Review Changelog revisions














Video demo

Apex legends demo using the RK-S98 mkb


The idea for the video demo is a live demonstration to show how i use this RK-S98 mkb while playing apex legend. No i didn't win in the video The video was my first time actually using it, and i'm still warming up, so plz cut me a break

This is a part 2 because i forgot to setup my blue yeti mic so you can HEAR the sound of the typing, whether you like it or not.




Sound & switch type






Personally i liked it. It's not that annoying clicky type writer sound. Refer to the part 2 youtube demo which has the sound so you can judge for yourself. I've used many mkb and i can tell you it sounds pleasant.

Keep in mind these switches in the review i am doing are RK Chartreuse switches aka linear as in you press them all the way down without much resistant or any tactile bumps.


The Chartreuse sounds creamy. For a comparison refer to this



For another RK linear, if you are wondering what the Cream switch sounds like compared to Chartreuse, refer to this





The RK Chartreuse switches found in keyboards like the RK S98 are modern, factory-lubed linear switches that provide a significantly smoother, more responsive typing experience compared to classic, unlubed Cherry MX Reds. While both are linear switches with a light 45g operating force, they differ significantly in key travel, smoothness, and sound profile.

Key Differences Explained

Smoothness: RK Chartreuse switches come pre-lubed from the factory. This eliminates plastic-on-plastic friction, giving them a buttery smooth glide. Stock Cherry MX Reds are unlubed and notorious for feeling slightly "scratchy" when pressed slowly.

Bottom-Out Feel: The Chartreuse features a shorter total travel distance (3.4mm vs. Cherry's 4.0mm). You bottom out faster, resulting in a sturdier, snappier feedback loop that feels crisp under the fingers.

Sound Profile: When typed on, the combination of the pre-lubed Chartreuse switch's smooth linear stem and the S98's flexible gasket-mount architecture produces a distinctly deep, muted, and creamy sound profile. In contrast, unlubed Cherry MX Reds sound much scratchier, louder, and distinctly clackier, lacking the refined acoustic depth and dampening of this modern setup.

Typing Stability: The stem stability on the Chartreuse is much tighter and less wobbly than standard Cherry switches, providing a more stable, premium typing feel right out of the box.

The Verdict

Choose RK Chartreuse if you want a modern, pre-lubed switch that delivers a snappy bottom-out and a distinctly deep, muted, and creamy sound profile. Stick with Cherry MX Reds only if you strictly prefer traditional, full 4.0mm deep travel distance or plan on manually lubing your own switches.

For RK Chartreuse, who is this for? gamers or office work is fine. Not to say you can't use for other things, but this aligns well for this purpose.




Do they have other switch options? Yes, for this RK-S98 they have Chartreuse, Cream, Blue, Beige, Brown. Their version of the red would be the Chartreuse or cream if you are looking for linear switches (where you prefer bottoming/pressing all the way down without least resistance and no tactile bumps). The main difference between the RK Cream and RK Chartreuse switches comes down to color design, travel distances, and subtle variations in sound. Functionally, both are smooth linear switches that skip the tactile bump entirely, and both come heavily factory-lubed from Royal Kludge to give you a smooth typing feel. However, their hardware blueprints differ slightly.

However if instead you prefer tactile, the choices are brown or beige. Beige is suppose to be rk's modernized version of a tactile switch so i would recommend trying those out since it's supposed to be an improvement over the browns. Distinctive difference is the bump happens earlier, compared to brown that happens on mid way point.






modding

Modding Capabilities

Hot-Swappable PCB: Swapping switches requires zero soldering. Fits any 3-pin or 5-pin mechanical switches.

Keycap Swapping: Uses standard cross-stem keycaps. Fits Cherry, OEM, MOA, or XDA profiles easily.

Great Tape Canvas: Applying painter's tape to the PCB creates a deeper, "marbly" sound profile.

Pre-Layered Dampening: Comes packed with internal foam layers. Easy to swap for silicone or heavy Poron.

Mod-Friendly Stabilizers: Plate-mounted stabilizer design allows quick removal for cleaning, lubing, or wire tuning.


Downsides & Risks

Fragile Screen Cables: Opening the case risks ripping delicate ribbon cables connected to the TFT screen.

Tough Plastic Clips: The case uses tight plastic clips instead of screws. Opening it requires forcing pry tools.

Strict Battery Safety: The 3,750 mAh battery is glued inside. Careless prying can puncture it and cause fire.

Tight Case Clearance: Heavy internal mods (like thick foam) can warp the PCB or crush the screen connectors.

