The Epomaker RT98 is a retro-looking mechanical keyboard with VIA compatibility and a standout feature: a modular number pad that can be moved to the left or right. It delivers strong typing acoustics and smooth switch options, but its plastic build and low-cr
A keyboard that can finally split the room—number pad lovers and their quiet detractors—doesn’t sound like something the market needed. Yet when the Epomaker RT98 crossed my desk, it did what fewer boards manage: it made the tenkey debate feel less like a preference and more like a layout choice.
The pitch is simple. The RT98 is a mechanical keyboard with a charming retro aesthetic and a detachable. CRT-like screen that can show the date. time. connection statuses. or loop built-in cat GIFs. It also supports VIA. and it comes with a modular number pad that can be moved to either side—right or left—without surrendering the functionality people buy tenkey for. In other words: you don’t have to fight your mouse hand anymore.
The RT98 is Epomaker’s most recently crowdfunded mechanical keyboard. For $119. it’s available in a prebuilt configuration with either Epomaker’s Creamy Jade linear switches or its Sea Salt Silent V2 linears. When it ships. you can choose whether the number pad sits on the right or left—and because it’s modular. you can change that later.
The idea of a southpaw keyboard isn’t new. Keychron has offered left-handed numpad layouts for years. and older examples include Asus ROG Claymores and the Mountain Everest Max with swappable or removable number pads. But most of those were costly and more overtly gaming-styled. The RT98 takes a more understated route: retro charm. real desk-friendly practicality. and a layout flex that feels like a small revolution inside an otherwise familiar 1800-layout world.
To test it, I used the RT98 first in right-handed mode with silent switches, then moved the number pad to the left and swapped to the Creamy Jades. The typing in both switch setups was solid.
The RT98 is built with modern enthusiast hallmarks: an internal gasket-mounted design with layers of foam under the PCB to give the typing acoustics a fuller sound—even in a plastic chassis. It also uses a solid PCB and a polycarbonate switch plate without any flex cuts. That detail matters. Compared with boards that feel more pillowy under pressure, the RT98 comes across a touch sharper.
With the Sea Salt Silent V2 linears, the sound is smooth and quiet. There’s a catch: the plate-mounted stabilizers in the space bar. Enter. Shift. and backspace keys are louder than the rest of the board. It’s still a workable setup if you don’t want to bother a desk neighbor or disrupt a video call. The comparison point feels inevitable—Dry Studio ATM 98. which was reviewed recently and costs more. is a better-sounding silent board with nicer keycaps. Epomaker’s included PBT keycap set has a pleasing beige nostalgia vibe. but the dye-sub printed legends look cheap and aren’t crisp.
When the Creamy Jades are in, the RT98 leans into a crisp, marbley tone that stays pleasant over time. “Creamy” makes people think of the raindrops-on-a-window character found on popular boards like the Aula F75. a brand that collaborates with Epomaker on some keyboards. The RT98 and Creamy Jades play in that same ballpark—but with a richer. darker tone than the F75 Max I briefly used. I preferred the RT98 with the Creamy Jades.
For all the talk of sound and switch feel. the real reason the RT98 stands out is the modular number pad. I don’t work in data entry, so the digits I type most often are occasional. Still. having a dedicated numpad on the left—out of the way of my mouse hand—has a quiet efficiency to it. the same way a dedicated wireless pad can be useful.
The board comes with a simple nylon-wrapped USB cable, a small hex wrench, a couple of spare switches, and alternate Mac keys.
Changing the position takes time, but not hours. The process involves removing the bottom screws. popping off the top cases from both the main section and number pad. swapping the internals. and reattaching everything. It isn’t the most labor-intensive job. but it does require temporarily unplugging the cable for the detachable screen’s pogo pin connectors and repositioning the number pad’s ribbon cable.
What makes the whole thing a little tense is how physical it is. I couldn’t find instructions in the box for doing this. I found Epomaker’s step-by-step video tutorial instead, and with that I had everything done in about 30 minutes. Still, the experience revealed a weakness: prying the plastic open and pressing its clips back into place felt nerve-wracking. It’s the kind of detail that makes you handle the board carefully, even if the steps themselves are straightforward. I kept thinking the RT98 would be stronger with metal.
Epomaker’s detachable screen adds another layer of customization. It can show the date, time, and connection statuses, or loop built-in cat GIFs. Connecting the keyboard to Epomaker’s web-based driver lets you sync the clock and customize three GIFs. It was easy enough to load up some silly GIFs and watch them endlessly loop.
There’s not much functional use beyond that. A screen for date/time and connection status would still be helpful. but this one’s main charm is the whimsy. The magnetic nature of it would be more useful if Epomaker built an ecosystem of attachable accessories—but company reps never replied to questions about whether that’s coming.
In the end, the RT98 lands as a very good keyboard with a very specific hook. The typing and acoustics are strong, and the modular number pad is genuinely useful for people who want a numpad without committing to it permanently on one side. But it also comes with tradeoffs that feel hard to ignore.
The RT98 costs anywhere from $40 to $60 more than various Aula or other entry-level boards. and its build quality is only a tad nicer. At $119, it sits around the starting price of fancier keyboards with aluminum cases. It’s also only $10 shy of something like the Wobkey Rainy75, which includes much nicer keycaps. If you’re not buying the modular numpad feature and the retro vibes. the price starts to feel like an ask.
For people who do want that combo—switch options. a VIA-friendly setup. and a layout that can shift between right- and left-hand numpad positions—the RT98 is the kind of keyboard you’ll tinker with. enjoy. and then likely set into a home position. Not because you have to. Because you finally get to pick.
Epomaker RT98 mechanical keyboard modular number pad VIA compatibility Creamy Jade Sea Salt Silent V2 CRT-like screen southpaw keyboard