CM Storm Quick Fire Rapid (Cherry MX Red) Mechanical Keyboard Review

[siopao1984]

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CM Storm Quick Fire Rapid (Cherry MX Red) Mechanical Keyboard Review by VR-Zone.com

Built with Cherry MX Red switches, the CM Storm Quick Fire Rapid is Cooler Master's first foray into gaming keyboards. Featuring a "tenkeyless" design, we see if it is a worthy mobile companion to bring along for competitive LAN sessions and for general use.

The Package

Front of Box



Back of Box



The Keyboard



Removable Braided (offers some protection against breakages) Gold Plated USB to Micro-USB Cable



Extra Keycaps, Keycap puller and PS/2 to USB Convertor



User Guide

[siopao1984]

The Keyboard

Front of Keyboard - We particularly like the lack of glossiness/fingerprint magnet on the rubber coated surface.



Back of Keyboard - the build quality is very solid.



Beneath the keyboard - the legs are a little flimsy



Micro-USB connector - the wires can be routed in 3 different directions depending on your desk setup



Keycap Puller. You can also see that the type face of the key is quite sharp (supposingly laser marked)



Cherry MX Red mechanical switches offers very low resistance and a linear feedback.



Installed with the provided red keycaps



Lighted Caps Lock



Multimedia Shortcuts



CM STORM Logo

[siopao1984]

The Test

The "tenkeyless" design forgoes the seldom used traditional numpad, thus saving horizontal space on crowded desks and allows for larger gaming mousepads.



When using the USB connector, it allows up to 5 keys to be actuated simultaneously. Cooler Master claims that it should be able to do NKRO in PS/2 mode.



During subjective testing, we liked the feel and acoustics of the keyboard (over the noisy Cherry Blue based Razer BlackWidow Ultimate and the Cherry MX Black based SteelSeries 6G). In an intense CS:Source match and when typing this article, we did not notice any input lag or layout obtuseness (shortened right shift keys are the devil's work). One feature lacking that we would have liked is LED lights for typing in the dark.



Conclusion

At SGD$145 / USD$79.99 / PHP2,800, it is one of the most value for money mechanical keyboard in the market. The "tenkeyless" design offers more table space for larger mousepads, something that professional gamers with large mousepads and users with cluttered desktops will appreciate. I know I would be using this for my extended Battlefield 3 domination sessions...

[Conrad]

naa baligya ani diri? tagpila gani? basin mahal napud kau

[siopao1984]

naa baligya ani diri? tagpila gani? basin mahal napud kau

Conclusion

At SGD$145 / USD$79.99 / PHP2,800, it is one of the most value for money mechanical keyboard in the market.

not sure if this is already available in PH