Voided Warranty: Opening the case or modifying internal hardware immediately cancels your manufacturer warranty.




color themes



they have a few color themes for this mkb. the one i reviewed is phantom. they got others like blackberry mousse, pink gradient, light cloud. Pick your poison, but personally, i think phantom is the best i've ever seen for a mkb. that's my recommendation.


Added the picture of the pink gradient as well. These seems to be blanks on top, and put the legends on the bottom sides. This style is very subjective, so keep that in mind. The phantom i am using is the standard legend on the top AND also on sides which is more to my preference.





Keycaps











double shot. Meaning the contrast of the print on the keycaps is excellent, and because they are double shot, they won't wear out from the day you bought it. And in this phantom you got the different color double shots 

it's also pbt, meaning it won't shine (with that oily look) from using it after a long time. Meaning it will age well even with heavy use over time.



also notice that the keycaps some have a side-printed legends on the bottom side facing you? basically it can do 2 things for the keycaps. to use the function of the side printed legend, hold the Fn (Function) key first, then tap the corresponding key. It's a smart design because it reduces the amount of keycaps needed by making keycaps that have 2 functions that can be used with the fn.

One thing to note however, in a darkroom, even with continuous lighting effect, you can barely see the side south facing legends. they are (laser etched), so there is no window for lighting to go through. If you need them and use often, i suggest keeping a well lit environment. Most people won't be using those keys often to begin with.

This post has been edited by Moogle Stiltzkin: May 29 2026, 06:32 AM

port connectivity



has type c and regular usb. meaning you can add a wired cable to charge or just use with wire. seeing as the model is wifi, i suggest you simply charge it with the cable, and when charged, just remove the wire and use it in wireless. then you won't have the cable dangling.


FYI, with the lighting brightness set to max, a picture displaying on the screen, and a wave lighting effect running at a speed of roughly 30 in the settings, the mechanical keyboard's battery dropped from 100% to 14% in three days. Because of this, I plugged in the cable to recharge it. Even with other brands, you cannot expect to avoid frequent charging when using this much power.

You have a few options: use a less power-hungry lighting effect, charge it via cable every three days. If you absolutely need a bigger battery, they do offer other models in their store. However, with my exact settings, you will still have to charge frequently either way.

Simply charge it when needed. I keep my USB cable within arm's reach and can plug it in within a few seconds, and it took roughly almost half the day to fully charge, so it is really no big deal.



wireless

Before you start, there is the RK wifi usb adapter that is inserted to the top left side of the mkb. Pull that out then insert into a usb port on your desktop pc or laptop you are using the mkb for. This is for the wireless to connect to. Don't lose it.

on the side at the top left of the mkb is a button toggle u can press down or up. pressing down toggles the usb wired mode. toggling up enable the 2.4ghz wireless conection.

as for bluetooth, i found you had to use the knob on the top right of the mkb, press the button, then press on bluetooth. then go to your windows 11 pc, select blue tooth, then click on the RK98 then it will successfully pair.

i tested wired, 2.4ghz and bluetooth, all worked. bluetooth should uses less power, try using that. if you feel it's sluggish, switch to 2.4ghz wireless. i'm testing bluetooth for now.



*update

when not in use the wireless 2.4ghz and bluetooth will go to sleep. If you ever lose connectivity, just using the side top button on the left corner, press upward to quickly reconnect to wireless 2.4ghz



sleep mode


Yes, the keyboard does sleep automatically to save battery.

How the Auto-Sleep Mode Works

    Level 1 (Dimming): After 3 to 5 minutes of inactivity, the RGB backlights will turn off.

    Level 2 (Deep Sleep): After 10 to 15 minutes of inactivity, the keyboard goes into deep sleep mode and disconnects the wireless signal.
    Waking Up: Simply tap any key to wake it up instantly.





Adjustable angles



the bottom underside of the mkb by default you can set it flat as is. it has rubber feet. there actually 3 settings for this. flat, slight tilt, more tilt. all of them have rubber feet so they won't glide on your desk unless you use some heavy force to do so.




Gamer tip

As a gamer sometimes when typing, you MAY accidentally press the windows key then it brings out windows, then you die ingame.... oof.... what to do? Disable the win key. Press FN THEN Win key. Then notice the top left of the mkb there is a light for the win key. If it's on, means win key is disabled.







software

https://en.rkgaming.com/download/1/

rk hub




You can change the lighting theme using the knob, i didn't find any difficulty. that said, i found even easier with the windows app (rk hub) to select because it shows the name of the effect. also you can change keys as well if you need to.

another thing you can do is upload a image for the mkb screen





the quality looks good. it's actually better than i expected. I don't think the picture does it justice. Trust me it's quite sharp and good as long as the source image you upload isn't low quality of course. It's a tft lcd so you don't have to worry about burn-in issues.


