G.Skill RipJaws KM570 RGB - Can this be your new budget gaming buddy!?
G Skill is a brand very well known around the globe for their flashy looking and record breaking memory kits, the latest one being the very popular Trident Z RGB series. Lesser do we know that they even manufacture gaming peripherals including gaming keyboards such as the very robust KM780. Thanks to G.Skill India today I have one of their very popular and mainstream gaming keyboard for review on the table, we have with us the G.Skill RipJaws KM570 RGB Gaming Keyboard.
Priced in at $99 the KM570 RGB comes in two variants with each variant further bifurcated into four sub categories as per their switch types. You can either get the RGB version such as the one we are reviewing today or a non RGB one with red only backlit color, both of these variants are available with CherryMX Red, Blue, Brown and Quick Silver switch types making it a great keyboard lineup as they've got an option for almost everybody depending upon their taste and usages.
Constructed with a 50 million keystroke durability and a smooth linear key response as well as contoured keypads for greater comfort, the KM570's other features include macro support with on-the-fly macro recording, per-key lighting customization with seven lighting patterns, full n-Key rollover and 100% anti-ghosting technologies, as well as shortcuts for Windows functions, keyboard functions, media playback and volume control.
What's in the Box!?
G.Skill brings the KM570 RGB in a thin yet solid cardboard box with the red and black color scheme to justify the G.Skill branding. All the key features are printed right on the front CherryMX Red mechanical keys, Per key LED lighting etc. You also get the RGB logo on the top left corner to clarify that its the RGB variant and not otherwise which is a good thing since too many options ought to create confusion.
At the back a colored marked diagram of the keyboard is printed to illustrate the various functions that it has to offer in a well laid out fashion. At the bottom we see the other features printed in various languages aswell, since ours in an 'English' packing so we get all the labeling in English or else it would've been otherwise.
Open the black box and you'll find the KM570 RGB keyboard, a user manual and warranty card. The accessories with this keyboard are bare minimum and even lack the now conventional contorted-textured gaming keys that come with most of the keyboards now. The only possible reason can be the cost cutting factor here but a few plastic caps wouldn't have hurt that much since they include a keycap pulling tool in the box!
The KM570 RGB Keybaord!
Looking at the G.Skill KM570 RGB you realize that its a plain and simple keybaord with a boxy finish very much like that was found in the good old IBM days which is quite nice. I'm happy G.Skill didn't try going wild with the design in the budget segment and kept it subtle while concentrating more upon the features.
Also judging by sheer looks the KM570 actually bridges the gap between the smaller KM560 and the much bigger KM780R making it sit right in the middle of the lineup.
This 450x160x40mm, 1.25Kg matte black keyboard is basically all plastic and no metal, not even to the least of bits but is still quite heavy for its size! This is primarily done to save cost aswell as to avoid any accidental shocks in case of a liquid spillage. The layout is pretty basic and you get the standard Corsair keys with the space-bar key being textured.
At the back nothing much is going on and we find five rubber feet to securely hold the keyboard in place once placed on a surface to avoid slipping and unnecessary budging. These feet do their job quite well for a keyboard of this size and weight plus you get two stand offs to tilt your keyboard a bit if you like to. So nothing much to discuss or complain about over here.
The keyboard comes with a 2m long braided cable that ends up into a gold plated USB 2.0 port for maximum compatibility & optimum signal transfer. The cable is not too stubborn when it comes to straightening it out so you don't have to worry about kinky wires hanging below your desk.
The front of the keybaord is simple with no extra USB port or anything for USB Pass Through functionality which is somewhat acceptable in this budget category so no complains over here.
Looking at it from the side we realize that the KM570 RGB actually is contoured from the front to the back with the keys following the same pattern so as to keep the entire contoured key caps feel intact! The front is 3.5cm high with the key-cap while the back is 4.5cm high, which does pose a small problem which we'll discuss later on in the review.
The keybaord relies upon on board key combinations for a range of functions and they are namely as shortcuts, media buttons and volume control functions. Holding the Fn or Function key located adjacent to the right ALT key you can perform actions such as opening My Computer, Default Web Browser, E-Mail, Calculator, Windows Lock Key for Gaming Mode and the NKRO or N Key Roll Over function.
The media control keys are pretty much straight forward while the arrow keys can be used to change the brightness level on the go with a five stage brightness control system with the final stage setting the LEDs completely off.
The key caps on this keyboard are standard ABS ones with contoured design and no extra padding or texture on top for extra grip for typing or gaming. We'll see how good they are in our testing.
Pop a key cap and you can see the CherryMX Red switches underneath, since these are CherryMX switches they are fitted with a damping material inside to reduce the clicking noise that mechanical keyboards are famous for. These are basically the same CherryMX switches that we tend to find in all of Corsair Keyboards and come with 50 million click cycle & an actuation force of 45g and 2mm depth.
Due to the added depth to the switches and the contoured design of the keybaord itself the LED lights are quite bright but still they don't bleed out. This is a very good job done by G.Skill since keycaps with height, even on premium keyboards, tend to lights bleeding out from under them but the designing on the KM570 RGB is nicely done.
Nothing special just a bunch of photographs I managed to click with different lighting configurations and the same red color!
G.Skill KM570 RGB Utility
Even though you can control some of the vital functions of the KM570 RGB from the keybaord itself like Maco Recording but still you need the G.Skill KM570 RGB Utility to use this keyboard to its maximum potential. You can simply plug n play with this keybaord on Windows 7 and above but once you install this utility it will update the keybaord firmware once, it did in my case, only after which you can use the keybaord after a system restart. At first the software failed to update the firmware on my sample and rendered it dud means I couldn't use the keybaord at all but after a system restart and a fresh utility install the firmware update was successful and I was all set to go.
