Software

There is software support for the Genesis RX85 RGB keyboard. Called "Genesis RX85 RGB software," it is keyboard-specific, as with most budget keyboards using the Vision USB microcontroller we have seen before. Two versions are available on the product page, but even the newer version 1.1 has a file with a last modified date of Aug 18, 2017! It downloads as a compressed ~5.5 MB folder, and installing the software is fairly straightforward. You do get to choose the install folder; however, there is no EULA or T&C agreement, nor any option to select whether or not you wish to have a desktop or start menu shortcut—Genesis takes the liberty of installing both, and who knows what else you've inadvertently agreed to. I want this to be more transparent, but realize that is unlikely to happen. The final installation takes up 10.6 MB, and the software is light on system resources.


When you do open the program for the first time, it's best to have the keyboard already connected. I immediately recognized this as just a different skin on the same software suite I have seen many times on other budget keyboards—that Vision controller clearly has the same basic software drivers making rounds. In fact, the same issues are present here, including a mediocre user interface with too much wasted space, no re-sizing option for the window, and the same poor scaling with high DPI/OS scaling factors. I had to turn my 4K display back to 1080p and 100% scaling to get it to render well enough to be useful, and it thankfully remains useful after reverting to 4K provided you do not quit the application.

Having seen this software suite multiple times, I know exactly what you do and don't get. Even with the display scaling issues solved, there are a couple of drop-down menus that go beyond the space occupied by the home page, which is why a couple of places in the video look cut off. The "About" section hasn't been updated from v1.0 to v1.1, though I don't know what was updated or is different between the two. It does confirm the 2017 date for this program, though! There are three software profiles to choose from, and these require the drivers to be running in the background to take effect. This is the same for key mapping and more complex lighting effects, with the virtual keyboard helping with the former but not the latter.

There are four sets of key-mapping options, including some multimedia presets and a macro recorder. It will take a couple of minutes to figure out how to go about using these options, but the software meets most user needs in this regard. Likewise, with backlighting controls, there are a few pre-programmed static, dynamic, and reactive effects with some sub-options, including brightness, speed, direction, and color of said effect. You get full 16.8 M per-key RGB lighting, especially in custom mode, via 256 brightness steps per R/G/B channel. A look towards the bottom shows that the polling rate is by default set to 1000 Hz, which can be reduced to 100/250/500 Hz, but nothing more than 1000 Hz is available here. It's an older keyboard, so don't expect recent features even though it was a flagship-class unit.