i-Rocks K10 Rock Series Gaming Keyboard Review

Today on our test bench we will be taking a look at the K10 gaming keyboard from i-Rocks. The K10 is from the ROCK series of peripherals, which includes a mouse, the M09 and the A05 headset along with the C10 mouse mat and is promoted as a serious alternative to mechanical gaming keyboards, with an extra-long key stroke distance for a standard membrane keyboard.

Packaging and Bundle

The K10 is supplied in a medium sized cardboard box with the ROCK logo centred, along with iconography highlighting the key features of the keyboard. Additionally, on the left hand side of the front there is a large cut out which shows part of the keyboard, protected underneath a hard plastic cover. Turning to the back of the package we find much more information on the K10 features along with a note of the specifications and a large photo of the keyboard itself.

Opening up the package we find the keyboard held snuggly by cardboard with additional protection from a hard plastic cover, ensuring that damage during transit is unlikely. We don’t have any additional elements beyond the keyboard this is a straight up plug and play model.

While not part of the K10 keyboard package, i-Rocks sent along with the review model the IR1080 LED gaming backpack. This backpack is designed to accommodate the K10 keyboard, along with a laptop and other gaming peripherals such as a mouse and rolled-up mouse pad. The backpack has plenty of room in it and the compartments have plenty of straps to secure our equipment.

A Closer Look

Taking the K10 out the package we find it is a full sized QWERTY keyboard with separate number pad. The keyboard measures 448mm x 148mm x 39mm (L x W x H) and weighs around 1.2Kg. The K10 uses POM keys switches which are designed to give a higher level of tactile feedback compared to standard membrane keyboards and all of the keys on the K10 are rated for 20 million presses.

The K10 has a 3.8mm key stroke carry and it also has a 30 key anti-ghosting mechanism, ensuring that in the heat of game play we don’t miss any key presses.

Turning the K10 over we find a flat base that has USB cable grooves that allow us to have the USB cable exit to the left, right or middle of the keyboard. The K10 also has four rubberised pads on the base to ensure stability, along with two feet that can be used to tilt the keyboard into an alternate typing position.

Finally, we have the cable and connector. The K10 is a USB keyboard with a 180cm cable length with a polling rate of 1000 Hz.

User Experience & Conclusion
Let’s start with the build quality of the K10. Out of the box the keyboard as a really nice feel to it, really solid in fact. Though not to heavy it doesn’t feel lightweight and the keyboard sits still on our desk with ease. The black finish on front and back of the keyboard is decent, though we were a bit confused by the red trim around the outside. i-Rocks uses a predominantly green colour in their packaging and LEDs, so we would have expected a green trim.

Elsewhere the design of the K10 is simple and understated and being a plug and play model there isn’t any fancy software or configuration settings that we need to worry about.

Using the keyboard is a very nice experience. The typing experience of the K10 is one the best we have found on a membrane keyboard and i-Rocks have done well when looking to mimic the mechanical “feel”. The K10 also has reinforced keycaps adding to the long term durability which is a nice touch.

Turning to the price, the K10 is available for around £35/ $45 which is a very competitive price for a quality gaming keyboard. We feel that the K10 offers exceptional value for money, given the quality of the build and typing feel.