CM Storm QuickFire XT - Limited Edition Full Size Mechanical Gaming Keyboard with CHERRY MX GREEN Switches

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Price: $129.99    

Product Feature

• Mechanical CHERRY MX GREEN key switches - lifespan of up to 50 million keystrokes while providing high resistance and "click" feedback
• Super slim profile for more ergonomic and comfortable typing angles
• Embedded steel plate beneath keys for extreme stability and durability
• N-Key rollover for unlimited simultaneous key presses in PS/2 Mode
• Command rate adjustments via key combos in PS/2 Mode
• Detachable high quality braided USB cable with Full Size USB connector
• Multimedia shortcut keys - easily play, pause, stop, skip tracks, and control volume
• Windows keys can be disabled in-game to prevent accidental interruptions

Product Description

Building off the success of the Quick-fire Rapid, gamers and working professionals are now able to have an all-encompassing CM Storm experience in a full size package. The CM Storm Quick-fire XT by Cooler Master is a high-grade mechanical keyboard that employs the best selection of Cherry MX key switches to provide ultra responsiveness and comfort. The Quick-fire XT also has the thinnest bezel on a mechanical keyboard and an embedded steel plate for added stability.

CM Storm QuickFire XT - Limited Edition Full Size Mechanical Gaming Keyboard with CHERRY MX GREEN Switches Review

I moved to this keyboard after using a series of normal rubber-dome type keyboards. I want to give potential buyers an idea of what the experience of using this is, as well as pointing out the things that I do and do not like about this keyboard.

I want this keyboard primarily for improved typing. I also game, but cheap keyboards are more than good enough for my gaming needs. I want something not taxing (no repetitive stress injuries), fast, and accurate. I like a good click and I prefer short travel. I also prefer lower keytops (i.e., less separation between keys). These keys do not have short travel or low profile keys, but I guess you can't have it all.

As of this writing this is the cheapest mechanical keyboard you can buy. At least the cheapest one with Cherry MX keys. Cherry MX dominates the mechanical keyboard switch market, so almost every mechanical keyboard you will find features them. The various colors indicate the type of key used. These are the blue keys, which are the clickiest type (loud) and also probably the most commonly used for typing keyboards (as opposed to gaming keyboards). At the end of the day, the reason to get a mechanical keyboard is to have the mechanical keys. All the other considerations are pretty secondary. So if you are a budget consumer looking to have the mechanical key experience, this is the best keyboard to choose. Provided, of course, that you are interested in the MX blue keys.

The Switches
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The MX blue switches make two distinct sounds as you press a key. At 2mm they make a very high-pitched click. This is also when the key activation signal is sent to the computer. When and if the key bottoms out at 4mm, they make a much louder and lower pitched click. Personally I would have preferred to have a lower pitched click at 2mm and then not much noise at the bottom, but that wasn't the intended design. It takes a bit of getting used to. You start to type more gently and stop bottoming out the keys so much. So with a bit of experience this keyboard is not nearly as loud as it is when you first start using it. I have no problem with the level of noise of the 2mm click, but I do wish the pitch was a little lower. Actually I'm hoping that might change just a little when I use the O ring modification that I will be implementing.

The force required to push these keys is significantly lower than it is on most keyboards I have used. Between that and the fact that you don't really want to be bottoming them out all the time (the bottoming out is a bit more abrupt and jarring than it is on a cheap keyboard), you end up typing very gently indeed. However, the key travel (if you go all the way to bottoming out) is typical or a bit longer than many keyboards I have used. There is a lot of variation in that respect, though. If you want a mechanical keyboard, you will most likely get cherry MX keys, and all cherry switches have the same amount of travel as far as I know. Putting the O rings in place will reduce the travel somewhat. Personally I like less travel than this.

I believe CoolerMaster does or will make this keyboard with a number of different switch types. The browns will feel similar but not have the high pitched click at 2mm. The reds and blacks will not have the tactile feel or click until you bottom them out.

One things I like about these mechanical switches is that there are no issues with friction on the way down. All the resistance you feel is due to the springs in there. Some cheap keyboards seem to have plastic-on-plastic resistance, which is the worst.

