Cooler Master CM Storm QuickFire XT Keyboard Review @ [H]

Cooler Master CM Storm QuickFire XT Keyboard Review - Cooler Master refreshes its Quick Fire line of keyboards with a full size version that features a conservative, low profile appearance. With a choice of four different Cherry MX key switches, we definitely think there is something to be found here for even the most discerning keyboard enthusiast.

Other than the Windows key light, I didn't catch any negatives. What are the reasons for Silver vs Gold?

Last page, under tech support:

He then posted several links to third party sights as well as the

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should read

He then posted several links to third party sites as well as the

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DOH! My high school English teachers would never forgive that......

Ok, got quick question for any that knows , trying to figure which of key types is closest to what i am using now .
Which is a OEM Dell type, which has slight spring pressure and does make some noise , but there not tactical IMO .

I am guessing something between red and brown but not sure .

EdKiefer said:

Ok, got quick question for any that knows , trying to figure which of key types is closest to what i am using now .
Which is a OEM Dell type, which has slight spring pressure and does make some noise , but there not tactical IMO .

I am guessing something between red and brown but not sure .

Click to expand...

Are you talking 15 year old Dell keyboard? Otherwise you are referring to membrane and it is not comparable to a mechanical in any way.

Red and Brown are totally different switches as well. Red is light pressure no tactile feedback, perfect for gamers without "fat fingers." Brown are tactile without the pop. More for typists than gamers.

I'm guessing you comparing apples to oranges and will need to do the research yourself to figure out what type of mechanical works for you.

no back lighting? I am in the market for a new keyboard but it must have back lighting for night time gaming in the dark. Actually, I love my current IBM keyboard - it just doesn't have back lighting.

How about a noise level check on these things? The one thing no one seems to mention is how noisy these mechanical keys are. If you are a lone gamer in a room with no one else and headphones on, no problem. You share the space with someone else, or you prefer speakers, prepare for a whole new level of noise coming from beneath your fingertips.

I got a CM QuickFire Rapid awhile back to use with my living room PC, (mostly because it was the smallest width keyboard I could find that was designed for gaming at the time). I have long since forgotten how load mechanical keyboards are (and I used them back in the 70's) and this was a surprising reminder when I first used it.

There's a tradeoff, but honestly I don't notice it that much, and honestly how many keys do you actually need to press at a time on a regular keyboard for that to be an issue?

For those that swear by them, more power to you, it's just not my cup of tea, and for the uninitiated be prepared for a shift in sound level than what you were accustomed to.

AARGH!

haste. said:

Are you talking 15 year old Dell keyboard? Otherwise you are referring to membrane and it is not comparable to a mechanical in any way.

Red and Brown are totally different switches as well. Red is light pressure no tactile feedback, perfect for gamers without "fat fingers." Brown are tactile without the pop. More for typists than gamers.

I'm guessing you comparing apples to oranges and will need to do the research yourself to figure out what type of mechanical works for you.

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2005 era Dell but I have had older 1995 era to and not much different that I can remember .

I know these are different as are mechanical , I guess I have to check them out in a store .

I have no issue with one I have, just trying to figure if I had to replace which would be good in comparison to what i have used .

AARGH! said:

How about a noise level check on these things? The one thing no one seems to mention is how noisy these mechanical keys are. If you are a lone gamer in a room with no one else and headphones on, no problem. You share the space with someone else, or you prefer speakers, prepare for a whole new level of noise coming from beneath your fingertips.

I got a CM QuickFire Rapid awhile back to use with my living room PC, (mostly because it was the smallest width keyboard I could find that was designed for gaming at the time). I have long since forgotten how load mechanical keyboards are (and I used them back in the 70's) and this was a surprising reminder when I first used it.

There's a tradeoff, but honestly I don't notice it that much, and honestly how many keys do you actually need to press at a time on a regular keyboard for that to be an issue?

For those that swear by them, more power to you, it's just not my cup of tea, and for the uninitiated be prepared for a shift in sound level than what you were accustomed to.

AARGH!

Click to expand...

Sound really isn't a big issue once you learn not to slam the keys (outside of the clicky MX Blue/Green/White). My SO's little brother makes more noise slamming away at a standard Logitech rubber-dome then the both of us during raid time on MX Reds; esp. after o-ring modding with cheapo orthodontic bands ($2 USD for 200), but we did that more so to dampen the feel of bottoming out.