The first thing you notice about the KM570 RGB Utility is that its plain, basic and the windows is the design of your keyboard only. On the opening screen you get two main tabs and three sub tabs, the first is the Customize tab that lets you link a program to a key for quick launch purposes or even swap two keys in case you need a bunch of keys right under the tip of your fingers be it while gaming or editing videos/photos etc. You can save these settings into a profile and then flash it onto the keybaord memory. Sadly the KM570 can hold only one profile at a time so make sure you save the appropriate profile to your device when taking it to a LAN party etc.
Settings tab is as the name suggests and lets you tweak the technical behavior of the KM570 RGB including the Polling rate, N-Key Roll Over and even the repeat rate.
Lighting lets you choose from the number of Lighting effects the KM570 has to offer including the Rain and Wave effects along with the level of brightness. Remember that when you save a profile to the keybaord you would be saving it with all the three aspects together and not individually means that a profile would have the key settings, polling rate and the lighting effects all together.
Macro and Lighting Effects tabs let you program macros to any key that you like or even add a text message that you can directly add to the chat box and send to your team mates during a match by the press of a single key! Also note that this message is actually typed by the keyboard and not copy pasted from the clipboard so it will work with all the apps possible. Lighting Effects area is the section where you can customize the entire effect as per you own taste including colors, patters and even timings which is quite handy.
The G.Skill KM570 RGB Utility is quite basic and needs a face lift for sure but considering the fact that its neatly laid out and makes a basic budget keyboard such as the KM570 quite a lot useful and customizable is a noteworthy fact. It does add a few brownie points to this keybaord simply because of its pricing but for more expensive keyboards this utility is just not enough and quite lame to be honest when compared to what the competition has to offer.
Performance - Time to put those Keys to Test!
Whenever I review a keyboard or mouse I like to use the device for atleast a week putting it through my daily usage varying across the week. My usage is obviously more inclined towards typing and I mean lot of typing with various keyboard shortcuts combinations, followed by casual gaming mainly racing, open world or FPS. So lets classify the G.Skill KM570 MX RGB Gaming Keyboard performance across two broad categories of daily use and gaming.
Daily Affairs
G.Skill KM570 RGB is a very competent keyboard when it comes to typing paragraphs swiftly and smoothly. The CherryMX Red switches due to their quick response & lower actuation makes it really easy to type long paragraphs with great speed without hurting your fingertips. Though it does need a little getting used to since the keys are quick but with a few minutes into training your fingers you'll find yourself using it with no problem. Since my fingers are thick I did accidentally push the Caps Lock key at times since the key is quite big and at almost no separation from the main alphabetical keys, people with slimmer fingers might not come across this issue.These switches are identical to those used by Corsair with their keyboards, which I'm more used to since I own one of them, when it came to typing or anything else making it easier for a large chunk of consumers to get used to quickly. The keys are not slippery and the slim design makes them a good landing pad for the fingers imparting reasonable grip.
The aluminum plate at the bottom and the MX Red switches don't really make it too noisy like relatively to other mechanical keyboards I've come across nor does the board slip when I go all berserk while typing. For typing and daily use the keyboard has absolutely no issues that I can point out.
Game On!
Gaming is the area where this keyboard really shined for me since I personally prefer the CherryMX Red switches for gaming purposes so this keybaord did the job for me. The keys are just perfect and due to logical actuation force and distance its neither too sensitive nor too hard. I generally find CherryMX Speed switches a bit too quick and can't be used without some practice but these I'd say are a buy and go for most of the buyers out there. Still sometimes I found pressing a key accidentally as my finger was resting over it & managed to press it down just by a little, namely the spacebar not mainly due to the key sensitivity but due to the absence of a wrist rest which is gravely needed for a compact keybaord that also happens to be contoured like this and for users like me who have large palms.Rapid key strokes is where the keyboard proves its metal as they keys offer high resistance with distance and hence reset quickly so rapid strokes are easy and swift making it easy in game like Rise of the Tomb Raider.
A strange issue that I came across is that the Esc key on my sample has this double press issue and I couldn't pause and jump to the menu while gaming! Its quite irritating when you feel like taking a pee in real life and need to pause of game campaign life. Probably an issue with my unit only since others over the net don't seem to complain anything like this.
The default keys work well for gaming aswell especially considering the price tag. Contoured design of the keybaord frame is the prime reason for this grip on these ABS caps as it makes the grip a tad bit better when compared to similar key cap boards.
My Verdict
The budget gaming peripheral market is flooded and that includes the keyboards as well most of which are just not worth even half of the asking price even from reputed manufacturers! G.Skill on the other side might've found itself a winner in form of the KM570 RGB gaming keyboard. Its exactly what you pay for and even a bit more at times. The build quality is solid and even though its plastic the feel and rigidity is top notch. Its a plain and simple keyboard layout with all the basic essentials for gaming.Loaded with CherryMX switches all the available KM570 are extremely well thought off considering that at around $80 at some websites you get an RGB keybaord with a very well defused lighting that can be customized to a great extent with a software suite that's easy to use and quite comprehensive for the asking price of the product. I'm happy to see that G.Skill opted for CherryMX switches here and not any other lesser known manufacturer to cut corners with the pricing.
On the downside the keybaord doesn't have a wrist rest or swappable key caps out of which the former is a big let down since its necessary for gaming over long stretches.
"I recommend the G.Skill RipJaws KM570 RGB to anyone who is looking for a mechanical keyboard on a budget and values balanced performance with classic yet effective aesthetics to get the most out of their money."
Pros - - Solid Build Quality
- CherryMX Switches
- Supports Macros
- RGB lights are very well defused
- Well priced
- No Wrist Rest
- Only supports one Profile at a time
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