Hi,
I'm 25, and have been building computers for over ten years at this point, and interested in tech generally long before that. I've graduated college with a degree in computer science, and I'm currently studying in games development. I'm living in Ireland.
As for specialties, I'm more into peripherals rather than components - monitors, keyboards, speakers, etc. I'm also quite at home with water cooling gear. I've put around four or five custom loops together from scratch, and lost count of the amount of times I've swapped bits out.
As for my rig, at the moment it's based around a delidded 3570K and GTX 780. Water cooled with two Monsta 240 radiators in a Nanoxia Deep Silence One (which I actually bought after watching Tom's Youtube video). I also have a home server, the motherboard being the next on the review list.
As per the guidelines, my review is below. I didn't have the box or accessories for this, so sadly I couldn't write that part of the review. I'll have another one coming in the next few days, but it's a server motherboard, so there's much more going on with it than the keyboard below, so it'll take a bit of time.
Hopefully you like what you read. If that's the case, I'd like to think I could contribute a lot to OC3D. If you'd like more writing samples, I do have a personal blog, most of which is tech-related, as it was more of a personal writing experiment for me than anything personal. Most of the articles are of more of an editorial nature.
I'd be happy to answer any further questions. Many thanks for taking the time to read the review.
Best wishes,
Richard Beirne
______________________
Today we take a look at one of Cooler Master’s mechanical keyboards sold under the CM Storm branding. This is their CM Storm Quick Fire TK. This isn’t your run-of-the-mill mechanical keyboard here however. The Quick Fire TK represents Cooler Master’s attempt to develop a keyboard which carries the small footprint of a tenkeyless, whilst keeping all the functionality of a full sized keyboard. How have they done this? Read on.
Upon first inspection, we’re greeted with something quite unusual. We’ll get to the functionality and layout aspects of things in a moment though. First, the styling: While this is sold under Cooler Master’s gaming brand, the keyboard’s styling is a rather attractive mix of the angular, industrial look we've come to expect from much of their line (noticeably their cases), though it’s subdued enough to not be ostentatious.
Measuring 377.5 x 138 x 33 mm, the keyboard is finished in matte black, which will help to disguise fingerprints far more than on glossy keyboards. Given that, by definition, a keyboard will pick up fingerprints, it’s hard to imagine why a glossy keyboard would make sense, but it can also be a matter of personal taste.
We can see some of the CM styling shine through however. There is a small CM Storm logo on the back edge of the keyboard, above where the delete, home, and end keys would be on a full size unit. The type face of the keyboard also shows some gamer flair, as Cooler Master has opted for an angular, sci-fi style look. As well as this, the indicator LEDs for caps, num, and scroll lock are recessed into the keyboard slightly following the angular styling.
Like the vast majority of mechanical keyboards on the market today, the Quick Fire TK uses Cherry MX switches, and is available in four different varieties: MX Blue switches with blue backlighting, MX Red switches with red backlighting, MX Brown switches with white backlighting, and MX Green switches with green backlighting. That last one is more expensive and very hard to find though. The version we are taking a look at today is the MX Blue variant.
The keyboard is built around a metal base plate, to which the keys are mounted. This means that despite its small size, its 800g weight feels quite hefty. There is virtually no flex at all if twisted, something that you should not expect your keyboard to have to withstand, though it is nice to know the keyboard should survive all but the most extreme of nerd rages. If it does happen to get damaged through no fault of your own, Cooler Master is shipping this keyboard with a two year warranty. Always nice.
Looking under the keys, we notice that Cooler Master has taken an interesting approach to the backlighting of these keyboards. The underside is colour-matched to the LEDs. As you’ll see later in the review, this really helps even out the backlighting, and definitely makes the colours “pop”.
With the key caps removed, we can see that Cooler Master have chosen to use dummy MX switches for the longer keys, rather than the wire support bar method. I personally prefer this, as the support wires can sometimes need lubrication to prevent squeaking after some months of use.
