Lighting and Performance

The i-Rocks K71R supports N-key rollover USB and 2.4 GHz out of the box, which tested successfully using Aqua's test. You can switch to 6KRO using onboard controls if needed as well. Switch Hitter confirmed no chatter with these keys either, and as with most modern keyboards, an Fn key replaces the right Win key.

When first powered on and running, the keyboard lights up in a rainbow wave for backlighting and side lighting alike, although the latter comes off more like a spiral rainbow effect since it goes around the keyboard. As such, you will immediately notice the default lighting effects are not synchronized even if they still look impressive.


One of the available lighting effects in the software program helps test for light bleed easily and we see it's quite minimal here owing to non-floating keycaps. The light show from the side-firing LEDs ends up taking your attention anyway. Interestingly, the white case did not seem to provide any effect compared to the black K71M. I then manually set all the keys to white to test for color fidelity since RGB LEDs have a hard time depicting white, and it was one of the better looking whites with only a slight pink hue to the color. I'd also say the light bar is best used with a dynamic effect since it helps minimize the visibility of the individual LEDs you will otherwise see in a static mode—especially on the sides and bottom compared to the top where more of the plastic diffuser is in use.


For those who would rather not use the software drivers a lot, the onboard functionality comes in quite handy. Indeed, most of the lighting effects are already stored onboard, so you can toggle through the lighting presets as described in the user manual in addition to changing effect speed and direction. This is true for both backlighting and side lighting, but controls on the colors in particular are finer in the software. There are also several pre-programmed functions here, including multimedia controls and Windows OS shortcuts, which adds to the user experience.


In my opinion at least, the wheel in the top-right corner is the biggest distinguishing feature compared to the average gaming keyboard. Three buttons alongside are used to configure the functionality of the smart wheel, which ranges from a rotational volume control mode for volume decreases/increases and pressing toggles for muting/unmuting, a task switcher mode to go through open applications, and a Windows-specific smart wheel mode. Indeed, it is recognized as a wheel device similar to the Surface Dial and allows users to add custom tools and actions associated with programs including browsers, photo/video editing software, and graphics creation tools. For example, you can use the wheel to increase the brush size in Paint 3D or change tabs in Chrome. Some of this functionality depends on the programs themselves and whether there is wheel support, but there are also some basic preset options to choose from depending on the rotational direction and clicking of the wheel itself.

Wireless connectivity is simple in the absence of Bluetooth and associated multi-client support. The i-Rocks K71R only does 1:1 pairing be it wired or 2.4 GHz wireless. You simply turn the switch on the back to R to enable wireless mode and the battery kicks in immediately. I had no connection issues with the pre-paired dongle and did not experience any perceptive lag either. Battery life is rated for 180 hours with the LEDs turned off and I can confirm as much, or close enough to where I decided to charge the battery. There is an indicator LED for the battery status during charging and discharging cycles too although more granularity would have been nice beyond simply low power/charging/fully charged. With the LEDs turned on, things reduce to ~20-25 hours depending on brightness and lighting effects—this can be slightly increased by turning off side lighting too. There is a built-in power saver mode and you can also change the the time period for this wherein the LEDs will turn off and the keyboard will enter a sleep mode. It helps preserve battery life further and allows for a keyboard that can last a good while before you need to plug it in.


If you are in the market for the i-Rocks K71R, chances are high the only switch option on offer will be the Gateron Brown RGB switch. This is based off the Cherry MX Brown RGB switch and arguably improves upon it if you expect to have tactile feedback—I could write an entire essay about how the MX Brown feels more like a stiffer MX Red (linear) switch instead! The Gateron Brown is one of the quieter switches on the market too, especially if you touch type and not bottom out, and has a perceptible bump along the travel pathway. Note that this happens before actuation itself, as seen in the force-travel diagram above, but is close enough to where if you feel the bump you are likely to at least actuate. I would also classify this as a medium-force switch with a rated 55 gf actuation at ~2 mm and a peak force ~65 gf at 4 mm. As such, I won't be surprised if people are more likely to bottom out here after all given the small gap between the two rated numbers that also matched my findings quite closely. The switches are not pre-lubed and there are switches from manufactuers, including Gateron, with tighter mold tolerances which come off smoother to type on, so it's best to treat these as a decent starter switch for RGB keyboards these days. The lack of any hot-swappable switch sockets means you won't be able to easily replace them either, unfortunately.


As always, the sound of a keyboard is based on more than just the switch type. So when comparing sound clips, consider the keyboard as a whole. In this case, I have provided above an example sound clip of me typing on the i-Rocks K71R sample at ~105 WPM as it comes out of the box with the Gateron Brown RGB switches. For context, you can find sound clips from other keyboards here, including those with tactile switches. I did bottom out more often than not, although you can train yourself to feel the tactile bump and stop slightly past that point. The sound-absorbing pad helps somewhat, but not in a manner that is picked up by the microphone. It is more useful in mitigating any reverberations from the downstroke ping onto the steel plate, which in itself is still the loudest part of the typing experience on the keyboard.