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Hey number pad lovers, this is a keyboard we can finally agree on
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Hey number pad lovers, this is a keyboard we can finally agree on
The Epomaker RT98 is a retro-looking mechanical keyboard you can customize in many ways — including its numpad position.
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by Antonio G. Di Benedetto
Antonio G. Di Benedetto
Reviewer, Laptops
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Jul 4, 2026, 2:00 PM UTC
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I’m right-hand dominant but a lefty at heart.
| Photo: Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge
Part Of Look at this keyboard see all updates
Antonio G. Di Benedetto
Antonio G. Di Benedetto
Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Follow See All by Antonio G. Di Benedetto
is a reviewer covering laptops and the occasional gadget. He spent over 15 years in the photography industry before joining The Verge as a deals writer in 2021.
I know a vocal group of people who swear by the number pad on their keyboard. And yet, for years I haven’t cared about using one — until I put my hands on the Epomaker RT98. It’s a mechanical keyboard with a charming retro aesthetic, a fun CRT-like screen, VIA compatibility, a nice typing feel, and most importantly, a modular number pad that can be moved to either side. It’s a clever compromise in a budget friendly-ish board, allowing you to further customize your setup without losing the functionality of the coveted “tenkey.”
But like many mechanical keyboards out there, it’s got some unique quirks and tradeoffs.
7
Verge Score
Epomaker RT98
$119
$119
The Good
- Ambidextrous number pad
- Nice-feeling and -sounding silent switches
- Even nicer creamy switches
- Magnetic CRT-style screen is silly but fun
The Bad
- Plasticky build
- Moving the number pad is a slightly fiddly process
- Printed legends on the keycaps look low-quality and not sharp
- Around the starting price of nicer aluminum keyboards
How we rate and review products
The RT98 is Epomaker’s most recently crowdfunded mechanical keyboard, costing $119 for a prebuilt model configured with either the brand’s own Creamy Jade linear switches or Sea Salt Silent V2 linears. You can also choose to have your number pad on the right or the left when it ships to you, but being modular, this is something you can change on your own.
Southpaw keyboards with left-handed numpads aren’t new (Keychron has made them easily accessible for years), but this keyboard’s switch-hitter status is rare. There were a couple of oldAsus ROG Claymores and the Mountain Everest Max with swappable / removable number pads, but they were costly and garish gaming keyboards.
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