On the bottom, we find the mini USB port used to connect a very nicely braided, 1.8 metre USB cable, as well as channels for it to be routed in one of three different directions. The connectors on both ends are gold plated, and while this won’t help in any way with performance, it is a nice little touch, and should mean the connector is slightly more durable in the long run. While we're talking about the interface, the keyboard operates at a 1KHz (1,000Hz) polling rate, with a rate response time of 1ms. We can also see the usual sticker stating compliance with various standards, as well as the serial number and product code.
We also get a look at the four rubber feet that are used to hold the keyboard in place on one’s desk, as well as two feet that can be flipped out to angle the keyboard to a more comfortable position if desired. A nice touch worth noting is that the feet themselves are also rubber-bottomed, meaning you won’t lose any grip if you decide to use them.
Above you can see the keyboard side-on, with the feet retracted and extended.
Flipping the keyboard around again, we can see that the keys used are made from ABS plastic. While the keys on the keyboard do not follow a sweeping curve overall – as would be optimal for typing – the different rows are stepped correctly. This means that your fingers, when on the home row, will be roughly equidistant from each row, allowing for an overall smoother typing experience, as you won’t find yourself having to stretch quite as much for a given row.
Along the top we see the standard F-keys, combined with keys for backlight control, and media playback via a function key located to the right of the spacebar. It’s worth noting that the function key can be pressed and held for a couple of seconds to reverse the function of the keys, meaning they’re media keys first, and function keys second, via the function key.
Now to get to the meat of the matter: That number pad. As you can see, it looks pretty similar in layout to any number pad you’d expect to find on any other keyboard. There have been a couple of minor changes, such as swapping out the zero button for a pair – Zero and double zero. Personally I don’t see much use in this, as it might well take just as much time to remember you have a specific key for two zeros, and hit that one instead, rather than simply pressing the zero key twice.
You’ll see though that secondary functions have been added to some of the keys, namely the navigation keys, in the places where you’d expect them to be. We can toggle between using the number pad or these keys, simply by hitting the number lock in the upper left.
This implementation works very well. In practice, you’ll find yourself leaving it toggled to the secondary functions most of the time, unless you’re in the day trading or mathematics lines of work. Obviously being a gaming keyboard, this wasn't Cooler Master’s target market. This is probably why Cooler Master chose to keep the number pad fully illuminated only when the secondary functions are enabled, and disable lighting on the arrow keys when the number pad’s numerical mode is used. This is also evident in that the switches for the arrow keys have been installed upside-down, meaning the arrow symbols on the keys are lit more strongly than the numbers. Again, another nice attention to detail.
What Cooler Master has done is combine the navigation keys with the number pad by means of a function key toggle. Where normally the number lock would toggle between the number pad and navigation using the 2, 4, 6 and 8 keys, on the Quick Fire TK, this toggles between a traditional number pad (with some slight tweaks) and the navigation keys in their usual place on a full size keyboard.
Remember that colour-matched backplate we showed earlier on? Well this is what it does to the keyboard's backlight under darker conditions. Backlighting can be controlled with up to five brightness levels, as well as simply being turned off. There is also a "breathing" mode, which fades the lighting from its lowest level to highest, and back again, as well as a mode in which only the WASD and arrow keys are illuminated.
As for performance, the keyboard performs and types much like you would expect a Cherry MX Blue keyboard to perform. The keys have a travel distance of 4mm, actuating at 2mm, and typing with them produces the same audible click and tactile bump those of us who have used Cherry Blues have come to expect. For those who haven’t, expect a much louder keyboard than you’re used to, but one that is very reassuring to type on. Every key press is definite and precise. In my time with the keyboard, I've found it to be just as enjoyable to type on as Cherry’s MX Brown switches, and I am slightly faster, averaging closer to 100 WPM rather than my usual 90-95. The added noise of course could be a bothersome factor for potential buyers however.
Overall, this is an excellent keyboard. Cooler Master’s implementation gives you all the functionality of a full-size keyboard, while maintaining a footprint only slightly bigger than that of a traditional tenkeyless. The only real negative here is the time needed to switch between modes on the number pad, if you do find yourself wanting to type a short sequence of numbers. Besides this one point - which is really the only way you're going to get this level of functionality in a keyboard this small - this keyboard is excellent, managing to cram all the features and functionality into something quite a bit smaller than you'd expect.