AARGH! said:

How about a noise level check on these things? The one thing no one seems to mention is how noisy these mechanical keys are.

....

For those that swear by them, more power to you, it's just not my cup of tea, and for the uninitiated be prepared for a shift in sound level than what you were accustomed to.

AARGH!

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That's why there are 4 different style keys.. read the whole review.

Would black, red, or brown switches most likely mimic the feel of (blue, maybe green?) rubber dome caps circa 1996? I have not had the opportunity to test a cherry-outfitted keyboard but am somewhat concerned about increased noise and encountering a vastly different key feel. These rubber domes seem smooth to me with the slightest hint of a bump when the dome collapses into the keypress, but i do not know how that is going to compare to browns offhand. I do have very minor past experiences with the IBM clicky boards but nothing recent to compare with.

I am currently using an AT&T RT 101 (http://product-images.highwire.com/3212671/6adbbd08-5b38-411d-8faa-248539328a17.jpg - Mine is clean unlike the one in that shot.. yuck.) Been using this keyboard since i got my first computer back in 96. Pretty much love it except for the ghosting troubles it has. Requires a bit of creative key mapping or autohotkey reassignment/macro use to perform certain combinations of keys especially if they involve the modifiers or the arrow keys.

Has seen an extraordinary amount of use and is still going strong with exception to its melting rubber feet and fiddly PS2 connector that sometimes cuts out if bumped causing the repeat rate on the board to reset and need fixing in windows.

Would love to hear experiences people had when moving from rubber keycaps to mechanical, and whether or not the browns/blacks/reds were most like their old experience.

Earl & Kyle, thanks a bunch for doing this review. It reminds me of older [H] reviews with the testing of customer support and all. Really nice to see and I hope more products get the same treatment, I'm, sure many of us miss it.

CM storm looks great. I look forward to a back lit version, though I'd bet that would put it over the $100 mark.

It would also be nice to let the readers know which mechanical keys are the quietest to loudest in order. For some of us it's an issue. My g/f sometimes complains about the MX Blues in my blackwidow, so I'm looking into MX browns(quieter) or MX Reds(I'm not sure). I wear headphones so I could care less myself. Cheers!

For a long time I had two 10keyless CM Storms, one at work and one at home. The one at work having red keys the one at home having brown. Recently I bought the 10key with red switches [H] reviewed to replace my 10keyless w/brown switches. I think these keyboards are great. They deserve gold. They are just solid products for cheap.

Also highly recommend red switches... they're not too light, you just get used to typing on them, plus they're quietest. No one has ever commented on my keyboard at work... then again cube next to me someone has a IBM Model M.

thanks for the review as always. Will you be getting a CM novatouch for review anytime soon?

EdKiefer said:

Ok, got quick question for any that knows , trying to figure which of key types is closest to what i am using now .
Which is a OEM Dell type, which has slight spring pressure and does make some noise , but there not tactical IMO .

I am guessing something between red and brown but not sure .

Click to expand...

Closest would probably be the Topre, so you would want to wait for the CM novatouch if you want something more similar to rubber dome (I have never used one, but it makes sense since it has a rubber dome as part of the switch) It's also going to cost probably twice as much though.... Otherwise maybe the browns if picking a cherry switch, they are basically dirty reds (slight tac bump, but not clicky), I like them.

Browns appear to be a good compromise for typing and gaming, reds being generally best thought of as gaming switches and blues for typing (clicky sound and easier to avoid bottoming / accidentally pressing etc). That isn't to say that some people do not prefer reds for typing, but blues do have a bit of a disadvantage for double-tapping, or having to spam a key since the actuation and release points are not the same. (which is great for typing). There are also keyboards with blacks, greens, whites, and clears.

I have this exact same keyboard with Cherry MX Red switches and red O rings. By far the best keyboard feel I've ever typed on. I have this setup at home and I also bought another one for use at work. I just couldn't stand going to work and dealing with a rubber dome keyboard every day after having experienced Cherry MX Red's with red O rings installed.

I still want something with a more modern design and buckling spring switches.