Apparently it also even supports animated as well rather than just a static image.





open source?

No, the RK S98 does not support official open-source firmware like QMK, VIA, or Vial.

It relies on a proprietary microcontroller and closed-source wireless firmware to manage its complex hardware combination of the TFT smart screen, media knob, and tri-mode wireless connectivity (Bluetooth/2.4GHz/Wired). Royal Kludge restricts QMK/VIA support exclusively to a few dedicated wired-only models in their lineup.

If you want to configure the keyboard or find open-source alternatives, you have a few distinct options:

1. The Official Software Route
To remap keys, build macros, adjust RGB, or upload custom GIFs to the screen, you must use Royal Kludge's proprietary utilities:

RK Web Driver: A browser-based layout configuration tool available on the Royal Kludge Official Website. It requires a wired connection and a Chromium-based browser (Chrome or Edge).
Windows Desktop Software: A downloadable executable file used primarily for handling custom GIF uploads to the TFT screen.


2. Third-Party Open-Source Web Remappers

While you cannot flash an open-source firmware onto the chip, you can bypass the official clunky software using community-developed, open-source web applications that safely communicate with the default factory firmware:

Kludge Knight: A completely free, open-source project hosted on GitHub and accessible via KludgeKnight.com. It runs entirely locally in your browser using the WebHID API, allowing you to remap any key and adjust RGB on Windows, Mac, or Linux without installing background drivers.

Summary of What You Lose
Because the board lacks native QMK/Vial support:

You cannot configure advanced open-source layout features like Tap-Dance (one key doing different things if tapped vs. held) or multiple complex custom function layers.

You cannot modify the code structure of the on-screen menu or its tracking fonts.








lighting effects



Made a part 3 video to show you the lighting effects i could switch via the knob.

i tend to prefer a minimalist lighting setup. what worked for me that looks pretty was the "reaction" effect. It lights up the exact keys you click, and it changes the color each time u click on the keycaps. you don't get bored when you glimpse it as you are typing

or... you could go for something like effect 3, 6, 11, 17 which will continuously show lighting in a slow wave effect. You can even change the speed, i think the default was 20% for the effect 17. But that may use up more of your battery. Based on specs with rgb off its 200 hours, but with rgb on continuously is 30 hours.



*update

I'm also liking 3 and 17 for the lighting effects



build quality

Beginning with the chasis, No, the chassis is not metal.

The main case (chassis) of the Royal Kludge RK-S98 is made entirely of durable ABS plastic. However, it is designed with heavy internal sound dampening layers and a solid internal structure that gives it a heavy, premium feel weighing roughly 1.2 kg to 1.8 kg (depending on version packaging), meaning it does not feel cheap or hollow.




Although that may be the case for the upper case frame, when just looking at it, it doesn't look cheap.







It still looks and feels good. Also if you opt for mkbs with a alu metal full body chasis, that doesn't come free, you are paying extra for that. Adds some extra heft so it doesn't shift around sure, but realistically, the current rubber feet has enough grip to hold it in place. Also, it's lighter to pack up and bring with you if you are on the go.

It's more important for the keycaps to be pbt. You won't be pressing your fingerprints on casing, so you don't have to worry about wearing that part out.





Also to highlight that this mkb has custom plate-mounted stabilizers. What does that mean?






Because stuff like this often gets neglected to be mentioned, i wanted to point this out as this goes to show the build quality of the mkb in this regard.




The RK S98 features a rigid aluminum internal plate paired with an overall exterior housing constructed out of rigid ABS plastic.

The keyboard relies on specific architectural design elements to achieve a sturdy, acoustics-focused typing experience:

Why It Uses a Top-Mount Design

Top-Mount Layout: The internal aluminum plate is screwed directly into the upper part of the plastic housing. This design creates a stiff and highly consistent typing feel, providing snappy, solid feedback with every stroke.

Sound Dampening Layers: To control high-pitched internal echo and prevent a hollow case sound, Royal Kludge packs the board with a dense multi-layered sound-absorbing system. This includes a PET insulation sheet, an IXPE switch pad, and Poron case foam.