The high pitched sound of the clicking, paired with the relatively low friction on the way down can make these keys feel and sound like they are very light and almost fragile. It's just an impression they give, and not exactly the best one in my opinion.

The Keytops
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They keytops are OK, but nothing really special. They are a bit more textured than average, but there are many cheap keyboards that feel similar. I would say the edges are just a little sharper than average as well. Not problematically so, just more than average.

The font they use on these keys is rather unattractive. It's kind of squarish. I think coolermaster was a bit confused about their target audience when they made this. The choice of blue switches and the minimalist design (no macro keys, for example) appeals to a more mature audience. But the font was chosen to be alien or something. It's very nintendo. Not a huge deal because, honestly, who looks at the font?

The layout of the keys is nice. I haven't had any issues with the backspace or spacebar. Those are the most difficult keys to get right because they have to have stabilizers inside of them so the whole key goes down when you press it. The spacebar, in particular, is much better than in a cheap keyboard because personally my thumbs are lazy or something and don't tend to push it down far enough in a normal keyboard, but they get it every time here. It's really nice. My thumbs are happy.

The letters are painted on here. And with fairly thick glue--you can feel it on some keys. Some people have complained that it wears off, which I can believe. Actually I'm kind of hoping for some wear here. Personally I like a smooth keytop (not textured) and I won't miss the letters on the letter keys. Of course, things won't wear off on keys I use infrequently, which are the only ones I need to look at. Anyway, I can see how it would bother someone to have letters wear off but not me. I'll check back in and let you know if they actually do wear off in a few months.

I have a CoolerMaster case, PSU, and CPU cooler on this computer--they make good stuff (and inexpensive) for the enthusiast computer builder. I've noticed that, more than just about any brand, they love their branding. The logo above the arrow keys and the little vortex next to the escape are fine. The big "quick fire" on the spacebar is really ridiculous. I may actually replace it. One nice thing about these MX keys is that you can pretty easily get replacement keys from a number of sources and change them out as you wish. The windows menu key does not exist, which is nice because no one uses that. Instead they have a function key that accesses a few special keys on the keyboard. Not bad. Better than having dedicated keys for things like volume and pause. The windows keys just have big vortexes on them, which I don't particularly like. Honestly, I'd rather have that than a windows logo, though. So really it's just the spacebar logo I don't like. What were they thinking?

There is an LED on the caps lock, scroll lock, and F9 key (which, when used with the function key, puts you in gaming mode and disables the windows keys). These are exceptionally large and bright, which is awesome. There's no way you will be typing with the caps lock on and not notice it. Good call, Coolermaster. In ordinary typing mode these lights are not on, so they are no an annoyance.

Physical Design
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This keyboard is pretty heavy. I thought that would be unambiguously good until I realized how often I'm in the habit of moving my keyboard around as I shift my body. I used to just use one hand and grab the keyboard by the arrow keys but that's not really possible here, so I actually have to grab the whole keyboard. On the plus side, it won't move around anywhere while you are typing--there are also some rubber feet underneath. Basically all mechanical keyboards are heavy. I think it's because they are expensive and people expect expensive things to be heavy, honestly.

Some people have said this keyboard is smaller than a normal one in terms of keys or layout. This is not true. The keys and layout are exactly the same size as any standard sized keyboard. The fact that there is no number pad makes the keyboard look small, but everything else is just in people's mind. The lack of number pad saves real estate on your desktop and allows the mouse to be closer. Very nice. You just have to get used to actually centering yourself in front of the keyboard, rather than sitting (or reaching) slightly to the left.

This keyboard is taller than I am used to. The switches require more space under the keys than the cheap kind. This is making me adjust my normal posture. I'm probably going to get a wrist support, and I suggest it for others as well.

The USB cable is awesome, and it's awesome that it is removable and replaceable. It's awesome that you can route it straight out or to either side. I haven't had any problems with it not wanting to stay put. Very nice.

There is a vaguely rubbery texture to the keyboard (not the keys) that feels nice. Not that you handle it a lot, but I like it when I do.

I have done a good bit of typing and I have not noticed any keys that are more difficult to press or that require a deeper stroke than others. Good build quality in that respect.