I'm 25, and have been building computers for over ten years at this point, and interested in tech generally long before that. I've graduated college with a degree in computer science, and I'm currently studying in games development. I'm living in Ireland.
As for specialties, I'm more into peripherals rather than components - monitors, keyboards, speakers, etc. I'm also quite at home with water cooling gear. I've put around four or five custom loops together from scratch, and lost count of the amount of times I've swapped bits out.
As for my rig, at the moment it's based around a delidded 3570K and GTX 780. Water cooled with two Monsta 240 radiators in a Nanoxia Deep Silence One (which I actually bought after watching Tom's Youtube video). I also have a home server, the motherboard being the next on the review list.
As per the guidelines, my review is below. I didn't have the box or accessories for this, so sadly I couldn't write that part of the review. I'll have another one coming in the next few days, but it's a server motherboard, so there's much more going on with it than the keyboard below, so it'll take a bit of time.
Hopefully you like what you read. If that's the case, I'd like to think I could contribute a lot to OC3D. If you'd like more writing samples, I do have a personal blog, most of which is tech-related, as it was more of a personal writing experiment for me than anything personal. Most of the articles are of more of an editorial nature.
I'd be happy to answer any further questions. Many thanks for taking the time to read the review.
Best wishes,
Richard Beirne
______________________
Today we take a look at one of Cooler Master’s mechanical keyboards sold under the CM Storm branding. This is their CM Storm Quick Fire TK. This isn’t your run-of-the-mill mechanical keyboard here however. The Quick Fire TK represents Cooler Master’s attempt to develop a keyboard which carries the small footprint of a tenkeyless, whilst keeping all the functionality of a full sized keyboard. How have they done this? Read on.
Upon first inspection, we’re greeted with something quite unusual. We’ll get to the functionality and layout aspects of things in a moment though. First, the styling: While this is sold under Cooler Master’s gaming brand, the keyboard’s styling is a rather attractive mix of the angular, industrial look we've come to expect from much of their line (noticeably their cases), though it’s subdued enough to not be ostentatious.
Measuring 377.5 x 138 x 33 mm, the keyboard is finished in matte black, which will help to disguise fingerprints far more than on glossy keyboards. Given that, by definition, a keyboard will pick up fingerprints, it’s hard to imagine why a glossy keyboard would make sense, but it can also be a matter of personal taste.
We can see some of the CM styling shine through however. There is a small CM Storm logo on the back edge of the keyboard, above where the delete, home, and end keys would be on a full size unit. The type face of the keyboard also shows some gamer flair, as Cooler Master has opted for an angular, sci-fi style look. As well as this, the indicator LEDs for caps, num, and scroll lock are recessed into the keyboard slightly following the angular styling.
Like the vast majority of mechanical keyboards on the market today, the Quick Fire TK uses Cherry MX switches, and is available in four different varieties: MX Blue switches with blue backlighting, MX Red switches with red backlighting, MX Brown switches with white backlighting, and MX Green switches with green backlighting. That last one is more expensive and very hard to find though. The version we are taking a look at today is the MX Blue variant.
The keyboard is built around a metal base plate, to which the keys are mounted. This means that despite its small size, its 800g weight feels quite hefty. There is virtually no flex at all if twisted, something that you should not expect your keyboard to have to withstand, though it is nice to know the keyboard should survive all but the most extreme of nerd rages. If it does happen to get damaged through no fault of your own, Cooler Master is shipping this keyboard with a two year warranty. Always nice.
Looking under the keys, we notice that Cooler Master has taken an interesting approach to the backlighting of these keyboards. The underside is colour-matched to the LEDs. As you’ll see later in the review, this really helps even out the backlighting, and definitely makes the colours “pop”.
With the key caps removed, we can see that Cooler Master have chosen to use dummy MX switches for the longer keys, rather than the wire support bar method. I personally prefer this, as the support wires can sometimes need lubrication to prevent squeaking after some months of use.
On the bottom, we find the mini USB port used to connect a very nicely braided, 1.8 metre USB cable, as well as channels for it to be routed in one of three different directions. The connectors on both ends are gold plated, and while this won’t help in any way with performance, it is a nice little touch, and should mean the connector is slightly more durable in the long run. While we're talking about the interface, the keyboard operates at a 1KHz (1,000Hz) polling rate, with a rate response time of 1ms. We can also see the usual sticker stating compliance with various standards, as well as the serial number and product code.