Acoustics & Mount: Built with a stable, rigid top-mount design and filled with a dense multi-layer sound-absorbing system (including a PET insulation sheet and IXPE switch pad). Paired with pre-lubed Chartreuse linear switches, this configuration dampens harsh, high-pitched vibrations to provide consistent bottom-out feedback and a surprisingly deep, muted, and creamy sound profile.

The keyboard is surprisingly dense—weighing around 1.2 kg to 1.88 kg depending on the internal configuration—giving it a very premium, planted feel on your desk.





As for cable management, there is none. But really you are not missing much. I've used mkbs in past where they could tuck in the cable but the fitting would be too tight, and it just didn't hide the cables well... since it still has to get under your desk to your desktop either way. If the cabling bothers you simply use wireless. Wired is fine for me, and to make it a cleaner look i have gromet holes on both sides of my desk to funnel the cables through for a cleaner look.




Teardown/disassembly


someone posted a teardown already here


easy enough. but what they didn't show was how to remove the switches themselves. You use the provided keycap puller and pinch it VERTICALLY, and pull straight up. As mentioned before, don't do this forcibly. Pinch vertical then pull straight up and it should come out smoothly without resistance. If it doesn't don't force it, just try again to pinch using the metallic keycap puller.

You normally would not need to disassemble your keyboard unless doing a deep clean. But as long as you do proper maintenance, like wiping the keycaps, or every few months remove keycaps to wash them, and use a hand held blower to blow out dust/dirt on the plate, and strongly recommended not to eat at your keyboard if at all possible and wash hands often, then you probably won't have to do it anything soon or at all for a deep clean.

Even if you did need to disassemble, it's much easier than older mkb models which were not easy to disassemble. This one was you can see is a modern mkb and designed to make it much easier to do.




Accessories




In the mkb box, there are these extra accessories. There is a quality keycap puller, a regular key cap puller, the usb cable for wired, and some extra switches for when you need to replace some when they wear out (it will take a very long while to wear, and usually wasd are the first to go for gaming mkbs)

Upon closer inspection actually that wired cable has an adapter to convert the type c to a usb type A via adapter.



NKRO ?


Firstly an explanation what NKRO is and why it matter





Yes and no. Yes if using wired or 2.4ghz wireless. It switches to 6KRO when using bluetooth mode.

Practically, even if using bluetooth, you won't normally have issues for 99% of the time. That 1% of the time is usually if you need more than 6KRO like when playing games like O2JAM where hitting more than 6KRO is a must.









Basically NKRO isn't an issue for this model.





Conclusion:


If I were to use a watch analogy, the Royal Kludge RK-S98 feels like a Maurice Lacroix Aikon. As an owner of a Maurice Lacroix Masterpiece 'Cinq Aiguilles' (Reference 27294), I see strong parallels between the two brands. ML is famous among collectors for offering 'luxury on a budget,' making their pieces look far more expensive than they are. RK feels like the mechanical keyboard equivalent. If they continue to compete aggressively on polish, features, and pricing, they will solidify that reputation. Ultimately, the RK-S98 sums up perfectly as something that feels genuinely premium, but on a budget.

My main point here is that when you buy a mechanical keyboard today, you aren't just getting something practical—it also doubles as a collectible. I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way, otherwise, why have so many people in the community kena MKB poison?





I rate out of 5 stars. 1 being worst, 5 being best.


aesthetic - 4.5
only reason it doesn't get a perfect 5 is because there are more expensive keyboards out there. but within this pricing, i would say it's a 5 for sure. Specifically for phantom. But this is very subjective as everyone's sense of aesthetic preference is different.

the top left shows if numlock, capslock, windows keys are active or not. and top right has knob and a screen which you can add a custom image to make it even nicer. And you got the sideprinting legends on keycaps. Overall it gives it a very nice look when you sum up all these things together.

connectivity - 4.5
has everything covered. it even has a special button switch top side left to quickly push up to connect to the 2.4ghz. the only reason why it didn't get a perfect 5, because there was no way to do blue tooth unless you use the knob dial to do so, which is slower to initially connect to than just using that left side switch by pressing upward. Maybe make it press up twice in quick succession to connect to bluetooth? just an idea


keycaps - 4.5
doubleshots pbt. ontop of a very nice phantom color theme.


performance - 4.5
No issues. The RK-Charteruse linear switches work well. latency on both 2.4ghz and bluetooth was also fine for gaming. But as mentioned bluetooth downgrades to 6kro whereas 2.4ghz wireless is nkro. I didn't find issues playing, but if you encounter issues, switch to wired or 2.4ghz

