Cooler Master Announces CM Storm QuickFire Rapid Mechanical Gaming Keyboard

[btarunr]

CM Storm, of the Cooler Master Group, comes full circle by introducing its new line of sleek fully mechanical keyboards. A full complement of very durable and high quality CM Storm peripherals can now be had with the introduction of the QuickFire Rapid Mechanical Gaming Keyboard.

Effortlessly melt into the smooth and clean aesthetic of the QuickFire Rapid via its laser-marked keycaps and its smooth, yet damage-resistant, rubber coating. This is complemented by a set of extra keycaps (includes a key puller) that give the keyboard an extra appeal that draws other gamers in. A response time of 1ms, in USB mode, offers gamers a necessary consistency to navigate the ever changing landscapes of their video game libraries. With the Windows Key being disabled in GAME mode, users will no longer worry about possibly losing a match from accidentally minimizing the game. Multimedia shortcuts are available to ensure that media can be controlled with ease. With N Key Rollover, users deploying the QuickFire Rapid in PS/2 mode can activate many keys on the keyboard at once with all of them registering.



High-grade Cherry MX Switches
CM Storm aims to offer the best available mechanical hardware by integrating Cherry MX switches. These provide the QuickFire Rapid with the ability to respond to, and recover from, furious button presses with almost zero lag. Vastly improve your possible gaming actions per minute by utilizing a QuickFire Rapid Mechanical Gaming Keyboard in FPS, MMO, RTS, and other games. Cherry MX Black, Brown, or Blue switches will be available based on region.



Hassle-free Travel and Cable Management
Travel without a care in the world by simply removing the included braided USB cable and storing it. While attached, the braided USB cable can be routed through cable management grooves in the back of the QuickFire Rapid. This prevents unsightly cable clutter and helps minimize risk due to a hanging cable catching a foot or leg from a loved one.



Price and Availability
The QuickFire Rapid carries a MSRP of $79.99. It will be available November 2011 at retailers and online locations that sell your favorite Cooler Master, CM Storm, and Choiix gear.

For more information, visit the product page.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[wolf]

I hope its not just me, but the font on the keys is awesome! mechanical too nice

 

[Frederik S]

This one looks good. Normal key arrangement, choice of key mechanisms, laser engraved lettering for only $79.

The font used is a bit funky but nothing too horrible I guess.

 

[Yukikaze]

Um. I want my numpad back.

 

[Vancha]

Apart from the "Quick Fire!" and overuse of their little flame symbol, it looks nice enough. Odd that they label cherry blues as having "low resistance" and cherry browns as having "medium resistance" when blues have the higher actuation force though...

 

[ACEMODDER]

Shame that Coolermaster have confirmed that the product is not coming to UK/Europe. Its being made for the Asian market only.

And I know this because I work for overclockers and my CM contact cofnirmed this.

 

[Fourstaff]

Um. I want my numpad back.

Me too

For $79 I Cannot complain much though, its quite a good deal for people who doesn't need numpad.

 

[NC37]

Me too

For $79 I Cannot complain much though, its quite a good deal for people who doesn't need numpad.

$80 and no numpad...this reminds me of those Apple keyboards years ago.

 

[Hayder_Master]

OMG, looks dam good, switch keys is awesome, price really nice too.
And a review from TPU will great.

 

[Fx]

Um. I want my numpad back.

agreed

definitely a nice keyboard for $80. unfortunately, my right hand always reaches for the num keys or the enter key when using a tenkeyless keyboard

 

[Katanai]

I will be getting the black switch version. I had a steelseries with black switches and I loved it. I was stupid enough to sell it, for some good profit though. This one has a good price and I wanted a ten key less mechanical keyboard since forever...

 

[Frick]

Beautiful, but fonts are a bit to big imo. Also no numpad makes me sad.

 

[TheLostSwede]

Shame that Coolermaster have confirmed that the product is not coming to UK/Europe. Its being made for the Asian market only.

