch the calculator app, or open a search window) is very convenient — I find it easier to adjust the audio volume using Fn+F2 and F3 and just my left hand instead of having to take my right hand off the mouse and using the volume knob. While I can just go for the volume knob with my left hand,  that would involve too much movement. If I could get a custom-built RX85 RGB, I would place two volume control buttons on the left side instead of a knob, something similar to the forward/back buttons that we find on most mice nowadays.

The Genesis RX85 RGB looks better in real life than in any of the pictures that I was able to shoot. The official press pictures (renders?) above don't do it justice, either. Hardware-wise, it is almost perfect and just a few minor changes can make it outstanding. If we also add the price into the equation (less than US$90 in most cases, depending on the market and retailer), the result is one of the best deals a gamer looking for a mechanical keyboard with RGB lighting can find nowadays.

Leaving aside the printed user manual that has a bunch of mistakes here and there and does not explain properly some operations properly — creating and saving a macro command, for example — the Genesis RX85 RGB does not have many downsides. In fact, the only one I can name right away concerns its software, which is only available for Windows and — as mentioned earlier — is far from perfect. Adding a hardware switch for changing the USB polling rate would be a great change that would reduce the need to use the RX85 RGB software even more.