Closer Examination

As we saw before, the Genesis RX85 RGB keyboard comes inside a plastic wrap to keep it clean and free of dust out of the box. Removing it, we get our first good look, which confirms the continuation of the black and red color scheme. A red-colored plastic case coupled with a thin aluminium frame in a gunmetal gray with green tint is paired with more traditional black keycaps on this full-size keyboard. Despite the larger form factor, it pretty much weighs exactly a kilogram owing to the composition of the keyboard. This makes the Genesis RX85 easy enough to transport, but the attached cable doesn't help. The form factor is an interesting one given the minimal bezels on the left and right, especially with the frame flowing over the edge to make it come off more seamless in person. An extension in the top-right corner accommodates the volume wheel and two extra keys, with the indicator LEDs moved slightly to the left as seen above. The brushed finish on the frame adds some flair, but the Genesis logo in white comes off quite strong.

That is not as distracting as the keycap legends, however. Genesis is using doubleshot injected legends, and they are the older, seamed style on the loops that are incomplete, such as on D, Q, etc. This in itself is not a big deal, especially knowing the keyboard is from 2020, but the font for the legends will be quite divisive. Some even made me shake my head—PaBk for Pause/Break, for example, and 6 looking more like G. The numpad is without the general secondary legends on most keys, but still goes with Ins/Del on 0 and period (.). as a head-scratcher. The alphanumeric section has the general secondary legends placed alongside the primary ones at the top, with some keyboard-specific secondary legends below the primary ones. Single-legend placement is also at the top and in the center, which all indicates the use of north-facing LEDs on the keyboard.


Turning the keyboard around, we see more of the red case employed here. It's a lighter red in practice, and not offensively bright, either. The certification sticker is in the middle, and four rubber pads at the corners prevent the keyboard from sliding around on your desk. Genesis also goes practical with two keyboard feet at the top for an added keyboard elevation option, and these are on the larger side of average to prevent them from slipping back down under pressure. There is enough room for your fingers to easily lift them up courtesy the cutout in the case, and the two feet also have rubber pads at the bottom.


I mentioned before how there is an attached cable, which extrudes from the middle on the side facing away from the user and towards the source. The cable is fairly thick for what is essentially a USB signal for power and data, with black sleeving over the entirety of the 6-foot long cable. You will need a spare USB Type A port on your PC thus, and USB 2.0 will suffice.


The provided magnetic wrist rest is the easiest thing to work with here. Simply align the two and watch the magnets in the case and wrist rest do their job. The wrist rest is designed with the Genesis RX85 case in mind and maintains the curves at the bottom corners while having the red case visible as an accent. As with any such wrist or palm rest, it had best only be used if you need to. Proper ergonomics dictate touch-typing with the hands hovering over the keyboard instead of angled up or down.


Touch-typing without a wrist rest is quite possible too owing to the relatively gentle slope and low-profile case. Genesis is also using the tried and tested OEM profile for the keycaps, with the expected contouring of the six rows. The keycaps are made out of thick PBT plastic (average wall thickness 1.3 mm) with doubleshot injected primary and general secondary legends in a seamed manner as seen before. These are backlighting-compatible, but the same cannot be said about the keyboard-specific legends that appear pad printed but could just be laser etched with a protective layer on top. Regardless, not only are these opaque, they also aren't as durable as the rest of the keyboard. Genesis does employ standard key spacing should you wish to use a custom keycap set, but doing so means you can no longer rely on the keycaps showing you the various pre-programmed functions.


The Genesis RX85 is only available in the tactile Kailh Brown switch option, which is a surprising choice for a gaming-centric keyboard, as I would have expected a linear switch option at the very least. However, it is the more typical RGB version of this switch that is compatible with SMD LEDs underneath and has a clear top to diffuse said light. Genesis could have also gone with a 2-pin LED mounted above the switch, as seen with the photos above. The Kailh Brown RGB mechanical switch is based on the Cherry MX Brown RGB switch and a medium-force tactile switch. The larger keycaps employ plate-mounted stabilizers of the cheaper variety, with the cross-pointed plastic supports wobbling all over the place when on the stabilizer bar, which are not pre-lube and loose enough to where lifting up the keycap ends with them coming off, too. Not the best stabilizer implementation, which hurts with the space bar key moving around and R.Shift, numpad +, and Enter keys especially rattly, too.