Well i won 1 game for apex legend with it





sound - 4
not an annoying sound. Also because it's lubed out of the box it sounds good. To be specific it's creamy. Refer to the example youtube in the review above.


build quality - 4
only reason it scored lower is because there do exists mkbs with a metal chasis. But really, the color scheme, doubleshot keycaps, screen, knob, connectivity, switches, pre-lubed, everything considered together, you know the quality is good and it's considered a budget mkb specifically an entry-level to mid-range mkb. So you have to keep in mind you are getting something that looks and feels premium on a budget pricing, hard to complain about that.


value - 4.5
As explained in build quality, it goes without saying, you are getting a lot of value for this price point for an entry-level to mid-range mkb.





This post has been edited by Moogle Stiltzkin: May 29 2026, 01:17 PM

Where to buy? Do I recommend this model? How to get discount?


Would i recommend this to others? yes, i'm using it and i have no problem recommending it. If you are interested you can click my signature below to go to the shop to buy



I recommend buying from their website using my link because, although there is a shopee store, you can get a cheaper price from the Official Royal Kludge store which i am promoting. You also have the discount affiliate voucher as well which will net you a total price that is lower than Shopee Malaysia.




Use this code for the discount voucher on the store




Mini tutorial for how to use the RKGaming store website to purchase

QUOTE

Keep in mind the store i am promoting (official royal kludge store) uses the SAME warehouse that shopee uses. The shipping for product will ship locally, or if they run out of stock they may end up shipping from china (at no additional cost to you). Same like how shopee does shipping basically.

Pricing is cheaper than shopee malaysia when using my affiliate discount code as promised. The code will work on ALL their models on the site (mechanical keyboards only).



Other perks from buying from the RK official shop i am promoting as well as additional notes


- Ordering from this store i am promoting, you can get their newer models faster than on shopee. If shopee doesn't have it, then this will, if it's something that RK had released.

Example, The RKS98 Pink Gradient, you can order from this shop, but you can't from shopee yet.

- Delivery times for products in stock locally are just as quick as the time between me providing you with the tracking number and the parcel arriving at your door which is e.g. 1-2 days.

- When out of stock, the mkb may be shipped from the China warehouses instead which takes 1 week.

- Can't stress this enough but the RK official store uses the same warehouses for shipping as shopee does

- In Malaysia, there are no additional shipping charges for orders dispatched from China; RK will cover the shipping costs and any applicable taxes. So the in checkout that is your final price. So no, you won't have to deal with customs issues or anything like that when ordering from this store.

- If you are too lazy to register to buy, you don't have to. Just add item to cart, fill in your details (shipping, recipient, payment) done. Don't need to stress with registration if you can't be bothered. I recommend doing so but it's not necessary.

- It's the official Royal Kludge store i am promoting for.

- The discount code i shared is only valid for Malaysia only. So if you are ordering for a different country, it won't be valid.

- I said the discount code is valid for all models, but this is only referring to the mechanical keyboards only, not other product categories e.g. mice etc.

This post has been edited by Moogle Stiltzkin: May 28 2026, 09:59 AM

Reviewer notes:

The mkb model in the review is the Royal Kludge RK-S98 Mechanical keyboard with Chartreuse switches. Color theme, phantom. keyboard layout IBM98K.

The youtube videos particularly the demos part 1, part2 and part 3 i did myself and is me testing it in person as proof i did do a personal review. Also i wanted to demonstrate how it sounds and looks like in action when gaming. I found no issues with it as you can see for yourself.

Some but not all pics i used from other sources. Because it was more important to provide good info and there is already available image sources so was better to use them to give the review justice for it's features and quality assessment. Just talking about it isn't enough without seeing it in slide presentations which speaks for itself really.

And as mentioned it's a sponsored review. That said, i would not bother if it's something i was not comfortable recommending to others. And just for the record, i also am a royal kludge affiliate. If you want to help, use my affiliate link in my signature below my posts by clicking it to go to the site if you plan to buy any RK mkbs to support me

My first experience with the Royal Kludge brand was a RKM75 gasket 81 keys wireless mkb which i gifted to my niece. This i bought myself after doing research. So when i'm recommending their product, i also have previous purchases from them non-sponsored before. So i'm not just blindly recommending their product without having invested in them myself before.

I also recommend subscribing to the RK newsletter. It's on their site via my signature link at the very bottom of their website. So when there is a new product or some discounts/deals you will know via email alerts.

This post has been edited by Moogle Stiltzkin: May 25 2026, 12:29 PM

*work in progress

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