All in all, the physical design and manufacture is minimalist, well-thought-out, and excellent.

There are several extra keys (red ones and cooler master branded ones) in case you want to have the WASD keys red for gaming. Again, Coolermaster can't decide if this keyboard is for sophisticated typists or dedicated gamers. I guess they are trying to get both on board. If there's a weakness of this keyboard it's that it's too general. It's not as gamer-centric as, say, a Razer, and not as sophisticated as, say, a Das. But it delivers the keys and a good design at a great price, so I can't fault it.

O ring modification
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I decided to modify this keyboard by adding O rings under the keytops. This is a common modification of these cherry switches that you can read about in various places on the internet. I bought "008 Buna-N O-Ring, 50A Durometer, Round, Black, 3/16" ID, 5/16" OD, 1/16" Width" here on Amazon, which is by far the cheapest source of fitting O rings I have found. For about twice the price you can get some other options sold for use specifically in keyboards. But it's so cheap and easy to get it from Amazon!

Anyway, the addition of the O rings under the keys accomplishes three things:

1. It quiets the "clack" sound when the key bottoms out (not the "click" when
the switch actuates).

2. It makes the key bottom out in a less jarring manner that is more
comfortable.

3. It reduces the key travel. I have heard people say they don't notice the
reduction in key travel, but I do.

The modification was pretty easy. The only hard part was doing the big keys, which have a stabilizing metal bar under them. You have to kind of bend the bar outward in order to get the key off. After the first couple I got the hang of it and it was pretty easy. Anyway, the reduction in the loud sound when the key hits bottom is quite striking, but I still have the click that tells me the key has actuated. Good deal. I also like the softer bottom out and the reduction in travel. In fact, I wish you could reduce the key travel even more. I like my keys to not need much depression. I tried adding two O rings to a single key. It felt great, but sometimes it didn't work when I was typing on it (if I didn't press hard) so I had to take it out.

Conclusion
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I would like it if Cherry MX made some switches that required less travel and/or bottomed out less hard. Basically I'd like it if they were to do the O ring modification at the factory so we don't have to do it ourselves. Even better would be to create a new trigger that actuated at 1mm instead of 2. I would love that. But anyway, there isn't really much choice in the world of mechanical keyboard switches. Cherry MX basically owns the market. They are good switches, and I am satisfied with them. This keyboard is one of the cheapest and best ways to get them. Now that I own this, I think I would prefer a brown switch instead of blue, but that's not CoolerMaster's fault. I'm thinking of getting a second mechanical keyboard with the browns to keep at home (and use this at the office).

Overall I can't find any reason to remove a star. This keyboard delivers what it promises. The choice of font and branding are a little unfortunate, but don't actually affect me much. I suspect they have great engineers designing it physically (just like they have designing all their aftermarket computer hardware), but then some silly people in the marketing department decide what kind of paint to use, where and how. Well, paint is not the most relevant part of a keyboard, thankfully.

Five stars. Thanks coolermaster.

Update 1: Keytops
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After a while using this keyboard both at home and and work, one thing began to bother me. The little bumps on the F and J keys (found on all keyboards) are just a little higher/sharper than I prefer. I used a dremel tool to grind them off and now I am much happier.

Now I can begin to worry about the really small details, like the fact that the paint used for the letters is thick enough that I can feel it. I kind of wish it would rub off. I rubbed a little nail polish remover on one of them to see if it would come off but it didn't. I don't want to try anything more harsh/dangerous.

Eventually I'll probably go 100% geek and get a set of blank keytops from WASD to replace these. Once you get started down the path of keyboard perfection, it seems like there's always another level. ;)

Update 2: Keytops
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Actually I later used a very fine grit sandpaper (wet) to rub my keys down and remove all texture. It was slightly tedious to take each key off individually but ultimately I removed the texture and the part of the letter ink that is raised without actually removing the letters themselves. Work out very well and I am now satisfied. By the way, using the sandpaper dry didn't work well at all.

If the stealth version of this keyboard had been available at the time of my purchase I would have gone for that. It's a great idea to have the letters printed on the front of the keys instead of the tops.

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