We also get a look at the four rubber feet that are used to hold the keyboard in place on one’s desk, as well as two feet that can be flipped out to angle the keyboard to a more comfortable position if desired. A nice touch worth noting is that the feet themselves are also rubber-bottomed, meaning you won’t lose any grip if you decide to use them.
Above you can see the keyboard side-on, with the feet retracted and extended.
Flipping the keyboard around again, we can see that the keys used are made from ABS plastic. While the keys on the keyboard do not follow a sweeping curve overall – as would be optimal for typing – the different rows are stepped correctly. This means that your fingers, when on the home row, will be roughly equidistant from each row, allowing for an overall smoother typing experience, as you won’t find yourself having to stretch quite as much for a given row.
Along the top we see the standard F-keys, combined with keys for backlight control, and media playback via a function key located to the right of the spacebar. It’s worth noting that the function key can be pressed and held for a couple of seconds to reverse the function of the keys, meaning they’re media keys first, and function keys second, via the function key.
Now to get to the meat of the matter: That number pad. As you can see, it looks pretty similar in layout to any number pad you’d expect to find on any other keyboard. There have been a couple of minor changes, such as swapping out the zero button for a pair – Zero and double zero. Personally I don’t see much use in this, as it might well take just as much time to remember you have a specific key for two zeros, and hit that one instead, rather than simply pressing the zero key twice.
You’ll see though that secondary functions have been added to some of the keys, namely the navigation keys, in the places where you’d expect them to be. We can toggle between using the number pad or these keys, simply by hitting the number lock in the upper left.
This implementation works very well. In practice, you’ll find yourself leaving it toggled to the secondary functions most of the time, unless you’re in the day trading or mathematics lines of work. Obviously being a gaming keyboard, this wasn't Cooler Master’s target market. This is probably why Cooler Master chose to keep the number pad fully illuminated only when the secondary functions are enabled, and disable lighting on the arrow keys when the number pad’s numerical mode is used. This is also evident in that the switches for the arrow keys have been installed upside-down, meaning the arrow symbols on the keys are lit more strongly than the numbers. Again, another nice attention to detail.
What Cooler Master has done is combine the navigation keys with the number pad by means of a function key toggle. Where normally the number lock would toggle between the number pad and navigation using the 2, 4, 6 and 8 keys, on the Quick Fire TK, this toggles between a traditional number pad (with some slight tweaks) and the navigation keys in their usual place on a full size keyboard.
Remember that colour-matched backplate we showed earlier on? Well this is what it does to the keyboard's backlight under darker conditions. Backlighting can be controlled with up to five brightness levels, as well as simply being turned off. There is also a "breathing" mode, which fades the lighting from its lowest level to highest, and back again, as well as a mode in which only the WASD and arrow keys are illuminated.
As for performance, the keyboard performs and types much like you would expect a Cherry MX Blue keyboard to perform. The keys have a travel distance of 4mm, actuating at 2mm, and typing with them produces the same audible click and tactile bump those of us who have used Cherry Blues have come to expect. For those who haven’t, expect a much louder keyboard than you’re used to, but one that is very reassuring to type on. Every key press is definite and precise. In my time with the keyboard, I've found it to be just as enjoyable to type on as Cherry’s MX Brown switches, and I am slightly faster, averaging closer to 100 WPM rather than my usual 90-95. The added noise of course could be a bothersome factor for potential buyers however.
Overall, this is an excellent keyboard. Cooler Master’s implementation gives you all the functionality of a full-size keyboard, while maintaining a footprint only slightly bigger than that of a traditional tenkeyless. The only real negative here is the time needed to switch between modes on the number pad, if you do find yourself wanting to type a short sequence of numbers. Besides this one point - which is really the only way you're going to get this level of functionality in a keyboard this small - this keyboard is excellent, managing to cram all the features and functionality into something quite a bit smaller than you'd expect.
I've been looking into this myself and I got pretty much all my questions answered. Cheers! Nice that they have the cable separate so you can exchange it if it breaks. 
