Visual inspection
The Riotoro Ghostwriter Elite has a modern design and uses both plastic and metal in its construction. The top plate which covers the PCB is made from aluminum as well as the back red ornament. The lower body is made from plastic and has the same matte texture as the rest of the keyboard, regardless of the material used.
The Ghostwriter Elite is available in four variants, the difference between them is down to the model of Cherry MX mechanical switch used. The available switches are: Cherry MX Red, Blue, Brown and Black
The keyboard itself has a weight of approximately 1150 grams, this is due to the sturdy construction of the lower body and to the aluminum made components. The usage of metallic components, even for aesthetic purposes, does increase the overall rigidity of the plastic body of the keyboard.
The aluminum made components found on the Ghostwriter Elite are the top plate that covers the PCB and the red ornament that is attached to the back of the keyboard.
The included wrist rest has a simple system that attaches to the keyboard, two magnets. This simplistic method of attaching the wrist rest and keyboard, is more reliable than a complex plastic made swivel mechanism.
At the back, there is a single USB 2.0 port, this acts as a pass-through for your system.
One of the highlights of the Riotoro Ghostwriter Elite is the bi-directional volume Roller, this by default, will control the system volume of your computer. It has a good rotating motion with satisfying steps to give you a better tactile feedback on how much you are altering the volume.
The back of the keyboard is simple, there is no channel for routing the cable or other design elements, apart from an embossed glossy Riotoro emblem.
The keyboard has a total of 5 rubber pads and two additional pads placed on the height adjustable feet. In addition, the magnetic detachable wrist wrest has its own rubber pads. 
The Ghostwriter Elite has two height adjustable feet, each with its own rubber pad applied on the top, to provide more grip. These feet are not using a step design, this means that the keyboard has only two height options, low or high.
The cable has two standard USB 2.0 connectors, one for data and the other for the USB pass-through. The cable itself has a length of approximately 1.8m and is covered by thick braided textile sleeving, which increases the rigidity of the cable.
The mechanical switches available on the Riotoro Ghostwriter Elite are made by Cherry and are the models: MX Red, Blue, Brown and Black. In this review, the MX Red variant is used for testing, photos and video. The switches offer a great tactile feedback and have a single RGB LED integrated into the switch housing.
The quality of the PCB and its components is good, with no defects into the soldering or cables pressed against other components or soldering points.
The main processing unit of the Ghostwriter Elite is a 32-bit ARM Cortex-M0 microcontroller, with the model number: LPC11U24F. This microcontroller features a flash memory of 256 KB and 32 KB RAM. This chip also manages the single USB 2.0 pass-through found at the back of the keyboard.
The rest of the components are connected to the PCB using plastic connectors. This includes the bi-directional volume roller, LED strip at the back, and the cable of the keyboard. Using connectors instead of soldering the wires directly on the PCB allows for an easier service of the keyboard.