Until then I'll stick with the Unicomps

Nice review as always. Good to see a keyboard review in between $1500 video card reviews! LOL. <thumbs up>

Zarathustra[H];1040761472 said:

I still want something with a more modern design and buckling spring switches.

Until then I'll stick with the Unicomps

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I love my unicomp as well. When is their patent/exclusive rights to buckling spring going to run out? It would be nice to see what someone else can do with buckling springs.

I think the mx-greens are close and I'd like to try them out. Can anybody compare/contrast the mx-greens vs buckling springs for meh?

Seems the greens are rather rare and more expensive?

haste. said:

Are you talking 15 year old Dell keyboard? Otherwise you are referring to membrane and it is not comparable to a mechanical in any way.

Red and Brown are totally different switches as well. Red is light pressure no tactile feedback, perfect for gamers without "fat fingers." Brown are tactile without the pop. More for typists than gamers.

I'm guessing you comparing apples to oranges and will need to do the research yourself to figure out what type of mechanical works for you.

Click to expand...

I have a red and a brown keyboard. The red I have is the same keyboard reviewed here. My wife and I both prefer the red. My teenage nephew who lives with us and games as often as we let him prefers the red. All of us for typing, gaming, everything prefer the red.

People are different, but Based on this small sample, I'd pick the red.

I barely feel the bump on the brown. To me the main difference is the force needed. Both brown and red require less force and are smoother than the Dell membrane keyboard I have at work.

I learned to type on a mechanical typewriter. Not that I'm that old, I just went to a DoD school with crappy, outdated equipment. But now that I think about it, I learned "the hard way" under the worst circumstances. If I didn't apply even force on the keys, the hammer would either hit too light or too dark, might type the character off center, or end up getting stuck on another hammer arm. Oh, and there was no integrated correction tape either. If I screwed up a letter, I had to backspace, get a piece of correction tape, hold it there, and then type the wrong letter over it, backspace again, and type the correct letter. Do that a few dozen times and suddenly you start caring about accuracy... a lot. There was no clicky bump on those typewriters, unless you count the sound and feel of the hammer hitting the paper and roller. I never felt like I needed a click or a bump to tell me I was typing correctly. It was just something that happened. When I switched to a regular keyboard, I never missed it, but I guess some people did, hence all those annoyingly loud, clicky, resistive keyboards from IBM and others. The weird thing for me is that, since most people under 40 probably didn't learn to type on a mechanical or electric typewriter, why do they need a bump or click? It wouldn't have been a part of their initial learning experience anyway.

To me, a loud, clicky keyboard brings back memories of typing I'd just as soon forget... I refuse to type on one.

So, a few years ago I decided to experience the mechanical keyboard revolution and see what it was all about. I wanted to see if it really did offer a better typing and gaming experience. I knew I didn't want anything clicky, but the other options, like the Cherry Brown keys, sounded interesting. So, I started with a Black Widow Stealth from Razer, with the Cherry Browns on it. The keyboard itself was fine. No problems with build quality. For some reason though, I never really typed that great on it, nor did I really like the feel for gaming. The main reason for my dislike was the "bump", if you can really call it that. It's not a very solid feeling bump. It's in a weird spot on the key press, and if I didn't know it was there on purpose, I'd think it was just a linear switch that someone had gummed up with something. It basically feels, to me, like it's getting stuck on something or binding internally on the plastic post. And that's apparently how it's supposed to feel. It's not satisfying to type on at all. Also, it's noisy due to bottoming out. And thanks to that bump, you're probably going to bottom out with pretty much every key press, because you have to push past it to actuate the key.

Cherry Red keys sounded interesting but I kept hearing how they're just for gaming and are hard to type on. I decided to go ahead and try them anyway, as I was tired of the browns. I went with the Corsair Vengeance K70. First impressions for me were extremely positive. I liked the linear feel a lot. I wish there was a bit more initial resistance, like a membrane keyboard has, but I found myself typing a lot faster and with less errors than the browns. The reds actually end up being quieter to type on due to me not having to apply extra force to get over the bump, like I did on the browns, so I don't bottom them out. I guess if you're used to a bump, click, or resistance, and use that as a cue for your key press, then I can see how the smooth, linear key press would cause some problems. For the rest of us, our fingers just fly across the red keys. While I would like a little more resistance on the initial press of the reds, I'd like it at the start of the key press, not 1/3 of the way into it, like the browns have. So unless they make a non-clicky Cherry MX switch with a little more initial resistance at the beginning of the key press, the red is the best choice for me so far. But anyway, the best part is the gaming aspect of the reds... they're amazing. So smooth. No resistance, which turns out to be great for gaming. Very fast. I really enjoy it. It's hard to explain how nice it is to have no resistance at all when gaming. Any kind of bump or click during gaming just gets in the way for me.