And I know this because I work for overclockers and my CM contact cofnirmed this.

So if it's for Asia only, then why is it going on sale in the US from next month and why do they have a EU/UK layout coming?

Why do I know this? Because a mate of mine works for CM Storm in Taiwan...

 

[Completely Bonkers]

Nice price. But do not like the typeface of the keys, or the space-bar advertising. Really naff.

And really, a gamer doesn't need red arrow keys for asdw! Next thing, a mouse with arrow directions on it! If they want to help the gamer, then perhaps 5 or 6 transparent keycaps where you could print your own text and stick it underneath. Like "TPU" (shortcut) or "the bomb!" etc. This would be esp. useful for f1-12 keys.

The old BBC micro from 1983 had a plastic strip above the fn keys where you could slip a strip of paper underneath with your own (or pre-determined depending on software) function key definitions.

like this

Now how hard would it be to improve that concept that is already 30 years old? (Without spending a double fortune on those OLED programmable keys, which are great but just too expensive)

 

[Th3pwn3r]

No number pad and no macros. Looks like garbage to me.

 

[Ohmecks]

I had been looking around for a mechanical keyboard with no numpad and then I see this. The "Quick Fire" label is a bit strange, but I can overlook that since this keyboard meets my usability requirements.

 

[erixx]

yes and no.
ugly design, well no design at all
no macros
not backlit

quality keys and no numberpad=ok (i am not a damn accountant)

 

[MilkyWay]

Same old... same old...
People moaning about
1. No backlighting
2. Price
3. Tenkeyless
4. No macro keys
AND THEY FORGET ITS A MECHANICAL KEYBOARD.

You dont want tenkeyless go buy another board, some people prefer tenkeyless as its a space saver and lots of people do not use the num pad.

What normal layout? this is ANSI layout.
I like the look of this board, its plain and looks well built; whether or not it is well built depends on a lot of factors so id love to read a review. I also like the choice of switches. This board reminds me of the Filco keyboards in a lot of respects, even its design is similar.

$80 means this will be about £80 in the UK, us UK'ers shafted as usual.

EDIT: Oh look some Fn Function keys, media keys to be precise oh and every gamer targeted board should have the ability to turn off the windows keys THANK YOU.

 

[Fourstaff]

No reason why they shouldn't offer the numpad, or at least an attachment for those who want one. There are enough mechanical keyboards out there which offer numpad, and I don't see why they shouldn't offer one unless its a cost cutting measure, in which case I would gladly pay an extra £20 to get a mechanical keyboard with numpad.

I agree with the ability to turn off windows key

 

[deleted]

Hey guys, don't complain about the numpad. Tenkeyless is a feature. Filco will charge you more for that.

 

[gvblake22]

I'm happy to finally see keyboards coming without the num pad! I like to keep the mouse close to the keyboard so I'm not awkwardly reaching way off to the side to use the mouse and the absence of a num pad saves those precious extra inches. Tenkeyless FTW!

It is too bad they had to ruin a clean layout with that lame "Quick Fire" on the space bar.

 

[[H]@RD5TUFF]

Do want!

 

[Bundy]

It's great to see another tenkeyless board on the market! I hope soon all the main mechanical manufacturers will offer both versions.

This KB looks like it came from the same factory as Leopold, Ducky and Filco. The back cover is identical to my Ducky (except I don't have tenkeyless)

 

[TIGR]

I hope its not just me, but the font on the keys is awesome! mechanical too nice

Not just you, I thing the font looks great too. Smooth and easy to read.

Looks like we're split right down the middle on the num pad (I personally require it). This might indicate to CM that offering an alternative model with the num pad would would be a good idea. I also think a backlit version would be a good idea; finding a mechanical keyboard that is backlit is hard enough that there should be room for a new model.

Props for the decent price. It's great to see more mechanical keyboards coming out and hopefully competition will bring their prices down a bit. I wouldn't ask for them to be under $75 but my $170 Deck is a bit much (though I wouldn't trade it for anything).