It's going to be all Cherry Reds for me, going forward.

Simply put I think this is the keyboard the Quickfire Pro should have been from day one. The Quickfire Rapid is a good unit and worlds ahead of the quality and style of the Pro.

Astral Abyss said:

snip...........

It's going to be all Cherry Reds for me, going forward.

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Cherry MX Blacks may be what your looking for. They are the same as Red's but with more resistance. As for the rest of your post, your problem is that you tried typing on a Razer keyboard. Part of their build quality that blows is the keycaps themselves. They flex too much and create a wobble in the keys that lead to sort of a binding type feeling in the linear travel of the switch. They fucking suck.

Dan_D said:

Simply put I think this is the keyboard the Quickfire Pro should have been from day one. The Quickfire Rapid is a good unit and worlds ahead of the quality and style of the Pro.

Cherry MX Blacks may be what your looking for. They are the same as Red's but with more resistance. As for the rest of your post, your problem is that you tried typing on a Razer keyboard. Part of their build quality that blows is the keycaps themselves. They flex too much and create a wobble in the keys that lead to sort of a binding type feeling in the linear travel of the switch. They fucking suck.

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Well, that might just explain it then. I still don't like the location of the bump on the browns, but if that annoying binding was being caused by the poor build quality of the keyboard itself, well, that pisses me off knowing I suffered through it for 2 years.

It's hard to find the Black keys anymore.

Dan_D said:

As for the rest of your post, your problem is that you tried typing on a Razer keyboard. Part of their build quality that blows is the keycaps themselves. They flex too much and create a wobble in the keys that lead to sort of a binding type feeling in the linear travel of the switch. They fucking suck.

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I can double up on that, the differences that keycaps make can be astounding. I prefer thicker caps myself because they seem to help absorb shock (bottoming out, or click shock from clicky types) much better than most of the thin stock keycaps I've tried (some MX boards come with thick keycaps, but this is mostly Cherry Corp. boards). Profile also makes a difference, but that's more so concerning "key wobble"..

Skull_Angel said:

I can double up on that, the differences that keycaps make can be astounding. I prefer thicker caps myself because they seem to help absorb shock (bottoming out, or click shock from clicky types) much better than most of the thin stock keycaps I've tried (some MX boards come with thick keycaps, but this is mostly Cherry Corp. boards). Profile also makes a difference, but that's more so concerning "key wobble"..

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The body of the old Pro model was also thicker than it needed to be and the styling left something to be desired in my opinion.

Concillian said:

I have a red and a brown keyboard. The red I have is the same keyboard reviewed here. My wife and I both prefer the red. My teenage nephew who lives with us and games as often as we let him prefers the red. All of us for typing, gaming, everything prefer the red.

People are different, but Based on this small sample, I'd pick the red.

I barely feel the bump on the brown. To me the main difference is the force needed. Both brown and red require less force and are smoother than the Dell membrane keyboard I have at work.

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I'm going with the Red only because they are out of stock on the Brown.
Thanks for your input.

I love this keyboard but I have run into 3 issues with it:

1 - The legs are rubber and collapse when sliding the keyboard to adjust its position since they stick to the table. I have never had another keyboard that did this and it is annoying when it happens.

2 - They put in heavier switches in the space and tab key than the ones in the rest of the keyboard. I was not aware of this when I ordered it and I really don't appreciate the extra effort and sound that it takes to press these keys. But when I'm not paying attention it doesn't bother me.

3 - The USB cord sticks straight out the back over an inch high off the desk and this prevents me from putting the keyboard flat against my monitor since the cord his my monitor's stand. This prevents me from having the keyboard and monitor exactly where I want them for some FPS games. This issue will vary monitor to monitor but it would be nice if the cord came out somewhere else to avoid this problem alltogether.